The Paul Temple Library

Back in 1964, a little company called Micron published a series of reprints of Paul Temple strips from the Evening News. The series ran to only 10 issues, published at the rate of two a month between March and July, reprinting stories drawn by John McNamara. The issues are now very scarce - I've never stumbled across a single one in thirty years. I do, however, know the editor, Keith Chapman, who worked for Micron back in the early 1960s before swapping editorial work in London for journalistic work in New Zealand. Nowadays he writes novels (as Chap O'Keefe) and runs the Black Horse Extra website.

Keith is a regular visitor to Bear Alley and commented recently on one of the latest Paul Temple episodes, which led to some further comments off-list. Keith then kindly sent over some scans from the early issues of the Paul Temple Library, which I'm about to share with you.

First, some comments from Keith about his time on that particular publication...

When choosing material for the Paul Temple Library I put together for Micron, I tried to pick sets that had given the artist latitude to draw interesting, non-repetitive scenes. Probably you do the same today, assuming you have a selection. Back in the early '60s, I was limited by the old art-paper pulls a big newspaper syndication department was prepared to dredge up from its files. An editor barely out of his teens, working for a backstreet publisher in suburban Mitcham, didn't carry much clout. Nor did I handle the financial side of the deal. Certainly with its freelance contributors Micron was notoriously slow in meeting obligations. "Payment on publication" was frequently "payment after repeated reminder".
__As you know, the Evening News wasn't a national newspaper and circulated only in London and the South-East. This meant a string of provincial and overseas papers had first call on syndication resources. Similarly, I seem to remember Micron wasn't allowed to export PT Library to Commonwealth countries, probably because they were running several years behind with the daily strip.

The first two issues ran back cover features on Paul Temple's creator Francis Durbridge, which I'll post tomorrow, along with some other material I've gathered along the way. For now, here's a checklist of the ten issues of the Paul Temple Library.

PAUL TEMPLE LIBRARY
01  03-64  Paul Temple and the Magpie Mystery (rpts Evening News)
02  03-64  Paul Temple and the Gun Runners (rpts Evening News)
03  04-64  Paul Temple and the Nerve Gas Gang (rpts Evening News)
04  04-64  Paul Temple in Operation Shrike (rpts Evening News)
05  05-64  Paul Temple Plays with Fire (rpts Evening News)
06  05-64  Paul Temple Meets His Double (rpts Evening News)
07  06-64  Paul Temple and the Safari Mystery (rpts Evening News)
08  06-64  Paul Temple in The Charge is Murder! (rpts Evening News)
09  07-64  Paul Temple and the Q.40 Mystery (rpts Evening News)
10  07-64  Paul Temple and the Missing Van Gogh (rpts Evening News)

P.S. Incidentally, if you follow this link to the latest issue of Black Horse Extra, there's an interesting piece by Gary Dobbs (aka "Jack Martin") on how Richard Stark and 'D-Day Dawson' (of Battle Picture Weekly fame) inspired elements of his latest Western, The Ballad of Delta Rose.

Peter Coke (1913-2008)

Actor Peter Coke, best known in his role on BBC radio as Paul Temple, died on Wednesday, July 30, at the age of 95. Coke, born in Southsea on April 3, 1913, was the son of a naval commander who left England for Kenya to plant linen; this proved to be an unsuccessful venture and he subsequently switched to coffee. Coke was educated at Stowe then moved to southern France to live with his grandmother and work, briefly, as an unpaid assistant vice-consul.

Returning to England he took acting lessons and attended RADA, graduating at the age of 24. His initial success in theatre and films was interrupted by the war. Demobbed in 1946 after serving with the Royal Signals in Italy, he opened a market stall in Portobello Market selling antiques, later opening a shop in New King's Road.

By the end of the decade, his acting career in theatre had revived. His beautifully modulated voice made him a natural for radio. In 1954 he took over the role that he was to be associated with for over 50 years, recording Paul Temple and the Gilbert Case for the BBC. Temple was the creation of Francis Durbridge, a radio playwright, screenwriter and novelist. The suave amateur detective, a writer by trade, was accompanied on his action-packed adventures by his wife, Steve (played by Marjorie Westbury). Not the first actor to play the role (Temple had been appearing on wireless since 1938 and two movies had already been made), Coke was the definitive portrayal for many. 11 serials were broadcast between 1954 and 1968, disappearing from radio when the BBC turned Temple into a TV star in 1969 where he was played by Francis Matthews.

Paul Temple was no full-time job and Coke began writing as well as acting, his first play, Breath of Spring, performed in Cambridge in 1958; ten further plays followed. He also appeared on television and in movies but, increasingly, he became fascinated with shell sculpture, travelling widely to collect tiny shells from which he would create pictures. He moved to Sharrington Hall in north Norfolk and there is a gallery in Sheringham devoted to his work.

Paul Temple went through a revival in the late 1990s thanks to repeats of the show broadcast on BBC7. Nine surviving episodes have also been released on CD. A new version of the 1938 (pre-Coke) serial Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery was broadcast in 2006 with Crawford Logan playing Temple in very much the style of Peter Coke. The 93-year-old Coke was interviewed that same year on BBC7.

Obituaries: Daily Telegraph (1 August), The Independent (13 August), The Times (23 August); The Guardian (5 September).

Comic Cuts - 23 September 2011

I'm starting to sound like a stuck record, but I've little to report. Metadata is taking almost every waking moment and everything else is being squeezed into the wee hours of the morning. Correspondence is becoming more monosyllabic. I've only managed to read about thirty pages of the novel I'm reading since last Saturday, although I'm doing rather better with a John Le Carré audio book I downloaded [legally] on Tuesday. I'm about halfway through that. No artwork cleaning since Sunday, although I managed a few covers for today's random scans.

On the positive front, I now have most of the missing Doughty strips needed for the book I'm working on (a sample of which is this week's column header) and the little dummy I put together for another book arrived on Monday and was sent out again on Tuesday. Now it's down to wrangling permission from the copyright holder. I suspect it will be a while before I have any news.

More positive news: restocks of Eagles Over the Western Front are now in, so I can turn around orders a little quicker than I managed last week. Sales are still steady - I even had a couple of orders for the Hurricane/Champion index creep in. There's still a long way to go before I can start lighting cigars with rolled £50 notes, but I'm pleased with the way things are going. Keeping a tight rein on costs is paying off!

The latest issue of Jeff Hawke's Cosmos is another bumper package of stories and features. This issue runs to a magnificent 116 pages and contains four Jeff Hawke yarns: 'The Venusian Club' (1967-68; written by Willie Patterson), 'Daughter of Eros' (1969; written by Syd Jordan), 'Survival' (1960; written by Willie Patterson) and 'Some Day I'll Find You' (1971; written by Syd Jordan). All have artwork by Syd Jordan, with assists from Colin Andrew and Nick Faure, and Syd even appears as himself to introduce the last story. There's also a bonus strip, 'The Devil at Rennes Le Chateau', which originally appeared in A1.

This issue also includes the usual notes on stories and astronomy by Duncan Lunan, plus Andrew Darlington's look back at the Martin Magus stories of William F. Temple, making up another winning package. With around 60 stories reprinted so far - this being the start of the magazine's 7th volume - it should soon be possible to read all of the Jeff Hawke yarns in order!

Subscriptions are £20 for 3 issues, which is excellent value for money, and you can get full details from editor William Rudling by e-mailing william@williamrudling.co.uk; for further details, check out the Jeff Hawke Club website.

Another excellent magazine that landed on our doormat this week  is The Paperback Fanatic, which has reached issue 20, something of a milestone, so congratulations to editor/publisher Justin Marriott (my own best effort at a regular fanzine, PBO, fizzled out after only 9 issues!). This issue is dubbed a Universal special, with most of the articles centred around the US publisher behind imprints Beacon, Award and, in the UK, Tandem and Softcover Library. After an overview, Justin pens a piece on softcore publisher Beacon Books, who published some interesting authors, usually tucked away behind pen-names, including hardboiled crime writers Charles Willeford and Peter Rabe and collectable porn writer Orrie Hitt, who is the subject of another article in this issue. Softcover Library and Tandem's Dollars westerns round out the issue nicely, while a selection of Beacon original artwork and a gallery of Tandem science fantasy novels both make good use of the colour printing.

Justin is considering various options about how The Paperback Fanatic is to be formatted in the future, so for the latest subscription details it's probably best to contact him directly at thepaperbackfanatic@sky.com.

I promised last week that I would dig out the remaining two covers that Carlo Jacono did for Badger Books and, true to my word, here they are. Both are from the 'floating head' school of cover art which Badger regular Henry Fox also liked.

Today's random scans... well, as I was talking about Francis Durbridge and his novels the other week, I thought I'd dig out a couple of covers. The first is a Paul Temple novel that originally appeared not as by Francis Durbridge but as by Paul Temple (Hodder & Stoughton, 1957). 'Paul Temple' was the joint pen-name of Durbridge and James Douglas Rutherford McConnell, who usually wrote under the pen-name Douglas Rutherford, and was used on two novels, the other being East of Algiers (Hodder & Stoughton, 1959; Hodder paperback 1960).

Next up is The Scarf (Hodder & Stoughton, 1960; Hodder paperback 1962), based on a six-part TV series by Durbridge broadcast in 1959. Note that the cover again says "Francis Durbridge presents..." rather than the usual form of byline. Were Durbridge's non-Temple novels also ghosted by other hands?

And, finally, another Paul Temple adventure, this one definitely ghosted (by Tony Hussey).

One thing I find very surprising about Francis Durbridge: you don't see many of his books around. I appreciate that charity shops have no time for pre-decimal books these days, but you would think that the Paul Temple novels at least would have sold in numbers great enough for copies to still trickle in occasionally. But that's not the case around here. I haven't seen a second hand copy in years.

Talking of Paul Temple... the latest mystery will be continuing next week while I get my nose back to the grindstone. I'm planning to get a couple of early nights, so we'll just have to wait and see if I can post anything else. Fingers crossed.

Paul Temple and the Affair of the Tired Tiger part 1

I'm very pleased to be able to present another Paul Temple yarn, which has been sent over by a reader from Holland. I believe this one predates the strips that have appeared here previously. Unfortunately, none of the strips I've seen have been dated, although the language and general style have been late 1960s. There was a conscious effort in some of the later strips to alter the look of Paul Temple so that he became Francis Matthews, who was starring in the Paul Temple TV series from 1969, so that places those particular strips towards the end of the run, say circa 1970. This one might be from around 1966, although that's a very rough estimate.

The artist is John McNamara and the writer is credited as Francis Durbridge, although I suspect that he had nothing to do with the scripting; most of the Paul Temple novels were ghosted for Durbridge by various hands (Charles Hatton, Douglas Rutherford (McConnell) and Tony Hussey).

(* © Evening News)

T. C. H. Jacobs

T. C. H. Jacobs was a man of many identities. As a writer he used various noms-de-plume: when writing Westerns he was Tom Curtis and Penn Dower; for romances he became Kathleen Carstairs, Helen Howard, Marilyn Pender or Anne Penn; in Holland he was known as Lex Pender (a name not otherwise used); and for one memorable novel he became James Stagg, actually a real author whose own novel was pulled suddenly and, rather than waste a cover, one by Jacobs' was substituted. In real life he was born Thomas Curtis Hicks Jacobs but was known to many as Jacques Pendower and, legally, became Thomas Curtis Hicks Pendower in January 1941.

Yet it was under his birth name that he is still best known. The byline T. C. H. Jacobs appeared on over 50 novels between 1930 and 1972, including the Temple Fortune series of private eye yarns as well as more traditional police procedurals featuring Chief Inspector Barnard and, separately, Detective Superintendant John Bellamy. It would be wrong to say that Jacobs is well known today and he has few collectors but at least one of his novels—a Temple Fortune yarn—was reprinted in the famous green livery of Penguin's crime paperbacks.

As Jacques Pendower he wrote another private eye series featuring Slade McGinty and, anonymously, he is reputed to have written scores of Dixon Hawke tales for D. C. Thomson. Bill Lofts credited him as "one of D. C. Thomson Group's leading Dixon Hawke writers", and said that he had written the bulk of the stories that appeared in the Dixon Hawke Casebooks, although I've yet to find any hard evidence of the fact. His contributions to the Hawke saga in the pages of Adventure remain equally elusive, although a collection of Jacobs' papers records one manuscript title ("The Double Trail") and notes that Jacobs corresponded with David Gilchrist, the editor of Adventure, in January 1929 to January 1930, developing a Dixon Hawke serial which was eventually not published.

Even without this huge anonymous output, Jacobs was still a prolific writer: the bibliography below lists some 110 novels, plus other works and that is likely to be only scratching the surface. Jacobs himself claimed to have written over 180 novels, although some of these may be serials for magazines such as Miracle. He also wrote short stories, non-fiction and features for newspapers and magazines, plays for the BBC, and comic strips and various juvenile series for children.

Thomas Curtis Hicks Jacobs was born in Plymouth, Devon, on 30 December 1899, the son of Robert Jacobs (a printer and paper merchant who was also an artist) and his wife Mary Thomas (neé Hicks), who had married in 1895. Jacobs was educated at Grammar School in Plymouth and was a keen storyteller from an early age: at the age of eight he produced his own, self-illustrated collection entitled The Children's Book of Stories. He continued to entertain himself with writing during his childhood and was still only sixteen when his first published work appeared in the Western Weekly News.

Jacobs served in the 15th London Regiment from 1917 and, in 1918, was wounded in action and taken prisoner. He escaped and remained with the Army as a second lieutenant until he was demobilized in 1921.

After the war, Jacobs joined the civil service revenue department as a revenue investigating officer. Jacobs was married to Muriel May Newbury on 1 June 1925 and a son, John, was born in 1927. He sold his first novel—written, he later recalled, through "economic necessity"—to A. J. Rhodes, the editor of the Weekly Western News, in 1928, as well as writing articles about the landscapes and traditions of Dartmoor and its surroundings for the same paper in 1928-29. For the next twenty years, Jacobs would write at night whilst continuing to serve with the Inland Revenue.

In the 1930s, he contributed anonymously to the D. C. Thomson boys' papers Rover and Wizard and also to the rival Amalgamated Press paper Triumph. After the Second World War, he continued to supply tales to A.P.'s comics, including serials featuring the character Hamilton Edward Shakespeare and Buffalo Bill to Knockout and Tough Tempest to Sun. He also turned his pen to writing comic strips and created two characters for the A.P.'s Australian line of comics, Thunderbolt Jaxon and Battling Samson.

His novel Traitor Spy was filmed at Welwyn Studios in 1939 by Rialto Productions with Bruce Cabot and Marta Labarr as a pair of British agents who have tracked down a spy working in an anti-submarine patrol boat factory; the film featured Edward Lexy as Pendower's character Inspector Barnard and was released in the USA as The Torso Murder Mystery.

Pendower, as he was now called, left the Inland Revenue in 1950 to write full-time and penned numerous short stories for the Boy's Own Paper, Evening News, Edgar Wallace Magazine, Argosy, Parade, Escort, Master Detective and others in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, as well as contributing comic strip scripts to Cowboy Adventure Library, Western Adventure Library and Combat Library in around 1963. He also wrote a Sexton Blake novel which was revised by James Stagg and published under the latter’s name in 1957 when the directors decided that the novels appearing in the Sexton Blake Library under Howard Baker's editorship were too strong for Blake's supposed young audience. One of the novels already announced was Panic in the Night by James Stagg. It was pulled and a novel Pendower had submitted appeared in its place, although still under Stagg's title and byline.

In 1953, he became a founding member of the Crime Writers Association and served as chairman in 1960-61. He was also a member of the Society of Civil Service Authors, the Press Club, the Radio and Television Guild, the Society of Authors and the Bexley Rotary Club.

Pendower lived in Bexley, Kent, for much of his life and died in 1976.

PUBLICATIONS

Novels (series: Chief Inspector Barnard; Det. Supt. John Bellamy; Temple Fortune; Whip McCord; Jim Malone; Mike Seton)
The Terror of Torlands. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1930.
The Bronkhorst Case. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1931; as Documents of Murder, New York, The Macaulay Company, 1933.
Scorpion's Trail (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1932; New York, The Macaulay Company, 1934.
The Kestrel House Mystery (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1932; New York, The Macaulay Company, 1933.
Sinister Quest (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1934; New York, The Macaulay Company, 1936; as Die 7 Morde des Mr. X by Lex Pender, Amsterdam, Mertens & Stappaerts, 1954.
The 13th Chime (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1935; New York, The Macaulay Company, 1936.
Silent Terror (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1936; New York, The Macaulay Company, 1937.
Appointment with the Hangman. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1936; New York, The Macaulay Company, 1936.
The Laughing Men (Barnard). London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1937.
Identity Unknown (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1938.
Traitor Spy (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1939.
Brother Spy (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1940.
The Broken Knife (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1941.
The Grensen Murder Case (Bellamy). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1943.
Reward for Treason (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1944.
The Black Box (Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1946.
The Curse of Khatra (Bellamy). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1947.
With What Motive? (Bellamy). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1948.
Dangerous Fortune (Fortune). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1949.
The Red Eyes of Kali (Fortune/Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1950; as Die roten Augen des Kali by Lex Pender, Amsterdam, Mertens & Stappaerts, 1954.
Texas Stranger. London, Amalgamated Press (Western Library 6), Jun 1950.
Lock the Door, Mademoiselle (Fortune). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1951.
Blood and Sun-Tan (Fortune). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1952.
Lady, What's Your Game? (Fortune). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1952.
Guns for Hire. London, Amalgamated Press (Western Library 59), Sep 1952.
Lone Adventure (McCord). London, Amalgamated Press (Western Library 75), May 1953.
No Sleep for Elsa (Fortune). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1953.
Perilous Quest. London, Amalgamated Press (Western Library 90), Dec 1953.
Danger Riders (McCord). London, Amalgamated Press (Western Library 92), Jan 1954.
The Fourth Man. London, Amalgamated Press (Western Library 105), Aug 1954.
The Woman Who Waited. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1954.
Good Knight, Sailor (Fortune). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1954.
Death in the Mews (Fortune/Barnard). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1955.
Results of an Accident (Bellamy). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1955.
Cause for Suspicion. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1956.
Broken Alibi (Bellamy). London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1957; New York, Roy Publishers, 1957.
Deadly Race (Fortune). London, John Long, 1958.
Black Trinity (Bellamy). London, John Long, 1959.
Women Are Like That (Fortune/Bellamy). London, Robert Hale, 1960.
Let Him Stay Dead (Malone). London, Robert Hale, 1961.
The Tattooed Man. London, Robert Hale, 1961.
Target for Terror (Seton/Fortune). London, Robert Hale, 1961.
The Red Net (Malone). London, Robert Hale, 1962.
Murder Market (Fortune). London, Robert Hale, 1962.
The Secret Power. London, Robert Hale, 1963.
Danger Money (Fortune). London, Robert Hale, 1963.
The Elusive Monsieur Drago (Seton). London, Robert Hale, 1964.
Final Payment (Fortune). London, Hale, Robert 1965.
Ashes in the Cellar (Fortune). London, Hale, 1966.
Sweet Poison (Fortune). London, Hale, 1966.
Death of a Scoundrel (Fortune). London, Hale, 1967.
Wild Week-End (Fortune). London, Robert Hale, 1967.
House of Horror (Fortune). London, Hale, 1969.
The Black Devil (Fortune). London, Hale, 1969.
Security Risk. London, Hale, 1972.

Novels as Kathleen Carstairs
It Began in Spain. London, John Gresham, 1960.
Third Time Lucky. London, John Gresham, 1962.
Shadows of Love. London, John Gresham, 1966.

Novels as Tom Curtis
Bandit Gold. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1953.
Gunman's Glory. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1954.
Trail End. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1954.
Frontier Mission. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1955.
Border Justice. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1955.
Ride and Seek. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1957.
Phantom Marshal. London, John Long, 1957.
Gun Business. London, John Long, 1958.
Lone Star Law. London, John Long, 1959.

Novels as Penn Dower (series: Brett Malone)
Long Star Ranger. London, John Long, 1952.
Bret Malone, Texas Marshal (Malone). London, John Long, 1953.
Gunsmoke Over Alba. London, John Long, 1953.
Texas Stranger. London, John Long, 1954.
Indian Moon. London, John Long, 1954.
Malone Rides In (Malone). London, John Long, 1955.
Two-Gun Marshal. London, John Long, 1956.
Desperate Venture. London, John Long, 1956.
Guns in Vengeance. London, John Long, 1957.
Frontier Marshal. London, John Long, 1958.
Bandit Brothers. London, Four Square Books, 1964.

Novels as Helen Howard
Poisoned Love. London, John Gresham, 1960.
Ladder of Love. London, John Gresham, 1966.

Novels as Marilyn Pender
The Devouring Flame. London, John Gresham, 1960.
A Question of Loyalty. London, John Gresham, 1961.
The Golden Vision. London, John Gresham, 1962.
Rebel Nurse. London, John Gresham, 1962.
Dangerous Love. London, John Gresham, 1966.

Novels as Jacques Pendower (series: Slade McGinty)
Hunted Woman. London & Melbourne, Ward, Lock & Co., 1955.
The Dark Avenue. London & Melbourne, Ward, Lock & Co., 1955.
Mission in Tunis. London, Robert Hale, 1958; New York, Paperback Library, 1967.
The Long Shadow. London, Robert Hale, 1959.
Double Diamond. London, Robert Hale, 1959.
Anxious Lady. London, Robert Hale, 1960.
The Widow from Spain. London, Robert Hale, 1961; as Betrayed, New York, Paperback Library, 1967.
Death on the Moor. London, Robert Hale, 1962.
The Perfect Wife (McGinty). London, Robert Hale, 1962.
Operation Carlo (McGinty). London, Robert Hale, 1963.
Sinister Talent (McGinty). London, Robert Hale, 1964.
Master Spy (McGinty). London, Robert Hale, 1964.
Spy Business. London, Robert Hale, 1965.
Out of This World. London, Hale, 1966.
Traitor's Island (McGinty). London, Hale, 1967.
Try Anything Once. London, Hale, 1967.
A Trap for Fools. London, Robert Hale, 1968.
The Golden Statuette. London, Hale, 1969.
Diamonds for Danger. London, Hale, 1970.
She Came by Night. London, Hale, 1971.
Cause for Alarm. London, Hale, 1971.
Date with Fear. London, Hale, 1974.

Novels as Anne Penn
Dangerous Delusion. London, John Gresham, 1960.
Prove Your Love. London, John Gresham, 1961.
Mystery Patient. London, John Gresham, 1966.

Novels as James Stagg [revised by James Stagg]
Panic in the Night. London, Amalgamated Press (SBL 3/377), Mar 1957.

Collections published anonymously
Note: Jacobs was reputedly the primary author of the Dixon Hawke Casebook but it is certain that other authors contributed stories.
Dixon Hawke Casebook. Dundee, D. C. Thomson, 20 vols., 1938-52.

Non-fiction
Cavalcade of Murder. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1955.
Pageant of Murder. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1956.
Aspects of Murder. London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1956.

Radio Plays
The Grensen Murder Case (BBC).

Paul Temple and the Runaway Knight part 1

A new week, a new strip. We've not seen anything from Paul Temple for a while; I've run two full-length Paul Temple strips here in the past - still available here - and I'm pleased to say that I have at least one more on file. The artist is John McNamara, a fine New Zealand artist about whom I wrote a biographical sketch over on the Illustration Art Gallery blog.

(* © Evening News)

Paul Temple in Order to View part 1

A new year, a new strip. I was lucky enough to be able to run a full Paul Temple strip back in November/December ('Paul Temple in Death Sitting Down', which you can find here, although you'll have to work your way from the bottom of the page up to read them in the correct order). And here we have another one. Not sure when this dates from, although some time in the 1960s. The artist is John McNamara, a fine New Zealand artist about whom I wrote a biographical sketch over on the Illustration Art Gallery blog.

OK, that's enough introduction... on with the action...

(* © Evening News)

Francis Matthews (1927-2014)

The actor Francis Matthews died on Saturday at the age of 86. Although he had a lengthy career in film and on stage, Matthews was best known for playing the role of Paul Temple and the voice of Captain Scarlet on TV.

Both characters also had lengthy careers in comics and the Paul Temple strip was greatly influenced by the 52-episode TV series broadcast in 1969-71. Artist John McNamara gradually revised the look of the character in the daily strip to look a little more like the Matthews, as can be seen in the example below from the 1970 serial 'Paul Temple and the Groomgate Killer'. Steve was also given a makeover and was styled after actress Ros Drinkwater, who appeared opposite Matthews in the TV show.

Obituaries: The Guardian (15 June 2014), Daily Telegraph (16 June 2014), The Independent (18 June 2014).

Temple Magazine

The Temple Magazine v.1 no.1

I wonder if anybody can account for ideas? They seem to float about like thistledown in autumn winds, and to drop anywhere at haphazard. Whether they take root or not depends on many circumstances. It would be almost impossible to explain the genesis of The Temple Magazine. I do not know when the idea first suggested itself. I know it grew very slowly at first, and has taken many months to ripen. It is quite true that there seems almost a surfeit of magazines in the field, but it is also true that no other new venture is on precisely the same lines. This is intended as a magazine for the home, the church, and the school—a magazine that may be read on the Sunday and week-day alike, and will be of interest to all classes and demoninations. It will not be narrow or sectarian or goody-goody. It will be broad, tolerant, strong and devout. Nothing will be admitted to its pages that could offend the moral sensibilities of anyone. It shall be healthy and helpful and entertaining from the first page to the last.
__This is said in no spirit of boasting. The services of the best and most healthy writers of the day have been secured, and their ripest work will appear from month to month. If money and brains can ensure success, The Temple Magazine will stand in the forefront. We do not pretend that the present number is the best that can be produced. Everyone who has the smallest acquaintance with journalism knows that in the production of a new magazine legions of initial difficulties have to be overcome. The launching of a new magazine is like the launching of a new vessel. A thousand things have to be done that will not need doing a second time. When the barque is once afloat, the voyages can be run with comparative ease.From time to time new features will be introduced that will make The Temple Magazine still more attractive. But we are not without hope that the present number will give satisfaction to everyone who knows how to appreciate a good article, and will be a sufficient guarantee of what is to come. The special features deserve more than a passing word. The series of Illustrated Life Stories should be prove of exceptional interest. They are not mere interviews; they are much more than that. They are terse, vivid, and up-to-date biographies; giving in the smallest reasonable compass all the salient features in the lives of the individuals named. The name of Mrs. Tooley will be sufficient guarantee of the character of the workmanship as well as of the accuracy of the details. In every case her information will be first-hand, special facilities having been granted her for this series of Life Stories. This is true also of the series of articles under the head of “Churches That Live and Move.” In each case a special visit will be paid by a representative of The Temple Magazine, who will thus write from actual observation, and only such information will be inserted as likely to be of general interest.
__I think it a happy circumstance that the services of Dr. Parker have been secured for what may be regarded as the strictly religious portion of the magazine. Month by month in “The Home Service” he will give us the best of his heart and brain. And all who have felt the reverance of prayer, and caught glimpses of the deeper meanings of God’s truth, will be thankful for those practical, profound, and deeply spiritual expositions.
__We are quite anticipating also that “The Temple Parliament” will awaken more than a passing interest. The subjects that may be discussed are almost numberless; nor need they all be of a serious order. Subjects gay as well as grave may find a place. And since each writer will look at the matter under discussion from his own standpoint, the diversity of opinions expressed should not only be exceedingly entertaining, but highly instructive. That “The Home Department,” under the able editorship of “Phyllis Browne,” will be of great value goes without saying. Nothing of interest to mothers and daughters, and housewives generally, but will have a place in this department, and may have the fullest discussion.

Published by Horace J. Marshall & Son, Temple House, Temple Avenue, E.C., Temple Magazine was the brainchild of Silas K. Hocking and published (according to the cover) in a first edition of 100,000 copies.

The Gambling Curse was the subject of the first Temple Parliament, with brief contributions by W. E. Gladstone, Rev. T. Vincent Tymms, Hon. and Rev. E. Lyttelton, Dr. R. F. Horton, John Hawke (secretary of the Anti-Gambling League) and Frederick A. Atkins (founder of the League). Atkins, it would seem, was the actual editor of the paper rather than Hocking (this according to Mike Ashley's The Age of the Storytellers. Atkins was also editor of other magazines for Horace Marshall, including The Young Man and Young Woman.

The second issue was set to include a new stories by Gilbert Parker (‘A Worker In Stone’), Jean Barlow (‘M’Neill’s Tiger-Sheep’), Mary A. Dickens (‘Not In Vain’) plus articles by Mrs. S. A. Tooley (‘Life Story of Hugh Price Hughes’) plus a lively discussion on the topic of “Should Sensible Women Follow the Fashions?”.

Temple Magazine ran for a total of 84 issues, coming to an end with the September 1903 issue.

Contents:

The Temple Magazine [v1 #1, October 1896] (6d, 80pp, cover by ?)
1 * Couch, A. T. Quiller * The Lady of the Red Admirals * ss; illus. Chris Hammond
7 * Tooley, Sarah A. * The Life Story of Dean Farrar * ar
18 * Gould, S. Baring * From Death to Life * ss; illus. Sydney Cowell
25 * Maclaren, Ian * A Right Appreciation of Riches * ar
28 * Hocking, Silas K. * In Spite of Fate [Part 1 of ?] * sl; illus. Florence Reason
41 * Porritt, Arthur * Churches That Live and Move I—Union Chapel, Manchester * ar
47 * Carey, Rosa Nouchette * Sir Galahad * ss; illus. Arthur Twidle
53 * Gale, Norman * Autumnal Beauty * pm; illus. Thos. Greenhalgh
54 * Haweis, Rev. H. R. * Marie Corelli As I Knew Her * ar
57 * Leslie, Marion * Round and About Sadringham * ar
65 * [Misc. Material] * Preachers in Their Pulpits I—Canon Scott Holland at St. Paul’s * il; illus. Will Morgan
66 * Parker, Joseph * The Home Service * ar
70 * Hocking, Silas K. * Round the Study Fire * ed
74 * Browne, Phyllis * Our Home Department * ms
78 * [Misc. Material] * The Temple Parliament * ms

John McNamara

A self-portrait of the artist, lighting a pipe, a globe showing travel between Woking (England) and Wellington (New Zealand) to one side

John Joseph McNamara, born 20 April 1918, began his artistic career as a teenager around 1934, drawing caricatures of film, sporting and local personalities for numerous New Zealand publications, including Paramount Theatre of Stars (1935), Standard (1936), Radio Record, New Zealand Sporting Life and Referee, Junior for NZ, Boys and Girls (1937-38), Clarion (1938), Cappicade (1937-39) and Katipo (1940). By the late 1930s he was also a political cartoonist working regularly for the Southern Cross where his work continued to appear until at least 1951.

He drew hundreds of caricatures and illustrations of famous sporting figures of the era including footballers Jim Taylor, Jack Lee, Neil Franklin and Dennis Compton, rugby players Morrie Doyle, Billy Wallace, Stan Dean, Ken Jones, boxers Cyril Hurne, Time Tracy, Eddie Thomas and Don Cockell, golfer Zoe Hudson, snooker world champion Joe Davis, cricketers Freddie Brown and Len Hutton, jockeys Lester Piggott and Gordon Richards and others, including illustrations of the 1948 Olympic team and a series of portraits of rugby players involved in New Zealand's 1949 tour of South Africa.

At the same time he continued to draw political cartoons for Southern Cross and New Zealand Listener, including aspects of the 1949 election in which Peter Fraser was defeated by Sidney Holland. McNamara was critical of the latter's links with the British Conservatives.

McNamara travelled to the UK in March 1950 at the age of 31 and found work on British newspapers. Although the full extent of his work over here is unknown, he appears to have found work fairly quickly. Two early strips -- possibly both published in the Daily Herald -- featured "Bats" Belfry, which had a horse racing background and involved bet setting and detective work, and an adaptaion of C. S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower. McNamara also found work with Amalgamated Press drawing issues of Thriller Comics, ranging from adaptations of Westward Ho!, The Red Badge of Courage and Hopalong Cassidy to the adventures of Dick Turpin and Robin Hood.

In 1958, McNamara took over the artwork for Francis Durbridge's "Paul Temple" comic strip, which had been appearing regularly in the London Evening News since 1950, originally drawn by Alfred Sindall and subsequently by others.

McNamara drew the popular strip until it came to an end on 1 May 1971, during which time Paul Temple underwent a change in appearance so that the character in the newspaper resembled Francis Matthews, who played Temple in the BBC TV series (1969-71). The strip came to an end shortly after the TV show's third season finished.

McNamara died in Surrey in February 2001, aged 82.

Artwork for sale at the Illustration Art Gallery by John McNamara can be found here.

(* The portrait of McNamara is from the archive of the National Library of New Zealand.)

Spitting Image The Giant Komic Book

Spitting Image The Giant Komik Book (Pyramid Books, 1988, 96pp, £4.95; Cover by David Stoten/John Burns/Alex Evans)
* [Misc. Material] * (adverts) * ms
1 * [Misc. Material] * Contents * ms; illus. Pablo Bach
1 * [Comic Strip] * Robert Maxwell: There's Nothing He Can Do About This One * cs; art by David Stoten
2 * [Comic Strip] * Cecil * cs; art by David Stoten
2 * [Comic Strip] * Amazing! * ia; art by Colin Hadley
2 * [Comic Strip] * Mr Rentaquote! He'll say absolutely anything! * cs; art by Oscar Zarate
2 * [Misc. Material] * (Animated Stamp) * ms; art by Neville Astley
3 * [Comic Strip] * Restaurant Review with John Hurt * cs; art by Graham Humphries
4 * [Comic Strip] * Talkative Taffy Kinnock - The Welshman Who Talks A Lot! * cs; art by David Stoten
4 * [Comic Strip] * Make Yourself Look Like the Famous: Ronald Reagan * cs; art by David Haldane
4 * [Comic Strip] * Dr Owen He's All Alowen * cs; art by Tim Watts
5 * [Comic Strip] * 'Killer' Killer of the Seas * cs; art by Johnny Johnstone
6 * [Misc. Material] * Mifter Gillray'f Deadlieft Sinf: Avarice * il; illus. Gerald Scarfe
6 * [Comic Strip] * Once Upon a Time... * cs; art by Paul Stone
6 * [Comic Strip] * The Annabel Croft Tennis Coach Course * cs; art by Steve Dillon
6 * [Misc. Material] * On the Couch * ct; illus. Paul Cemmick
7 * [Comic Strip] * Two Gun Ron's Cowboy Code * cs; art by Paul Cemmick
8 * [Comic Strip] * Ray of the Receivers * cs; art by Steve Dillon
11 * [Photo Comic Strip] * The Lover * cs; illus. photos
12 * [Comic Strip] * Moggy! * cs; art by Mark Draisey
12 * [Comic Strip] * Dr Owen He's All Alowen * cs; art by Tim Watts
12 * [Comic Strip] * Kurt Waldheim - He's Lost His Memory * cs; art by Pablo Bach
13 * [Comic Strip] * Geoffrey Howe's Wet Dream * cs; art by Rowen Clifford
14 * [Misc. Material] * Inside Sellafield: An Exploded View * il; illus. John Lawson & Geoff Sims
16 * [Comic Strip] * Professor Braindrain The Mad Inventor * cs; art by Ionicus
17 * [Comic Strip] * Merchandisors: Battle for the Pocket Money * cs; art by Lee Sullivan
22 * [Comic Strip] * Once Upon a Time... * cs; art by Mark Draisey
22 * [Misc. Material] * On the Couch * ct; illus. Paul Cemmick
22 * [Comic Strip] * Dr Owen He's All Alowen * cs; art by Tim Watts
23 * [Comic Strip] * Little Ridley The Problem Kidley * cs; art by Graham Thompson
24 * [Comic Strip] * The Crazy Psychedelic World of Frank Bough * cs; art by Neville Smith
24 * [Comic Strip] * Make Yourself Look Like the Famous: Bob Monkhouse * cs; art by David Haldane
24 * [Comic Strip] * How to Make Your Garden Beautiful * cs; art by Steve Dillon
25 * [Comic Strip] * The Sheens * cs; art by Pablo Bach
26 * [Comic Strip] * Great Bible Tories: The Moneylenders and the Temple * cs; art by Steve Bendelack
27 * [Comic Strip] * The Druggies * cs; art by Harry North
27 * [Comic Strip] * How to Play Bowls * cs; art by Steve Dillon
27 * [Misc. Material] * On the Couch * ct; illus. Paul Cemmick
27 * [Comic Strip] * Once Upon a Time... * cs; art by Mark Draisey
28 * [Misc. Material] * The Ian Botham Inflight Safety Manual * ia
28 * [Misc. Material] * Wonders of the World No.9: Robert Robinson's Hair * ia; illus. Pablo Bach
29 * [Comic Strip] * Network Seven * cs; art by Pablo Bach
30 * [Comic Strip] * Terry's Toupee - When Wogan's Wig Gets Ahead He Comes Unstuck! * cs; art by Ian Jackson
32 * [Comic Strip] * A Week in Politics: December 2019 AD * cs; art by Brett Ewins
33 * [Comic Strip] * Doctor Finley's Chequebook * cs; art by Phil Gascoine
34 * [Comic Strip] * The Adventures of God - The Ultimate Super-hero * cs; art by Steve Dillon
36 * [Comic Strip] * The Weather Men - They Haven't a Clue! * cs; art by Pablo Bach
37 * [Misc. Material] * Construct Your Own Cher * ms; illus. Pablo Bach
38 * [Comic Strip] * No-Head Robson * cs; art by David Stoten
40 * [Comic Strip] * Jacko - He's Wacko! * cs; art by Oscar Zarate
41 * [Comic Strip] * (Talking Bollocks) * cs; art by Charles Peattie
41 * [Comic Strip] * The England Cricket Team - They're Completely Innocent! * cs; art by Arthur Robins
41 * [Comic Strip] * (Sheep) * cs; art by Arthur Robins
41 * [Misc. Material] * Amazing * ia; art by Colin Hadley
42 * [Misc. Material] * How Royal Are You? * qz; illus. Pablo Bach
42 * [Comic Strip] * Battle Picture Library: Codename Conquest! * cs; art by Tony McSweeney
44 * [Comic Strip] * In the Bowels of Fortress Wapping * cs; art by David Stoten
46 * [Misc. Material] * Construct Your Own Sitcom * ms; illus. Pablo Bach
48 * [Misc. Material] * 8 Amazing Political Facts * ia; illus. Tim Watts
50 * Anon. * Short Story * ss; illus. Janet Woolley
51 * [Comic Strip] * The Fat Chats * cs; art by Paul Cemmick
52 * [Comic Strip] * Deathwish: The Last Sequel * cs; art by Graham Humphries
53 * [Comic Strip] * The Further Adventures of Talkative Taffy - The Welshman with the Galloping Gob! * cs; art by David Stoten
54 * [Misc. Material] * Mrs Thatcher's Heaven * il; illus. Steve Bell; scr. by Dave Austin
56 * [Comic Strip] * Dr Owen He's All Alowen * cs; art by Tim Watts
56 * [Comic Strip] * Make Yourself Look Like the Famous: Andrew Lloyd Webber * cs; art by David Haldane
56 * [Comic Strip] * Johnny Onejoke * cs; art by David Stoten
57 * Anon. * How to be the Queen * ar
58 * [Comic Strip] * Judge Deaf * cs; art by Brett Ewins
60 * [Misc. Material] * The Chunnel: Wonder of the World * ia; illus. John Lawson & Geoff Sims
62 * [Comic Strip] * The Art of Sumo Wrestling * cs; art by Steve Dillon
62 * [Misc. Material] * Mifter Gillray'f Deadlieft Sinf: Pride or Vanity * il; illus. Gerald Scarfe
63 * [Comic Strip] * Oliver Reed in Tales of the Unexpected * cs; art by David Haldane
64 * [Comic Strip] * Fat & Useless * cs; art by Pablo Bach
65 * [Comic Strip] * Tumtum and the Forged Expenses * cs; art by Rian Hughes
68 * [Comic Strip] * Professor Pessary's Science Corner * cs; art by Simon Cooper
68 * [Comic Strip] * The Runcies * cs; art by David Stoten
68 * [Misc. Material] * Pomposity on Two * ct; illus. David Stoten
69 * [Misc. Material] * The Grovelage Royale * ia; illus. Paul Slater
70 * [Comic Strip] * Smashits * cs; art by Banx
72 * [Misc. Material] * Mifter Gillray'f Deadlieft Sinf: Wrath * il; illus. Gerald Scarfe
72 * [Comic Strip] * Even More Adventures of Talkative Taffy - The Welshman with the Big Mouth! * cs; art by David Stoten
73 * [Comic Strip] * Stranger Than Fiction * cs; art by Tony Joswick
76 * [Misc. Material] * Amazing * ia; art by Colin Hadley
76 * [Comic Strip] * Dr Owen He's All Alowen * cs; art by Tim Watts
76 * [Comic Strip] * Wimbledon: The Complete Coaching Course * cs; art by Steve Dillon
77 * [Comic Strip] * Geoffrey Howe's Bad Dream * cs; art by Hunt Emerson
78 * [Misc. Material] * Mifter Gillray'f Deadlieft Sinf: Sloth * il; illus. Gerald Scarfe
78 * [Comic Strip] * Make Yourself Look Like the Famous: Leon Brittan * cs; art by David Haldane
78 * [Comic Strip] * Once Upon a Time... * cs; art by Paul Stone
79 * [Comic Strip] * Noel Edmonds Speaking... * cs; art by Paul Cemmick
80 * [Comic Strip] * Voices in my Ear, Punters in my Lap, Dosh in my Pocket * cs; art by Charles Griffin
82 * [Photo Comic Strip] * You Don't Have To Say You Love Me * cs; illus. photos
83 * [Comic Strip] * The Impossible Journey - A Jeffrey Archer Adventure * cs; art by Harry North
87 * [Misc. Material] * The Art of Horsedrawn Carriage Eventing * ia; illus. Paul Semple
88 * [Comic Strip] * Beirut Force * cs; art by Brett Ewins
89 * [Comic Strip] * They Came from Outer Space * cs; art by Banx
90 * [Comic Strip] * Not Much Cop: Norris Dimbleby - Lawman of Tomorrow * cs; art by John Higgins
92 * [Comic Strip] * Glasnost Belongs To Me * cs; art by John Watson
93 * [Comic Strip] * Stories from the Movies: Rocky-18 * cs; art by Graham Humphries
94 * [Comic Strip] * Dr Owen He's All Alowen * cs; art by Tim Watts
94 * [Misc. Material] * Frank Bruno Jigsaw * il; illus. Graham Humphries
94 * [Misc. Material] * On the Couch * ct; illus. Paul Cemmick
94 * [Misc. Material] * Kissogram for Mr Jesus * ct; illus. Arthur Robins
95 * [Comic Strip] * Major Fergie The Right Royal *@X!?! * cs; art by Paul Sample
 * [Misc. Material] * Face Masks * ms; illus. David Hughes

Paul Temple: Light Fingers

This is the only Paul Temple short story that I've been able to discover. It's a spot-the-clue story and, for fun, I'm going to delay publishing the solution until tomorrow... see if you can work out how Paul resolved the case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(* © Associated Newspapers.)

"How I Created Paul Temple" by Francis Durbridge

Following on from yesterday's post on the Paul Temple Library, we present the rear-cover features that appeared on the first two issues.

(* My thanks to Keith Chapman who sent these over.)

Paul Temple and the Erasers part 1

It's that time of year... in fact a little later than usual to start our Christmas trek through another serial featuring crime novelist and amateur detective Paul Temple and his delightful wife, Steve. We will be running a few episodes every day over Christmas and into the New Year, so if you need to get away from the kids, or the TV, or just need a couple of minutes of calm, you can pop by Bear Alley and read the latest episodes.

The art is by John McNamara, who had been drawing the strip for 12 years by the time this serial appeared in 1966. I don't know who was writing the strip but it probably wasn't Francis Durbridge, who wasn't even writing the novels at that point.

Anyway, here's episode one... enjoy!

Paul Temple and Project Deep Plunge part 28

(* © Evening News)

Paul Temple takes a break for the next two days but will return on Friday.

Paul Temple and the Great Jewel Robbery part 1

As promised, here's another Paul Temple adventure for your delectation and, hopefully, delight. As with the previous series, I'll be running these Monday through Friday with a break at the weekend so I get a chance to post a cover gallery or some bits of random research rather than doing what I'm supposed to be doing, which is working on the next book. We've all got to have a break some time.

Now, on with the show...

(* © Evening News)

Comic Cuts - 3 June 2011

Well, May wasn't the best of months, was it? Problems with the computer have made it a pretty stressful few weeks; although it's working at this precise moment, it has struggled to boot up on a couple of mornings and I thought it had gone to silicon heaven after the (brief) power cut we had on Wednesday. I'm a bit fearful that one day very soon it isn't going to boot up at all, so I'm investigating the price of a new machine and seeing how that balances out against the size of my bank account.

The month did at least end on a relaxing note as we headed off to the May Fair and sat in a crowded field (see photo above) watching local bands playing and soaking up the sunshine. We didn't stay for the whole event but saw a few good bands that I'd be happy to see again - I'm terrible with names but two that I can remember were Out of  Nowhere (photo below; there's a rather poor video of them here on YouTube) and The Charley Bird Band.

Apparently there was some trouble, according to the local paper, although this seems to have involved a bunch of drunks. Three arrests and nothing like the 200-300 causing trouble that one of the papers reported.

Bear Alley Books News: The second volume of Eagles Over the Western Front will shortly be back from the printers and I will be shipping pre-ordered copies out next week. I'll post a note when they start going out. If you haven't ordered your copy yet, follow this link.

The revision of The Mike Western Story is moving on apace. There's an awful lot of digging involved and I'm reading through some quite substantial runs of strips; plus there's a lot of scanning and cleaning up examples of his many strips and covers. Although I'm working on it every chance that I get, it is still going to take me some weeks to get the bulk of the text together and after that I've still got to lay out the pages. At the moment I'm still looking for a suitable cover image.

If anyone has sketches drawn by Mike or original artwork, please drop me a line. My e-mail address is top left, just below the photo.

Gordon Davies cover? I had an enquiry from someone who has recently bought a piece of original artwork by the fabulous Gordon Davies. It certainly looks like a piece of wraparound cover art to me, but can anyone identify the book? If I was to take a stab, it could well be New English Library or Pan cover from the 1970s.

Random Scans in Space! David Jackson sent me over the following scans of covers he did for a couple of James White novels back in 1988. I've added them to the James White gallery (part 1, part 2), but thought I'd slip them in here.

Next week: The Paul Temple strip may have came to an end yesterday but I have some other bits of Paul Temple bonus material that I'll be running next week, plus a few odds and ends that I've spotted during my Mike Western diggings.

Paul Urquhart [Ladbroke Black & Thomas Meech]

Paul Urquhart was a pen-name commonly credited to author Ladbroke Black, although it was initially a pen-name jointly used by Black in collaboration with another author, Thomas Cox Meech.

Black, born in Burley-in-Wharfdale, Yorkshire, on 21 June 1877, was educated in Ireland and at Cambridge where he earned a B.A. He became assistant editor of The Phoenix in 1897 before moving to London in 1899 where he joined The Morning Herald as assistant editor in 1900. He later became assistant editor of the Echo in 1901, joint editor of Today, 1904-05, and special writer on the Weekly Dispatch, 1905-11.

After a forgettable first novel, A Muddied Oaf (1902), co-written with Francis Rutter, Black collaborated on the collection The Mantle of the Emperor (1906) with Robert Lynd, later literary editor of the News Chronicle. He then produced a series of novels in collaboration with Meech under the name Paul Urquhart, beginning with The Eagles (1906). Black also wrote for various magazines and newspapers, sometimes using the pen-name Lionel Day. His books ranged from romances to Sexton Blake detective yarns. His recreations included sports (boxing and rugby), reading and long walks. He lived in Wendover, Bucks, for many years and was Chairman of the Mid-Bucks Liberal Party in 1922-24. He died on 27 July 1940, aged 63, survived by his wife (Margaret, nee Ambrose), two sons and two daughters.

Thomas Cox Meech, born in Beaminster, Dorset, in 1868, was educated at Ardingly College, and entered a lawyer's office on leaving school. However, he soon switched professions and became a journalist. At the age of 21 he was the editor of the Ayrshire Post, subsequently moving to the editorial chair on the Lancashire Daily Post and the Northern Echo. Like Black, he was a long-time supporter of the Liberal party and was a member of the Press lobby from 1899 until he retired from journalism in 1933. In 1922 he stood as an Independent Liberal for Blackburn.

Meech remained in touch with the law and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple. He was a Clerk of Inductment on the Western Circuit and in the Temple, retaining chambers in Temple Garden.

Meech's first novel, Only a Collier appeared (as by Tom Meech) in 1890 and he wrote a number of notable books, including biographies of Thomas Burt, M.P., and US President William M'Kinley; he also wrote a 2-volume history of Great Britain and Ireland entitled This Generation (1927-28).

Meech, who died on 20 October 1940, was twice married, first to Martha Agnes Kilgour and, secondly, to Jessie Mildred McAlpine; he had one daughter.

Novels as Paul Urquhart
Note: later novels published by Amalgamated Press from 1922 onwards (not listed here) were by Ladbroke Black alone.
The Eagles. London, Ward, Lock & Co., 1906.
The Web. London, Ward, Lock & Co., 1907.
The Shadow. London, Ward, Lock & Co., 1908.
The Turmoil. London, Ward, Lock & Co., 1915.
One Clear Call. London, Ward, Lock & Co., 1916.
The Awakening. London, Ward, Lock & Co., 1918.
Cross Currents. London, Ward, Lock & Co., 1918.

Paul Temple and the Affair of the Tired Tiger part 26

(* © Evening News)

Paul Temple will be back!

Comic Cuts - 9 December 2016

Another issue of Hotel Business was signed off on Tuesday, although we went right up to the wire—the last paid-in feature arrived at 4:36pm and I signed off the last page at 5:26. Some poor sod still had to upload a high resolution PDF file to the printers, but I could sit back and relax.

What I actually did was watch Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie, which was pretty good; I also enjoyed the two episodes of the Arise series that I've managed to catch. I think  the number of different versions it has gone through (movie, movie 2, Stand Alone Complex and movie, Arise and movie, PC games and even a theatre production) proves that Masamune Shirow's original comic strip was a fantastic base from which to jump off. And early... the original manga was serialised in 1989. Mind you, I read Neuromancer in 1985 and had read 'Johnny Mnemonic' when it originally appeared in Omni in 1981. Thirty-five years ago. Oh, boy. Where do the years go?

Anyway, Ghost in the Shell is the kind of cyber-thriller series I enjoy. I'm looking forward to the movie that's due out next March. It looks like it will be a good year for big-budget comics-based movies, with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets due in July, the Kingsman sequel due in June plus the usual plethora of DC and Marvel tie-ins.

I haven't been impressed with DC's recent crop (Batman vs Superman, Suicide Squad) but Wonder Woman – based on the trailer – could put them back on top. I'm definitely looking forward to Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor:Ragnarok and I'll give Logan and Spider-Man a look-in. The second Wolverine movie (the one set in Japan) was OK but I haven't been a huge fan of the X-Men franchise. At the end of next year there's the Justice League movie, but if it's as bad as Batman vs Superman (seriously: Martha?) and Suicide Squad...

And while we're about it, can movies please stop with the anti-gravity power beams? Why does every movie have to have electric blue beams shooting into the clouds, which darken and swirl around to make a hole, through which rubble and junk shoot. The Avengers, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men and even the Ninja Turtles have all used the same trope, as did Ghostbusters, Transformers, Independence Day: Resurgence and even Big Hero 6 (see some examples here). There might have been one in Warcraft, too. It was cool when the ground started breaking up and rising in Akira twenty-five years ago, but it's becoming tedious in the extreme now.

With blue power beams filling my thoughts, here are today's random scans on the theme of the colour blue.

Coming soon: With Christmas fast approaching, I thought it was time to share another Paul Temple adventure, so over Christmas and New Year, we will be featuring "Paul Temple and the Khanwada Conspiracy". The adventure will start on Monday, December 19.
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