KILLING JOKE vs. DARK KNIGHT RETURNS

[Nexus]

How can you not know Embleton's "Wicked Wanda"? And you call yourself a red-blooded male?

 

I know "Wicked Wanda":devil:, just not the artist. Never bothered to check the credits::

[Mister Trent]

 

Unfortunately, American audiences are (mostly) unfamiliar with some of the real heavyweight talents of UK strip-illustration (simply due to the fact they never produced work for the American market).

 

Frank Hampon, Frank Bellamy, Don Lawrence, Ron Embleton, etc.

 

Sadly, I do not know these names. There are talented artists from all eras and country of origin, but unless they collaborated with someone like Moore, may never reach an audience outside their local one.

 

Okay, I'll post a few scans of original artworks from these guys. Unlike the American process of (mostly) producing pen & ink (b&w) original art, Hampson, Bellamy, etc, worked primarily in color (painted) artworks.

 

Here's a Frank Hampson DAN DARE original (from EAGLE magazine, mid-1950s). Unfortunately, it's not possible to faithfully capture the extremely fine line work and delicate colors (with use of air-brush for space backgrounds), but it should give you a general indication of his work . . .

 

[chromium]

I love Don Lawrence, he's been very popular over here for the last 25 years.

He was a superstar in Holland which was his new home until he died a few years ago...

 

here are some examples of his work

 

[Mister Trent]

Example of Frank Bellamy's (painted) art for an episode of MONTGOMERY OF ALEMEIN:

 

[Mister Trent]

Sadly, I traded away the only WICKED WANDA original I had some years ago. However, here's an early Ron Embleton (painted) strip from the late 1950s. WULF THE BRITON (from EXPRESS WEEKLY):

 

[Artemaria]

Trent -

 

Those are spectacular.

 

Thanks for posting.

 

- A

[Nexus]

Trent,

 

Wow. These artists definitely deserve wider recognition. I'm especially impressed by Frank Bellamy. I concur, thanks for posting!

 

Felix

[Mister Trent]

Unfortunately, American audiences are (mostly) unfamiliar with some of the real heavyweight talents of UK strip-illustration (simply due to the fact they never produced work for the American market).

 

Frank Hampon, Frank Bellamy, Don Lawrence, Ron Embleton, etc.

 

Sadly, I do not know these names. There are talented artists from all eras and country of origin, but unless they collaborated with someone like Moore, may never reach an audience outside their local one.

 

Felix

 

As a quick afterthought, Arthur C Clarke collaborated with artist Frank Hampson on the early DAN DARE stories . . .

 

And Michael Moorcock was another famed novelist who collaborated on vintage UK comic-strips.

 

I'm sure you've heard of those guys!

[*paull*]

The coloring on those pieces is simply awesome, particularly on the Bellamy war piece.

[Nexus]

Felix

 

As a quick afterthought, Arthur C Clarke collaborated with artist Frank Hampson on the early DAN DARE stories . . .

 

And Michael Moorcock was another famed novelist who collaborated on vintage UK comic-strips.

 

I'm sure you've heard of those guys!

 

Thanks for that factoid. Not really a fan of either, but those are definitely a couple of marquee names to have worked in comics.

 

Obviously, my exposure to British comics is generally limited to 80's output forward, and only comprises a small part of British comics history. Having said that, British comics writers I like are Alan Moore (far and away), Grant Morrison, John Wagner and Alan Grant (when they wrote JUDGE DREDD), Garth Ennis, Neil Gaiman, Jamie Delano and I'm sure I'm missing one or two more.

 

Artists from that same period whose work I admire would be Brian Bolland (like Moore, way ahead of the field), David Lloyd, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon, Alan Davis, Garry Leach, Carlos Ezquerra...generally, a lot of them!

 

The British footprint in our hobby is pretty substantial, to say the least.

[cbac]

I love the unintentional retro feel of Dan Dare now, both the art and the wording. The Man from Nowhere and the collected annual stories are great jumping in places. The Dragons Dream edition actually changed the original art to remove the Eagle logo to make it a TPB feel. Absolutely superb at an impressionable age.

 

Been wanting a piece for a few years, but waiting till I find one from the above stories, as it'll be the only one I could afford for a while

 

BTW Terry did you see the Safari in Space pages for sale on CAF, great detail.

 

Now this doesn't apply to most of the 80's revival or the 2000 AD version

 

Though if the 1st 80s splash ever came up.........