Eric Parker in the UK (part 1 of 4)

I've recently begun a lengthy series of blog posts all about renowned illustrator Eric Parker (check out his Wikipedia entry here) who had a 50 year (!) career as a comic illustrator.

I've looked at Roughs (part 1) here
Roughs (part 2) here
Roughs (part 3) here
Roughs (part 4) here
Female heads (part 1) here
Female heads (part 2) here
Female heads (part 3) here
Female heads (part 4) here
Pubs (part 1) here
Pubs (part 2) here

Overseas (part 1) here

Overseas (part 2) here

Overseas (part 3) here

Overseas (part 4) here

Overseas (part 5) here

Overseas (part 6) here

Overseas (part 7) here

Overseas (part 8) here

Overseas (part 9) here

Overseas (part 10) here

And now we turn our attention to UK paintings...

This is captioned "Beech Hall...1957" - I thought it said 'Dorking' but my google skills turn up nothing in Dorking called Beech Hall 

Could this be a Blake rough? Is that a villain's car abandoned at the side of the road?

Batman day signing

Just a quick shout-out for this #BatmanDay signing happening at Gosh comics on the 21st September

Into Battle! - the exhibition, part 5

It's just finished but for anyone who missed it, here's part 5 of my look at the 'Into battle! - the art of British war comics' exhibition. 

Part 1 was here

Part 2 was here

Part 3 was here

Part 4 was here

Sir Ian Livingstone at the Cartoon Museum

This is tonight! Have fun if you're going!

The Cartoon Museum now have tickets on sale here for their evening with Sir Ian Livingstone talking about his new book 'Magic Realms'

As it says on the website...

Sir Ian Livingstone: The Art of Fighting FantasyWe are happy to announce that Sir Ian Livingstone will be joining us for a very special event and signing of Magic Realms: The Art of Fighting Fantasy at the Cartoon Museum on Tuesday September 10th from 6:30pm-8:30pm, with the talk starting at 7pm.

Magic Realms celebrates the incredible art of the brilliant and highly respected fantasy and science fiction artists who, over the years, worked with the Fighting Fantasy authors to bring their interactive adventures to vivid life.

Each artist is profiled along with select examples of their best work – in vibrant full colour, the astonishing detail on display in all its glory. It features the work some of the world’s best fantasy artists including Chris Achilléos, John Blanche, Jim Burns, Les Edwards, Karl Kopinski, Iain McCaig, Martin McKenna, Ian Miller and Russ Nicholson, among others.

Written by Fighting Fantasy co-creator Ian Livingstone and Fighting Fantasy historian Jonathan Green, Magic Realms is a Who’s Who of fantasy art – an absolutely essential collector’s item for any Fighting Fantasy fan.

UPDATED: Dennis comic - Marvel UK

Michael Carroll's timeline of Marvel UK comics (here) has an array of interestingly short-lived comics on that I thought I should create cover galleries for them. Sometimes this is easier said than done but let's start off with the 19 issue Dennis comic from 1989/90.

This would have been called Dennis the menace (since it's based on Hank Ketcham's US comic star) but here in the UK that was obviously a non-starter as an idea. It also makes it really hard to search for! 

UPDATE: I've now found the cover to issue 7. Interestingly the title has been amended from Dennis to Dennis Mitchell (which is the full name of the character - perhaps DC Thomson had been in touch to say the original title was too confusing???

Dennis comic, #1, 30th November 1989, Marvel UK, 45p

image from here

Dennis comic, #2, 14th December 1989, Marvel UK, 45p

Dennis comic, #3, 28th December 1989, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #4, 11th January 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #5, 25th January 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #6, 8th February 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #7, 22nd February 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

Dennis comic, #8, 8th March 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #9, 22nd March 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #10, 5th April 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #11, 19th April 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #12, 3rd May 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #13, 17th May 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #14, 31st May 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #15, 14th June 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #16, 28th June 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #17, 12th July 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #18, 26th July 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

Dennis comic, #19, 9th August 1990, Marvel UK, 45p

image not to hand - can you help?

vintage DC Thomson art up for sale soon

Collectors of original illustrations / cartoons /comic art will hopefully find an upcoming auction in Essex has something for them. Lots 125-160 in this sale on 1st October contains art by Dudley D Watkins, Charles Grigg, David Law, James McConnell, Mac, Jak, Larry, Gerald Scarfe and more. Here are just some of the highlights - good luck if you bid!

this lot - art by David Law

this lot - art by Dudley D Watkins

this lot - art by Dudley D Watkins

this lot - art by Charles Henry Chapman

UPDATED: Keith Burns covers for Commando

I first came across Keith Burns art when he illustrated the Titan comics Johnny Red series, since then he's just started illustrating Commando covers and the covers are fantastic. Here are the covers he's done so far...

Commando 5209 - American avenger

Commando 5215 - a matter of honour

Commando 5229 - shadow in the storm!

Commando 5241 - steel inferno

Commando 5251 - Radar raiders

Commando 5259 - Braddock

Commando 5267 - Braddock demons

Commando 5289 - the Wombat and the Tiger

Commando 5297 - fog of war

Commando 5299 - Sladen's promise

Commando 5307 - Stealing Stukas

Commando 5315 - Ironhide

Commando 5329 - Blitzkrieg west

Commando 5335 - Durand's Dunkirk

Commando 5337 - Dodger's Dunkirk

This issue is interconnected with issue 5337 Durand's Dunkirk but told from the perspective of the British fighting to stop their retreat.

Commando 5353 - Outgunned!

Commando 5355 - Bullseye Bruno

Commando 5377 - Third time lucky

Commando 5385 - The flying emu

Commando 5395 - HMAS Expendable

Commando 5411 - Ready for Anything!

Commando 5417 - The girls on the guns

Commando 5448 - Die-or walk!

Check out the third of our nine 60th Anniversary specials Issue 5448 Die — or Walk! Former editor Calum Laird's sequel to Commando Issue 1 Walk — or Die! has the table turned with the Brit carrying the Jerry!

Commando 5463 - Target Tomcat

Commando 5481 - Vengeance

Commando 5497 - Pearl Harbor

Commando 5511 - Escape from Java

Commando 5525 - Sink the Shokaku!

published March 15th 2022

Commando 5547 - Stay behind squad

published June 9th 2022

Commando 5559 - Wild weasel!

to be published July 21st 2022

Commando 5607 - Combat air patrol

Commando 5619 - Achtung, destroyer!

Commando 5641 - Sink the Tiger

The unthinkable has happened —HMAS Tiger has been captured by the Japanese and is being used to create havoc amongst allied shipping! The Australian Navy’s most experienced destroyer commander, John Griffin, is called in to solve the problem, his orders: “SINK THE TIGER!”

Keith's design roughs for Commando 5641

Commando 5671 - Dutch courage

Commando 5677 - Hell on high

They called Lieutenant Robert Lloyd a coward for flying out of formation in his B-17 and blamed him for the death of his crew. He was demoted to co-pilot in another outfit but his new pilot wasn't going to listen to a coward’s advice on flying!

Commando 5687 - Beneath

When the Nazis thundered over Europe, they did not know what horror lay beneath, hungry from the last war. It had tasted human-flesh and it craved more…

Commando 5711 - 3 Company

Three's certainly company with this lot! A soldier, a sailor, and a pilot find themselves stranded on the Dunkirk beaches each blaming the other for their predicament. But they'd soon after to work together to escape the clutches of the Nazis!

Commando 5715 - Steer into danger

The salty seadogs are back for another oceanic adventure in the Pacific as the experienced skippers of HMAS Tiger and HMAS Wombat take on deadly Japanese Cruisers!

Commando 5731 - Leg before Chindits

Major Charles Beevor and his depleted group of Chindits were deep into the jungles of Burma. Cut off by the Japanese, they were out for six and would not stop until the Japanese threat was bowled over!

Commando 5747 - the deadly sun

In 1918, the deadly sun shone down on the desert and blinded Pilot Martin Connors. Out of its rays came a German plane flown by an ace who had already killed three other British pilots!

Commando 5755 - D-day pilot

Commando 5779 - Pressure Point