In response to Phil Rushton's mention of Ron Embleton's work on an adaption of Captain Marryat's "Children of the New Forest" here are some sample pages from Princess comic as it was published in 1962.These pages are provided by non other than David Slinn, whose input into the Wulf the Briton Book was crucial as regards providing names and background to the comings and goings at the Racquet Court Studios. This was the studio that was responsible for coordinating and commissioning the work that went into each and every issue of Express Weekly.
Many thanks David!!!
Please thank David for me as well as I've never seen either of those episodes before. I love the way Ron constantly altered his technique to suit the subject matter: here for example everything is drawn in pure colour with no black lines - presumably to suit the young audience Princess was originally intended for (later on, of course, it began to aim at a slightly more sophisticated readership with strips like 'Slave Girl of Rome' and Mike Hubbard's 'Jane Bond'!)
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, going by this illustration that appeared in a !980 portfolio produced by the SSI it's clear that Mr. Slinn was no slouch as an artist in his own right.
http://i55.tinypic.com/icr8f9.jpg
...Perhaps if you asked him nicely he might provide you with some more scans of his work to use as the basis of a future post? I for one would be fascinated to hear about his days working alongside such legendary figures as Joe Colquhoun and the Embleton brothers!
Well tantalizingly Phil, David does indeed share some memories of those days in a piece he wrote for the Wulf book under the title; "Meanwhile, at Racquet Court".
ReplyDeleteAnd also a page of his work from a dummy issue of Lightning (the aborted Marcus Morris follow up to Eagle) appears in Alastair Crompton's superb Hampson biography "Tomorrow Revisited".
Plus he is I believe working on a piece which hopefully will be appearing on this very blog in the not too dim and distant future.
ReplyDeleteSo Phil, your plea has not only been heard - it's been anticipated!
Thanks, PETER, for making me discover 4 pages of one more
ReplyDeleteof the innumerable productions of RON, whose
i did't know the existence.
I'll be posting more of Ron's Children of the New Forest shortly Georges.
ReplyDeleteThey really are such delightful artworks and like you I'd never seen them before until David sent me the files a few days ago.