So what I'm going to do is continue Phil's thread vis a vis What Would You Do?, as it appeared on the covers of Boy's World all those years ago.
So here's a couple more life or death situations for you guys to get your heads around.
The one with the safari truck is definitely Gerry Embleton, but the wolves picture is a real test. To me it's always looked like big brother Ron on the main figure, the cabin, the wolves and the layout but traces of Gerry on the wolf rendering and the far background especially as regards the colors, looks like Gerry.
I've also included the pre-clean up scan of the wolf cover, as many of the problems that manifest themselves when scanning comics of this vintage and print provenance manifested themselves on this occasion.And just for the hell of it and hoping that this is one of the spreads that Georges hasn't seen, here again is a truly stunning spread from Wrath of the Gods.
I'm going to try shooting one of the wolves and hoping the others will turn on it rather than me.
ReplyDeleteDave - you've done it.
ReplyDeleteDammit!!!
Love the expression on the hunter's face - you can see him thinking it slowly through.
Still leaves the safari dilemma unsolved though...
You know, I'm becoming increasingly persuaded that you're right in saying Gerry Embleton was responsible for at least the lion's share of that b&w river crossing picture. I certainly agree with your analysis of the Safari and Wolf scenes shown above (though, as I own the originals, it'd be unfair of me to give any solutions). In the same way the Roman-themed covers to Boys' World no's 24 and 28 also seem to be the work of Gerry and Ron respectively.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the excellent Look & Learn website Georges it's worth checking out the regular contributions made to Look & Learn's sister magazine Treasure by Peter Jackson who, for many years, rivaled Ron Embleton himself as Leonard Matthews' number one historical artist. These too include some stunning Roman scenes.
...PS. I meant that I own the original comics of course - not the original artwork! :-/
ReplyDeleteI was getting so excited for a moment there Phil.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you PETER for posting "WRATH of the GODS"..This (double)
ReplyDeletepage is in the same issue than the CEASAR's illustration from GERRY (?)..It is one of the few i have...
The illustration with the snow and wolves seems a "RON"...The pines,
the color of the snow like work in "WULF"..the clothes, the wolves..
But ! something let me perplexed....Look at the hands ..Very small
the fingers and the nails..Don't look the same work than those
in "WRATH..." for exemple..I look at many works of GERRY in "MEN
at ARMS" I find the same fingers and nails very differents than
the RON'Ones...
You're right Georges!!! I hadn't noticed but now I look again and they are very different.
ReplyDeleteWhat I will do today is post some Gerry work from S.A.S. in TV Express which appeared a year before this cover.
The detective work continues.
Given his proven ability with historical subjects I've often wondered why Gerry wasn't seen as his brother's logical replacement on 'Wrath of the Gods' in the same way that he took over 'Strongbow the Mighty' from him in Zip. As it was, of course, Gerry was entrusted with the introduction of 'The Iron Man' instead (a series that would eventually outlast all others begun in Boys' World) while John Burns' 'Wrath' was temporarily relegated to the back page, so this might well have been seen as the more important gig at the time.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that, to the best of my knowledge, nobody has yet been able to persuade Gerry to give an in-depth interview about his memories of Ron and his own impressive career in the world of British comics.
I'd second that Phil. Gerry's reminiscences would I am sure shed a lot of light on this amazing period in UK comics history.
ReplyDeleteHe has done a few pieces for Eagle Times - so it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that he might be prepared to share his memories of those days.
Hopefully he will be persuaded when he sees the skilled and respectful way in which his brother's work on Wulf has been preserved for posterity. At any rate it might be worth sending him a complimentary copy just in case...?
ReplyDeleteYes Phil, Gerry's definitely on the list to receive a complimentary copy.
ReplyDeleteWe've got a lot of copies to send out
- and a lot of signing and numbering to do.
Still find myself ogling the contents, sniffing the paper, comparing the pages with the original comics.
Amazingly the restoration process has revealed details of Ron's brushwork which were more or less lost in the Bemrose printed comics.
I'll bring some of the comics along with these lovely books, to the ABC Show (12th June) so that I can show what I am talking about.
Getting a tad tragic really...
Ron and Gerry Embleton shared a studio, with Terry Patrick in the 1960s, and possibly also Peter Ford into the 1970s. They would help each other out with various deadlines, hence why it's entirely possibly for both styles to appear in a single illustration/page of strip.
ReplyDelete