On this day, 6 May 1972: Valiant and TV21
Cover artwork: Mike Western
Cyrano de Bergerac, drawn beautifully here by Mike Western, seems curiously at home on the cover of Valiant and TV21. A swashbuckling, melodramatic hero with unusual visage was just the sort of story one expects to find in this, one of the last of the great 1960s/early 1970s boys’ adventure comics. There’s much to enjoy in here (despite the complete lack of credibility or realism that was common to British comics of this time) and my blog’s a little later than normal this morning because I’ve been drawn into reading it as the Saturday morning pleasure it was intended to be. Highlights for me include Western’s cover and his superb The Wild Wonders artwork, three Solano Lopez strips, Leo Baxendale’s The Swots and the Blots, and John Stokes on Star Trek. That advert for the Royal Navy also boasts terrific art; the style looks familiar but I can’t place the artist – does anyone know?
Captain Hurricane: Charles Roylance (artist)
Captain Hurricane: Charles Roylance (artist)
Captain Hurricane: Charles Roylance (artist)
Yellowknife of the Yard: Pat Mills and John Wagner (writers), Doug Maxted (artist)
Yellowknife of the Yard: Pat Mills and John Wagner (writers), Doug Maxted (artist)
The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark: Solano Lopez studio (artist)
The Tuffs of Terror Island: Tony Coleman (artist)
Raven on the Wing: Solano Lopez (artist)
Star Trek: Angus Allan (writer), John Stokes (artist)
Star Trek: Angus Allan (writer), John Stokes (artist)
The Swots and the Blots: Leo Baxendale (artist)
The Swots and the Blots: Leo Baxendale (artist)
The Swots and the Blots: Leo Baxendale (artist)
The Return of the Claw: Tom Tully (writer), Jesus Blasco (artist)
Kelly’s Eye: Solano Lopez (artist)
The Wild Wonders: Tom Tully (writer), Mike Western (artist)
The Wild Wonders: Tom Tully (writer), Mike Western (artist)
Boris Johnson, The Heavyweight Chump of Eton: Reg Parlett (artist)
