EAGLE TIMES Vol. 37 No.3 Autumn 2024

The latest EAGLE Times includes articles on the strip stories 'Riders of the Range', 'Danger Unlimited' and 'Lincoln of America'. There are also features on 'The Royal Oak Tragedy' in the Second World War and the Post war American artist Marie Severin. My latest Archie Berkeley-Willoughby adventure is 'The Case of the Big Bang Theory'. The issue also includes short pieces about Donald Campbell's Bluebird K7, the art of Roy Cross, a Collector's Corner, an EAGLE Queries page, an 'In and Out of the EAGLE' page and an EAGLE Mastermind Quiz. Finally there is a tribute to our late member Ron French. The contributors to this issue are David Britton, Eric Summers, Darren Evans, David Gould, Jim Duckett and myself.

IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 51

There are several books about EAGLE, but only two about Dan Dare's creator Frank Hampson. These are The Man Who Drew Tomorrow, published in 1985 and Tomorrow Revisited, published in 2010. Both books were written by Alastair Crompton, a keen 'Dan Dare' enthusiast and member of the EAGLE Society. The books are both highly illustrated, with many pictures reproduced from original artwork. Despite its quality and detail, Alastair wanted to improve on his first biography and produce a definitive book about Frank Hampson and his work. This resulted in Tomorrow Revisited. Both books are well worth  reading. Alastair, who worked for many years as an advertising copywriter, sadly died in 2019. 

    
 

EAGLE TIMES VOL. 37 No. 2 Summer 2024

 

The new EAGLE Times is out now. It features a report on our recent Gathering in Cardiff and a range of other articles, including pieces about 'Storm Nelson', the first 'Dan Dare' stage play and the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway. Details of how to buy a copy are printed on the right and full contents are listed below:

• Keep Young and Beautiful
The text of Steve Winders’ address to the Eagle Society at the Cardiff Gathering in 2024.

• Railway Wonders: The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway by David Britton
2027 marks the 100th anniversary of the line and the article recalls the 1954 Eagle feature and looks at the line today. 

• These are a Few of my Favourite Things by David Gould
An article about some of the best parts of Eagle, including the strip, “Dan Dare – The Red Moon Mystery”. 

• Eagle Society Annual Gathering – Cardiff 2024
A report by Reg Hoare on the successful Gathering, which included excellent talks by Mike Collins and David Roach. 

• Talking Up a Storm, Again, by David Britton
A look back at Eagle’s often overlooked sea adventurer and the artists who drew the strip.

• The Half Moon Mystery
Steve Winders reports on a ‘Dan Dare’ play performed in London in 1972 and tells the story of the people who staged it and their remarkable theatre.

• The Case of the Shivering Samaritan Part Two
An Adventure of Archie Berkley-Willoughby of Scotland Yard by Steve Winders, in which Archie meets the Samaritans' founder and EAGLE contributor Chad Varah.

• Letters page

HARRY LINDFIELD

We have just learned that Harry Lindfield, who drew the 'Mark Question' strip in EAGLE, which ran from 1957 - 58 and was partly reprinted as 'Mark Mystery' in 1968, has sadly died at the age of ninety one. Harry also contributed to EAGLE's companion papers Girl and Swift, drawing the popular 'Belle of the Ballet' strip for Girl. He later illustrated 'Star Trek' for Joe 90 and then TV 21 weeklies, 'The Monkees' for Lady Penelope weekly and 'Doctor Who' for Countdown and TV Action weeklies. He was highly regarded by readers and other artists. Lew Stringer described him as "A quality artist who always produced top class work," and David Roach said "It takes real skill to draw figures as naturalistically as this and he must surely be one of our finest comic artists." By popular demand, his 'Star Trek' work has recently been published again in a collection. We send our condolences to Harry's family and friends.  

ROY CROSS 23rd April 1924 - 24th April 2024

I'm sorry to report that Roy Cross, the EAGLE and Airfix artist and accomplished painter of sailing ships has died, the day after his hundredth birthday. Scroll down to read our tribute to his distinguished career, which was posted on his birthday. Our condolences to his family and friends. 

JON HAWARD (1965 - 2024)

We are sorry to report the death of Jon Haward at the early age of fifty eight, after a long period of ill health. Jon illustrated several 'Dan Dare' serials for the second version of EAGLE in 1990 and 1991, alternating with David Pugh. He also drew two 'Dan Dare' strips for the 1992 EAGLE Yearbook and a further strip for a Dan Dare Holiday Special. He subsequently worked on 'Spiderman', 'Judge Dredd', 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles', 'Biker Mice From Mars', 'Tales of Telguuth' and 'Sinister Dexter', among others. With the writer Alan Grant he created 'The Hell Crew' and 'Tales of the Buddha'. He also illustrated strip adaptations of the Shakespeare plays Hamlet and The Tempest. He created designs for computer games and theme park rides and illustrated children's books, joke books, card and board games and story boards for films.     

The first page of one of Jon's strips for the 1992 EAGLE Yearbook.
 

HAPPY HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY TO ROY CROSS

Congratulations to the former EAGLE artist Roy Cross on his hundredth birthday today (23rd April). Between 1960 and 1963, Roy illustrated twenty three cutaway drawings and a series of front page illustrations of cars for EAGLE and aircraft for Swift. His EAGLE cutaways covered a wide range of vehicles, including motor cycles, aircraft, a motor home, H.M.S. Devonshire and a Project Mercury Space Capsule. Born in Southwark in 1924, he joined the Air Training Corps at Camberwell in 1938, leaving school at fifteen in 1940 and working for a shipping agent, before getting a job with Fairey Aviation during the War as a technical illustrator for training manuals, having impressed with line drawings of aircraft which were published in the Air Training Corps Gazette. He was essentially self taught, although he briefly attended the Camberwell College of Arts and Crafts and later St. Martin's School of Fine Arts. Of his formal training he later said "...they couldn't teach me to draw planes," although he admitted "I learned a bit there, though." 

In 1943, he was commissioned to illustrate a book called The Birth of the Royal Air Force. After the War, he learned airbrush techniques when he joined a commercial art studies, 'Technical Designs Ltd'. In 1947, he became a freelance artist, producing artwork for several aircraft magazines in both Britain and the U.S.A. and advertising art for the aircraft industry, bus body manufacturers and other transport manufacturers. He also illustrated several more books, including one of his own, called Supersonic Aircraft in 1956, having become a member of the Society of Aviation Artists in 1954.   

While working for EAGLE and Swift, he also continued to write books on aircraft, producing two 'pocketbooks' for Batsford, about fighter aircraft and bombers. After EAGLE, he drew illustrations for the boxes of Airfix model kits from 1964 - 74. Beginning with aircraft kits, he also produced illustrations of cars, tanks, other military vehicles, railway engines, spacecraft and even people. In 1972 he illustrated a series of picture cards for Brooke Bond tea for their series 'History of Aviation'. The picture alongside is an example of Roy's work for Airfix and shows a De Haviland Mosquito in action.  

 In 1973, he moved into fine art, painting sailing ships, which proved so popular and lucrative that he was able to resign from Airfix and concentrate on this new area. His interest in ships had actually begun as a boy when he had gone for long walks along the Thames with his father, watching the merchant shipping on the river. He completed his first painting of a sailing ship - a Spanish Galleon, at the age of ten! His work found an enthusiastic market in America when Malcolm Henderson, whose London Gallery sold his paintings, relocated to Washington and established a new gallery there in 1975. Unsurprisingly, in view of his past experience, his work was noted for his attention to detail and historical accuracy. In 1977 he was elected a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists. There have been several exhibitions of his work in the U.S.A. The above painting is called 'America' off the Needles 1851. 

Over the years, he has written and illustrated several more books, about aircraft and ships and illustrated books by others. His most recent book is The Art of Roy Cross, published in 2019. The EAGLE Society were delighted to welcome Roy to our Gathering at Portsmouth in 1997, where he spoke to us about his life and work.