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Basil Reynolds (1916-2001) and Mickey Mouse Weekly

Posted: 25 Oct 2007, 14:33
by wigwam
While doing some research on the British strip-cartoon artist Basil H. Reynolds (1916-2001), I came across the following book:
Alan Clark, "Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors" (London: British Library, 1998)

There is some very useful information on Reynolds in this dictionary, on page 143/44. One detail in this entry puzzles me though: "After the war he [Reynolds] rejoined Mickey Mouse Weekly as Art Editor. Some years later, when Mickey Mouse Weekly had been taken over by the Amalgamated Press, Reynolds was given additional responsibilities: he became the Art Editor of Jack & Jill, Playhour and Tiny Tots, as well as for Mickey Mouse Weekly. Around 1959 he went freelance."

Part of this statement is correct, for Reynolds indeed became the art-editor of the above nursery comics of the Amalgamated Press somewhere around 1954/1955. But as far as I know, "Mickey Mouse Weekly" was published - under various titles - by Odhams till the very end in 1961. To my knowledge, the publication of this comic never was taken over by the Amalgamated Press.

As I am trying to narrow down the period at which Reynolds began working for the Amalgamated Press, I certainly would like to know where Mr Alan Clark found the information that the Amalgamated Press did take over the publication of "Mickey Mouse Weekly" from Odhams.

Does someone have a clue?
Does someone have more information on Basil Reynolds?

Kind regards from The Netherlands,

John Wigmans

Basil Reynolds (1916-2001)

Posted: 25 Oct 2007, 15:33
by Kashgar
I think I'm with you in regard to 'Mickey Mouse Weekly' John. I'm pretty certain that it never fell under the AP banner. I'm working from memory here, about something I certainly wouldn't consider myself an expert, but didn't 'Mickey Mouse Weekly' cease publication in the late 1950's and not 1961 to be replaced by a comic titled 'Zip'? I'll check the details on this.

Basil Reynolds (1916-2001)

Posted: 25 Oct 2007, 16:07
by wigwam
Hi Kashgar,

Below information comes from the website http://www.pizarro.net/didier/_private/ ... zinesI.htm.

This piece on MMW gives the year 1961 as the final year, although under another title.
"On an Island with the English Mickey Mouse Weekly

While Mickey ? Revista Infantil Ilustrada held the record of the lowest issues published, the English Mickey Mouse Weekly twenty years later would hold the opposite one with a total of 920 issues.

The first one was released on February 8th, 1936. William B. Levy, European Sales Director of Walt Disney Merchandise, was, of course, the main responsible for the launch. In 1935 he started recruiting the magazine?s staff. Not surprisingly, the first artist hired was Wilfred Haughton, who had been drawing Mickey in the Mickey Mouse Annuals published earlier by Dean. Basil Reynolds was the second key artist player in the team. He had obtained his position on the strength of his comic strip in the Daily Sketch called ?Billy the Baby Beetle?. Mickey Mouse Weekly?s staff soon settled in Wardour Street, in Soho, where two more artists joined it : Victor Ibbitson and Miss Phyllis Thorpe.

As all its European brothers, the Mickey Mouse Weekly magazine looked like a large newspaper and contained King Features Syndicate strips. But it differentiated itself thanks to the amazingly rich colour cover illustrations created by Wilfred Haughton. Those were soon reaused or copied in France, Yugoslavia, Switzerland and Sweden. In addition, the publisher Odhams Press, did a fantastic colour job. Mickey Mouse Weekly became the first coloured comic to be printed photogravure. The public appreciated : more than 500.000 copies of the first issue were sold !

When the war started, during the blitz, the offices were evacuated to Chorley Wood. Although the format was reduced due to lack of paper and the ?weekly? dropped from the title in September 1941, as the magazine started being published every two weeks, the magazine never stopped being released at any time during the war and even published a Victory Issue on June 2nd, 1945. And so it lived its long life, almost unchanged till December 28th, 1957 when a court case stated that Odhams Press no longer possessed the magazine?s copyright. The editor Holding tried to re-launch the title from 1958 to 1959 as ?Walt Disney?s Mickey Mouse?, then from 1959 to 1961 as ?Walt Disney?s Weekly? but without success. The long golden age of Mickey Mouse Weekly was past.

Sources: ?Disney Comics? by Alberto Becattini (Editrice Comic Art, 1995); ?The Mickey Mouse Weekly? by W.O.G. Lofts (Magical Moments and Memories, issue 6, Winter 1994)"

Basil Reynolds (1916-2001)

Posted: 25 Oct 2007, 18:24
by philcom55
As a postscript to that, following the cancellation of Walt Disney's Weekly in April 1961 the title was incorporated with Harold Hare's Own Paper which was itself published by AP's successor Fleetway Publications.

- Phil Rushton

Basil Reynolds (1916-2001)

Posted: 26 Oct 2007, 13:44
by Kashgar
I don't really need to add any more, suffice it to say that 'Harold Hare's Own Paper' was then, in 1964, amalgamated with 'Playhour' of which Basil Reynolds was art editor. So in a convuluted kind of way everything came together in the end.
Re more info on Basil Reynolds if you can track down some of the later editions of Denis Gifford's ACE newsletter 'Comic Cuts' Basil wrote a kind of piecemeal autobiography of his comic career over a number of editions titled 'Of Skit and Skat and This and That'.

Basil Reynolds (1916-2001) and Mickey Mouse Weekly

Posted: 30 Oct 2007, 10:22
by wigwam
Hi Phil and Kashgar,

Thanks for your information. It is always nice to get a helping hand!
Yesterday I received an answer from a Reference Specialist of the Public Services of the British Library Newspapers which confirms your thoughts and mine:
"I can find no evidence to suggest that Amalgamated Press took over 'Mickey Mouse Weekly'. This publication, with variant titles, was published by Odhams Press "by special arrangement" until 24 April 1961 when 'Walt Disney's Weekly' was incoprporated into 'Harold Hare's Own Paper'."

My quest for information on Reynolds will go on...

Kind regards, and thanks again,

John

Re: Basil Reynolds (1916-2001) and Mickey Mouse Weekly

Posted: 13 Mar 2017, 17:25
by wigwam
Hi all,

First of all: please have a look at my first post of October 25, 2007.
At last I know where Alan Clark found his information on Basil Reynolds: he copied a 20 year old article by Bill Lofts rather indiscriminately. But Bill had already copied and mangled his own words from an article he published 20 years earlier. Every 20 years or so the information became less reliable. Let me show you what happened.

From Story Paper Collector No. 65, Jan. 1958 (article by Bill Lofts):
-"He [Basil Reynolds] formerly held the position of Art Editor of the three comic papers, Tiny Tots, Playhour, and Jack and Jill, but now is Editor of Tiny Tots".
-"In February of 1956 Basil left Odham’s [sic], who were now running Mickey Mouse Weekly, and went to The Amalgamated Press, where, as already stated, he became Art Editor of Tiny Tots, Playhour, and Jack and Jill, and where he is now Editor of Tiny Tots".

From Golden Fun No. 9, Spring 1979 (article by Bill Lofts):
"In the mid-1950’s when Odhams, the firm then publishing Mickey Mouse Weekly, was taken over by the Amalgamated Press he [Basil Reynolds] moved across to Fleetway House to become the art editor of three of the nursery comics – Jack & Jill, Playhour and Tiny Tots. On the retirement of the editor of the latter, he assumed the position. When Tiny Tots ended in 1959 he went free-lance and contributed much material to the Disney papers and Annuals."

From Alan Clark, Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors, 1998:
"After the war he [Basil Reynolds] rejoined Mickey Mouse Weekly as Art Editor. Some years later, when Mickey Mouse Weekly had been taken over by the Amalgamated Press, Reynolds was given additional responsibilities: he became the Art Editor of Jack & Jill, Playhour and Tiny Tots, as well as for Mickey Mouse Weekly. Around 1959 he went freelance."

As stated: every 20 years or so the information became less reliable. But Bill Lofts was absolutely right in 1958, as I know from my own research.

John Wigmans
Netherlands

Re: Basil Reynolds (1916-2001) and Mickey Mouse Weekly

Posted: 13 Mar 2017, 20:13
by colcool007
A great piece of research John.