Krazy comics new star Cheeky!!

[Peter Gray]

http://www.petergraycartoonsandcomics.b ... krazy.html









Frank getting started on a comic Fleetway legend!

[geoff42]

at the same time, he was drawing Roger the Dodger for the Beano! Indeed, he was king.

[Digifiend]

Must've been a freelancer. Strange that, considering that the two companies poached Robert Nixon from each other. I would've thought DCT at least wouldn't have used freelanders until later.

[Lew Stringer]

Must've been a freelancer. Strange that, considering that the two companies poached Robert Nixon from each other. I would've thought DCT at least wouldn't have used freelanders until later.

Comic companies have always used freelancers. There haven't been many who were contracted to one company.

[colcool007]

Must've been a freelancer. Strange that, considering that the two companies poached Robert Nixon from each other. I would've thought DCT at least wouldn't have used freelanders until later.

Comic companies have always used freelancers. There haven't been many who were contracted to one company.

Ian Kennedy has been freelance since the 1950's

[Lew Stringer]

Must've been a freelancer. Strange that, considering that the two companies poached Robert Nixon from each other. I would've thought DCT at least wouldn't have used freelanders until later.

Comic companies have always used freelancers. There haven't been many who were contracted to one company.

Ian Kennedy has been freelance since the 1950's

Exactly. Even Tom Browne was freelance.

There is a misconception sometimes that we're tied to one publisher, or even on the staff! (Not that I'm suggesting you thought that, Digifiend.) The majority of comic artists and writers have always been self-employed and work from home (or rent a studio).

There have been exceptions of course. In Leo Baxendale's autobiography A Very Funny Business he reveals that Dudley Watkins and Davey Law were staff artists for DC Thomson even though they worked from home. (Leo himself was always freelance.)

[philcom55]

The fact that Leo was freelance makes his treatment by DC Thomson all the more iniquitous in that they nevertheless expected him to work exclusively for their titles. Of course the big advantage of being on staff was the pension that tended to come with it - though Davey Law and Dudley Watkins never got to enjoy theirs.

[Raven]

There have been exceptions of course. In Leo Baxendale's autobiography A Very Funny Business he reveals that Dudley Watkins and Davey Law were staff artists for DC Thomson even though they worked from home. (Leo himself was always freelance.)

Also that Ken Reid was told he "could either work for D. C. Thomson exclusively, or not at all", so, freelance or not, Thomson demanded exclusivity back then, so artists were tied to one publisher. This must have changed by the Seventies.

[Lew Stringer]

There have been exceptions of course. In Leo Baxendale's autobiography A Very Funny Business he reveals that Dudley Watkins and Davey Law were staff artists for DC Thomson even though they worked from home. (Leo himself was always freelance.)

Also that Ken Reid was told he "could either work for D. C. Thomson exclusively, or not at all", so, freelance or not, Thomson demanded exclusivity back then, so artists were tied to one publisher. This must have changed by the Seventies.

Perhaps it varied from artist to artist. Wasn't Eric Roberts working for both AP and Thomsons at the same time in the 1950s? Ron Spencer was working for Thomsons and Odhams in the sixties, as was Bert van de Put. Phillip Millar was working for Thomsons, IPC, and doing gag cartoons for various publishers. I'm sure there were many others but those just sprang to mind.

Loyalty is understandable if a publisher is supplying work that's regular and plentiful, but otherwise it's unrealistic for a publisher to expect a freelancer to only do work for them.

[stevezodiac]

I've only ever seen Tom Bannister, Bill Ritchie and George Martin's work in DC Thomson comics. Not sure about Paddy Brennan? Also Bill Holroyd?

[Lew Stringer]

I've only ever seen Tom Bannister, Bill Ritchie and George Martin's work in DC Thomson comics. Not sure about Paddy Brennan? Also Bill Holroyd?

I'm not doubting there was some exclusivity asked of some artists. I'm just saying it obviously never applied to everyone. And if exclusivity was demanded then such loyalty would have to be rewarded with regular and plentiful work. (Otherwise the freelancer would soon be on the streets.)

George Martin drew the syndicated newspaper strip 'Bunion' for decades so he wasn't exclusive to Thomsons.

[dishes]

Must've been a freelancer. Strange that, considering that the two companies poached Robert Nixon from each other. I would've thought DCT at least wouldn't have used freelanders until later.

I think in this case "poach" means offering the artist a higher page rate, or more work, or both.

[stevezodiac]

In American comics I remember Gene Colan using the name Adam Austin for his first Marvel work to get round this problem. Also Denny O'Neill worked for DC as Sergius O'Shaunessy (sic) as he worked for Charlton at the time. And for some reason Johnny Craig did some work for Warren as Jay Taycee.

[Raven]

Perhaps it varied from artist to artist. Wasn't Eric Roberts working for both AP and Thomsons at the same time in the 1950s? Ron Spencer was working for Thomsons and Odhams in the sixties, as was Bert van de Put.

Definitely at the same time? Seems odd to make the strict rule for an artist such as Reid, but not others. Or maybe some artists were in such demand they weren't treated in the same way.

George Martin drew the syndicated newspaper strip 'Bunion' for decades so he wasn't exclusive to Thomsons.

This one may have been because it was a different market, different readership, and not considered as competition for the comic weeklies.

[AndyB]

Jim Petrie was drawing for both DC Thomson (Minnie the Minx, the Sparky People etc) and IPC (Incredible Sulk, Softy Sir, the Cavers and of course Cheeky) in the 1970s and 1980s.

Even long time DC Thomson staff artist Jimmy Glen did some work for IPC - specifically, the Winners in Jackpot. Jimmy may have been freelance at the time, of course, and he did some private work on books.

It's almost certainly the case that both publishers were prepared to offer higher rates and/or larger volumes of work to some freelance artists to get them to work exclusively for them - and also, as in the case of Ken Reid, to effectively force them to be exclusive by threatening to stop sending them work.