roland davies

Discuss comic art, the artists and writers both current and from the past.

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john56peter756brit
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roland davies

Post by john56peter756brit »

anyone remember an artist called roland davies? he was a great cartoonist,he did a strip with a horse in it that was also animated great stuff. :)

Richard S.
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roland davies

Post by Richard S. »

Horse was calld Steve as I recall and yeah there was an animated film wasn't there?


Richard S.

john56peter756brit
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roland davies

Post by john56peter756brit »

yes your right, i remenber it now.i knew roland he was a nice little chap.ther was also another i knew he drew quite a lot of stuff, alex oliphant was his name,another fine artist. :)

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Shaqui
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roland davies

Post by Shaqui »

Is anyone able to point me at some artwork drawn by Roland Davies? His is a name i often hear metioned, but whose style eludes me. I know an artist named 'Davies' drew some of the Ladybird Club strips in, I think, early TV Comic annuals but I'm not sure this is his main style.

:?

David Simpson
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roland davies

Post by David Simpson »

Google, plus a quiet afternoon at work, reveals that the strip (or maybe panel) was called Come On, Steve! I couldn't find any examples, but a Google search on Roland Davies Come On Steve will at least give you some reading on the man.

Brendan McGuire
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roland davies

Post by Brendan McGuire »

Denis Gifford's Ally Sloper comic No.2 has quite a few examples of Come On Steve. The style is often a mix of Fougasse style simplicity of line for the carthorse set against some quite detailed work. i could scan a couple of pages if somebody could tell me where to scan it to.

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Captain Storm
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roland davies

Post by Captain Storm »

Brendan go here http://imageshack.us/ and upload your image and use the thumbnail link to insert into your post to link to the image.

john56peter756brit
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roland davies

Post by john56peter756brit »

roland used to do quite a few paintings, he was a versatile artist very quite spoken.he used to come in with his work to show.


matrix
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Re: roland davies

Post by matrix »

Here is some work that Roland Davies did for 'Girl' comic in 1962.

Perhaps this should now be under Artists, etc, mods?
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philcom55
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Re: roland davies

Post by philcom55 »

As those examples show, Roland was an excellent 'action' artist who also drew serial strips such as 'Sexton Blake' (which he took over from Robert MacGillivray) and 'Wyatt Earp' during the 1950s. It was for his cartoon characters that he's probably best remembered, however. 'Come on Steve' began as a newspaper strip in the pages of the Sunday Express way back in 1932 and was an instant success. Thereafter Steve the carthorse went on to star in numerous books and annuals over the next twenty years or so - as well as a series of animated films that were produced with the help of the cartoonist 'Giles'. Here's a double-page spread from the 1947 book 'Steve's Christmas Holiday' (as reproduced by Ashford & Wright in Book & Magazine Collector no.237).

Image

Even when Stevemania began to fade out Davies continued to produce humorous strips during the 1950s and early 1960s for Eagle's junior companion Swift. Here are two examples featuring 'Roddy the Road Scout' and 'The Topple Twins' - both of which made a lasting impression on me when I first read them over fifty years ago!

Image'

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- Phil Rushton

matrix
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Re: roland davies

Post by matrix »

He certainly was a very versatile artist looking at his work on here and Bear Alley, love his plane and train artwork.

That is a lovely snow scene, I am not familiar with his work on Steve, what made it so popular, was it the horses face? I mean, who could not like that, it draws you to the story!

Some of his characters eyes remind me of the flintstones!

matrix
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Re: roland davies

Post by matrix »

Here is another nice example of his work, doing his bit for Triumph! From 'The Motor Cycle' magazine 1949.
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Shaqui
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Re: roland davies

Post by Shaqui »

I gather from comments made by the late Roger Perry, that he tried to use Roland Davies quite a bit, and commissioned him for the two New Adventures of Huck Finn storybooks published in the late 60s by Century 21 Publishing, as they required a mix of realistic art for the live action stars, while also doing the more cartoony characters they met.

I've never been able to determine whether Davies drew any of the strips for TV Century 21 or Lady Penelope and their related annuals though...

matrix
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Re: roland davies

Post by matrix »

Here are some more examples of his work 'The Ace book of speed' (1952) and 'Daily Mail Motorcycling Book' both written and illustrated by Roland Davies.

Denis Gifford mentioned in his obituary "his obsession with speed" http://www.independent.co.uk/news/peopl ... 67688.html and it really shows in these examples.

His detailed work in these books make them a pleasure to own, not for everyone I know, but for anyone who enjoys older motorcycle art these are a must!
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