Frank Langford/C F Eidelstein roll call...

Shaqui · Post by **Shaqui** » 20 Nov 2006, 14:54

Can you kind comic and illustration afficiandos give me a roll call of well known Frank Langford/C F Eidelstein (yes they were one and the same!) strips and artworks please?

I can start the ball rolling with 'Lady Penelope'/'Lady Penelope As A Girl' for 'Lady Penelope'/'Penelope', and 'Dr Who', 'The Persuaders' and 'The Protectors' for 'Countdown/TV Action'. Besides Phil's contribution of 'The Angry Planet' in 'Boys World', and some work for 'Marty' (a kind of girls magazine which was fronted by heart throb Marty Wilde), are there any others of note?

All contributions greatly received and appreciated!

Richard S. · Post by **Richard S.** » 20 Nov 2006, 18:28

I mainly know Frank Langford from his advertising work in the new Eagle, I don't have a sanner (yet!) but could trawl through them and identify ads with dates etc. if that is any use?

RichardS.

Shaqui · Post by **Shaqui** » 20 Nov 2006, 18:52

Very kind of you, Richard. I have a run of the new 'Eagle' (I presume you mean the 1980s version?) from 1 up to around issue 250, so if you do come across any - no need to list every single appearance - I can dig mine out and scan them.

Richard S. · Post by **Richard S.** » 21 Nov 2006, 14:21

signed pieces appear in the following issues:
15/10/83
19/11/83
03/12/83
17/12/83
27/10/84
28/06/86

Richard S.

Shaqui · Post by **Shaqui** » 21 Nov 2006, 14:53

Cheers for that Richard!

Another talent I hadn't realised Frank Langford had (though unsurprising considering his talent for getting likenesses) was film posters, as this 'Are You Being Served' film poster demonstrates:

[img:740:544]http://www.blanka.co.uk/i/products/433.jpg[/img]

philcom55 · Post by **philcom55** » 22 Nov 2006, 02:14

Thanks for confirming that they were the same person, Shaqui: I'd wondered about that for years. (In fact it did occur to me at one point that he might have only used the 'Eidlestein' persona when he knew he was producing substandard hackwork - i.e. being lazy or 'idle'!) I think most of his best work appeared in girls' and women's weeklies - hence the decision to assign him to Lady Penelope. He certainly did lots of B&W romance strips during the late 1950s for comics like Roxy and Glamour (all of which carried some version of the Eidlestein signature). I'll have to check if I can find any other colour strips.

The other major series that he produced for Boys' World was 'The Green Men' which appeared in colour on the back page for the final 23 issues of that title. Oddly enough the first few episodes (Vol.2, No's 18 - 24) were actually drawn by Luis Bermejo (or possibly one of his proteges), but the remainder of the series, up to the very last issue (Vol.2, No.40), was completed by Eidlestein/Langford. As with 'The Angry Planet' he employed a bewildering array of signatures during this period, including - at one point - 'Cyril F. Langford'! I'm pretty sure that the whole story was later reprinted in an Annual, though offhand I can't remember which.

- All the Best, Phil Rushton.

Shaqui · Post by **Shaqui** » 22 Nov 2006, 08:22

Frank Langford's real name was Eidelstein. I'm guessing from the 'C F Eidelstein/Langford signatures Frank may have been his middle name.

Curiously, he was still using the 'CFL' signature later in the decade - Kim Stevens had asked me about some of the 'Penny On Her Own' strips (the strange devolution from 'Lady Penelope As A Girl) which have this on odd instalments through 1970.

Shaqui · Post by **Shaqui** » 22 Nov 2006, 08:24

philcom55 wrote:He certainly did lots of B&W romance strips during the late 1950s for comics like Roxy and Glamour (all of which carried some version of the Eidlestein signature). I'll have to check if I can find any other colour strips.

The other major series that he produced for Boys' World was 'The Green Men' which appeared in colour on the back page for the final 23 issues of that title. Oddly enough the first few episodes (Vol.2, No's 18 - 24) were actually drawn by Luis Bermejo (or possibly one of his proteges), but the remainder of the series, up to the very last issue (Vol.2, No.40), was completed by Eidlestein/Langford. As with 'The Angry Planet' he employed a bewildering array of signatures during this period, including - at one point - 'Cyril F. Langford'! I'm pretty sure that the whole story was later reprinted in an Annual, though offhand I can't remember which.

Thanks Phil, any notes on his work would be much appreciated.

Shaqui · Post by **Shaqui** » 28 Nov 2006, 07:01

Does anyone here know if 'The Angry Planet' was the first time Frank Langford used his adopted pseudonym, as oposed to his real name Cyril (or C F) Eidlestein?

philcom55 · Post by **philcom55** » 29 Nov 2006, 11:53

Shaqui wrote:Does anyone here know if 'The Angry Planet' was the first time Frank Langford used his adopted pseudonym, as oposed to his real name Cyril (or C F) Eidlestein?

I've been wondering that myself, and so far I've not been able to come up with any earlier examples. During the period when he alternated between the two it was my impression that the 'Frank Langford' persona was reserved for his more prestigious work, while he continued to use his proper name for hackwork like the Top Sellers/Thorpe & Porter covers. For what it's worth, the practice of adopting a more 'commercial' name had been common for years amongst American comics professionals - some of the more celebrated examples being Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane and Nick Cardy.

BTW Shaqui, feel free to use the scans I posted earlier in any way you want. I'll try to send you some more examples when I get the chance.

All the Best, Phil Rushton

Cap Haggis · Post by **Cap Haggis** » 06 Dec 2006, 17:19

Frank Langford also had his advertising work (b&w) appear in UK Marvel titles (for "Airfix Eagles") in the late 1970s (Rampage comic in 1977 - the first version - ) I' m sure I also have seen his work in early editions of Wham! in the mid 60's full page adverts (either Airfix again or those anti smoking strips that appeared then - government ones I imagine)

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 06 Dec 2006, 18:55

Cap Haggis wrote:Frank Langford also had his advertising work (b&w) appear in UK Marvel titles (for "Airfix Eagles") in the late 1970s (Rampage comic in 1977 - the first version - ) I' m sure I also have seen his work in early editions of Wham! in the mid 60's full page adverts (either Airfix again or those anti smoking strips that appeared then - government ones I imagine)

Tom Kerr drew one of the anti-smoking strips. (The mod vs rocker one!) But not sure about the others. I recall one where a kid gets out of breath swimming because he's been on the fags but I'd haven't time to check through my sixties comics at present.

Langford did the billboard posters advertising the launch of Yorkie bars too didn't he?

Lew

Cap Haggis · Post by **Cap Haggis** » 07 Dec 2006, 11:46

Lew, maybe my memory is getting bad (worse) I think your correct. I have those 2 Tom Kerr ads, maybe it was another advert for airfix Frank Langford did arond then (?) I 'll have a look through my old "Whams" to double check - Tom Kerr was such an amazing artist as well, I loved all his stuff particularly his Oddball Oates (2nd mention Ive made today of that character and its only 10:40 am lol)

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 07 Dec 2006, 12:59

Cap Haggis wrote:Lew, maybe my memory is getting bad (worse) I think your correct. I have those 2 Tom Kerr ads, maybe it was another advert for airfix Frank Langford did arond then (?) I 'll have a look through my old "Whams" to double check - Tom Kerr was such an amazing artist as well, I loved all his stuff particularly his Oddball Oates (2nd mention Ive made today of that character and its only 10:40 am lol)

Thanks to the benefit of time travel I'm just looking at TV Century 21 No.36, dated September 25, 2065. Page 18 carries an anti smoking ad about a kid who could afford a record player because "...I decided to quit smoking and put the money I saved into a post office account". This one's definitely not by Tom Kerr so could be by Frank Langford.

Amusingly, the ad states "20 cigarettes a day cost ?60 or more a year!" . Anyone would think it was 1965.

Lew

Richard S. · Post by **Richard S.** » 27 Dec 2007, 18:57

signed pieces appear in the following issues:
15/10/83
19/11/83
03/12/83
17/12/83
27/10/84
28/06/86

Richard S.

and also in the following issues
03/07/82
18/09/82
25/09/82
02/10/82
21/05/83
26/11/83
10/11/90

Comics UK