The Elusive Mam'selle X

[Marionette]

A lot of IPC annuals are padded out with stories that were clearly designed for a much smaller format. The way they always split into four quarters which need to be read in order suggests they were originally picture library comics. One that recurs in Tammy is Mam'selle X, a world war 2 spy, who turns up in Tammy annuals for 1974 and 1975.

Anyone have any idea if this was a repeat from a picture library, possibly under a different name?

[matrix]

This 'Mam'selle x-special agent' appeared in School Friend and Girls' Crystal dated 25/5/63 the scan below is the first episode.

They look different to me, but then some of the shading looks similar?

[Marionette]

It's the same character; same secret identity. But a different artist. And this one isn't in the picture library format. How curious.

[philcom55]

It's hard to be sure but I think the original Mme. X strip was drawn by Robert MacGillivray. As with characters such as Sue Day and Uncle Lionel she also appeared in a number of stories especially drawn for the picture library format.



- Phil R.

[Tammyfan]

I believe Giorgio Giorgetti (Cat Girl) drew Mam'selle X as well.

[Tristan]

Hello,

Does anybody know who drew this story of Mam'selle X, which appeared in the 1969 Girls' Crystal Annual? I have come across other short strips by him in French girls' comics (translated from British material) and would love to put a name on his style. I have a feeling he might be Italian, but I may be wrong?

Thanks in advance,
Tristan (French comics fan)

[Tammyfan]

The first sample is by Dudley Wynne. I have no idea if it is a reprint from a PSL.

[Tristan]

The first sample is by Dudley Wynne. I have no idea if it is a reprint from a PSL.

Thank your for the response. All samples are from the same story, so I would guess all the pages are by the same artist. I will look into Dudley Wynne.

[Tristan]

From what I've seen by googling for Dudley Wynne, I don't think this is by him although there are similarities.

The style here is very tightly detailed, less scratchy or hesitant maybe than Dudley Wynne's. I will have to post single panels so that you can look more closely.

My thoughts were towards Italians like Guido Buzzelli or Enrico Bagnoli, but were they still working for the U.K. in the late sixties ?

[philcom55]

I'm dubious about it being Dudley Wynne too. Also, it looks to me as though some of the panels have been resized - either from an old Girls' Crystal serial or from an issue of a picture library - which would place the artwork several years earlier than 1968/9.

[comixminx]

I would say that it does look like Dudley Wynne to me, actually.

[philcom55]

I agree that the rendering looks rather like Dudley Wynne's - it's just the faces that don't seem much like his to me. I certainly wouldn't rule him out however - some artists changed quite a lot over the course of their careers.

[Tammyfan]

I agree that the rendering looks rather like Dudley Wynne's - it's just the faces that don't seem much like his to me. I certainly wouldn't rule him out however - some artists changed quite a lot over the course of their careers.

Like Dave Berg of MAD. When comparing his early works with his work in his final years, you wouldn't think it was the same artist. HIs artwork went from being completely cartoony and his characters looking stick-like to looking straight and realistic.

Of course it could be that it was an artist similar to Dudley Wynne. We've had examples of artists with similar styles, such as Jim Eldridge and Barrie Mitchell.

[philcom55]

...Also there are several examples of British strips that were reprinted with new faces added by a different artist.

[philcom55]

On the subject of comic strips which feature female characters fighting the Germans during WW2 it's worth noting that one of the current issues of Commando tells the story of a British spy operating in the occupied Channel Islands where she finds herself suddenly confronted by her own estranged father, Oberfuhrer Fischer - a fanatical Nazi!