Brian Moncrieff Lewis (3 June 1929 – 4 December 1978)Steve Holland

Bear Alley, 3 June 2008 was a British science fiction illustrator, comics artist, and animator. In the 1950s, he illustrated covers for pulp magazines like ''

New Worlds New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz Albums and EPs * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartn ...

'', ''

Science Fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

'', and '' Science Fiction Adventures''. In the 1960s, he drew adventure

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

for '' Tiger'', ''

Boys' World ''Boys' World'' was a boys' comic magazine published in the UK by Longacre Press (UK), Longacre Press. It ran for 89 issues beginning on 26 January 1963, and in 1964 it merged with the ''Eagle (comic), Eagle''. ''Boys' World'' featured the mytho ...

'', ''Hurricane'', and ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

''. He also used a more cartoony style to draw humor comic strips for '' Wham!'', '' Smash'', '' Cor!!'', and ''

Buster Buster may refer to: People First name *Buster Drayton (born 1952), American boxer *Buster Glosson, retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general *Buster Mathis (1943–1995), American heavyweight boxer *Buster Mathis Jr. (born 1970), American heavyw ...

''. In the 1970s, Lewis focused on comics adaptations of television and horror film properties.

Biography

Lewis served in the Royal Air Force, and became involved in science fiction fandom in the early 1950s. His first professional illustration was for the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'', and he began contributing to ''

'' in 1954, painting forty covers for the magazine. He also painted 21 covers for ''

'', 19 for '' Science Fiction Adventures'' and a few for Digit Books between 1957 and 1962. His work was characterised by strong colours laid on thickly, and was influenced by

surrealists Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

Paul Klee and Max Ernst and illustrator Richard Powers. His first work in comics was the strip ''Magna Carta'' for ''Lone Star'' in 1959.Fco. Javier Alcázar Guijo
Brian Lewis, el Británnico Olvidado
Tebeosfera (in Spanish) In the early 1960s, he drew adventure strips '' Jet Ace Logan'', '' The Suicide Six'', ''Paddy Ryan'', ''Memorable Moments in Sport'', and ''The Destroyer from the Depths'' for '' Tiger''; ''

Captain Condor Captain Condor is a British comic character who has appeared in eponymous strips published by Amalgamated Press and Fleetway Publications. The character, a space pilot, first appeared in the launch issue of weekly comic ''Lion'' on 23 February 1 ...

'' for ''

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

''; ''John Brody'' and ''Brett Million'' for ''

''; ''Planet Z'' for '' Hurricane''; and ''The Guinea Pig'' and ''Mann of Battle'' for ''

''. He also used a more cartoony style to draw ''Pest of the West'' and ''Georgie's Germs'' in '' Wham!'', and ''Space Jinx'' and ''Charlie's Choice'' for '' Smash''.Alan Clark, ''Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors'', The British Library, 1998, p. 93 He also drew the illustrations for a Supercar storybook. Around 1966, he moved into animation, working on films such as '' Yellow Submarine''. In the late 1960s and 70s, he drew comics adaptations of television properties for '' TV21'', ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'', and ''

TV Action ''Countdown'' was a British comic published weekly by Polystyle Publications – ultimately, under several different titles – from early 1971 to late summer 1973. The pages in each issue were numbered in reverse order, with page 1 at th ...

''. He illustrated horror adaptations for

Dez Skinn Derek "Dez" Skinn (born 4 February 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', 10 June 2005. Accessed 14 August 2010WebCitation archive is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books o ...

's ''

House of Hammer ''The House of Hammer'' was a British black-and-white magazine featuring articles and comics related to the Hammer Film Productions series of horror and science fiction films. The brainchild of Dez Skinn,Dakin, John. "'Marvel Revolution' in Engl ...

'' (including most covers for that series), as well as illustrating a number of episodes of the ongoing feature ''Van Helsing's Terror Tales''. This latter work led to commissions for Warren Publishing's '' Vampirella'' in the USA. He also continued his illustration work with ''Tomboy'' in '' Cor!!'' and ''

'', and ''Mark Strong'' in '' Look-in''. In 1978, he had a brief stint on ''

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repri ...

'' in '' 2000 AD'', drew two strips in the '' Van Der Valk'' annual, and produced some technical illustrations for Harry Harrison's book ''Mechanismo: An Illustrated Manual of Science Fiction Hardware''.

Death

He died on 4 December 1978. His final published work appeared in ''

Halls of Horror ''The House of Hammer'' was a British black-and-white magazine featuring articles and comics related to the Hammer Film Productions series of horror and science fiction films. The brainchild of Dez Skinn,Dakin, John. "'Marvel Revolution' in Eng ...

'' vol. 3, #5 (issue #29) (1984), a story originally produced in 1978.

Awards

Lewis was nominated for "Favourite British Artist" in the 1978 Eagle Awards.The source for this and the other 1978 winners i
Previous Winners: 1978
at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 9 September 2018.)

Bibliography

Comics

* ''Magna Carta'', in ''Lone Star'' (1959) * '' Jet Ace Logan'', in '' Tiger'' (1961) * '' Captain Condor – Space Ship Pilot'', in ''

'' (Dec. 1961–Jan. 1963) * '' The Suicide Six'', in '' Tiger'' (13 62Jan. 1962–1963) * ''Paddy Ryan'', in '' Tiger'' (1962–1963) * ''Memorable Moments in Sport'', in '' Tiger'' (1962–1963) * ''Mann of Battle'', in ''

'' (1963) * ''John Brody'', in ''

'' (1963–1964) * ''Brett Million'', in ''

'' (1963–1964) * ''The Destroyer from the Depths'', in '' Tiger'' (1964) * ''Planet Z'', in '' Hurricane'' (1964) * ''The Guinea Pig'', in ''

'' (1965) * ''Pest of the West'' (written by

Leo Baxendale Joseph Leo Baxendale (27 October 1930 – 23 April 2017) was an English cartoonist and publisher. Baxendale wrote and drew several titles. Among his best-known creations are the ''The Beano, Beano'' comic strip, strips ''Little Plum'', ''Minnie ...

), in '' Wham!'' ( 1965– 1968) * ''Georgie's Germs'', in '' Wham!'' ( 1965– 1968) * ''Space Jinx'', in '' Smash!'' (5 Feb. 1966–16 May 1966) * ''Moon Madness'' (written by Alf Wallace), in '' Smash!'' (2 Apr. 1966–16 May 1966)Stringer, Lew
"Moon Madness in 1966,"
''Blimey! The Blog of British Comics'' (July 20, 2009). * ''Charlie's Choice'', in '' Smash!'' (11 June 1966–7 Sept. 1968) * '' Captain Scarlet'', ''

'' (29 May 1971) * ''Let the Aliens Land!'', in ''

'' #59–66 (Apr. 1, 1972–May 20, 1972) * ''The Final Climb'', in ''

'' #67–70 (May 27, 1972–June 17, 1972) * ''Mark Strong'', in '' Look-in'' #37–41 (9 Sept. 1972–7 Oct. 1972) * ''Tomboy'' in '' Cor!!'' and ''

'' (1974–1976) * ''Chilling Tales of Mystery from Damian Darke'', in '' Spellbound'' (1976) * "Highway of Hell" (''Van Helsing's Terror Tales'') (written by Steve Parkhouse), in ''

'' #2 (Dec. 1976) * ''

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires ''The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires'' () is a 1974 martial arts horror film. The film opens in 1804, when seven vampires clad in gold masks are resurrected by Count Dracula, played by John Forbes-Robertson. A century later, Peter Cushing as P ...

'' (with Steve Moore; film adaptation), in ''

'' #4 (Feb. 1977) * "Malvoisin's Mirror" (''Van Helsing's Terror Tales'') in ''

'' #6 (June 1977) * '' The Quatermass Xperiment'' (with Les Lilley and Ben Aldrich; film adaptation), in ''

'' #8–9 (July 1977–Aug. 1977) * "Lair of the Dragon" (''Van Helsing's Terror Tales'') (written by Steve Moore), in ''

'' #11 (Aug. 1977) * "Curse of Cormac," (''Van Helsing's Terror Tales'') (written by Steve Parkhouse), in ''

'' #13 (Oct. 1977) * ''

The Reptile ''The Reptile'' is a 1966 horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by John Gilling, and starred Noel Willman, Jacqueline Pearce, Ray Barrett, Jennifer Daniel, and Michael Ripper. Plot summary In the 20th century in the fict ...

'' (with Steve Moore; film adaptation), in ''

'' #19 (Apr. 1978) * "The Nightmare Planet" (''

''), in '' 2000 AD'' #61–63 (22 April 1978–6 May 1978) * "International Incident" and "The Squealer," in '' Van der Valk'' annual (1978) * "Prey for the Wolf" (written by

Cary Bates Cary Bates (born 1948) is an American comic book, animation, television and film writer. He is best known for his work on ''The Flash'', '' Superman'', ''Superboy, the Legion of Superheroes'' and ''Captain Atom''. Biography Early career Bates ...

), '' Vampirella'' #82 (Oct. 1979) * "The Night Holds Terror" (''Van Helsing's Terror Tales'') (written by Tise Vahimagi), in ''

'' vol. 3, #5 (issue #29) (1984) — originally produced in 1978

Illustrations

* ''

'' (before 1954) * 40 covers, ''

'' magazine (1954) * 21 covers, ''

'' (1957–1962) * 19 covers, '' Science Fiction Adventures'' (1957–1962) * covers, Digit Books (1957–1962) * 15 covers, ''

'' (1976–1978) * cover, '' Starlord'' (1978) * technical illustrations, ''Mechanismo: An Illustrated Manual of Science Fiction Hardware'' (written by Harry Harrison) (Reed Books, 1978) * cover illustration, ''The Wall of Years'' (written by Andrew M. Stephenson) (Orbit Books, 1979)

References

External links

Brian Lewis on Lambiek Comiclopedia

Posts relating to Brian Lewis at the British Comic Art blog

Posts relating to Brian Lewis at Peter Gray's Cartoons and Comics blog

Posts relating to Brian Lewis on Grantbridge Street
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Brian 1929 births 1978 deaths British illustrators British comics artists British animators Place of birth missing 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel