David E. Boswell (born 1953) is a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
writer and artist,
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
, and
photographer
A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs.
Duties and types of photographe ...
based in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
who has worked in the comics industry. He is the creator of the series ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman''.
Boswell grew up in
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
, and
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
and
Dundas, Ontario : ''For the county in eastern Ontario see Dundas County, Ontario. For the upper tier county, see United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.''
Dundas is a community and town in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is nicknamed the ''Valley Town' ...
. He studied film at
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton. At its Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population of 213,759, it is List of tow ...
's
Sheridan College
Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada.
Founded in ...
, where he graduated in 1974.
After graduation, Boswell attempted to earn a living as a cartoonist, and his first full-page comic, "Heart Break Comics", was published in ''
The Georgia Straight
''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, ...
'' from 1977–1978. Boswell moved to
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
in 1977, and in 1978, he launched ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman''.
Another title Boswell created is ''Ray-Mond''.
Boswell's influences include film directors
Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...
and
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...
, composer
Hector Berlioz
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
, comedians
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
, and
W.C. Fields
WC or wc may refer to:
* Water closet or flush toilet
Arts and entertainment
* ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film
* WC (band), a Polish punk rock band
* WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California
* Westside Connection, former hi ...
, and humourist
Robert Benchley
Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thro ...
, as well as early Hollywood and European cinema stars, and he often features references in his work. He has written a number of screenplays for movies, none of which have been made.
In 2011, Boswell was inducted into the
Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame
The Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame, formally known as Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame, honours significant lifelong contributions to the art of Cartoonist, cartooning in Canada.
History and Structure
The Giants of the ...
.
Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman
Boswell based the character of Reid Fleming on a childhood bully with the same name.
[Boswell entry](_blank)
Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Reid employs extremely aggressive means in delivering his dairy products. His supervisor is Mr. Crabbe, whose head is unusual in shape, and who has little, if any, patience with Reid Fleming. If it was up to him, Reid would have been fired years ago, but Reid's employer, Mr. O'Clock, prefers to just dock Reid's pay for all the milk trucks he wrecked in his recklessness (8 at the start of the story); O'Clock's reticence to fire Reid may be due to the fact that he is Reid's biological father, as implied in issue #5 (#6 under the Deep Sea Comics imprint); at the end of the issue, a scene set in the future shows that Reid is now president of the company.
Reid is in love with Lena Toast, who has a TV show with Commander Bob. The latter wears "winged boots of doom" that do not enable him to fly. He gets around in a flying house, and uses a rope ladder to literally drop in on a randomly selected guest and kidnap him or her to be interviewed on the show. He uses a power blast on uncooperative guests. He is not the only super-powered character on the show. Reid is able to lift his milk truck with his bare hands and has a degree of invulnerability that has prevented serious or lethal injury. Lena, having been divorced 3 times now, is not a good prospect for a guaranteed marriage.
Reid's favorite TV program is the soap opera, ''The Dangers of Ivan''. He sometimes skips work to watch it. At one point, Ivan has a terrible accident while driving, spends 6 years in a coma, and, upon awakening, falls to his death from an open window. He returns as an undead monster starring in ''The Horrors of Ivan''. Despite this drastic change, Reid remains a member of his fan club.
In ''Rogue to Riches'', which starts right after the 1-shot Eclipse issue, Reid is finally fired by Mr. O'Clock for wrecking one truck too many (which he didn't do), shacks up with Lena, gets employment with a cable company, and, though he appears to be good at it, he and his partner are finally fired for damages to a customer's lawn gnome. He then goes to get his original job back, as it was his calling. There are dream sequences as well, showing Reid's inner anxieties and fears. A Fieldsian revelation wraps up the story.
In the 1980s Hollywood bought the rights to the screenplay, which was written by Boswell. A film has yet to be made.
Publication history
Although Reid's adventures were first published in ''
The Georgia Straight
''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, ...
'' newspaper in 1978, the first comic book collecting them was self-published by Boswell in 1980. This 36-page magazine was the only Reid Fleming comic book for six years. The character did appear in a secondary role in the 44-page ''Heartbreak Comics'' in 1984.
In 1986
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...
republished the 1980 issue, and then began publishing a regular series, appearing annually for five issues, and finally the unnumbered ''Fun with Reid Fleming'' in 1991. Eclipse went bankrupt not long after, leaving Reid without a publisher for several years. From 1996–1998, the Canadian publisher
Deep Sea Comics reprinted the 1980 issue and the five Eclipse issues as ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'' 1-6, followed by three issues (#7-9) of new material.
After again lying dormant for four years, Reid Fleming was revived for a
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
teaming him with
Bob Burden
Bob Burden is an American comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''Flaming Carrot Comics'' and the ''Mystery Men''.
Early life
Burden was born the eldest of three siblings in Buffalo, New York. His father worked at Westin ...
's
Flaming Carrot
''Flaming Carrot Comics'' was an American superhero comic book created by Bob Burden, featuring the absurd, surreal adventure of the Flaming Carrot.
The series first appeared in ''Visions'' #1, a magazine-size comic book publication. Flaming Carro ...
. This has been the last new Reid Fleming material to date.
2011 saw the first of two hardcover collected volumes released by
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
, ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman Volume 1'' contains the first Reid Fleming comic and the mini-series ''Rogue to Riches'' as well as ''Heartbreak Comics''.
In popular culture
Issue #3 of the 1991
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
limited series ''
Challengers of the Unknown
The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces.
The characters' provenance is ...
'' features a poster depicting the character
Leslie "Rocky" Davis starring in a ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'' movie. Reid also appears in issue #5 of that same title, threatening to "piss on
ocky'sflowers" unless he pays a $17.28 bill. This is an allusion to a well-known scene in the 1980 self-published issue where Reid threatens to urinate on someone's flowers unless 78 cents is paid.
Photography
Boswell's 1978 photograph of Leonard Cohen is the cover photo on the authorized biography by Sylvie Simmons in the following countries: Canada
ardcover and paperback United States
ardcover and paperback the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Israel, and Poland.
Bibliography
* ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'', 1 issue (David Boswell, 1980)
* ''Heart Break Comics'' (David Boswell, 1984) — reprinted by Eclipse in 1988 and by Deep-Sea Comics in 1998
* ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'', 1 special and 5 annual issues (Eclipse, 1986–1990)
* ''Fun With Reid Fleming (World's Toughest Milkman)'' (Eclipse, 1991)
* ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'', 9 issues (Deep Sea Comics, 1996–April 1998)
* ''Ray-Mond'' (Deep Sea Comics, 1998)
* ''Origins of Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'' (Deep Sea Comics, June 1998)
* ''Flaming Carrot & Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'' (Dark Horse, 2002)
* ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman Volume 1'' - (IDW, 2011) HC, BW • $29.99 • 224 Pages • 8.5" x 11" •
References
External links
*
*
*
Booze, fights, and general piss-ups: David Boswell, creator of Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman, hosts East Side book launch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boswell, David
1953 births
Artists from London, Ontario
Artists from Vancouver
Canadian comics artists
Canadian comics writers
Living people
Writers from London, Ontario
Writers from Vancouver