Eric Bradbury (4 January 1921 – May 2001) was a British comic artist who primarily worked for

Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...

/ IPC from the late 1940s to the 1990s. He studied at

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

Art School from 1936,Eric Bradbury on Lambiek Comiclopedia
/ref> and served in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as a rear gunner on bombers during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.David Bishop, ''Blazing Battle Action part 2'', ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #210, 23 September 2003 After the war he worked for Gaumont-British Animation, alongside future comic creators

Mike Western Mike Western (b. Southampton, 4 February 1925; d. 13 May 2008)Ian WheelerMike Western remembered, Down The Tubes, 21 May 2008 was a British comics artist. He worked as a clean-up artist for GB Animation after military service in the Second World ...

, Ron Smith,

Bill Holroyd Charles William Holroyd CBE DL (born 7 February 1953) is a British investor and philanthropist. Career Holroyd joined Forte's group supply division where he stayed for eight years, setting up and running their national distribution network. I ...

, Harry Hargreaves and Ron ''Nobby'' Clark. When the studio folded in 1949, Bradbury and Clarke took samples to

, and were offered work at ''

Knock-Out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking ...

'', edited by

Leonard Matthews Leonard James Matthews (10 October 1914 – 9 November 1997) was a British editor, publisher, writer and illustrator of comics and children's magazines, best known as the founder of the educational magazine ''Look and Learn''. Early life Born in ...

— Clarke writing, Bradbury drawing.Steve Holland
Ron ''Nobby'' Clarke (1923-2009)
Bear Alley, 5 April 2009 He started out on humour strips like ''Blossom'' and ''Our Ernie'', but soon specialised in adventure strips, particularly

westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

like ''Lucky Logan'',Steve Holland
Comic Firsts: Eric Bradbury
Bear Alley, 8 November 2007 on which he alternated with former G-B colleague Mike Western,Steve Holland

Bear Alley, 20 May 2008 and ''Buffalo Bill'', both in '' The Comet''. For the same title, he drew an adaptation of the 1955 film ''

The King's Thief ''The King's Thief'' is a 1955 swashbuckling CinemaScope adventure film directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who replaced Hugo Fregonese during filming. Released on August 5, 1955, the film takes place in London at the time of Charles II and stars A ...

''. From the 1960s on he developed a dark style similar to

Francisco Solano López Francisco Solano López Carrillo (24 July 1827 – 1 March 1870) was President of Paraguay from 1862 until his death in 1870. He was the eldest son of Juana Pabla Carrillo and of President Carlos Antonio López, Francisco's predecessor. ...

, and drew strips like ''

Mytek the Mighty "Mytek the Mighty" is a British comic adventure strip, appearing in titles published by Fleetway Publications. The story revolves around Mytek, a large and powerful robotic ape. The strip first appeared in the boys' anthology title '' Valiant' ...

'', ''

The House of Dolmann was a British comic strip from the pages of '' Valiant''. The serial ran weekly from 1966 to 1970, with a brief revival as a reprint strip in 1974. The serial was among the titles reprinted in ''Vulcan'' from 1975 to 1976. Tom Tully wrote many s ...

'', and ''

The Black Crow A list of stories published in the IPC weekly boys' comic ''Battle Picture Weekly'' between 1975 and 1988. Achilles the Avenger :Published: 8 April to 3 June 1978 :Writer: Gil Page :Artist: Luis Lorente A gentle Greek giant becomes a fears ...

'' for '' Valiant'', ''

Phantom Force 5 Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy un ...

'', ''

The Leopard from Lime Street ''The Leopard from Lime Street'' was a comic strip appearing in the British comic ''Buster (comic), Buster'' from 1976 in comics, 1976 to 1985 in comics, 1985. Written by Tom Tully (writer), Tom Tully,Mike Western Mike Western (b. Southampton, 4 February 1925; d. 13 May 2008)Ian WheelerMike Western remembered, Down The Tubes, 21 May 2008 was a British comics artist. He worked as a clean-up artist for GB Animation after military service in the Second World ...

's pencils) and ''

Maxwell Hawke Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of ...

'' for '' Buster'', ''

Von Hoffman's Invasion The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...

'' for '' Jet'', and '' Cursitor Doom'' for '' Smash!''. In 1973 he was the artist on an abortive IPC superhero comic, ''Captain Britain'' (no relation to the later

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dill ...

character). He joined ''

Battle Picture Weekly ''Battle Picture Weekly'', at various times also known as ''Battle Action'', ''Battle Action Force'', ''Battle'' and ''Battle with Storm Force'', was a British war comic book magazine published by IPC Magazines from (issues dates) 8 March 1975 ...

'' in 1976 when ''Valiant'' was folded into it, taking ''The Black Crow'' with it. Other strips he drew for ''Battle'' included '' Joe Two Beans'', '' Coward's Brand on Bradley'', '' Crazy Keller'', ''

Death Squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are ...

'', '' The Fists of Jimmy Chang'' and '' Invasion 1984''.David Bishop, ''Blazing Battle Action part 3'', ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #211, 21 October 2003David Bishop, ''Blazing Battle Action part 4'', ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #212, 18 November 2003 He also drew '' Hook Jaw'' for ''

Action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

''. He was described by '' 2000 AD'' as one of their "early, unsung heroes," drawing for them from the early issues in 1977 until 1993, including '' Invasion!'', '' The Mean Arena'' and ''

Rogue Trooper ''Rogue Trooper'' is a science fiction strip in the British comic '' 2000 AD'', created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons in 1981. It portrays the adventures of a " Genetic Infantryman" named Rogue and three uploaded minds mounted on his ...

'', as well as numerous ''

Tharg the Mighty Tharg the Mighty or The Mighty One is the fictional editor of the British science fiction comic '' 2000 AD''. The character was introduced on the cover of the first issue in 1977 and is one of only two characters to appear in almost every issue of ...

'' stories and ''

Future Shocks ''Tharg's Future Shocks'' is a long-running series of short strips in the British weekly comic '' 2000 AD'' in 1977. The name originates from the fictional editor of 2000 AD and the book titled ''Future Shock'', written by Alvin Toffler, publi ...

''. He also drew ''

Doomlord ''Doomlord'' was a comic strip (and the shared title name of the central characters) published in the British comic book ''Eagle'' during the 1980s, from issue 1 on 27 March 1982 until issue 395 on 14 October 1989. Reprints of previous ''Doomlo ...

'' for the revived ''

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 ...

'' in the 1980s. Bradbury died in May 2001.Where is Eric Bradbury?
Comic Bits, November 14, 2008

Bibliography

Comics work includes: *'' Invasion!'': ''Dartmoor'' (with

Gerry Finley-Day Gerry Finley-Day (born 1947, Broughty Ferry, Dundee) is a Scottish comics writer, prolific from the 1960s to the 1980s, best known as the creator of "Rogue Trooper". Career He began his career at D.C. Thomson & Co., before becoming the edit ...

, in '' 2000 AD'' #10-11, 1977) *''

Tharg's Future Shocks ''Tharg's Future Shocks'' is a long-running series of short strips in the British weekly comic '' 2000 AD'' in 1977. The name originates from the fictional editor of 2000 AD and the book titled ''Future Shock'', written by Alvin Toffler, publi ...

'' (all in 2000 AD): ** ''Fish in a Barrel'' (with Steve Moore, in #208, 1981) ** ''Long Live the Queen'' (with

Kelvin Gosnell Kelvin Gosnell is a British comics writer and editor. He was involved in the founding of the long-running comic '' 2000 AD'' in 1977, and was its second editor (1977–1978). He also edited '' Starlord'' (1978) and ''Tornado'' (1979). Biography ...

, in #212, 1981) ** Ang About'' (with

, in #221, 1981) ** ''The Beastly Beliefs of Benjamin Blint'' (with

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

, in #249, 1982) ** ''But is it Art?'' (with

Peter Milligan Peter Milligan (born 24 June 1961) is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including '' 2000 AD'', ''Revolv ...

, in #409, 1985) ** ''Eggravation'' (with

, in #420, 1985) ** ''Speak No Evil'' (with

, in #434, 1985) ** ''Robot'' (with

Frances Lynn Frances Lynn is an English journalist and author. Biography Lynn was born in St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, and was educated at Malvern Girls' College. In 1977, Lynn started her journalistic career when she became the film editor ...

, in #718, 1991) ** ''Pact with the Devil'' (with

, in #743, 1991) *''

(all in 2000 AD), Unless otherwise stated, all stories credited to “T.M.O.” (The Mighty One, AKA Tharg)'': ** ''Tharg's Christmas Tale'' (in #243-244, 1981) ** ''Tharg's Birthday Party'' (in #260, 1982) ** ''The Shedding'' (with

as T.M.O., in ''2000 AD'' #283-285, 1982) ** ''The Challenge'' (in #361, 1984) ** ''Zrag Law'' (in #386, 1984) ** ''Supersub!'' (in #467, 1986) ** ''2000BC'' (written by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...

as T.M.O, in #473, 1986) ** ''Night of the Living Thrill Sucker'' (in Sci-Fi Special, 1991) ** ''Galactic Greetings'' (in #719, 1991) ** ''The Question'' (in #749, 1991) ** ''Tharg's Masterclass'' (in #823, 1993) *''Time Twisters'': ** ''William the Conkerer'' (with Alan Grant, in ''2000 AD'' #294, 1982) ** ''The Big Clock!'' (with

, in ''2000 AD'' #315, 1983) *''Tharg's Terror Tales'': ''Waiting for the Night Train'' (with Alan Hale, in ''2000 AD'' #838, 1993)

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradbury, Eric British comics artists 1921 births 2001 deaths Royal Air Force personnel of World War II