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 ''Look and Learn'' was a British weekly educational magazine for children published by Fleetway Publications Ltd from 1962 until 1982. It contained educational text articles that covered a wide variety of topics from volcanoes to the Loch Ness ...

''.

Early life

Born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

,Alan Clark, ''Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors'', The British Library, 1998, pp. 107-108 on 10 October 1914, he joined the

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 ...

(AP) as an editorial assistantGeorge Beal
Obituary: Leonard Matthews
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 5 December 1997 in 1939, starting as a sub-editor on the weekly comic ''

Knockout 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, a ...

'' under editor Percy Clarke. Matthews persuaded cartoonist

Hugh McNeill Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

, then working for rival

DC Thomson DC Thomson is a media company based in Dundee, Scotland. Founded by David Couper Thomson in 1905, it is best known for publishing ''The Dundee Courier'', ''The Evening Telegraph'' and ''The Sunday Post'' newspapers, and the comics ''Oor Wull ...

's comics ''

The Beano ''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'', also known as ''Beano'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it became the world's longest-runn ...

'' and ''

The Dandy ''The Dandy'' was a British children's comic magazine published by the Dundee based publisher DC Thomson. The first issue was printed in December 1937, making it the world's third-longest running comic, after ''Il Giornalino'' (cover dated 1 Oct ...

'', to go freelance and work for AP. McNeill contributed ''Deed-a-Day Danny'' and ''Simon the Simple Sleuth'' to ''Knockout'''s initial lineup, and remained a mainstay of AP's comics for the rest of his life;Wright and Ashford, pp. 89-102. he and Matthews remained friends until McNeill died in 1969.

RAF and WWII

Matthews 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 ...

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 ...

, and also compiled training manuals for the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

in London. He volunteered as a

fire lookout A fire lookout (partly also called a fire watcher) is a person assigned the duty to look for fire from atop a building known as a fire lookout tower. These towers are used in remote areas, normally on mountain tops with high elevation and a ...

, and saved AP's offices at Fleetway House from burning down during an air raid. After the war he returned to ''Knockout'', becoming editor in 1948. He featured more adventure strips, including adaptations of classic adventure novels, scripting some of them, including ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'', drawn by Eric Parker. He wrote the pirate strip ''Captain Flame'' for artist

Sep E. Scott Septimus Edwin Scott (1879–1965), who signed his name Sep E. Scott,Norman Wright and David Ashford, ''Masters of Fun and Thrills: The British Comic Artists Vol 1'', Norman Wright (pub.), 2008, pp. 170-179 was a British painter, illustrator and ...

,Wright and Ashford, pp. 170-180. and

Dick Turpin Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ear ...

serials for

H. M. Brock Henry Matthew Brock (11 July 187521 July 1960) was a British illustrator and landscape painter of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He was one of four artist brothers, all of them illustrators, who worked together in their family ...

and

D. C. Eyles Derek Charles Eyles (1902–1974)David Ashford and Norman Wright, The Book Palace, accessed 27 December 2011 was a British illustrator and comics artist. Born in North Finchley, London, he was the son of Charles Eyles, a painter and illustrator wh ...

. He was also an artist, drawing strips like ''Daffy the Cowboy Tec'' for ''Knockout''.

Comics career

In 1949 he became editor of a second comic, ''

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

'', acquired by AP from rival publisher

J. B. Allen ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

. Again, he increased the adventure content, hiring

Geoff Campion Arthur Geoffrey Campion (19 November 1916 — 18 December 1997)Norman Wright and David Ashford, ''Masters of Fun and Thrills: The British Comic Artists Vol. 1'', Norman Wright (pub.), 2008, pp. 7-21 was a British comics artist who drew adventur ...

to draw ''

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...

'', and introducing new characters like Max Bravo and

Battler Britton Battler Britton is a British comics character created by Mike Butterworth and Geoff Campion.McNeil, Jamie"Battler Britton" ''The Slings & Arrows Graphic Novel Guide''. Retrieved April 7, 2021. He first appeared in Amalgamated Press' ''Sun'' in 19 ...

. In 1950 he launched ''

Cowboy Comics A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

'', a digest-sized series repackaging western comics originated for the Australian market, and later became editor of ''

Thriller Comics Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'', which published historical adventure stories in the same format. He scripted several of them, including adaptations of ''

Lorna Doone ''Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor'' is a novel by English author Richard Doddridge Blackmore, published in 1869. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly ar ...

'' and ''

Quentin Durward ''Quentin Durward'' is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, first published in 1823. The story concerns a Scottish archer in the service of the French King Louis XI (1423–1483) who plays a prominent part in the narrative. Composit ...

''. In the 1950s he became Managing Editor of Amalgamated Press's comics, including the girls' and nursery titles as well as the boys' titles. In 1958 Amalgamated Press was bought by the Mirror Group and renamed

Fleetway Publications Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies that merg ...

, and in 1961 Matthews was named Director of Juvenile Publications, and launched several new titles, including ''

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

'', '' Buster'' and ''

War Picture Library ''War Picture Library'' was a British 64-page "pocket library" war comic magazine title published by Amalgamated Press/Fleetway (now owned by IPC Magazines) for 2103 issues. Each issue featured a complete story, beginning on 1 September 1958 wi ...

''. In 1962 he launched ''

'', a lavishly illustrated weekly magazine inspired by the Italian magazines ''Conoscere'' and ''La Vita Meravigliosa'', and in 1965 launched ''

Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

'', which combined educational features with comic strips, such as '' Rob Riley'' and the highly regarded '' Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire''. Whilst

Mike Butterworth John Michael Butterworth (10 January 1924 – 4 October 1986) was a British comic book writer, best known for his comic strip '' The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire'' in the British weeklies ''Ranger'' and ''Look and Learn''. Life Butt ...

is credited as the author of the ''Trigan Empire'', it was Leonard Matthews who initiated the original concept, as Butterworth explained: Nicknamed "

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

of the Comics," while at Fleetway, Matthews nonetheless left the company at the end of 1968 to set up his own company,

Martspress 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 ...

, packaging comics and juvenile publications like '' TV21''Stringer, Lew
"Flashback 1969: TV21 & Joe 90 No.1,"
''Blimey! The Blog of British Comics!'' (25 November 2007). and ''Once Upon a Time'' for

City Magazines City Magazines was a British publisher of weekly comics and men's magazines that operated from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. The company's most notable publications were comics magazines based on licensed television properties, including ''TV Ce ...

. A small man, Matthews liked to have tall men working for him. In addition, no employee was allowed to have a beard or they'd be sacked.Jack Adrian
Obituary: Leonard Matthews
''

'', 5 December 1997

Death

Matthews died in

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up Ar ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, on 9 November 1997.

References

Notes

Sources

* Wright, Norman and David Ashford, ''Masters of Fun and Thrills: The British Comic Artists Vol 1'', Norman Wright (pub.), 2008.

External links

Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Leonard British magazine publishers (people) 1914 births 1997 deaths Comic book editors Comics publishing companies British comics writers British comics artists British magazine editors Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Writers from London