''Swift'' was a British weekly comics magazine published by in the UK as a junior companion to the ''

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 ...

''.

Publication history

It was founded by the Rev. Marcus Morris and launched by

Hulton Press Sir Edward George Warris Hulton (29 November 1906 – 8 October 1988) was a British magazine publisher and writer. Early life Hulton was born to Sir Edward Hulton, 1st Baronet, a newspaper publisher and racehorse owner originally from Mancheste ...

in 1954. After Hultons were sold to

Odhams Press Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and th ...

in 1959, ''Swift'' absorbed Odhams' weekly title ''Zip'' and inherited a number of its strips. ''Swift'' was merged into the ''Eagle'' in 1963.

Comics published in ''Swift''

*'' Arty and Crafty'' by

Geoffrey Bond Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the ...

and

Martin Aitchison Martin Henry Hugh Aitchison (21 November 1919 – 22 October 2016) was an illustrator for the ''Eagle'' comic from 1952 to 1963, and then one of the main illustrators for Ladybird Books from 1963 to 1990. Aitchison was born in Kings Norto ...

*'' Calling U for Useless'' by

Reg Parlett Reginald Edward Parlett (2 August 1904 – 18 November 1991) was an artist from England who had a career of drawing for comic books that lasted for 66 years. Born in London, his father Harry Parlett (1881–1971) was also a prolific artist whos ...

*'' The Fleet Family'', drawn by

Frank Bellamy Frank Bellamy (21 May 1917 Khoury, George. ''True Brit: Celebrating The Comic Book Artists Of England'' (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2004). – 5 July 1976) was a British comics artist, best known for his work on the ''Eagle'' comic, for which h ...

, 1954Frank Bellamy Checklist - Comics
/ref> *''

The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe ''The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe'' (now more commonly rendered as ''The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe'') is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719. Just as in its significantly more popular predecessor, ''Robinson ...

'', classic novel adaptation drawn by Richard Jennings *'' Ginger and Co'', drawn by Neville Colvin, 1960-62 *'' King Arthur and His Knights'', by

Clifford Makins Clifford may refer to: People *Clifford (name), an English given name and surname, includes a list of people with that name *William Kingdon Clifford *Baron Clifford *Baron Clifford of Chudleigh *Baron de Clifford *Clifford baronets * Clifford fam ...

and

, 1955-56 *'' Lochinvar’s Ride'', illustrated by

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 ...

*'' Nigel Tawney, Explorer'', drawn by

Harry Winslade Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

(as Redvers Blake) *'' Paul English'', drawn by

Giorgio Bellavitis Giorgio may refer to: * Castel Giorgio, ''comune'' in Umbria, Italy * Giorgio (name), an Italian given name and surname * Giorgio Moroder, or Giorgio, Italian record producer ** ''Giorgio'' (album), an album by Giorgio Moroder * "Giorgio" (son ...

1955 *''

The Phantom Patrol ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', drawn by

Gerry Embleton Gerry Embleton is a British artist, born in London. He is best known as an illustrator of military and historic subjects. He has illustrated more than 40 titles for the military publisher Osprey. He is the younger brother of illustrator Ron Embl ...

(later reprinted as ''The Ghost Patrol'' in '' Smash!'' in 1966) *''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order ...

'', classic novel adaptation drawn by

Patrick Nicolle Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, 1961 *''

The Red Rider ''The Red Rider'' is a 1934 American Western film serial from Universal Pictures and starring Buck Jones. It has 15 chapters based on the short story "The Redhead from Sun Dog" by W. C. Tuttle, and is a remake of Buck Jones' earlier 1931 film '' ...

'', drawn by

Jim Holdaway Jim Holdaway (1927–1970) was a British illustrator, who contributed art for numerous comic strips. His best known work was on the ''Modesty Blaise'' comics written by Peter O'Donnell. Art career Jim Holdaway was born in 1927 in Barnes Co ...

*''

Robin Hood and His Merry Men The following are some of the notable adaptations of the Robin Hood story in film and television. Robin Hood, English-language live-action films and television series Theatrical shorts *1908: '' Robin Hood and His Merry Men'', a silent film d ...

'', by

and

, 1956-57 *''

Robin Hood and Maid Marian Maid Marian is the heroine of the Robin Hood legend in English folklore, often taken to be his lover. She is not mentioned in the early, medieval versions of the legend, but was the subject of at least two plays by 1600. Her history and circums ...

'', by

and

, 1957 *'' Sir Boldasbrass'' by John Ryan *''

Smiley A smiley, sometimes referred to as a smiley face, is a basic ideogram that represents a smiling face. Since the 1950s it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram, or as a form of communication, such a ...

'', about a young Australian boy, written by Moore Raymond *''

Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwreck ...

'', classic novel adaptation drawn by

, 1954-55 *'' Tammy the Sheepdog'', drawn by G. William Backhouse *'' Tarna the Jungle Boy'', drawn by Harry Bishop, 1954-63 *''

Tom Tex and Pinto Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''List of Beavis and Butt-Head characters#Local r ...

'', western drawn by Harry Bishop, 1954-55

Archival holdings

The

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

holds copies of ''Swift'' from 20 March 1954 to 2 March 1963.British Comics: Select list
/ref>

References

Citations

Sources

* {{gcdb series, id= 80364 , title=Swift Comics magazines published in the United Kingdom Children's magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct British comics 1954 comics debuts 1963 comics endings Magazines established in 1954 Magazines disestablished in 1963 Odhams Press titles