Tom Tully (died 2013) was a noted British comic writer, mostly of sports and action-adventure stories. He was the longest-running writer of the popular football-themed strip ''

Roy of the Rovers ''Roy of the Rovers'' is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional footballer and later manager named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers. The strip first appeared in the ''Tiger'' in 1954, before giving its name to a ...

'', which he wrote for much of Roy Race's playing career until the weekly comic closed in 1993. Other notable strips penned by Tully included '' The Steel Claw'', '' The House of Dolmann'', '' The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark'', ''

The Leopard from Lime Street ''The Leopard from Lime Street'' was a comic strip appearing in the British comic '' Buster'' from 1976 to 1985. Written by Tom Tully,The Robo Machines'', and '' Harlem Heroes''. During his three-decade career, Tully wrote exclusively for what became known as the IPC line of publishers:

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 ...

Odhams 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 the ...

/ Longacre Press/

Fleetway 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 ...

IPC Magazines TI Media (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of its tit ...

Biography

Tom Tully was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, but grew up in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

(where he became a supporter of Newcastle United). He worked as a telephone operator for the

Royal Air Force 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) an ...

as part of his national service. After a series of civil service jobs and earning a diploma in writing for children, he embarked on a freelance writing career. His first sale was at age 25 — a

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily US newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books ...

story. From 1963 to 1970, Tully was the principal writer on '' The Steel Claw'' for '' Valiant'' with artist

Jesús Blasco Jesús Blasco (3 November 1919 – 21 October 1995) was a Spanish author and artist of comic books, whose career covered most of the conventional history of comic strips. He worked extensively in British comics in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Bla ...

, taking over for the fourth serial from

Ken Bulmer Henry Kenneth Bulmer (14 January 1921 – 16 December 2005) was a British author, primarily of science fiction. Life Born in London, he married Pamela Buckmaster on 7 March 1953. They had one son and two daughters, and they divorced in 1981. B ...

, and later returning from 1971 to 1973 for the sequel strip, ''Return of the Claw''. In the early 1960s, he wrote ''Heros the Spartan'' with art by

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

for ''

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, j ...

''. Another one of his most notable strips for ''Valiant'' was ''

The Wild Wonders ''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 ...

'', drawn by Mike Western, about a pair of wild boys, brought up by animals, who turn out to be fantastic athletes. He also worked on '' Kelly's Eye'' and ''

Janus Stark ''Janus Stark'', or ''The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark'', is a British comic strip series, originally written by Tom Tully and drawn by Francisco Solano López. It is about an escapologist in Victorian London who appears to be simply an ...

'' (both with

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. ...

) in the 1960s.Steve Holland
Mike Western (1925-2008)
Bear Alley, 20 May 2008 Tully wrote his first scripts for ''

'' in 1969, and wrote the comic sporadically until 1974 when he was given the permanent job as lead writer, a position he held for nearly 20 years. During that time, the strip moved from ''

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

'' to its own self-titled comic. In the 1970s and '80s, Tully worked on '' Johnny Red'' for ''

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 197 ...

''. He worked on many '' 2000 AD'' projects including '' Dan Dare'', and the sports-related '' Harlem Heroes'' and ''

Mean Arena There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ari ...

''. He also created '' The Mind of Wolfie Smith'' for ''

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

'', which later transferred to ''2000 AD''. Tully wrote the ''Roy of the Rovers'' strip until the main comic's demise in 1993, with the final incident of Roy's playing career coming when he lost control of his helicopter and crashed into a field. After the closure of ''Roy of the Rovers'', Tully had very few comics credits. He retired to

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

in the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...

. He died in Autumn 2013.Tom Tully
DanDare.info. Retrieved May 12, 2021.

Bibliography

Comics work includes:

Action/adventure strips

* 1962–1971 '' Kelly's Eye'': ** in '' Knockout'' (with artist

, 1962–1963) ** in ''Valiant'' (1963–1971) * 1962–1964 ''Heros the Spartan'' (with art by

, in ''

'') * 1962 ''The Guinea Pig'' (in ''Eagle'') * 1963–1973 '' The Steel Claw'' (with art by

, in '' Valiant'') ** ''Return of The Steel Claw'' (in ''Valiant'', 1971–1973) * 1963–1964 ''Pike Mason'' (in '' Boys' World'') * 1964– 1969 '' Mytek the Mighty'': (with Bill Lacey and

Eric Bradbury Eric Bradbury (4 January 1921 – May 2001) was a British comic artist who primarily worked for Amalgamated Press/ IPC from the late 1940s to the 1990s. He studied at Beckenham Art School from 1936, and served in the RAF as a rear gunner o ...

, in '' Valiant'', first appearance September 26th, 1964) * 1966–1970 '' The House of Dolmann'' (with art by

, in '' Valiant'') * 1969–1971 '' The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark'' (with art by

, in '' Smash!'') * 1970–1971 ''

Adam Eterno Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...

'' (in ''

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

'', 1970–1971) * 1971–1973 ''Raven on the Wing'' (in '' Valiant'') * 1971 ''Von Hoffman's Invasion'' (in '' Jet'') * 1976–1985 ''

The Leopard from Lime Street ''The Leopard from Lime Street'' was a comic strip appearing in the British comic '' Buster'' from 1976 to 1985. Written by Tom Tully,Mike WesternIan Wheeler
Mike Western remembered
, Down The Tubes, 21 May 2008 and

, in '' Buster'', 27 March 1976 to 18 May 1985) * 1977–1987 '' Johnny Red'' (with art by

Joe Colquhoun Joe Colquhoun (7 November 1926 – 13 April 1987) was a British comics artist best known for his work on '' Charley's War'' in '' Battle Picture Weekly''. He was also the first artist to draw ''Roy of the Rovers''. Biography Born in Harrow, Mid ...

, in ''

'') * 1978 ''Inferno'' (with art by Massimo Belardinelli, in '' 2000 AD'') * 1978 ''Operation Shark'' (''

'') * 1979–1980 '' The Mind of Wolfie Smith'': ** "The Mind of Wolfie Smith" (with art by Vanyo, in ''

'' #1–11, 15–22, 1979) ** "The Evil of Matthew Hobb" (with art by Ian Gibson, in ''2000 AD'' #127–130, 1979) ** "Night of the Carnivore" (with art by Vanyo (1–12) and Mike White (13–14), in ''2000 AD'' #131–134, 136–145, 1979) ** "The Mind of Wolfie Smith Book 2" (with

Jesus Redondo Jesús Redondo Román (born 8 August 1934)
Down the Tubes, 9 June 2011 is ...

–14and Mike Dorey as J. Clough 5 in ''2000 AD'' #162–175, 177, 1980) * 1979 '' Dan Dare'': "Servant of Evil" (with art by

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...

, in '' 2000 AD'' #100–126) * 1982–1983 ''Thunderbolt and Smokey'' (in ''

'') * 1984–1985 '' The Robo Machines'' (with Mario Capaldi and

Kim Raymond Kim Raymond (born 1957) is a British comic book artist and animator. Best known in the UK as a contributor to the Judge Dredd series of comics in the 2000 AD series, newspaper comic strips appearing in the first UK newspaper to be printed in ful ...

, in ''Eagle'', 10 November 1984–27 July 1985) * 1984 ''The Nightcomers'' (with art by John Richardson, in '' Scream!'') * 1987 ''The Avenger'' (with art by Mike Western, in ''Eagle'')

Sporting strips

* 1968–1979 ''Football Family Robinson'' (with art by

): ** in '' Jag'' (1968–1969) ** in ''

'' (1969–1976) ** in ''

'' (1976–1979) * 1968–1973 ''The Wild Wonders'' (with art by Mike Western, in ''Valiant'') * 1969–1993 ''

'' (from 1969; continuously 1974–1993) ** in ''

'' (1969–1976) ** in ''

'' (1976–1993) * 1969–1971 ''Master of the Marsh'' (with art by

, in '' Smash!'') * 1970– 1980s ''Nipper'' ** in '' Scorcher'' (with art by R. Charles Roylance, 1970–1976) ** in ''

'' (with art by Roylance, 1976) ** in ''

'' (with art by Roylance, 1976– 1980s) * 1976–1977 ''Death Game 1999'' / ''Spinball'' (with art by Ian Gibson and Massimo Bellardinelli, in ''

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 ...

'') * 1976–1977 ''Look Out For Lefty'' (with art by Barrie Mitchell and Tony Harding, in ''

'') * 1976–1977 ''The Spinball Slaves'' (in ''

'') * 1976 ''The Team That Went to War'' (with art by Mike Western and Jim Watson, in ''

'')The Team that Went to War
at Captain Hurricane's Best of Battle * 1977–1983 ''The Spinball Wars'' (in ''

'') * 1977 '' Harlem Heroes'' (with art by

, in ''2000 AD'' progs 2–27) * 1980–1981 ''

'' (with art by John Richardson, in ''2000 AD'', progs 178–202) * 1990–1992 ''Goalmouth'' (with art by

, in ''Roy of the Rovers'') * 1992–1993 ''Buster's Ghost'' (with art by

, in ''Roy of the Rovers'')

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Tom Tully
at 2000 AD online *

External links

Tom Tully
at the official Roy of the Rovers site {{DEFAULTSORT:Tully, Tom 2013 deaths Year of birth missing British comics writers Writers from Glasgow