Kelly's Eye

''Kelly's Eye'' was a British adventure comic strip. It first appeared in ''Knockout'' in 1962, moved to '' Valiant'' in 1963, and lasted until sometime in 1974. The strip was revived in '' 2000 AD'' in 1991–1993. Tim Kelly possesses a jewel, the Eye of Everlasting Life, which protects him from death by granting him invulnerability.

Publication history

''Kelly’s Eye'' was published in ''Knockout'' from 21 July 1962 to 16 February 1963, and in ''Valiant'' (which absorbed ''Knockout'') from 23 February 1963 to sometime in 1974. Scripts were by Tom TullySteve Holland
Mike Western (1925-2008)
Bear Alley, 20 May 2008 and Tom Kerr; the art was largely by Francisco Solano López. A number of the strips were subsequently reprinted in ''Vulcan'' in 1975–1976.

In 1991, the strip was revived, by the creative team of Alan McKenzie, Brett Ewins, and Zac Sandler, in '' 2000 AD'', running until 1993, when the publishers realized they no longer had the IPC rights to the character. Before then, in April 1992, a ''2000 AD Action Special'' featured six strips reviving classic British comics characters; of these only ''Kelly's Eye'' also had appeared in ''2000 AD'' proper.

In the 2005–2006 limited series ''Albion'', the Eye of Zoltec is shown to have been in the possession of the British Prime Minister since the time of Margaret Thatcher.

Fictional character biography

Englishman Tim Kelly was in South America to claim a fortune left by a deceased uncle. He saves the life of an old man, who in gratitude takes him to the Temple of Zoltec, where Kelly receives the gem known as the Eye of Everlasting Life or the "Eye of Zoltec". As long as Tim wears the gem around his neck, he has superhuman powers, including invulnerability and certain mental powers (including total recall).

Tim uses his powers to become an adventuring hero, some of which involve battling his arch-enemy, Diablo, wielder of his gem's twin, the "Left Eye of Zoltec".

Later, Tim is joined by Doctor Diamond, an Edwardian frock coat-wearing inventor who journeys through time and space with the aid of his "Time Clock".

In popular culture

An analogue of Tim Kelly, "Tom Rosetta", owner of the "Rosetta Stone", is one of the characters killed by The Fury during Alan Moore and Alan Davis' run on ''Captain Britain''.'' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #387 (Marvel UK, July 1982).

Similarly, Helen Morgan of Paul Grist's ''Jack Staff'' series wears the "Valiant Stone" around her neck, which grants her similar powers to Tim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly's Eye
British comic strips
1962 comics debuts
Comics characters introduced in 1962
1971 comics endings
British comics characters
Fleetway and IPC Comics