Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman
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David E. Boswell (born 1953) is a
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
writer and artist,
illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...
, and
photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...
based in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
who has worked in the comics industry. He is the creator of the series ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman''. Boswell grew up in
London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...
, and
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
and
Dundas, Ontario Dundas () is a community and urban district in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is nicknamed ''Valley Town'' because of its topographical location at the bottom of the Niagara Escarpment on the we ...
. He studied film at
Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. Generally seen as a commuter suburb of Toronto, it is located on Lake ...
's
Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology, is a public polytechnic institute partnered with private Canadian College of Technology and Trades operating campuses ...
, where he graduated in 1974. After graduation, Boswell attempted to earn a living as a cartoonist, and his first full-page comic, "Heart Break Comics", was published in ''
The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...
'' from 1977–1978. Boswell moved to
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
in 1977, and in 1978, he launched ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman''. Another title Boswell created is ''Ray-Mond''. Boswell's influences include film directors
Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the Silent film, silent to the Sound film, sound era, during which he worked with mos ...
and
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
, composer
Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...
, comedians
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...
, and W.C. Fields, and humourist
Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist, newspaper columnist and actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, through his many years writing essays ...
, as well as early Hollywood and European cinema stars, and he often features references in his work. He has written a number of screenplays for movies, none of which have been made. In 2011, Boswell was inducted into the
Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame The Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame, formally known as Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame, honours significant lifelong contributions to the art of Cartoonist, cartooning in Canada. History and structure The Giants of the ...
.


Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman

Boswell based the character of Reid Fleming on a childhood bully with the same name.Boswell entry
Lambiek's Comiclopedia.
Reid employs extremely aggressive means in delivering his dairy products. His supervisor is Mr. Crabbe, whose head is unusual in shape, and who has little, if any, patience with Reid Fleming. If it was up to him, Reid would have been fired years ago, but Reid's employer, Mr. O'Clock, prefers to just dock Reid's pay for all the milk trucks he wrecked in his recklessness (8 at the start of the story); O'Clock's reticence to fire Reid may be due to the fact that he is Reid's biological father, as implied in issue #5 (#6 under the Deep Sea Comics imprint); at the end of the issue, a scene set in the future shows that Reid is now president of the company. Reid is in love with Lena Toast, who has a TV show with Commander Bob. The latter wears "winged boots of doom" that do not enable him to fly. He gets around in a flying house, and uses a rope ladder to literally drop in on a randomly selected guest and kidnap him or her to be interviewed on the show. He uses a power blast on uncooperative guests. He is not the only super-powered character on the show. Reid is able to lift his milk truck with his bare hands and has a degree of invulnerability that has prevented serious or lethal injury. Lena, having been divorced 3 times now, is not a good prospect for a guaranteed marriage. Reid's favorite TV program is the soap opera, ''The Dangers of Ivan''. He sometimes skips work to watch it. At one point, Ivan has a terrible accident while driving, spends 6 years in a coma, and, upon awakening, falls to his death from an open window. He returns as an undead monster starring in ''The Horrors of Ivan''. Despite this drastic change, Reid remains a member of his fan club. In ''Rogue to Riches'', which starts right after the 1-shot Eclipse issue, Reid is finally fired by Mr. O'Clock for wrecking one truck too many (which he didn't do), shacks up with Lena, gets employment with a cable company, and, though he appears to be good at it, he and his partner are finally fired for damages to a customer's lawn gnome. He then goes to get his original job back, as it was his calling. There are dream sequences as well, showing Reid's inner anxieties and fears. A Fieldsian revelation wraps up the story. In the 1980s Hollywood bought the rights to the screenplay, which was written by Boswell. A film has yet to be made.


Publication history

Although Reid's adventures were first published in ''
The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...
'' newspaper in 1978, the first comic book collecting them was self-published by Boswell in 1980. This 36-page magazine was the only Reid Fleming comic book for six years. The character did appear in a secondary role in the 44-page ''Heartbreak Comics'' in 1984. In 1986
Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...
republished the 1980 issue, and then began publishing a regular series, appearing annually for five issues, and finally the unnumbered ''Fun with Reid Fleming'' in 1991. Eclipse went bankrupt in 1994, leaving Reid without a publisher for several years. From 1996–1998, the Canadian publisher
Deep Sea Comics Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary) ...
reprinted the 1980 issue and the five Eclipse issues as ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'' 1-6, followed by three issues (#7-9) of new material. After again lying dormant for four years, Reid Fleming was revived for a
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...
teaming him with
Bob Burden Bob Burden is an American comic book creator, comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''Flaming Carrot Comics'' and the ''Mystery Men''. Early life Burden was born the eldest of three siblings in Buffalo, New York. His fath ...
's
Flaming Carrot ''Flaming Carrot Comics'' is an American superhero comic book created by Bob Burden, featuring the absurd, surreal adventures of the Flaming Carrot. The series first appeared in ''Visions'' #1, a magazine-size comic book publication. Flaming Ca ...
. This has been the last new Reid Fleming material to date. 2011 saw the first of two hardcover collected volumes released by
IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...
, ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman Volume 1'' contains the first Reid Fleming comic and the mini-series ''Rogue to Riches'' as well as ''Heartbreak Comics''.


In popular culture

Issue #3 of the 1991
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
limited series ''
Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...
'' features a poster depicting the character Leslie "Rocky" Davis starring in a ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'' movie. Reid also appears in issue #5 of that same title, threatening to "piss on ocky'sflowers" unless he pays a $17.28 bill. This is an allusion to a well-known scene in the 1980 self-published issue where Reid threatens to urinate on someone's flowers unless 78 cents is paid. Issue #131 of
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
series ''
Defenders (comics) The Defenders are a set of superhero groups with rotating membership appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders" who, in their prior adventures, are known ...
'' has a one panel cameo of Reid Fleming. On page 14, Angel,
Warren Worthington III Warren Kenneth Worthington III is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Warren is a founding ...
, is speaking and says, "... being a superhero isn't a game -- it's deadly!" And he continues, "It's not like being a milkman -- you have to be tough --!" The next panel, Reid replies, "Oh yeah, well I'm a milkman and I'm tough! So watch it, buddy!"


Photography

Boswell's 1978 photograph of Leonard Cohen is the cover photo on the authorized biography by Sylvie Simmons in the following countries: Canada ardcover and paperback United States ardcover and paperback the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Israel, and Poland.


Bibliography

* ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'', 1 issue (David Boswell, 1980) * ''Heart Break Comics'' (David Boswell, 1984) — reprinted by Eclipse in 1988 and by Deep-Sea Comics in 1998 * ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'', 1 special and 5 annual issues (Eclipse, 1986–1990) * ''Fun With Reid Fleming (World's Toughest Milkman)'' (Eclipse, 1991) * ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'', 9 issues (Deep Sea Comics, 1996–April 1998) * ''Ray-Mond'' (Deep Sea Comics, 1998) * ''Origins of Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'' (Deep Sea Comics, June 1998) * ''Flaming Carrot & Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman'' (Dark Horse, 2002) * ''Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman Volume 1'' - (IDW, 2011) HC, BW • $29.99 • 224 Pages • 8.5" x 11" •


References


External links

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Booze, fights, and general piss-ups: David Boswell, creator of Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman, hosts East Side book launch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boswell, David 1953 births Artists from London, Ontario Artists from Vancouver Canadian comics artists Canadian comics writers Canadian humorists Living people Writers from London, Ontario Writers from Vancouver