Bill Holroyd - give him his dues.

[stevezodiac]

We hear a lot about Watkins, Baxendale, Law and Ken Reid in these forums so how about some appreciation for the overlooked Bill Holroyd. I found his spidery legged renditions of pratfalls hilarious. One of my earliest memories is of Joe White and the Seven Dwarfs (correct me if i got the title wrong). His Brassneck and Screwy Driver were also excellent. He had a really endearing art style. Oh yes, almost forgot Uncle Dan the Medicine Man.

[philcom55]

Yes. I would say that his work on the Iron Fish in Beano and the Four Marys in Bunty should be enough on their own to qualify him for the Comics Hall of Fame.

- Phil R.

[Peter Gray]

I'll do a blog post on him in the future...I have a Joe White one for example..
anyother strips he drew...
Spunky the Spider is that one of them...yes I like his work..

[AndyB]

Don't forget Jack Silver. A very fine artist.

[Kashgar]

I did try to give Bill his due with an article and pretty extensive index of his work in 'The Comic Journal' nearly twenty years ago but I doubt if many here would be aware of that.
His output for Thomsons was vast and very varied and included all the strips mentioned above. One point though, while he did draw 'The Four Marys' for Bunty originally, he did so for only 16 issues before veteran Thomson staff artist James 'Peem' Walker took over and drew the adventures of the girls from St Elmos for the next twenty years. So I think 'Peem' deserves most of the accolades for that.
I used to correspond with Bill quite frequently and he would often reply with pretty lengthy letters despite the fact that in his later years he was crippled with arthritis in his hands. A really nice man and a fabulous comic artist with a very adaptable style.
Oh! and let's not forget that it was he who introduced his brother-in-law Ken Reid to the Thomson comic editors too.

[Kashgar]

I've managed to locate the three issues of the Comic Journal that contained the Bill Holroyd index ( to my horror it was nearly 25 years ago not 20) and as I've got a few minutes I thought you might like to see a roll-call of his strip work for the Dandy, the comic for which he did most work over the years.
Dandy
Plum MacDuff (378-534)
Wuzzy Wiz (396-721)
Danny Longlegs (438-444)
Bonanza Bill (493-523)
The Streak-O-Light Express (632-643)
Screwy Driver (729-925)
The Boy with Iron Hands (932-1035)
The Hovercar Snatchers (1049-1069)
Willie Fixit (1070-1127)
Joe White and the 7 Dwarfs (1129-1201)
Brassneck (1202-1370)
Spunky and his Spider (1360-1488)
Brassneck (1489- )
Screwy Driver (1529-1710)
Jack Silver ( -1770)
Screwy Driver (1772-1838)
The Fizzfist (1894-1916)
Jack Silver (1976-2065)
The Hairy Gang of Robbers (1977-2016)
Screwy Driver (2032-2104)
Brassneck (2105-2225)
Big Chief Itchy Snitch (2133-2148)
As you can see there are a couple of issue numbers missing which I didn't know when this list was originally published. I'll check the Dandy Index and fill them in tomorrow. For ease I haven't included any items on the list that were entirely reprint nor does it include any of his work for the Dandy Book or Summer Specials which, in itself, was considerable..

[Peter Gray]

thanks Kashgar for doing this...useful for when I do a blog posts on him...learning a lot from you about the different comic artists...thanks again..

[Kashgar]

Always happy to help Peter. The two missing issue numbers from the Bill Holroyd Dandy listing are as follows
Brassneck (1489-1648)
Jack Silver (1649-1770)

[Kashgar]

A list of Bill Holroyd's work for the Beano (HB = Heading block ills for text story)
Beano
Have-a-go-Joe (354-458)
Ding-Dong Belle (368-465)
The Horse that Jack Built (382-399)
Danger! Len at Work (386-410)
Tick-Tock Tony (430-447)
Tommy's Clockwork Town (HB) (449-466)
Bucktooth (464-487)
The Beano Cinema (468-485)
Runaway Jack (494-502)
Bucktooth (503-512)
The Iron Fish (506-514)
Tommy's Clockwork Brother (HB) (511-519)
Waifs of the Wild West (524-531)
Nobby the Enchanted Bobby (535-563)
Cast Iron Stan (HB) (557-566)
Nutty - the Coal Imp (HB) (567-598)
Nobby the Enchanted Bobby (597-604)
The Bird Boy (607-610)
My Pal Nutty (HB) (609-629)
Red Rory of the Eagles (611-631)
Hookey's Bust'Em Book (634-651)
Red Rory of the eagles (684-695)
On the Heels of the Hated Hooknose (696-700)
Stpt that Horse (712-717)
Red Rory of the Eagles (724-731)
The Invisible Giant (778-788)

[Peter Gray]

http://petergraycartoonsandcomics.blogs ... bobby.html

Theres some examples of his Beano work...

[stevezodiac]

Also did he have a brother who also drew cartoons? Bob Holroyd maybe?

[AndyB]

Albert - Eebagoom, Thingummyblob, Hungry Horace, Scrapper (as in Lord Snooty's pal) etc

[dandy mad]

Nice blog peter as ever ive always prefered holroyds picture/adventure strips over his cartoon work for some reason

[colcool007]

Just to add to Bill's list of credits, was it not he that drew The Star Spangled Banger in Victor? For those unaware of the story, two less than wealthy mechanics working for a skinflint boss managed to save up barely enough money to buy a second-hand car, but the car they managed to pick up was a car with a mind all of its own. It was a classic humour story with only a slight bit of anthropomorphism. A bit like the Herbie movies, but without the Disney factor. They made me smile as a kid, but now I actually laugh out loud at some of the storylines.

[AndyB]

He also drew Our Sheriff's an Ape! for many years for the Beezer Book.