Ron Embleton's Historical Art

[philcom55]

During his relatively short career Ron Embleton must have illustrated almost every period of history, as well as projecting his imagination forward into the futuristic worlds of Stingray and Captain Scarlet - and to each of these eras he brought an unfailing eye for authentic detail that few other artists could match.

Yet out of all the varied historical scenes he depicted there were two subjects that he returned to again and again, with an enthusiasm that led him to become an acknowledged expert on both. The first of these was the early colonial period of America, when the great European powers of France and Britain clashed for control of the New World amidst shifting alliances with its native inhabitants: the so-called 'red indians'. Some of Ron's earliest comic strips dealt with this wild frontier - notably 'Rogers Rangers' and 'Don o' the Drums', both of which appeared in the pages of Mickey Mouse Weekly during the Western-mad 1950s. At the same time he also produced a series of memorable depictions of native American warriors that were reproduced in full-colour on the back of Kellogg's Corn Flakes boxes!

Embleton subsequently returned to the subject of Major Rogers and his buckskinned Rangers in 1970 when he wrote and drew a superbly presented series about them for the back page of the educational magazine Look & Learn.



The other historical locale with which Ron Embleton's name became inextricably linked was Roman Britain. His enduring interest in this period was sparked in 1957 when Express Weekly hired him to take over as the artist of their cover feature 'Wulf the Briton' which was then being written by Jenny Butterworth. By mutual consent Ron soon became the writer as well - leaving Jenny free to pursue her own interests with the creation of classic girls' series like 'The Happy Days'.



Embleton's colourful run on Wulf from 1957 to 1960 is still fondly recalled by many baby boomers like myself, who consequently jumped at the chance to own Book Palace Books' excellent (if pricey!) reprint of the entire series a couple of years ago. Ron himself was never content to rest on his laurels, however, so when he was commissioned to produce an extensive group of illustrations for Frank Graham's 1984 book 'Hadrian's Wall in the Time of the Romans' he made sure that each detail was based on the very latest archeological evidence - resulting in a body of work that even serious academics could embrace as a piece of genuine historical scholarship.



- Phil Rushton

[matrix]

Thankyou Phil, for that detailed information, how interesting, I just got such a surprise to see he was the author.

I also love these historical works, 'Look and Learn' have some lovely illustrations that take you back in time in great detail.

The scans below are the first in the series of 'When the red man rode'.

[philcom55]

Having grown up during that period I'm admittedly biased but it seems to me that the late 1950s and early 1960s were something of a golden age for illustrators of British comics and related children's publications. And while there were few opportunities for freelance artists to socialize personally in those days it's quite clear that they were well aware of each other's work, creating a strong sense of rivalry which made them constantly strive to outdo themselves from one week to the next.

Of all Ron Embleton's rivals, the artist who probably came closest as a master of historical subjects was Peter Jackson. Jackson demonstrated his skill for all to see on the back pages of the first sixteen issues of Look & Learn where he wrote and drew 'The Dover Road' - a marvelous full colour series in which he explored the story of one of England's most historic thoroughfares.



This groundbreaking combination of history and geography stood out as one of the highlights of Fleetway's new educational weekly, and set the bar almost impossibly high for any other artist to follow. Yet that is precisely what Ron Embleton managed to do by writing and drawing his own 'Road' series - 'The Bath Road', which made its spectacular debut on the back page of issue no.17.



- Phil Rushton

[matrix]

They can not be easy to do those battle scenes, great stuff.

A couple of others that I think possibly fit into that category as well are Richard Hook, and Angus Mcbride, of which I have some samples somewhere?

Maybe Jackson felt the same here they all are mentioned together by Jackson on this lovely cover art, with Embleton, Hook, and Mcbride all on the shop awnings.

[philcom55]

You read my mind Matrix - I was all set to post the same image!



Jackson had, of course, spent most of the later 1960s as Treasure's resident historical artist, but by the time this amazing cover appeared he was back again to dazzle the readers of Look & Learn (not to mention his fellow professionals!).

- Phil Rushton

[Phoenix]

Yet out of all the varied historical scenes he depicted there were two subjects that he returned to again and again, with an enthusiasm that led him to become an acknowledged expert on both. The first of these was the early colonial period of America, when the great European powers of France and Britain clashed for control of the New World amidst shifting alliances with its native inhabitants: the so-called 'red indians'. Some of Ron's earliest comic strips dealt with this wild frontier - notably 'Rogers Rangers' and 'Don o' the Drums', both of which appeared in the pages of Mickey Mouse Weekly during the Western-mad 1950s. At the same time he also produced a series of memorable depictions of native American warriors that were reproduced in full-colour on the back of Kellogg's Corn Flakes boxes!

Looking at the map of forts on your illustration, Phil, I was reminded of the very fine text serial Drums Of War On The Tomahawk Trail in Adventure 1263 (Apr. 2 1949) - 1273 (Jun. 11 1949). As it was never serialised as a picture strip, and to save you the c£50 cost of buying the issues, I'll summarise it for you. The artwork is by James Walker.

Fifteen-year-old Rod Masterson is travelling with his dog Wolf by canoe along the Hudson River with provisions acquired from Fort William Henry, the British military outpost near the foot of Lake George, when he sees many Huron braves, clearly on the warpath, making their way by land in the general direction of the British outpost of Fort Resolution. Rod decides to trail them, and then to try to reach the fort to warn the inhabitants of the impending peril. Not being able to reveal his presence, he is a frustrated spectator when the Hurons, led by a white renegade called Black Patch, massacre a party of white settlers. During his journey, Rod needs to be rescued from the Hurons by the frontier scout Silvertip, and together they take the fight to the raiding Redskins.

These activities are a prelude to a serious confrontation between General Montcalm's French troops, supported by the Hurons, and the English,with their allies the Mohawks under White Beaver. Silvertip and Rod manage to warn the vulnerable people in Fort William Henry, and Silvertip himself captures Black Patch. Just as a shift in power is close, Colonel Munro, the commander of Fort William Henry, decides to step in and prevent the execution of the murdering renegade. Black Patch promptly escapes from the guardhouse. Against Silvertip's advice, Munro then accepts Montcalm's surrender terms and his guarantee of safe passage for all to Fort Edward. Silvertip, Rod and White Beaver do not believe that the Hurons will honour their own commander's word, so they feel obliged to get through the enemy cordon in order to get help and then to pick up Black Patch's trail once more. Montcalm and his troops do pull back towards Quebec, but after the three friends witness the Huron massacre of Colonel Munro's unarmed procession, they are all the more determined to capture Black Patch and make him pay in an appropriate way for his treachery.

This outstanding story is played out against a simplified backcloth of real events. The French were not just supported by the Hurons. There were Potawatomis, Abenakis and Menominees involved in the siege of Fort William Henry, as well as Ottawas from the Upper Lake Michigan area, and Ojibwas from near Lake Superior. Furthermore, the tale does not really describe the inexorable build-up of Montcalm's forces and the positioning of his eight thousand men, nor the inevitability of Munro's capitulation to such superior strength.

[philcom55]

That's excellent Phoenix!

It's interesting that the 1950s craze for buckskinned heroes in coonskin caps is generally attributed to the influence of Walt Disney's blockbuster 1954/5 Davy Crockett TV series (later released as the film 'Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier') - but it's quite clear that these frontier stories were highly popular long before then.

Here's an example of Ron Embleton's series 'The Mohawk Trail' which predated Hotspur's 'The Long Gun' by several months, appearing on the back page of AP's Comic Cuts in 1951/2.



- Phil Rushton

[Phoenix]

It's interesting that the 1950s craze for buckskinned heroes in coonskin caps is generally attributed to the influence of Walt Disney's blockbuster 1954/5 Davy Crockett TV series (later released as the film 'Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier') - but it's quite clear that these frontier stories were highly popular long before then.

Yes, the Crockett dates make sense because the first serial about him, Davey With The Coonskin Cap, runs in The Wizard 1555 (Dec. 3 1955) - 1560 (Jan. 14 1956). Presumably keen not to lose the impetus, the second series, with the same title, ran from 1562 (Jan. 21 1956) - 1565 (Feb. 11 1956). A third serial, The Swamp Trails Of Davy Crockett, appeared in 1602 (Oct. 27 1956) - 1611 (Dec. 29 1956). The Boyhood Of Davey Crockett ran from 1652 (Oct. 12 1957) - 1661 (Dec. 14 1957), and that was that. Then they turned their attention to Buffalo Bill.

N.B. Needless to say, the spelling Davy above is not my spelling mistake. A different author perhaps?

[matrix]

I can not match the detailed posts of Phoenix and Phil! But for comparison here are two more cover examples from Embleton's friends of the brush at the time, Mcbride and Hook.

The Story of the seaside painted by Hook, and the other, the story of witchcraft by Mcbride, which Phil has probably seen?

Hook seems to give his example an almost comical look, where Mcbride's destribution of fire light sets the reader up for an exciting read in 'The Devil's Brew'.

[philcom55]

Richard Hook, Angus McBride and Ron Embleton eventually became fast friends, and all three went on to be major contributors to Osprey Publications' popular books on Military history after the cancellation of Look & Learn. As far as I can tell they first came together in Purnell's educational magazine Finding Out which became Look & Learn's leading rival for a time during the 1960s.

Art Editor Richard Hook was responsible for recruiting McBride, Peter Jackson and Ron Embleton to work for Finding Out - though, as can be seen in this 'Easter Bunny' cover, his own natural style was much more abstract and humorous in those days.



In fact Hook's later, ultra-realistic approach to historical illustration seen in the pages of Look & Learn appears to have been arrived at as a direct result of his enthusiasm for pieces like this remarkable American Civil War scene by Embleton and McBride's dramatic impression of a Roman Arena.





- Phil Rushton

[Peter Gray]

Love that last one so strong and great angle...also good humour and movmemnt in the covers..