Comics UK

I'm trying to figure out who took over Hellman of Hammer Force from Alex Henderson, but I've been unable to find any information at all on the artist, and have scoured plenty of IPC comics from the late '70s looking for more work by them, to no avail. any clues?

I guess not!

moose wrote:I guess not!

Moose, the problem isn't that we don't recognise the style, it's just that we have no clue either!

I'm not certain, but the style is very similar to 'Mike Dorey' - who did quite a few adventure type stories in the 1970s.


Hope this helps

Found an example of Mike Dorey's work on Google, apparently he did Mach Zero too.

There's a touch of Solano Lopez about it but it's not by him. However I understand Lopez ran a studio so perhaps it was by one or more of his assistants, or laid out by Lopez and finished by an assistant, or vice versa?

I could be completely wrong of course.

Muffy wrote:I'm not certain, but the style is very similar to 'Mike Dorey' - who did quite a few adventure type stories in the 1970s.


Hope this helps

Found an example of Mike Dorey's work on Google, apparently he did Mach Zero too.

Muffy, I'd willingly put money on the fact that it is not Mike Dorey's art. Mike also did sterling work on The Fighting Condor, Wolverine and Kampgruffe Falken to name but a few of his work for Warlord. He also did most of the Cadman art for Victor and Victor Drago for Tornado.

colcool007 wrote:

Muffy wrote:I'm not certain, but the style is very similar to 'Mike Dorey' - who did quite a few adventure type stories in the 1970s.


Hope this helps

Found an example of Mike Dorey's work on Google, apparently he did Mach Zero too.

Muffy, I'd willingly put money on the fact that it is not Mike Dorey's art. Mike also did sterling work on The Fighting Condor, Wolverine and Kampgruffe Falken to name but a few of his work for Warlord. He also did most of the Cadman art for Victor and Victor Drago for Tornado.

Definitely not Mike Dorey, and I agree with Lew there is a hint of Lopez or even Ezquerra in there...

Do you have any other pages of this strip? Sometimes a single page isn't always a prime example and you need to see a few...

Could it be someone like Mike Western (who did Leopard from Lime st) trying to do the style of Mike Dorey (for some reason)? Or perhaps he was just in a rush.

I only say this because the shading is quite distinctive, and like Mike Dorey, maybe using letratone.

In the example Hellman's eyebrows are quite pronounced, reminding me of Billy Farmer's. Some of the movement lines and bald heads are very Leopard from Lime St.

Perhaps someone else inked over another's pencils? (Though I think quite rare in British 70s Comics)

I reckon it's by Jim Watson - they are typically ugly mugs and their stubble looks like Jim Watson stubble to me

Richard S. wrote:I reckon it's by Jim Watson - they are typically ugly mugs and their stubble looks like Jim Watson stubble to me

It's not Jim Watson.

I agree it's not Jim Watson, nor Mike Western - but I must admit that both artists came to mind when I first saw the page. Most probably it's by a third, unknown artist who was influenced by both of them, but given that there are rare instances of two British artists working as penciller and inker in the American style (Western and Eric Bradbury for example) I could just about see it as Western pencils and Watson inks.

- Phil Rushton

I would reiterate the request for more pages from this strip - it may be this first page isn't typical of style. Sometimes I've had to scour through pages by an 'unknown' artist until a single frame jumps out as matchable to a known artist's style and then BINGO!

I'll link a few.

I've never seen this artist's work anywhere else other than on Hellman. I've trawled through hundreds of late '60s and early '70s comics but this is the only strip I've seen.

http://www.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk/?p=519&nggpage=2

From page 81 onwards.

Preceding artists were Mike Dorey and Alex Henderson, and subsequent issues were by Dorey, Jim Watson and Pat Wright.

moose wrote:I'll link a few.

I've never seen this artist's work anywhere else other than on Hellman. I've trawled through hundreds of late '60s and early '70s comics but this is the only strip I've seen.

http://www.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk/?p=519&nggpage=2

From page 81 onwards.

Preceding artists were Mike Dorey and Alex Henderson, and subsequent issues were by Dorey, Jim Watson and Pat Wright.

Thanks for that link. At times, particularly the early strips by that artist, it looks like someone trying to emulate John Cooper's style...

I was wondering if some installments were reprints, as this page:

http://www.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk/wp ... an/095.jpg

- shows quite visible extension of the lower frames?



Edit: Incidentally, the very last part (117-119) seems to be a different artist, yet again.

I still think it's someone from the Solano Lopez studio as the heavy inking style is similar, as are some of the facial expressions, posture etc.

If so, it could be the work of two or three people. Perhaps those particular individuals never collaborated on a UK strip again?