Mike Steel Desert Rider - Yaroslav Horak & Roger Rowe - Woman's Day 27 Feb 1967

Yaroslav Horak

Another Mike Steel Desert Rider instalment from Australian magazine Woman’s Day by Yaroslav Horak and Roger Rowe. Mike Steel Desert Rider ran for almost a decade in Woman’s Day during the 1960’s. I like the gag in the second panel where the Facemaker who is bald says, “…another ten seconds and Mike Steel is out of my hair!”. I also love the gestural nature of Yaroslav’s drawing at this point of his career. Where his early work on comics like Jet Fury could be staid and stiff, the characters in Mike Steel have a dynamic feel and often look composed of lines put down quickly. This style he had created served him well on strips he worked on in the decades to come.

The Last Three Panels of Wizzer - The Argus 19th January 1957

Digging through scans today I found the comics page from the last issue of Melbourne newspaper The Argus. The Wizzer strip was the only Australian continuity strip at the time and I presume the creators were not given notice to finish their story. It ends with these three haunting panels depicted in the dark of night. The last panel in particular has always struck me as hauntingly sad. Below is a sample of the strip from several years prior, January 14 1950. Hermon Wizzer was created by A. D. Renton and W. J. Evans and ran in The Argus from 7th April 1949 to 19th January 1957. At that point it was “Hermon Wizzer of Merryville College”, a full colour, full page, comic of college hi-jinks, a far cry from those last three panels. It would be fascinating to see the progression between them.

Australasian Past - R. Barrington

A little while ago I picked up a years worth of Australasian Past strips clipping from the Australasian Post magazine over 1985 and 1986. I’m not sure of the complete duration of the strip but presume a year or two as I’ve not seen it in issues from the late eighties. I recall a discussion online about the strip and artist R. Barrington but now I can’t find it because I’m useless. Here’s three pages of finely drafted black and white artwork.

Adventures of Tightrope Tim - R. E. Hicks

Reg E Hicks' Adventures of Tightrope Tim strip ran in the Sunbeams supplement from 1941 to 1949 and to the best of my knowledge was one of the strips that carried through the paper shortage years when the supplement was reduced to a single folded piece of paper. Along with a handful of other Australian strips Tim’s adventures continued for a few years after World War Two. I’d love an enterprising publisher to scan the entire run and publish a book for me and the other three Hicks fans out there.

Mike Manley - Miracle Man by Ivan Southall and Peter James

Mike Manly - Miracle Man was launched in Women’s Day during 1954. Written by Ivan Southall (1921 - 2008) and initially illustrated by Peter James, Mike Manly involved a young Australian scientist who creates a ray that enables him to do anything he wishes, this leads to conflict with evil government powers. Ivan Southall was a prolific and popular writer of young adult fiction and as far as I know this was his only contribution to Australian comics (what I don’t know could fill several large warehouses). I posted some Mike Manley strips five years ago and my rudimentary research skills couldn’t find anything on Peter James at the time. Australian Comics Historian Beast James Zanotto has found a good bit about James’ career and his work in comics and has a profile on Aus Reprints.