Virgil Reilly (1892-1974) was a significant contributor to the golden age of Australian comics with his work on Silver Flash and his Frog-Men, Punch Perkins and The Invisible Avenger. Reilly was also a prolific illustrator of magazines, books, programmes, posters, newspapers and in advertising.
One of the few long running series of the fifties by a single artist was Reilly's Silver Flash, with 54 issues produced during 1950-1955 and 3 issues of Captain Silver Flash circa 1955. Each issue featured frantically rendered artwork that owed as much to the Boy's Own adventure of English Comics as the dynamic action of American comics of the time. A complete tale featured in each issue with Captain Silver Flash and his submarine crew battling arch villains and underwater sea monsters whilst saving the requisite damsels in distress.
Pikitia Press are proud to debut at SPX 2014, a reproduction of The Adventures of Silver Flash and his Frog-Men #1. Our reproduction will be expanded to 40 pages including a biographical essay and gallery of Reilly artwork.
Grateful thanks to Kevin Patrick for some of the comics history featured above.
Virgil Reilly Film Illustrations.
Wartime cartoons by Virgil Reilly.
