Contributing to this comic:
RON BROADLEY was a commercial artist and cartoonist best known for writing and illustrating children’s books. In comics, much of his work was single page humour strips, although he did create Shadowman, who invented a special chemical that made him semi-transparent, allowing him to fight crime from the shadows.
LES DIXON came to cartooning after he had a serious accident while driving a truck. He’d studied art by correspondence, and turned his hand to life drawing and later cartooning. He wrote and drew a range of recurring characters (including Airspeed Holland, in this comic) but is best known for is work on Bluey and Curley, a comedic strip depicting two larrikin soldiers who try to find the easiest life possible while serving through a range of schemes. Published in many countries, the pair were considered ‘too Australian’ to be understood in America.
CARL LYON started out as a theatrical scenery painter (supplemented with physical labour) in Queensland. But moved to Sydney for a more creative life. Initially doing short, humorous pieces, he turned his hand to adventure strips (including the Eagle, in this comic), reusing the characters and settings repeatedly. When the Australian comics boom petered out, he returned to humour and particularly a strip called Wally and the Major, which he drew and later wrote from 1957 to 1979. He also painted landscapes.
NORM RICE started working as an apprentice sign writer, attending art school, before freelancing as a cartoonist. He worked extensively for Frank Johnson Publications, creating a range of action-adventure heroes (including Powerman, in this comic). After a stint in the army, Norm started working for a newspaper and eventually returned to freelancing. He took over Bluey and Curley after their creator, Alex Gurney, died. It was to be a short engagement of slightly over a year, as Norm sadly died in a car crash on New Year’s Eve. Bluey and Curley was continued by Les Dixon.
DAN RUSSELL was an office clerk turned cartoonist (after attending art school in the evenings). He created short action-adventure strips, mostly closer to real life than his contemporaries, though not without a twist (see Val Blake in this comic – not many would focus on a ventriloquist adventurer!). Dan’s younger brother, Jim, was also a cartoonist, but largely in newspaper strips.
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Cracker Comics
