Ian Dickson

Ian Oscar Dickson was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 15 January 1905. He grew up in Melbourne and was self-tought as an artist. Dickson was something of a world traveller, seeking out work as a cartoonist and illustrator wherever he was. His work appeared in the Adelaide Register News Pictorial, the Brisbane Telegraph and tourist brochures for the Queensland government.

Emigrating to England, he produced illustrations for film companies and work for Razzle before moving to Ceylon, working for the Times of Ceylon and Ceylon Observer. Returning to Britain in 1935, his work appeared in Punch, London Opinion, Men Only and Blighty, often drawing glamour girls. During the War he served with the R.A.F.

For 15 years he drew 'Mum' each week for the Sunday Graphic and his comic strips also appeared in Eagle Annual, Girl Annual and Swift Annual.

He died on 21 July 1987.

Examples of Dickson's artwork can be found for sale here.

Roy Carnon

Roy Carnon was responsible for a stunning cover for All This and a Medal Too by Tim Carew, published by Corgi Books in 1960. The book was an autobiography, originally published by Constable & Co. in 1954, and featured the reminiscences of the author - real name John Mohun Carew (1921-1980) - about his experiences in the army between 1937 and 1950.

Carnon had worked for Corgi Book at least as early as 1956, although had earlier worked in advertising (e.g. for Reed Paper Group). Carnon, born 6 July 1911, the son of Frederick Wallace Carnon (a civil servant) and his wife Gertrude Eisdell (nee Lee), had grown up in Isleworth, London, attending art school in Chiswick for a short time. He became an illustrator, working mainly for advertising agencies, and was always to be found sketching in parks, or on buses and trains and always carried a small sketch-book or a pack of plain postcards in case inspiration struck.

During the Second World War, Carnon continued to sketch even when he was working as a fireman during the London Blitz; he subsequently joined the RAF ground crew and then became a navigator on Sunderlands, seeing action in Africa, India and the Far East.

After returning to civilian life, Carnon continued to work in advertising, as well as producing book covers. He was responsible for a number of covers for Edgar Rice Boroughs' science fiction novels published by Four Square Books in 1961-65 and illustrated Famous Fighting Aircraft for the Collins Wonder Colour Books series in 1964.

In 1965, Carnon became one of the team responsible for producing concept drawings, sketches and paintings for Stanley Kubrick, then working with author Arthur C. Clarke on the landmark science fiction movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. For this he was responsible for visualising space craft, film sets and the iconic 'wheel' space station.

After this, he worked on many other movies, including the Bond movies, Where Eagles Dare, The Battle of Britain, Frenzy, Superman, The Dogs of War, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Reds, The Dark Crystal, Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi, Ladyhawke and Link.

Roy Frederick Carnon was married to Violet Marian Steer in 1935 (died 1971); he re-married, in 1998, to Margaret J. Harrold. He died in August 2002, aged 91.

Examples of Roy Carnon's artwork for sale can be found here.

Ken Barr

Born in Scotland in 1933, Kenneth John Barr was the son of a Glasgow-based sign-painter to whom he was apprenticed from the age of 15. A reader of adventure, horror and war stories, Ken Barr found post-War Glasgow full of the machinery and drama of war he enjoyed painting. His first covers appeared on Nebula science fiction magazine in the 1950s.

After his National Service—which he served with the Army in Egypt—and several years working in London, Barr moved to the USA in 1968 where he became a regular penciller/inker and occasionally writer of strips for DC's various war comics, including Our Army At War, Our Fighting Forces, Battle Album and Star Spangled War Stories in 1969-74. He also produced covers and back-up features for the Warren magazines Eerie, Creepy and Vampirella (1970-72) before becoming a regular cover artist for Marvel, working on Doc Savage, Incredible Hulk and The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (1975-78). In the mid-1970s, he found more lucrative work producing books covers (Avon, Random House) and as a movie poster artist, primarily in the fields of fantasy and science fiction, although he returned to comics in the mid-1980s as the writer of Windfall, Geo-Force and Metamorpho in around 1986 (and the merged Geo-Force and Metamorpho in 1987).

A trading card set reprinting some of his best fantasy and horror artwork, The Beast Within, was issued in March 1994. A book of the same title, published by SQP, appeared in 2007. Barr has also produced fantasy artwork for the Danbury Mint.

Amongst British comics' fans, Barr is best known for the many years he spent producing cover for Dundee-based D.C. Thomson's Commando. Barr was their chief cover artist for most of the 1960s. Commenting on his work in those early years, Peter Richardson has recently said: "Barr really was the perfect choice as cover artist, if Commando had commenced publication utilizing the same cover artists as their Fleetway rivals (which they would eventually do with the arrival of Jordi Penalva on their rosta a few years later), the distinctive difference would not have been so vividly flagged up. But Barr was right from the off an enthusiastic student of US pulp and comic artists and relished the opportunity to immerse himself in sweat sodden musculature, gritted teeth and buggin' eyeballs. Which is why these covers are still so amazing and powerful some half a century on."

In recent years he has worked on a fully painted graphic novel adaptation of Dracula, which was said to be “due shortly” in 2008.

Examples of Ken Barr's work can be found for sale here.

J H Batchelor

Born in Essex in 1936, John Henry Batchelor has been one of the leading technical illustrators of hardware for five decades. Growing up in Leigh-on-Sea during the Second World War, he witnessed dogfights between British and German aircraft in the Essex skies and, even at the age of four, put pencil to paper to draw scenes of aerial combat. The Essex coastline was one of the expected invasion points in Hitler's planned attack on a Britain softened up by the Luftwaffe, and Batchelor's early years were spent surrounded by fascinating military hardware, from tanks to machine guns. By the age of seven he could strip and reassemble a .303 Lewis machine gun and draw its constituent parts.

He left home at 16, travelling for two years before performing his National Service with the R.A.F. Batchelor began drawing for the technical publications of Bristol Aircraft Co., Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. and Saunders-Roe Ltd. One of his last jobs for Saunders-Roe was on the plans for a nuclear-powered version of the (ultimately cancelled) ten-engined Princess flying-boat.

In the early 1960s he turned freelance, contributing to Model Maker and Model Cars. Some of his earliest drawings were cutaways for the Eagle comic; in all he produced 44 episodes (making him the joint fourth most prolific contributor). His illustrations also appeared in Ranger and Tell Me Why. He also worked for the far more prestigious markets, including Time-Life Books, which led to his involvement in one of the most ambitious projects in publishing history: Purnell's History of the Second World War. Launched in 1966 under the overall editorship of Sir Basil Liddell-Hart, this massive partwork--for which Batchelor producing a total of 1,163 illustrations--had sold 10 million copies by 1976. To celebrate this momentous achievement, Batchelor was presented, by Douglas Bader, a solid silver model of a British Saladin armoured car from his grateful publisher.

He continued his association with Purnell as they launched History of the First World War and Encyclopedia of Modern Weapons and Warfare, which added to a total of almost 20 million copies sold. Many of the illustrations were reprinted in book form during the 1970s (the bibliography below is likely to be incomplete) and has also illustrated a wide range of other books--and continues to do so. He has also drawn countless illustrations for the American magazine, Popular Science and has had his paintings exhibited around the world.

Since the mid-1980s, he has also produced artwork for postage stamps via the Crown Agency for 40 countries around the globe, including many for the British Commonwealth. In 2003 he launched his own company, Publishing Solutions, to reprint selections of his work.

Some of Batchelor's artwork can be found for sale here.

PUBLICATIONS

Non-fiction
Tank. A history of the armoured fighting vehicle, with Kenneth Macksey. London, Macdonald & Co., 1970; revised, Macdonald, 1973.
Fighter. A history of fighter aircraft, with Bryan Cooper. London, Macdonald & Co., 1973.
Rail Gun, text by Ian Hogg. Broadstone, John Batchelor Ltd., 1973; New York, Scribner, 1973.
Fighting Aircraft of World War One and Two, compiled by Susan Joiner. London, Phoebus, 1976.
Fighting Ships of World War One and Two, compiled by Anne Maclean & Suzanne Poole, 1976.
Battleships, 1856-1977, text by Antony Preston. London, Phoebus, 1977.
Fighters, 1914-1945, text by Bill Gunston. London & New York, Hamlyn, 1978.
Air Power. A modern illustrated military history, text by Bill Gunston. London, Phoebus, 1979.
Airborne Warfare, 1918-1945, text by Barry Gregory. London, Phoebus, 1979.
Land Power. A modern illustrated military history. London, Phoebus, 1979.
Illustration in Action, with Geraldine Christy. Poole, Blandford, 1985.
Flight, with Christopher Chant. Limpsfield, Dragon's World, 1990.
Historic Sailing Ships Postcards; 24 full-colour paintings. London, Constable, 1992; New York, Dover, 1992.
North American Lighthouses. Colouring book. London, Constable, 1995; New York, Dover, 1995.
World War II Allied Aircraft Planes [trading cards], text by Philip Smith. London, Constable, 1995; Mineola, N.Y., Dover, 1995.
100 Historic Aircraft in Full Colour. Mineola, N.Y., Dover Publications, 2000.
World War II Warships. Mineola, N.Y., Dover, 2006.
De Havilland Mosquito, text by Malcolm Lowe. Wimborne, Publishing Solutions in association with Minster Press, 2008.
B-17 Flying Fortress, text by Malcolm Lowe. Wimborne, Publishing Solutions in association with Minster Press, 2008.
Fairey Swordfish, text by Malcolm Lowe. Wimborne, Publishing Solutions in association with Minster Press, 2009.

Illustrated books
Aircraft by Kenneth Munson, illus. with others, 1971; adapted for easy reading by Louise M. Moyle, London, Macdonald & Co., 1975.
Ships by Brian Benson, illus. with others. London, Macdonald & Co., 1971; adapted for easy reading by Jim Rogerson, London, Macdonald & Co., 1975.
Arms and Armour by Frederick Wilkinson, illus. with Arthur Gay. London, Hamlyn, 1971.
Armoured Fighting Vehicles by John F. Milsom. London, Hamlyn, 1972.
Artillery by Ian Hogg. London, Macdonald & Co., 1972.
Spotlight on Soldiers by Frederick Wilkinson, illus. with others. Feltham, Hamlyn, 1973.
Richard's Bicycle Book by Richard Ballantine. New York, Ballantine Books, 1972; London, Pan Books, 1975; revised, Pan Books, 1976; new revised ed., Pan Books, 1977.
Sail Racer by Jack Knights. St. Albans, Coles, 1973.
A Historic Artillery by Ian V. Hogg. London, Hamlyn, 1974.
The Story of the Bomber by Bryan Cooper. London, Octopus Books, 1974.
Weapons and Armour by A. J. Barker, illus. with others. London, Hamlyn, 1974.
Armies of the American Revolution by Ian V. Hogg, edited by S. L. Mayer. London, Leo Cooper for Bison Books Ltd., 1975.
German Fighting Vehicles 1939-1945, with Peter Chamberlain & Chris Ellis.London, Phoebus, 1975.
German Tanks 1939-1945, with Chris Ellis & Peter Chamberlain. London, Phoebus, 1975.
Jet Fighters by David A. Anderton, ed. Bernard Fitzsimons. London, Phoebus, 1975.
The Navies of the American Revolution by Antony Preston & David Lyon, ed. S. J. Mayer. London, Leo Cooper for Bison Books Ltd., 1975; Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 1975.
Submarines. The history and evolution of underwater fighting vessels by Antony Preston. London, Octopus Books, 1975.
Weapons and Uniforms of the U.S.S.R. by Fred Stevens & Ian V. Hogg. London, Phoebus/BPC Pub., 1975.
German Tanks and Fighting Vehicles of World War II by Chris Ellis & Peter Chamberlain (contains German Fighting Vehicles 1939-1945 and German Tanks 1939-1945). London, Phoebus, 1976)
German & Allied Secret Weapons of World War II by Ian V. Hogg & J. B. King. London, Phoebus, 1976; Seacaucus, New Jersey, Chartwell Books in association with Phoebus, 1976.
Jet Fighters and Bombers by David A. Anderton, ed. Bernard Fitzsimons. London, Phoebus, 1976.
An Illustrated History of the Navies of World War II by Antony Preston, introduced & edited by S. L. Mayer. London, Hamlyn, 1976.
The Machine Gun, 1976; combined with The Submachine Gun as The Complete Machine Gun by Ian V. Hogg. London, Phoebus, 1979.
Weapons & War Machines by Andrew Kershaw & Ian Close. London, Phoebus, 1976.
Helicopters at War by Bill Gunston. New York & London, Hamlyn, 1977.
Naval Aircraft 1914-1939 by Louis S. Casey. London, Phoebus, 1977.
The Tank Story by Ian Hogg. London, Phoebus, 1977.
Naval Gun by Ian Hogg. Poole, Blandford Press, 1978.
The Complete Handgun: 1300 to the present by Ian V. Hogg. London, Phoebus, 1979.
The Submachine Gun, 1978; combined with The Machine Gun as The Complete Machine Gun by Ian V. Hogg. London, Phoebus, 1979.
Sea Power by Antony Preston & Louis S. Casey. London, Phoebus, 1979.
The Illustrated History of Seaplanes and Flying Boats by Louis S. Casey. London, Hamlyn, 1980.
The Airborne Soldier by John Weeks. Poole, Dorset, Blandford Press, 1982.
The Fighting Ship by Bernard Brett, illus. with Ivan Lapper. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1985.
Fighter by Chris Chant. Newton Abbot, David & Charles, 1988.
Handgun by John Walter. Newton Abbot, David & Charles, 1988.
Richard's New Bicycle Book by Richard Ballantine, illus. with Peter Williams. London, Pan Books, 1990.
Twentieth Century War Machines: Land by Christopher Chant. London, Chancellor Press, 1999.
A Century of Triumph. The history of aviation by Christopher Chant. New York & London, Free Press, 2002.
Soul of the Sword. An illustrated history of weaponry and warfare from prehistory to the present by Robert L. O'Connell. New York, Free Press, 2002.

(* Some background material has been derived from Batchelor own website here.)

Ted Benoit

Ted Benoit has, since the 1980s, been a prominent artist working in the ligne claire style made popular in the pages of the Franco-Belgian comics Tintin and Spirou.

Born Thierry Benoit in Niort, Deux-Sèvres, in rural France on 25 July 1947, he studied cinematography at the Institut des hauntes études cinématographiques in Paris and later worked in television. His first comics appeared in 1971 after he joined the editorial team of alternative magazine Actuel.

A fan of Hergé and Edgar P. Jacobs, whose works (principally 'Tintin' and 'Blake et Mortimer') filled the pages of Le journal de Tintin, Benoit shared his enthusiasm with other artists who were based around the Pigalle neighbourhood of Paris, leading one of its proponents, François Avril, to coin the term "École Pigalle". This "school" of artists--including Jacques de Loustal, Charles Berberian and Philippe Petit-Roulet--helped filled the pages of A suivre and L'Écho des Savanes and other popular French comics in the mid-1980s.

Benoit published a number of strips in the mid-1970s, 'Géranomimo' (1974) and Métal Hurlant from 1976. He also began contributing to L'Écho des Savanes after meeting cartoonist Nikita Mandryka in 1975 and it was here that his 'Ray Banana' strips began appearing in 1978.

His first album, Hôpital (Hospital), was published by Les Humanoïdes Associés in 1979, which won the award for best script at the Festival at Angoulême. His follow-up, Vers la Ligne Claire (Towards the Clear Line, 1980), gathering stories from Libération and Métal Hurlant, showed how his style of drawing was evolving from underground to clear line and had an introduction by Joost Swarte, who had coined the term "linge claire".

More one-off stories featuring Ray Banana began appearing in A suivre in 1980, followed by the serials 'Berceuse électrique' (Electric Lullaby, 1981) and 'Cité Lumière' (City Light, 1984), both subsequently published in album form by Casterman. Further stories from A suivre were collected as Histoires vraies (True Stories, 1982), written by Yves Cheraqui.

In 1987, Benoit created 'Bingo Bingo et son Combo Congolais' for Métal Hurlant and Métal Aventures as well as writing (for artist Pierre Nedjar), L'homme de nulle part (Nowhere Man, 1989), the memoirs of Thelma Ritter, Ray Banana's wife. A second volume of memoirs featuring Ritter was co-written by Madeleine DeMille and was to be drawn by François Avril but remains in limbo. (Ray Banana also appeared as a character in Philippe Paringaux's novel L'Homme qui ne Transpirait Pas in 1994.)

In 1993, Benoit was one of the artists responsible for reviving the continuing adventures of Blake and Mortimer, drawing two albums (#13 L'affaire Francis Blake, 1996, and #15 L'étrange rendez-vous, 2001) written by Jean Van Hamme.

Benoit's adaptation of Raymond Chandler's Playback, drawn by François Ayroles, appeared from Denoël in 2004.

He has also illustrated a number of books, prints and portfolios and has also been involved with l'association Le Crayon, whose members published The Naked Crayon in 2010. He has also been involved in advertising, notably for Jameson whisky and Bic.

Artwork/prints by Ted Benoir can be found for sale here.