Jim Russell (cartoonist)
Jim Russell | |
---|---|
Born | James Newton Russell 26 March 1909 Campsie, New South Wales, Australia |
Died | 15 August 2001 Sylvania, New South Wales, Australia | (aged 92)
Pen name | Mick Newton |
Occupation | Cartoonist, illustrator |
Nationality | Australian |
Period | 1920s–1990s |
James Newton Russell AM MBE (26 March 1909 – 15 August 2001) was an Australian cartoonist who drew The Potts for 62 years. Jim's brother Dan Russell was also a cartoonist.
Russell has entered the
Biography
Russell was born in
Russell became Australia's youngest political cartoonist, when in 1928 (at the age of nineteen)
When Stan Cross left Smith's in 1940 Russell succeeded him as art editor and also took over drawing Cross's comic strips, including
Russell branched out into comic books during the 1940s when import restrictions gave Australian comics a lion's share of the market. At the beginning of 1947, Jim and his older brother, Dan, began their own publishing company, All-Australian Comics. The lead title of the company was Tex Morton's Wild West Comics, starring the popular country music singer. Like many Australian comics of the time, it was a copy of American material, in this case, featuring cowboy actors such as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. Tex Morton was always featured in a lead-off story along with his mates Jacky, Shorty and Slim, drawn by Dan Russell. For the first two years companion features were Keith Chatto's Bunny Allen, Les Dixon's Alfie the Jackaroo and a series of bush yarns by Jack Hemming. Early in 1949 they added another title, Kanga's K.O. Comics, with the lead strip drawn by Russell, who used the pseudonym 'Mick Newton'.[7] Russell also used the pseudonym on a revised version of Wanda Dare in Tex Morton Comics (the earlier version of Wanda Dare, a lady reporter, having previously been drawn by Dan).
In the middle of 1950 All-Australian Comics ran into financial difficulties due to rising production costs and the company folded by the end of the year. Russell resigned from Smith's Weekly after a dispute with the new editor, and not long after, in October 1950, Smith's Weekly folded. By a complex financial arrangement, the
Russell also wrote film reviews and other articles, was a radio and television personality, a publisher of dancing and music magazines and ran two travel agencies.[7][10]
In 1924, Russell was one of the founders of the Black and White Artists' Club. He succeeded Cross as president in 1955–57, then again in 1965–73.[11] He won the Club's first Silver Stanley in 1985 for his contribution to black and white art, was appointed its patron in 1984 and a life member in 1991.[11] In 1993 he was elected a member of the United States National Cartoonists Society, the only Australian ever to receive this honour.[7]
Personal
Russell married Lillian "Billie" Brann (d. 1995) in 1931; they had a daughter Judith Aileen.[6] He died 15 August 2001.
Recognition
In 1978 he was awarded the
The
References
- ^ "Longest running cartoon strip by a single artist".
- ^ "Longest running daily cartoon by a single author".
- ISBN 9788772895802.
- ^ a b "Catherine Green and Ellen Webster – The First Women in the NSW Legislative Council". Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. Summer 1998. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
- ^ "Mrs Catherine Elizabeth Green (1881–1965)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0-86832-012-9
- ^ ISBN 1-876308-12-5.
- ^ Man who draws the Potts Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 9 January 1951 p.3 accessed 28 October 2011
- ^ McCulloch, Alan Encyclopedia of Australian Art 1st edition 1968 Hutchinson of London
- ISBN 0-87754-323-2.
- ^ a b "History of Australian Cartoonists". Australian Cartoonists' Association. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald 30 March 1940
External links
- ACE biographical portraits: the artists behind the comic book characters: the Australian comic book exhibition, Australian comics 1930s–1990s, touring Australia during 1995/96 / edited by Annette Shiell and Ingrid Unger (1994, ISBN 0-7326-0829-5)
- The Potts and Uncle Dick / by Jim Russell
- Vale – Jim Russell