Martin Aitchison
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Eagle
Martin Henry Hugh Aitchison (21 November 1919 – 22 October 2016) was an illustrator for the
Eagle comic from 1952 to 1963, and then one of the main illustrators for Ladybird Books
from 1963 to 1990.
Aitchison was born in
Slade School of Art. He married fellow art student Dorothy Self
.
He exhibited at the
Vickers Aircraft as a technical illustrator. He produced drawings for the bouncing bomb designed by Barnes Wallis for the Dam Busters air raid
.
He became a freelance commercial artist after the war, producing drawings for a range of magazines. His earliest work was for
The Lost World and C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower stories for the Eagle, and "Arty and Crafty", written by Geoffrey Bond, for Eagle's junior companion paper Swift
. His work for comics displayed his talents in an exuberant and creative medium, working mainly from imagination.
He joined Ladybird Books in 1963, and joined
Peter and Jane, which were used to teach so many British children to read. The consistency, naturalistic style and attention to detail of the artist made him a favourite with the prolific British publisher and over a period of a quarter of a century, he illustrated at least 100 different titles. Martin Aitchison was not the only artist to make the switch from The Eagle to Ladybird; Frank Hampson and Frank Humphris
] also followed the same path.
He left Ladybird in 1987, and retired - apart from drawing a new comic strip, "Justin Tyme - ye Hapless Highwayman", written by Geoffrey Bond, and later his son Jim, for the fanzine Eagle Times from 1998 to 2004.
He died on 22 October 2016 at the age of 96.[2]
Comics bibliography
- "Girl
- "Flick and the Vanishing New Girl, Girl Annual No 1
- "EagleVol 3 No 5 – Vol 12 No 37, Eagle Annual No 3-10 (1952-1961)
- "Danger Unlimited", Eagle Vol 12 No 33 – Vol 13 No 9
- "The Lost World", Eagle Vol 13 No 10 – Vol 13 No 29
- "Hornblower R. N.", Eagle Vol 13 No 28 – Vol 14 No 9
- "Warrior with Tin Legs", Eagle Annual No 11 (1962)
- "Justin Tyme - Ye Hapless Highwayman", Eagle Times Vol 11 No 4 (Winter 1998) - Vol 17 No 1 (Spring 2004)
References
- ^ "Martin Aitchison obituary". The Guardian. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ Martin Aitchison
- Biography
- Eagle artists: Martin Aitcheson, Eagle Times, 8 January 2008
- Eagle writers - Geoffrey Bond (1920 - 2009) aka Alan Jason, Eagle Times, 31 December 2009
- Martin Aitcheson at DanDare.org
- Martin Aitcheson on Lambiek Comiclopedia
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
