Romeo, Romeo! Will the mystery artists on this British romance comic please stand up?

Comic artist David Roach, author of the brilliant Masters of British Comic Art, is on a determined mission to discover the identity of some mystery comic artists – and is asking for your help.

We’ve previously highlighted his welcome project to identify uncredited artists in British comics, there names excised from comics by publishers, in part to prevent them being poached by rivals. This has resulted in some significant leads to give these artists deserved recognition.

Now, David has some more mystery artists that he wants to track and trace – who all created work for DC Thomson’s popular girls title, Romeo, one of the Dundee-based publishers many romance comics.

“In America,anyone working in 1960s and 70s comics has been long identified by now,” David notes, “but not so over here. Let’s give them credit at last!”

If you can help, please comment below, thank you.

Romeo, cover dated 26th July 1969. Who drew the cover?

This is one of many covers ( and strips) drawn for the DC Thomson comic Romeo in the late 1960s and early 70s drawn by “Tony”, “but I’ve never got to the bottom of exactly who Tony was,” says David.

“Bizarrely an IPC Teen comic editor by the name of Tony Hudson had exactly the same signature – but could he have been moonlighting at DC Thomson for years?

“I hope at some point a family member might recognise a style or signature and come forward.”

UPDATE: Former Commando editor Calum Laird has confirmed this work is by Tony Hudson (via information from an ex-Romeo staffer). “He also did work for Jackie.”

As to Tony Hudson also working for IPC, he notes: “The names being the same could be coincidence, the signatures being identical would be stretching coincidence to breaking point.”

Romeo, cover dated 29th December 1973

The artist on this Romeo can ver is one who always managed to squeeze his signature in – “R.Hanna”.

This artist “drew some terrific 1970s covers and strips, all with a lovely, textured line,” David notes. “I’ve seen his work in the late 70s too on Blue Jeans, TV Tops and elsewhere… but who was he?”

Here’s an example of a strip by another mystery Romeo artist – this time with a very odd style – who appeared in quite a few late 1950s, early 60s issues of the comic.

“I’m toying with the theory that it could be Jeff Bevan,” David suggests, “before his style fully coalesced into the one we know from Commando, Wizard, Hotspur etc. Any ideas out there?”

David hopes his latest appeal might have similar success to previous call outs.

“It’s an odd state of affairs when it’s easier to identify a Spanish artist than it is a Brit, but that’s so often the case,” he notes.

If you can help David on his quest, please comment below, thank you.

Buy Masters of British Comic Book Art by David Roach (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)

Check out David’s previous appeals to identify “Mystery Artists” here on downthetubes

• If you’re interested in British girls comics, then two sites – Girls Comics of Yesterday and A Resource on Jinty – are great places to start!



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