The Awakening of Garth
Writer: Don Freeman
Artist: Stephen Dowling & Dick Hailstone
Published: 22nd July 1946 – 19th October 1946 (C172 – E249)
Number of Episodes: 78
Garth joins the Royal Navy, to fight the Nazis. His ship is sunk in the China Seas, and he abandons ship on a raft, eventually being washed up on a strange shore to be found by Gala.
His memory restored, Garth has Lumiere fly him to Thule, to see his adoptive parents. Lumiere’s mystic ray has imbued Garth’s body with an electro-magnetic energy, causing any electric machinery near him to cut out. These powers enable Garth to prevent the government from turning Thule into a radio and electronics centre, and return control of the island to Ragnar.
Karen and Dawn have followed Garth, but still mourning Gerda, he tells them he is not interested. Rebuffed, Karen flies off, leaving Dawn behind. Lumiere perforce becomes her guardian.
Because of his unique powers, Garth is then recruited as a special agent by the foreign office to undertake a top-secret mission in India…
• Previous: The Saga of Garth | Next: The Quest of the G-Ray
Synopsis by Philip Harbottle
• Garth – Strip Checklist – Part One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight (Garth Reprints)
• A Tribute to Garth Artist and Editor John Allard by Philip Harbottle
In a feature encompassing the entire history of the much-loved strip, Garth writer Philip Harbottle pays tribute to artist and editor John Allard, who worked at the Mirror for over 50 years, outlining his huge contribution to Garth‘s enduring success
Strip dates given are those of their original appearance in the British newspaper the Daily Mirror, first compiled by Geoffrey Wren and Ann Holmes and updated by Ant Jones and Philip Harbottle
Garth © REACH/ Daily Mirror