HAMPSON, Frank

(1918-1985)

   UK artist who almost singlehandedly brought the UK COMIC strip into the scientific age. When the Rev. Marcus Morris and FH originated the Eagle comic in 1949-50, FH created the sf strip DAN DARE - PILOT OF THE FUTURE for its full-colour front pages. What made the stripso revolutionary was FH's genius for colour, draughtsmanship and characterization, and his ability to create authentic future technology. He brought the comic strip closer to the CINEMA than any other UK artistbefore him, with panoramas, close-ups and a great feeling for movement and sequence. Until 1959, together with a team of artists, scriptwriters and scientific advisers, FH controlled the cult spaceman on his adventures across the Solar System. He abandoned Dan Dare to draw an impressive life of Christ in comic-strip form, The Road of Courage (1959-60; graph 1981); apart from a short stint on Lady Penelope for TV21 in 1964, this was his last comic strip. Indeed, dogged by ill health and bitter about his shabby treatment by Eagle's publishers, he produced very little published work at all after this, although he illustrated seven books for very young children for the publisher Ladybird Books and produced two sf spreads for MARVEL COMICS's UK Spider-Man title in 1976. He received the ItalianYellow Kid award in 1975.

   ABP/RT

   See also: RADIO.