Martin Woodhouse (1932-2011)

Thriller writer Martin Woodhouse died in May but the obituary I penned for the Guardian only appeared on Wednesday this week (and posted online on Tuesday). The paper only used one small cover as an illustration, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to post the four that I sent over.

Tree Frog (London, William Heinemann, 1966)
Pan X605, 1967, 191pp, 3/6. Cover: photo

Rock Baby (as Bush Baby,

Iain Blair (1942-2011)

Iain Blair, the Scottish former actor and author, who died on 3 July, aged 69, had a double life as romance writer Emma Blair. Emma became hugely popular for 'her' 29 bodice rippers with titles An Apple from Eden, Arrows of Desire, Goodnight, Sweet Prince, Moonlit Eyes, Passionate Times, The Princess of Poor Street and Where No Man Cries. The 6' 3" Glaswegian was not your typical romance writer.

Simon Heneage (1930-2011)

Simon Heneage, co-founder of the Cartoon Art Trust and the Cartoon Museum and co-author of Dictionary of British Cartoonists and Caricaturists 1730-1980, died on 14 May, aged 80.

Born Simon Anthony Helyar Walker-Heneage in London in 1930, he served with the Grenadier Guards before taking a degree in history at Cambridge. Heneage spent 21 years in the wine trade before founding Potter Books and

Ted Percival (d. 2011)

Ted Percival (far right, in uniform). At the top of the steps, smoking, is Reg Parlett
Ted Percival, whose career in animation stretched over five decades, recently died in hospital. He had been ill since shortly before Christmas. After suffering a bout of pneumonia which weakened him further, he died on the morning of 3 February.

William E. (Ted) Percival was one of the animators who worked

Mervyn Haisman (1928-2010)

Mervyn Haisman, who died of heart failure on 29 October 2010 aged 82, was the co-creator of two enduring monsters for the Doctor Who TV show, the Yeti and the Krang. The actor-turned-writer had been invited to pen the first Yeti series after Who actor Patrick Troughton complained about the lack of Earth-based adventures. The 6-part story 'The Abominable Snowmen', co-written with Henry Lincoln (

Roy Mitchell (1946-2010)

Peter Gray's Cartoons and Comics blog carries the news that Roy Mitchell, better known under his abbreviated signature 'Mitch', died on 23 May 2010, at the age of 64. He had been a prolific cartoonist and comic strip artist for 34 years. Over the years he had drawn thousands of cartoons, his clients including United Greeting Card Company, HM Treasurey, The Football Association, The Institution of

Paddy "Pudsy" Morris (1949-2010)

Underground cartoonist Paddy Morris, who signed his work "Pudsy", died at the weekend of the 16/17 October following a heart attack, he was 61. His work appeared in OZ, Dope Funnies, Nasty Tales and Northern Lightz. In comics he is best known as the creator of Ganjaman, superhero and star of Ganjaman Presents an anthology title featuring the work of various underground artists.

Some examples of

Les Gibbard (1945-2010)

Les Gibbard, an animator and political cartoonist who worked with The Guardian for 25 years, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday, 10 October 2010, following a routine operation. He was 64.

Leslie David Gibbard was born in Kaiapoi, New Zealand, on 26 October 1945, the son of teachers Ray and Dorothy Gibbard. and was educated in Auckland where he was taught in charcoal and pastels by Franz

Josè Maria Jorge (1941(?)-2010)

The death of Josè Maria Jorge on Monday, 4 October, was announced on the Commando website on Tuesday. He was 69 years old.

Jorge made his debut in Commando whilst he was still in his twenties, his first story, Flying Fury, appearing as issue 384 in February 1969. For forty-two years he produced three or four books a year, a total of 163 issues containing over 10,200 pages of interior art. The

Raymond Hawkey (1930-2010)

Designer and author Raymond Hawkey died on Sunday, 22 August, aged 80. Born in Plymouth, Devon, on 2 February 1930, the only son of John Hawkey, a commercial traveller, and his wife Constance (née Steckhahn). Whilst his father hoped Hawkey would become an accountant, the young boy preferred drawing. He won a scholarship to the local grammar school and, at 16, began attending Plymouth School of

Ted Rawlings (1921-2010)

Adrian Banfield of the Victor & Hornet website has forwarded the news that Ted Rawlings, who was a regular artist on D. C. Thomson's Victor for over twenty years, died at Netherlea Hospital, Newport-on-Tay, on Friday, 6 August 2010. Although a brief notice in the Dundee Courier and Advertiser says that he was 90, he was, in fact, 89 years old.

A full obituary will appear shortly.

Victor de la Fuente (1927-2010)

Victor de la Fuente, one of the great names in Spanish comics, died on Friday, 2 July, in Le Mesnil St Denis, France. He was 83 and had been ill for some years. He worked for the original Eagle comic in the early 1960s, drawing 'Blackbow the Cheyenne', the story of a doctor in the Wild West who dresses as an Indian to resolve conflicts, and episodes of 'Can You Catch a Crook?', a spot-the-clue