THE ADVENTURES OF BIGGLES
THERE WAS AN AUSTRALIAN COMIC IN THE 1950’S THAT RAN TO AT LEAST 78 ISSUES AND CONTAINED A MIXTURE OF
“W.E. Johns” biggles stories and stories written by others especially for the comic.
Publication Dates: 1953 - 1958
Number of Issues Published: 78 (#1 - #78)
Colour cover; Black and white interior
Dimensions: Standard Silver Age U.S.
Paper Stock: Newsprint
Binding: Saddle-stitched
Publishing Format: Was ongoing series
Publisher's Brands: without publisher's brandinformation (78 issues)
Notes
Issues 36-50 of this series were probably not published.
However there was an attempt to publish stories from this Australian comic in the UK.
It was apparently unsuccessful as only nine issues of the “British edition” of the comic were ever published.
This web page displays those nine issues and gives guide to the contents.
Published by “strato publications ltd., London. W.1” – drawings are credited to “albert de vine”
Each magazine was 9.5 inches by 7 inches or 24.5 cm x 18 cm
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
Publication Dates: 1950 ? – 1959 ?
Number of Issues Published: 15 (#1 – #15)
James Bigglesworth, nicknamed “Biggles”, is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and hero of the Biggles series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance in the story The White Fokker, published in the first issue of Popular Flying magazine and again as part of the first collection of Biggles stories, The Camels Are Coming (both 1932). Johns continued to write “Biggles books” until his death in 1968, the series eventually spanning nearly a hundred volumes – including novels and short story collections – most of the latter with a common setting and time.
There have been many different versions of Biggles comics published in different countries in Europe, including Great Britain, Belgium, France and Sweden.
Information thanks to the Grand Comics Database and Wejohns.com
Information in French http://francejohn.pagesperso-orange.fr/bd_05biggles.htm
The Adventures de Biggles #01
Issue one of “The Air Adventures of Biggles” is undated. It was published in the UK in the 1950s – if anyone knows the exact date, then please contact me.
Issue one contained 68 pages (but this includes the cover pages, so there were only 64 pages inside the covers) and FIVE stories.
The first three stories were “Biggles” stories and you can see the first pages of those three stories above. Obviously the second story was a continuation of the first.
The first part of “The Kidnapped Scientist” ran to 15 pages
The second part of “The Kidnapped Scientist” ran to 9 pages
“Middle East Hazzard” ran to 12 pages
By W. E. Johns & A. De Vine (Drawings)
There were then two other cartoon stories which were “non-Biggles” stories and hence they are not illustrated here.
“Tim Valour – Commander of the Famous Tigerhawks” by John Dixon ran to 14 pages
“The Crimson Comet - Operation Earthquake” by John Dixon ran to 14 pages. (The Crimson Comet appears to be a ‘Dan Dare’ type character in a birdman ‘superhero’ costume).
LINK ⇲⇲