Artists: Dennis Collins
(biography), Maurice Dodd
(biography)Medium: Pen & Ink on Board
Size: 20" x 6" (500mm x 150mm)
Date: 1977
This is the unique original Pen & Ink drawing by Dennis Collins, Maurice Dodd.An original and metaphysical pen and ink strip from 1977. A very fine example of this hilarious and popular newspaper strip, by artists Maurice Dodd and Dennis Collins.
The Perishers strip was the brainchild of the then Mirror cartoon editor, Bill Herbert. Scripted by Ben Witham and drawn by Dennis Collins, it first appeared in the Manchester edition of the Mirror in February 1958. Alas, the strip did not thrive and Bill enlisted the aid of advertising artist/writer Maurice Dodd.
Maurice didn't work in the usual way of producing a written script from which the artist worked, but worked out his own ideas in rough pencilled layouts with action and dialogue in situ. While Dennis continued to execute finished drawings for the script, Ben Witham moved on to write gags for the popular single frame cartoon Useless Eustace.
The Collins - Dodd combination was successful and the Perishers moved into the national editions, in October 1959. The partnership lasted until Dennis retired in 1983. Maurice then took on the complete execution of the strip, from idea to finished artwork, until 1992, when he once again went into partnership, this time with Bill Mevin who now executes the finished work.