EXTRACTS: Don Lawrence Art (illustrators special) © 2018 The Book Palace (144 PAGES in Full edition)

89 ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ by Carlo Collodi. ‘Pinocchio’ appeared in the paper’s first twelve issues (12 July–30 August 1969). Pages 116-131: ‘Jason and the Golden Fleece’ was an adaptation of the adventures of the Greek mythological hero. The search for the Golden Fleece was related in the epic poem ‘The Agonautica’ by Apollonius of Rhodes in the 3rd century BC. The story has been retold many times since, in this instance Jason being depicted as a golden-haired youngster, perhaps to distinguish him from Todd Armstrong’s swarthy, dark-haired portrayal in the 1963 Don Chaffey-directed movie. The latter is most famous for the stop-motion special Lawrence produced four covers for Once Upon A Time . The covers for issues 40 and 42 (15 and 29 November 1969) can be found on pages 90-91; the earlier cover for issue 25 (2 August 1969) related to the serial ‘Jason and the Golden Fleece’ and can be found on page 115. Lawrence’s cover for issue 51 (31 January 1970), above right, related to a comic strip adaptation of ‘The Water Babies’ which was subsequently reprinted by Purnell in 1979. Pages 92-114: Lawrence contributed a variety of illustrations to Once Upon A Time . Although better known for his historical and science fiction strips, he proved that he had a flair for humour in his work for the serial adapted from effects by Ray Harryhausen. Pages 132-135: Two one-off features illustrated by Lawrence: the article ‘Roman Roads’ and the story ‘Good King and Bad King’ both appeared in issue 37 (25 October 1969).