Extracts: LARRIGAN Fleetway Picture Library Classics © 2019 Book Palace Books (272 PAGES in Full edition)

Introduction 3 LARRIGAN ™ There was a time, let’s say from around 1957 to 1967, when British readers could see some of the greatest comic artists in the world every week. Once paper restrictions were relaxed in 1950, the British comics industry, by which we mean primarily the Amalgamated Press (or A.P., later known as Fleetway from 1959 on) Odhams, Hulton and D C Thomson exploded in an expansion of weekly and monthly titles which far exceeded the local artists’ ability to supply. In 1954 A.P began using Spanish artists via the A.L.I agency and the following year the Cosmpolitan agency began to supply the company with artists from Italy. Cosmopolitan was soon supplanted by the D’ami studio from Milan who supplemented their own Italian workforce with creators from Argentina as well, and further agencies from Spain; S.I and Bardon added yet more talent to the mix. Which was just as well, because not only were the British weekly comics booming, but the torrent of digest-sized Picture Library comics, led by A.P.’s Thriller , Super-Detective , Cowboy , Love Story , True Life and War , each at 64 pages an issue, ate up artwork at a ravenous pace. By 1960 the roster of artists working in the UK included such giants of world comics as Alberto Breccia, Hugo Pratt, Dino Battaglia, Gino D’Antonio, Jesus Blasco, Franco Caprioli, Luis Bermejo, Jordi Longaron, Jorge Moliterni, Eduardo Coelho, Ferdinando Tacconi and Francisco Solano Lopez. Arturo del Castillo also started drawing for the UK that year and he was every bit the equal of each name on that list. Arturo del Castillo was born in Chile in 1925 and moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1948 following his brother Jorge who was drawing for the popular Patoruzito comic. Arturo entered comics initially as a letterer on the Aventuras comic, progressing to illustrations and strips at Intervalo and El Tony . He really hit his stride on the Western strip Randall the Killer, written by comics legend Hector Oesterheld for Hora Cero . Randall ran for 65 issues of the small format Weekly Hora Cero and then a further 15 issues of the larger Hora Cero Extra , altogether appearing from 1957 to 1960. By this point Del Castillo’s style was fully realised, completely unique and somehow timeless. The strip revealed him to be a master of the pen, creating darkly realistic, almost impossibly delicate illustrations that seemingly harkened back to the great penmen of earlier generations such as Franklin Booth or Ernesto Peixotto. Del Castillo was able to craft images of enormous depth and beauty through cross- hatched pen lines, creating various patterns and textures, juxtaposed with bold chiaroscuro lighting, which was utterly unique in comics. His reputation was such that he was one of the artists chosen to pass on his skills to future generations of comic artists at the legendary Escuela Panamericana De Arte, along with Breccia, Pratt and others. Randall was followed by the historical strip Sharon, and then more dazzling westerns; Don Rover and Garrett, which ran for almost 90 issues of Misterix from 1962-63, though by that point he was already firmly established at Fleetway. The first British readers saw of Del Castillo was Ringo, a reprinting of Randall licensed through D’Ami, which appeared in the final 3 issues of Top Spot in early 1960 and which was then serialised in Film Fun for another 9 months. Immediately after Ringo had finished a completely new series appeared, The Three Musketeers, written by Fleetway boss Leonard Matthews, which ran for five months until mid- 1961 and might well be the artist’s masterpiece. It’s flowing, romantic linework and graceful drawings bore comparison to the likes of Hal Foster or the very best book illustrators and stands as a landmark in world comics. Following Film Fun ’s demise readers had to wait over two Arturo del Castillo