Herbert Felstead (Active 1940s - 1970s; UK)
Herbert Felstead was a mid-20th century British animator, illustrator and comic artist known for illustrating nursery comics in comics such as Playhour and Jack and Jill.

Prior to his work as a comic artist, during the mid 1940s he was an animator and director at the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation, where he directed the series 'Animaland' (1947-1949) and 'Musical Paintbox' (1948-1949). The company received some help from Disney animator and director David Hand who gave them valuable advice.

When the studio was shut down over financial difficulties, Felstead started a second career as an illustrator. Using the signature Fel, he then became an illustrator for several titles published by Juvenile Productions Ltd. in the first half of the 1950s. He livened up the pages of numerous magazines, such as Listen With Mother (1952), Bedtime Nursery Pictures and Stories (1953), Little Robin Hood Annual (1954), My First ABC (1955) and Pop-Up Pictures ABC, all published by Juvenile Productions Ltd. He first appeared in the Jack & Jill comic book in 1956, taking over 'Teddy & Cuddly' from Hugh McNeill.

One of his best known features in the long-running 'Leo the Friendly Lion', that began in Playhour in 1961. Another popular feature Felstead worked on was 'Fliptail the Otter' in Jack and Jill from 1967.

He also filled in on several other strips ('Wink & Blink, the Playful Puppies' and 'Pam's Supermarket' in Playhour, 'Moony from the Moon' and 'Pinky & Perky' in Harold Hare's Own Paper), and his work was reprinted in magazines like Bonnie and annuals up until the 1980s.

In the early 1970s he collaborated with Ian Gammidge on 'Little Joe', a newspaper comic about a little puppy which appeared in London's The Daily Mirror from 15 April 1973 until 30 November 1976. A book version was published by Mirror Group Books in 1975. Between 1 December 1973 and 4 April 1977, this strip also ran in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, under the title 'Kleine Pom'. Felstead furthermore illustrated the books 'My Favourite Nursery Rhymes' (1977) and 'Time for Play' (1977).
Source: Lambiek and Bear Alley