Jim Holdaway (1927 - 1970; Barnes, UK)
Born in Barnes, London, Jim Holdaway became a freelance illustrator in 1950, working for publishers such as Odhams and Farrington Press. He worked on all types of artwork, adverts, cartoons, book illustrations and covers. His first full length stories were for Gallant Detective in 1952, and then went on to strips for Comic Cuts, and Swift. His first newspaper strip was Romeo Brown in the Daily Mirror. Sadly none of the original art for this strip has survived. This association with Peter O'Donnell led to the creation of Modesty Blaise which he drew from 1963 until his untimely death in 1970.