Frank S. Pepper
Encyclopedia
Frank Stuart Pepper was a British writer of comics and story paper
s for Amalgamated Press, best known as the creator of "Roy of the Rovers
" and "Captain Condor".
Born in Ilford
, East London
, on 8 February 1910, on leaving school he joined the staff of The Children's Newspaper
as an office boy in 1926, under editor Arthur Mee
. He started by writing captions, then longer pieces, and by 1930 was selling articles to other papers on a freelance basis. He went freelance full-time in 1931, writing for numerous newspapers and magazines.
In the mid-1930s he started selling stories to the boys' story papers, his first story being "Snapshot Sammy" for The Triumph. Eritor Reg Eves
commissioned him to write a series about a boxing airman, "Rockfist Rogan", for The Champion in 1937, which he went on to write, under the pseudonym Hal Wilton, for the next 22 years. Also for The Champion, he wrote football serial "Danny of the Dazzlers" under the pseudonym John Marshall, and "Colwyn Dane" as Mark Grimshaw. He also wrote "The Adventures of Beau Brummell" for Knockout
and "The Return of Monte Cristo" for The Comet, as John Morion. For The Children's Newspaper, he wrote the adventures of twins "Bill and Jill", starting in 1948.
In 1952 AP launched Lion, a weekly adventure comic designed to compete with Hulton Press' Eagle
, for which Pepper wrote the cover feature "Captain Condor", a space hero created to rival Eagle' s "Dan Dare
", for twelve years. He also created the cover feature for AP's sports comic Tiger
, in 1953: editor Derek Birnage
requested a more realistic football series than "Danny of the Dazzlers", and Pepper gave him "Roy of the Rovers
", illustrated by Joe Colquhoun
, who took over writing the strip, from Pepper's outline, after four episodes, using the pseudonym Stewart Colwyn. Other series he wrote scripts for included "Dan Dare
" for Eagle
, "Jet-Ace Logan
" in The Comet and Tiger
and "The Spellbinder" for Lion.
He retired from comics in 1983, and started compiling collections of quotations, including Twentieth Century Quotations, Contemporary Biographical Quotations, Dictionary of Biographical Quotations and Twentieth Century Anecdotes. He died in Cornwall
on 11 December 1988. He was married and had four children.
Story paper
*This article is about British Story papers. For the U.S. version, see Dime novel.A story paper is a periodical publication similar to a literary magazine, but featuring illustrations and text stories, and aimed towards children and teenagers...
s for Amalgamated Press, best known as the creator of "Roy of the Rovers
Roy of the Rovers
Roy of the Rovers is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional footballer named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers...
" and "Captain Condor".
Born in Ilford
Ilford
Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...
, East London
East London
East London is a city on the southeast coast of South Africa, situated at 32.97°S and 27.87°E in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of the Eastern Cape province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and is the country's only river...
, on 8 February 1910, on leaving school he joined the staff of The Children's Newspaper
The Children's Newspaper
The Children's Newspaper was a long-running newspaper published by the Amalgamated Press aimed at pre-teenage children founded by Arthur Mee in 1919...
as an office boy in 1926, under editor Arthur Mee
Arthur Mee
Arthur Henry Mee was a British writer, journalist and educator. He is best known for The Harmsworth Self-Educator, The Children's Encyclopaedia, The Children's Newspaper, and The King's England...
. He started by writing captions, then longer pieces, and by 1930 was selling articles to other papers on a freelance basis. He went freelance full-time in 1931, writing for numerous newspapers and magazines.
In the mid-1930s he started selling stories to the boys' story papers, his first story being "Snapshot Sammy" for The Triumph. Eritor Reg Eves
Reg Eves
Reginald T. Eves was a British editor and writer of comics and story papers for the Amalgamated Press. He joined the company in 1908, and during the First World War was assistant editor, under editor John Nix Pentelow, of the boys' story papers The Magnet and The Gem, also writing many of the stories...
commissioned him to write a series about a boxing airman, "Rockfist Rogan", for The Champion in 1937, which he went on to write, under the pseudonym Hal Wilton, for the next 22 years. Also for The Champion, he wrote football serial "Danny of the Dazzlers" under the pseudonym John Marshall, and "Colwyn Dane" as Mark Grimshaw. He also wrote "The Adventures of Beau Brummell" for Knockout
Knockout (comic)
-1939 series:The first ran from 4 March 1939 to 16 February 1963, 1251 issues, when it merged with Valiant. Magnet was discontinued in 1940; but its lead character, Billy Bunter, was thereafter granted his own cartoon strip in Knockout. Comic Cuts merged with it in 1953...
and "The Return of Monte Cristo" for The Comet, as John Morion. For The Children's Newspaper, he wrote the adventures of twins "Bill and Jill", starting in 1948.
In 1952 AP launched Lion, a weekly adventure comic designed to compete with Hulton Press' Eagle
Eagle (comic)
Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a parish magazine called The Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating...
, for which Pepper wrote the cover feature "Captain Condor", a space hero created to rival Eagle
Dan Dare
Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories, that is, the Venus and Red Moon stories, and a complete storyline for Operation Saturn...
", for twelve years. He also created the cover feature for AP's sports comic Tiger
Tiger (comics)
Tiger, in comics, may refer to:* Tiger , a DC Comics character, the partner of Judomaster* Tiger , a British comic* Tiger , an American comic strip...
, in 1953: editor Derek Birnage
Derek Birnage
Derek Arthur William Birnage was a British comics editor and writer and newspaper editor, best known as the founding editor of the weekly sports comic Tiger and as a writer of Roy of the Rovers....
requested a more realistic football series than "Danny of the Dazzlers", and Pepper gave him "Roy of the Rovers
Roy of the Rovers
Roy of the Rovers is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional footballer named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers...
", illustrated by Joe Colquhoun
Joe Colquhoun
Joe Colquhoun was a British comics artist best known for his work on Charley's War in Battle Picture Weekly. He was also the first artist to draw Roy of the Rovers.-Biography:...
, who took over writing the strip, from Pepper's outline, after four episodes, using the pseudonym Stewart Colwyn. Other series he wrote scripts for included "Dan Dare
Dan Dare
Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories, that is, the Venus and Red Moon stories, and a complete storyline for Operation Saturn...
" for Eagle
Eagle (comic)
Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a parish magazine called The Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating...
, "Jet-Ace Logan
Jet-Ace Logan
Jet-Ace Logan was a British comic strip appearing in The Comet 1956-1959 and Tiger 1959-1968, plus the 1969 Tiger Annual.The hero, Logan, is the ace interplanetary pilot of the RAF, in a time about 100 years in the future...
" in The Comet and Tiger
Tiger (comics)
Tiger, in comics, may refer to:* Tiger , a DC Comics character, the partner of Judomaster* Tiger , a British comic* Tiger , an American comic strip...
and "The Spellbinder" for Lion.
He retired from comics in 1983, and started compiling collections of quotations, including Twentieth Century Quotations, Contemporary Biographical Quotations, Dictionary of Biographical Quotations and Twentieth Century Anecdotes. He died in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
on 11 December 1988. He was married and had four children.