Geoff Campion
Encyclopedia
Arthur Geoffrey Campion (b. Coventry, 19 November 1916, d. 1997) was a British comics artist who drew adventure strips for Amalgamated Press/IPC
.
He started out as a tax inspector. As a staff officer in the East India Command in WWII he began drawing cartoons for the forces' magazine, Jambo. Returning to England, he responded to an ad from the Amalgamated Press looking for artists in 1948. He was hired by editor Leonard Matthews to draw humour strips like "Professor Bloop" in Knock-Out
, and filled in on a variety of strips for AP artist Hugh McNeill, including a Thunderbolt Jaxon
comic for publication in Australia in 1949.
Matthews then recruited him to draw westerns for Cowboy Comics Library - when Campion protested he couldn't draw horses, Matthews replied "Bloody well learn then!". He established himseld as one of AP/Fleetway
's leading adventure artists, working for titles like The Comet and Sun as well as Knock-Out. Aside from westerns, like "Strongbow the Mohawk", "Buffalo Bill" and "Billy the Kid", he drew WWII aviation strip "Battler Britton", historical strips like "Dick Turpin", a highwaywoman strip, "Black Velvet", for Poppet, and adaptations of Quo Vadis
and Last of the Mohicans. He also drew "Tales of the Gold Monkey" and "The Cyclone King" for TV Comic
, and for Eagle
, Playhour
and Look and Learn
.
Over the course of the 1950s and 60s his style became the "house style" for AP/Fleetway
adventure artists. In the 1960s he worked for Lion, drawing "Captain Condor", "Typhoon Tracy" and "The Spellbinder", and Valiant, drawing "Captain Hurricane". In the 1970s he worked for Battle Picture Weekly
, drawing "D-Day Dawson", "The Eagle", "Fighter from the Sky", "Sergeant Without Stripes" and "Action Force
".
IPC
IPC may refer to:*International Poverty Centre, of the United Nations Development Programme*IPC International, a shopping center security company*Ikano Power Centre, a shopping mall in Mutiara Damansara, Selangor, Malaysia...
.
He started out as a tax inspector. As a staff officer in the East India Command in WWII he began drawing cartoons for the forces' magazine, Jambo. Returning to England, he responded to an ad from the Amalgamated Press looking for artists in 1948. He was hired by editor Leonard Matthews to draw humour strips like "Professor Bloop" in Knock-Out
Knockout (comics)
Knockout is a fictional character, a supervillainess in the DC Comics universe. She first appeared in Superboy vol. 2 #1 , and was created by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett.-Fictional character biography:...
, and filled in on a variety of strips for AP artist Hugh McNeill, including a Thunderbolt Jaxon
Thunderbolt Jaxon
Thunderbolt Jaxon is a superhero comic-book character who first appeared in an Australian comic in 1949. His first appearance in the UK was in Comet #76 in 1949...
comic for publication in Australia in 1949.
Matthews then recruited him to draw westerns for Cowboy Comics Library - when Campion protested he couldn't draw horses, Matthews replied "Bloody well learn then!". He established himseld as one of AP/Fleetway
Fleetway
Fleetway, also known as Fleetway Publications and Fleetway Editions, was a UK publishing company which mainly produced comic magazines. For a time owned by IPC Media, they are now a division of Egmont Publishing....
's leading adventure artists, working for titles like The Comet and Sun as well as Knock-Out. Aside from westerns, like "Strongbow the Mohawk", "Buffalo Bill" and "Billy the Kid", he drew WWII aviation strip "Battler Britton", historical strips like "Dick Turpin", a highwaywoman strip, "Black Velvet", for Poppet, and adaptations of Quo Vadis
Quo vadis
Quo vadis? is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?" or "Whither goest thou?" The modern usage of the phrase refers to Christian tradition, related in the apocryphal Acts of Peter , in which Saint Peter meets Jesus as Peter is fleeing from likely crucifixion in Rome...
and Last of the Mohicans. He also drew "Tales of the Gold Monkey" and "The Cyclone King" for TV Comic
TV Comic
TV Comic was a British comic book published weekly between November 9, 1951 and June 29, 1984 for 1,697 issues. With its bright, eye-catching covers, it featured stories based on television shows running at the time of publication. The first issue had 8 pages and had Muffin the Mule on the cover....
, and 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...
, Playhour
Playhour
Playhour was a British children's comic published between 16 October 1954 and 15 August 1987, a run of approximately 1,700 weekly issues....
and Look and Learn
Look and Learn
Look and Learn was a British weekly educational magazine for children published by Fleetway Publications Ltd from 1962 until 1982. It contained educational text articles that covered a wide variety of topics from volcanoes to the Loch Ness Monster; a long running science fiction comic strip, The...
.
Over the course of the 1950s and 60s his style became the "house style" for AP/Fleetway
Fleetway
Fleetway, also known as Fleetway Publications and Fleetway Editions, was a UK publishing company which mainly produced comic magazines. For a time owned by IPC Media, they are now a division of Egmont Publishing....
adventure artists. In the 1960s he worked for Lion, drawing "Captain Condor", "Typhoon Tracy" and "The Spellbinder", and Valiant, drawing "Captain Hurricane". In the 1970s he worked for Battle Picture Weekly
Battle Picture Weekly
Battle Picture Weekly, at various time also known as Battle Action Force, Battle and Battle with Storm Force, was a British war comic published by IPC Magazines from 8 March 1975 to 23 January 1988, when it merged with Eagle...
, drawing "D-Day Dawson", "The Eagle", "Fighter from the Sky", "Sergeant Without Stripes" and "Action Force
Action Force
Action Force was a 1980s range of European action figures initially based on Action Man, and later used to introduce G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toys to European markets...
".