Martin Asbury
Encyclopedia
Martin Asbury is a British comic and storyboard artist, best known for drawing the Garth
strip in the Daily Mirror from 1976 to 1997, and for his colour TV adaptations in Look-in
.
Asbury was educated at Merchant Taylors School and at St. Martin's School of Art, London, and started work in strip cartoons, including assisting Dan Barry on Flash Gordon
in Austria. After a period designing greetings cards, he got work at D. C. Thomson
, drawing "Secret of the Sheridan Sisters" for Bunty
and "Soldiers of the Jet Age" and "The Crimson Claw" for Hotspur
, before moving to TV Century 21
, drawing "Joe 90
" and the football strip "Forward from the Back-Streets", starting in 1969. He then drew "Captain Scarlet
" for Countdown, starting in 1971. When Countdown was relaunched as TV Action in 1973, Asbury got an early opportunity to work in colour on "Cannon
". From there he moved to Look-in
, where he drew more strips based on TV shows, including popular runs on "Kung Fu
" and "The Six Million Dollar Man
", written by Angus Allan
, until 1981. He also drew "Doctor Who
" for TV Comic
in 1975, and a Star Wars
strip for the TV Times
in 1982.
He took over as artist on the Daily Mirror' s long-running science fiction strip Garth
following Frank Bellamy
's death in 1976, and drew it until it finished in 1997, writing some of the later stories as well. He also drew a biographical strip of Elvis Presley
for the Mirror, and "Teach Yourself Tennis with Bjorn Borg
" for the Daily Express
. In 1984 he moved into movie storyboarding with Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. Since then he has worked on numerous films, including several in the James Bond
and Harry Potter
series.
Garth (comic strip)
Garth was a comic strip in the British newspaper Daily Mirror from July 24, 1943, to March 22, 1997. The strip belonged to the action-adventure genre and recounted the exploits of the title character, an immensely strong hero who battled various villains throughout the world and many different...
strip in the Daily Mirror from 1976 to 1997, and for his colour TV adaptations in Look-in
Look-in
Look-in was a long running children's magazine centred around ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior TVTimes". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994...
.
Asbury was educated at Merchant Taylors School and at St. Martin's School of Art, London, and started work in strip cartoons, including assisting Dan Barry on Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
in Austria. After a period designing greetings cards, he got work at D. C. Thomson
D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, is a publishing company based in Dundee, Scotland, best known for producing The Dundee Courier, The Evening Telegraph, The Sunday Post, Oor Wullie, The Broons, The Beano, The Dandy and Commando comics...
, drawing "Secret of the Sheridan Sisters" for Bunty
Bunty
Bunty was a British comics anthology for girls published by D. C. Thomson & Co. from 1958 to 2001. It consisted of a collection of many small strips, typically the stories themselves being three to five pages long. As well as the weekly comic, Christmas and summer annuals were published. Bunty...
and "Soldiers of the Jet Age" and "The Crimson Claw" for Hotspur
Hotspur (comics)
The Hotspur was a British boys' paper published by D. C. Thomson & Co. It was launched on 2 September 1933 as a story paper, the last of the 'Big Five'...
, before moving to TV Century 21
TV Century 21
TV Century 21, also known as TV 21, was a weekly British children's comic of the 1960s and early 1970s. It promoted the many television science-fiction puppet series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Century 21 Productions...
, drawing "Joe 90
Joe 90
Joe 90 is a late-1960s British science-fiction television series documenting the exploits of a nine-year-old boy, Joe McClaine, who embarks on a double life as a schoolboy turned spy when his scientist father invents a pioneering machine capable of duplicating and transferring expert knowledge and...
" and the football strip "Forward from the Back-Streets", starting in 1969. He then drew "Captain Scarlet
Captain Scarlet
Captain Scarlet may refer to:*Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, 1960s marionette-based science-fiction TV series*Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, 2000s CGI remake of the 1960s series...
" for Countdown, starting in 1971. When Countdown was relaunched as TV Action in 1973, Asbury got an early opportunity to work in colour on "Cannon
Cannon (TV series)
Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976.The primary protagonist was the title character, Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad....
". From there he moved to Look-in
Look-in
Look-in was a long running children's magazine centred around ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior TVTimes". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994...
, where he drew more strips based on TV shows, including popular runs on "Kung Fu
Kung Fu (TV series)
Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
" and "The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
", written by Angus Allan
Angus Allan
Angus Peter Allan was a British comic strip writer and magazine editor who worked on TV Century 21 in the 1960s and Look-in magazine during the 1970s. Most commonly known as Angus Allan and sometimes credited as Angus P...
, until 1981. He also drew "Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
" 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....
in 1975, and a Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
strip for the TV Times
TV Times
TVTimes is a television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom by IPC Media, a subsidiary of Time Warner. It is known for its access to television actors and their programmes. In 2006 it was refreshed for a more modern look, increasing its emphasis on big star interviews and soaps...
in 1982.
He took over as artist on the Daily Mirror
Garth (comic strip)
Garth was a comic strip in the British newspaper Daily Mirror from July 24, 1943, to March 22, 1997. The strip belonged to the action-adventure genre and recounted the exploits of the title character, an immensely strong hero who battled various villains throughout the world and many different...
following Frank Bellamy
Frank Bellamy
Frank Bellamy was a British comics artist, best known for his work on the Eagle comic, for which he illustrated Heros the Spartan and Fraser of Africa. He reworked its flagship Dan Dare strip....
's death in 1976, and drew it until it finished in 1997, writing some of the later stories as well. He also drew a biographical strip of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
for the Mirror, and "Teach Yourself Tennis with Bjorn Borg
Björn Borg
Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...
" for the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
. In 1984 he moved into movie storyboarding with Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. Since then he has worked on numerous films, including several in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
and Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series.