Maurice Dodd
Encyclopedia
Maurice Dodd was an English
writer and cartoonist most notable for his years spent working on The Perishers
comic strip
published in The Daily Mirror
.
, England
, and during World War II
served in the Royal Air Force
as a Servicing Commando, alongside Bill Herbert. After the war, Dodd was demobilized and began to study art. Dodd found work in advertising, and after winning a competition to write a slogan for Time
, Bill Herbert, by then the cartoon editor at The Daily Mirror
, offered Dodd the chance to write a comic strip he had created, The Perishers
which hadn't been particularly well received.
Working with artist Dennis Collins, Dodd provided rough layouts
, which Collins would then draw. Dodd continued to work in advertising and worked upon the Clunk Click Every Trip
series of public information adverts, intended to remind drivers of the benefits of wearing a seatbelt. It was whilst working on this campaign that Dodd came into contact with FilmFair
, a company also responsible for the creation of television programmes based on The Wombles
and Paddington Bear
. Dodd collaborated with the company in bringing The Perishers to television, allowing him to leave advertising in 1980. He subsequently wrote a number of children's books.
In 1983 Collins retired, leaving Dodd to both write and draw The Perishers until, in 1992, Bill Mevin assumed all art work for the strip. Dodd continued working on the strip until his death from a brain haemorrhage on December 31, 2005 in Shepperton
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
writer and cartoonist most notable for his years spent working on The Perishers
The Perishers
The Perishers was a British comic strip about a group of urban children and a dog. It began in the Daily Mirror on 19th October 1959 and was written for most of its life by Maurice Dodd . It was drawn by Dennis Collins until his retirement in 1983, after which it was drawn by Dodd and later by Bill...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
published in The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
.
Biography
Dodd was born in HackneyMetropolitan Borough of Hackney
The Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. Its area became part of the London Borough of Hackney.-Formation and boundaries:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
served in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
as a Servicing Commando, alongside Bill Herbert. After the war, Dodd was demobilized and began to study art. Dodd found work in advertising, and after winning a competition to write a slogan for Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Bill Herbert, by then the cartoon editor at The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
, offered Dodd the chance to write a comic strip he had created, The Perishers
The Perishers
The Perishers was a British comic strip about a group of urban children and a dog. It began in the Daily Mirror on 19th October 1959 and was written for most of its life by Maurice Dodd . It was drawn by Dennis Collins until his retirement in 1983, after which it was drawn by Dodd and later by Bill...
which hadn't been particularly well received.
Working with artist Dennis Collins, Dodd provided rough layouts
Page layout
Page layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements on a page.- History and development :...
, which Collins would then draw. Dodd continued to work in advertising and worked upon the Clunk Click Every Trip
Clunk Click Every Trip
"Clunk Click Every Trip" was the slogan of a series of British public information films sponsored by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents , commencing in January 1971 and starring Jimmy Savile. The slogan was introduced during the previous campaign, fronted by Shaw Taylor and...
series of public information adverts, intended to remind drivers of the benefits of wearing a seatbelt. It was whilst working on this campaign that Dodd came into contact with FilmFair
FilmFair
FilmFair was a British production company and animation studio that produced stop motion children's television series and animated cartoons from the late 1960s until the mid-1990s...
, a company also responsible for the creation of television programmes based on The Wombles
The Wombles
The Wombles are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in useful and ingenious ways. Wombles were created by author Elisabeth Beresford, originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968...
and Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He appeared on 13 October 1958 and was subsequently featured in several books, most recently in 2008, written by Michael Bond and first illustrated by Peggy Fortnum....
. Dodd collaborated with the company in bringing The Perishers to television, allowing him to leave advertising in 1980. He subsequently wrote a number of children's books.
In 1983 Collins retired, leaving Dodd to both write and draw The Perishers until, in 1992, Bill Mevin assumed all art work for the strip. Dodd continued working on the strip until his death from a brain haemorrhage on December 31, 2005 in Shepperton
Shepperton
Shepperton is a town in the borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England. To the south it is bounded by the river Thames at Desborough Island and is bisected by the M3 motorway...
.