Norman Worker
Encyclopedia
Norman Worker was a British comic book writer, best known for his work on comic books featuring Lee Falk
's The Phantom
.
Norman was born in Kent, England, in 1927. When he was 17 years old, he fought in World War II
in India. After that, he worked in his father's furniture factory until it went bankrupt in the 1950s.
It was his cousin, Modesty Blaise
-creator Peter O'Donnell
, who suggested that Norman could become a comic book writer. This led to Norman writing stories featuring The Saint
and Buffalo Bill
for Semic, a Swedish comic book company.
It was on Semic that Norman started writing stories with The Phantom. At first, he used the pen-name "J. Bull", but he quickly started to sign the stories with his real name.
Norman was arguably the most popular writer of the Scandinavian Phantom production; who ended up writing 127 stories before he retired in 2004. Norman is credited for being responsible for providing backstories to many of the previous Phantoms of other centuries, which was a result of his love for history.
Lee Falk
Lee Falk, born Leon Harrison Gross , was an American writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the popular comic strip superheroes The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, who at the height of their popularity attracted over a hundred million readers every day...
's The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
.
Norman was born in Kent, England, in 1927. When he was 17 years old, he fought in 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...
in India. After that, he worked in his father's furniture factory until it went bankrupt in the 1950s.
It was his cousin, Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by Peter O'Donnell and Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows the adventures of Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents and a criminal past, and her trusty sidekick Willie Garvin...
-creator Peter O'Donnell
Peter O'Donnell
Peter O'Donnell was a British writer of mysteries and of comic strips, best known as the creator of Modesty Blaise, a female action hero/undercover trouble-shooter/enforcer...
, who suggested that Norman could become a comic book writer. This led to Norman writing stories featuring The Saint
Simon Templar
Simon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s...
and Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
for Semic, a Swedish comic book company.
It was on Semic that Norman started writing stories with The Phantom. At first, he used the pen-name "J. Bull", but he quickly started to sign the stories with his real name.
Norman was arguably the most popular writer of the Scandinavian Phantom production; who ended up writing 127 stories before he retired in 2004. Norman is credited for being responsible for providing backstories to many of the previous Phantoms of other centuries, which was a result of his love for history.
External links
- Norman Worker biography on Scandinavian Chapter