James Bond comic strip artist John McLusky has died aged 83

John McLusky, best known for his long tenure as James Bond comic strip artist, has died at the age of 83. He passed away on Tuesday 5th September 2006.

Four years before Sean Connery would bring 007 to the silver screen with "Dr No", Daily Express readers in the UK got their first sight of James Bond in 1958. The face John McLusky gave to Bond would be many people's first and lasting image of 007, including composer John Barry.


Above: John McLusky's representation of James Bond 007.

Fleming's first James Bond novel "Casino Royale" would also become the starting point for the newspaper series, with the first strip published in the Daily Express on July 7th 1958. Staff writer Anthony Hearne adapted the novel, and John McLusky was brought in to illustrate.

Initially sticking closely to Fleming's source material, the strips created by Hearne and McLusky were an instant success and boosted sales of the newspaper. The punchy, fast-paced style and daily "cliff-hangers" suited Bond's adventures perfectly.

McLusky teamed up with writer Henry Gammidge for the following seven years, recreating Fleming's novels and short stories in the graphic form almost chronologically (except for a one-off partnership of writer Peter O'Donnell with McLusky for 1960's "Dr. No" adaptation).

Thirteen adventures since the Express began publishing Bond strips back in 1958, Gammidge and McLusky stepped aside for the new team of Jim Lawrence and Yaroslav Horak as writer and artist respectively. In 1981, series writer Lawrence was then paired with the original strip artist John McLusky returning for a further four adventures.

As well as his long run as James Bond comic strip artist, McLusky also drew strips such as "Secret Agent 13" for Fleetway's "June" and illustrations for "Look and Learn", and also worked for 15 years on "TV Comic" with strips such as "Orlando", "Laurel & Hardy" and "Pink Panther". In the early 1980's he worked on Thames TV series "Hattytown". He the retired but was lured back in to action in 1986 when Gerald Lip, the Express strip Editor, asked him to draw the last James Bond strips, which he did for three years. He then regularly lectured in the History of Art and was also a Punch and Judy Professor and Puppeteer. He spent his final years taking it easy at his home due to heath reasons but enjoyed reading, meeting his friends and listening to his favourite Jazz collections.

John McLusky will be best remembered for giving to the world "the face of James Bond", and with Titan Books republishing the orginal strip adventures, fans old and new can enjoy his timeless work again.

Click here to read more about John McLusky's artwork and the James Bond comic strip series.

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