The Adventures of Biggles was a series of comics first published by Action Comics of Sydney from 1952. Up to 75 issues were believed to have been put out.The issues bore a byline of Capt. W. E. Johns with artwork by Albert De Vine and later John Dixon and Jeff Wilkinson.
Copies are quite rare. We cannot even be sure exactly how many issues there were, with the highest number varying between 74, 75 and 78 depending on the source. There is also an unexplained gap in the issue numbers, with the number jumping from #30 straight to #51.
As can be seen from the table below, most of the earlier issues were loosely based on various story plots of W. E. Johns but some of the later ones were reimagined. The comics were published in Johns' lifetime and there is evidence that he approved them or at least endorsed their production. According to Australian researcher Kevin Patrick, Issue #17 has a type written note which states that the comics were produced in Australia under an arrangement with Capt. W. E. Johns and that Australian written scripts were sent to England for approval before publication. Certainly the bylines on the cover and title pages always state: "By Capt. W. E. Johns" in addition to the ilustrator. Sometimes the illustrators are not stated at all.
The comics are notable for the wide range of aircraft types depicted. Each issue usually has a page at the end devoted to introducing readers to new aircraft. Where the stories were adapted from Johns originals, the aircraft involved are typically different. Presumably the illustrator tired of drawing Austers and Proctors all the time. Many aircraft are well drawn, accurate and detailed depictions of actual aircraft. In many cases, Biggles flies up to date jet aircraft appropriate to the era. On other occasions, though, the choice of aircraft are not altogether appropriate to the context and some are quite fanciful and implausible--here the illustrator probably wanted to have some fun. According to Patrick, who interviewed John Dixon, one of the comic artists, Johns had written to the publishers commenting that "Biggles did not fly jets."
Each issue of the Australian comic was 24 pages, consisting of two stories of about 9-12 pages each or a single story in 2 parts of 9-12 pages each. There were 9d and 6d editions with the 6d ones intended for overseas distribution. The stories within them were usually the same but there are exceptions.
Strato Publications Ltd, of London, later reprinted the stories in the UK in 9 comic issues. The Strato comics were thicker, and usually over 60 pages. They usually comprised up to 3 Biggles stories drawn from different Australian issues and also included non-Biggles stories, ncluding some Gimlet. The cover art did not always match the equivalent Australian issue.
List of Original Australian Issues and the stories they contain[]
| Issue | Stories | Artist | Remarks | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Case of the Visiting Sultan |
Albert De Vine | From Biggles Air Detective | 
|
| 2 | The Unregistered Operator |
Albert De Vine | From Biggles Air Detective | 
|
| 3 | The Wounded Agent |
Albert De Vine | From Biggles Air Detective Copy available at National Library of Australa See catalogue record |
|
| 4 | The Renegade |
Albert De Vine | From Biggles Takes the Case |
|
| 5 | Skyway Robbery |
Albert De Vine | From Biggles Takes the Case Copy available at National Library of Australa See catalogue record |
|
| 6 | All in a Day's Work |
Albert De Vine | From Biggles Takes the Case | 
|
| 7 | African Assignment |
Albert De Vine | From Biggles Takes the Case | 
|
| 8 | Biggles Solves a Burglary The Gunnery Range Murders |
Albert De Vine | 
| |
| 9 | The Case of the Black Gauntlet The Case of the Remarkable Perfume |
Albert de Vine | Both stories are from Biggles of the Special Air Police Copy available at National Library of Australa See catalogue record/ |
|
| 10 | The Case of the White Lion |
Albert de Vine | Both stories from Biggles of the Special Air Police | 
|
| 11 | The Secret Inquisitors |
Albert de Vine | From Biggles' Chinese Puzzle and Biggles of the Special Air Police respectively | 
|
| 12 | The Desert Thefts | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 13 | The Smugglers | Albert de Vine | 
| |
|
14 |
The Missing Diplomat | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 15 | The Gun Runners | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 16 | Submarine Hide-out | Albert de Vine | Copy available at National Library of Australa See catalogue record | 
|
| 17 | Himalayan Espionage (6d) Prohibited Exports (9d) |
| ||
| 18 | The Deadly Gas Threat | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 19 | Threat to Gibraltar | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 20 | Chinese Pirates | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 21 | Traffic in Slaves | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 22 | Himalayan Espionage | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 23 | The Curse of the Pharoahs | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 24 | The Kidnapped Scientist | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 25 | The Panama Canal Plot | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 26 | The Missing Prince | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 27 | Indo China Intrigue | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 28 | The Submarine Spies | Albert de Vine | One of the few issues whose cover actually depicts a scene from the story. | 
|
| 29 | Pyrenean Manhunt | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 30 | Biggles in Japan | 
| ||
| #31-#50 not printed[1] | ||||
| 51 | The Saboteur | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 52 | The Roof of the World | Albert de Vine | ||
| 53 | Rescue Mission Sabotage in Ceylon |
| ||
| 54 | The Pirate Sub |
Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 55 | The Missing Cameraman |
Albert De Vine (both) | 
| |
| 56 | China Mission | Albert de Vine | 
| |
| 57 | Oil Search | John Dixon | 
| |
| 58 | International Smugglers | 
| ||
| 59 | Korean Movie | 
| ||
| 60 | Salvage Pirates The Heat Barrier |
John Dixon | 
| |
| 61 | The Airway Pirates The Human Satellite |
John Dixon (both) | 
| |
| 62 | The Golden Mountain |
John Dixon. | 
| |
| 63 | Mystery in Kasbish |
John Dixon (both) | 
| |
| 64 | The Mad Genius |
John Dixon (both) | ||
| 65 | The Sky Killer |
John Dixon (both) | 
| |
| 66 | Invaders from Space Flight from Doom |
Copy available at National Library of Australa See catalogue record | 
| |
| 67 | The Case of the Missing Correspondent The Dragon's Stronghold |
John Dixon | 
| |
| 68 | South American Adventure The Guided Missiles Special Assignment |
Jeff Wilkinson (all three stories), cover John Dixon | 
| |
| 69 | Mystery Island The Missing Artist |
Jeff Wilkinson, cover John Dixon | 
| |
| 70 | Desert Adventure The Rubber Smugglers |
Jeff Wilkinson | 
| |
| 71 | Sabotage The Atom Scientist |
Jeff Wilkinson (cover and both stories) | 
| |
| 72 | Saucer Trouble |
JeffWilkinson (cover and both stories) | 
| |
| 73 | Operation Salvage |
Escape | 
| |
| 74 | Utopia Secret Ray |
Jeff Wilkinson (cover and both stories) | 
| |
| 75 | Rescue |
Jeff Wilkinson |
(work in progress)
List of UK Strato issues[]
| Issue | W. E. Johns Stories Inside | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| The Adventures of Biggles (Strato) No. 1 | The Kidnapped Scientist (Australian #24) Middle East Hazard (source unknown) |
Cover is from Australian #19 |
| The Adventures of Biggles (Strato) No. 2 | Indo China Intrigue (Australian #27) Rescue Mission (Australian #53) |
Albert De Vine credited for 1st story Cover is from Australian #20 |
| The Adventures of Biggles (Strato) No. 3 | The Submarine Spies (Australian #28) The Pirate Sub (source unknown) |
Source of cover unknown but not #28 which would have been appropriate. |
| The Adventures of Biggles (Strato) No. 4 | The Saboteur (Australian #51) The Missing Cameraman (Australian #55) |
|
| The Adventures of Biggles (Strato) No. 5 | China Mission (Australian #56) Sabotage in Ceylon (Australian #53) |
Cover appears to be from Australian #23 |
| The Adventures of Biggles (Strato) No. 6 | The Roof of the World (Australian #52) Biggles in Brazil (Australian #55) |
|
| The Adventures of Biggles (Strato) No. 7 | Pyrenean Manhunt (Australian #17?) |
Cover appears to be from Australian #30. More appropriate would be #29 which depicts a scene from Pyrenean Manhunt. |
| The Adventures of Biggles (Strato) No. 8 | Oil Search (Australian #57) |
Cover appears to be from Australian #51 |
| The Adventures of Biggles (Strato) No. 9 | International Smugglers (Australian #58) Murder in Plastic |
References[]
- ↑ Roger Morrison and Edda Morrison, Australian Comics 1924-1966 An Index and Price Guide (Forster N.S.W, Comic Book Nostalgia, 1997), 16.
- ↑ This information comes from a French website: BIGGLES en Bande dessinée : Australie. The site used to contain excellent research and includes thumbnails of most of the comic issues. It is now defunct but you can try this Archive URL. Unfortunately the author of the webpage did not cite any sources and his line entry for No. 75 is not corroborated by any other source on the Internet.
- ↑ Roger Morrison and Edda Morrison, Australian Comics 1924-1966 An Index and Price Guide (Forster N.S.W, Comic Book Nostalgia, 1997), 16. This source also agrees that issues went up to #75, but does not give the story titles and has no other details.
- ↑ The catalogue of the National Library of Australia (See this URL) states that issues went up to #78 but does not give details either.
See also[]
External Links and Sources[]
- BIGGLES en Bande dessinée : Australie - this page from a French website contains excellent research and includes thumbnails of most of the comic issues. - dead link. Use this Archive URL
- Comics Down Under - this blog page by Kevin Patrick contains original research, including evidence that W. E. Johns endorsed the comics. (try this Archive URL if the original link goes down)
- Ausreprints - this database of Australian comics contains bibliographic information about the various comic issues.