EXTRACTS: The Art of Ron Embleton (illustrators special) © 2018 The Book Palace (144 PAGES in Full edition)

13 The trio soon found themselves working on a succession of the cheaply printed and overtly US- influenced boy’s comics that were beginning to appear on newsagent’s spinner racks in the late 1940s. Ron’s work, which showed influences of Will Eisner and Reed Crandall with its assured brush line and confident use of solid blacks, seemed a natural fit for the material which signalled a sea-change from the much more restrained drawing styles that had dominated British comics in pre- war years. However, just as the studio’s fortunes were beginning to gain an upward trajectory, National Service sent the young artist off to the steaming jungles of Malaya. He was attached to the Intelligence Corps, but also found his painting skills being called upon to repaint the regimental drums, fabricate some camouflage, and create scenery for ABOVE: David Bomberg, One of the most talented of the so-called 'Whitechapel Boys', by the 1960s he had fallen out of favour with the art establishment and was unable to secure a teaching post at any of the major London art schools, which was how he came to be teaching at the South East Essex Technical College where he met the young Ron Embleton. LEFT AND BELOW Two of Ron's oil paintings reveal his restless and ever exploratory approach to his art. Whether it be colour or expressive use of paint, Ron was forever 'pushing the envelope' as he delved ever deeper into the creative process. Text continues on page 22