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

10 he submitted a cartoon to the News of The World and, although it didn’t see print, the editors were sufficiently impressed to send a letter of encouragement back to him and his parents. Exhibiting an entrepreneurial flair that would serve him well throughout his career, he had a thriving Christmas card business up and running by the age of 11 and a year later he entered an art contest launched by Beano publisher DC Thomson with the strap line ‘Save For Victory’. He won the first prize and his school friend Terence Patrick won the second prize. He also made what could be described as a semi-pilgrimage when he visited the UK’s leading historical illustrator, Fortunino Matania, at the great man’s London studio. Matania’s enthusiastic comments as Ron showed him the contents of his portfolio, while they sat in a studio resembling a film set from a Cecil B DeMille epic, must have seemed a valedictory moment for the young artist. While Ron’s naturally self-motivated inclinations led him to pretty much self-teach himself the fundamentals of art, his attendance at the South-East Essex Technical College and School of Art did bring him into the orbit of one of the UK’s most visionary painters. A leading light amongst the avant-gardists of the early 20th century, David Bomberg, despite his exceptional talents, had The early days - photos of Ron and his wife, Liz assisting with lettering chores as well as a letter from his National Service stint in Malaya, reveal Ron's ceaseless drive for self- improvement, no matter what the time constraints of the commission. FACING PAGE: Selection of covers to Lone Star comics.