"Smokey" Haddock

Meet "Smokey" Haddock, a Silver Age creation who swam into British comics in 1962 courtesy of the talented Francisco Solano López, debuting in Knockout — one of Amalgamated Press's beloved anthology weeklies. Sharing those lively pages with a colourful cast including Sporty, Tim Kelly, Rex Regan, Strongbow, and Sydney, Smokey was part of that wonderfully bustling world where a dozen distinct characters jostled for a reader's attention every issue. With 16 catalogued appearances, he's a compact but genuine piece of early-sixties British comics history — exactly the kind of character that makes flipping through old Knockout issues such a rewarding treasure hunt for collectors who love the era.