Eric Bradbury

Eric Bradbury (4 January 1921 – May 2001) was a British comic artist best known for his dark, atmospheric adventure strips for Amalgamated Press and IPC from the late 1940s into the 1990s. Born in England, he studied at Beckenham Art School from 1936 before serving as a rear gunner on RAF bombers during World War II. After the war, he worked at Gaumont-British Animation alongside future comics colleagues Mike Western, Ron Smith, and Bill Holroyd. When the studio closed in 1949, Bradbury and writer Ron "Nobby" Clark brought samples to Amalgamated Press, landing work on *Knock-Out*. He began with humour strips like *Blossom* and *Our Ernie* but soon specialized in adventure, particularly westerns such as *Lucky Logan* and *Buffalo Bill* for *The Comet*.

From the 1960s, Bradbury developed a gritty style reminiscent of Francisco Solano López, drawing strips like *Mytek the Mighty*, *The House of Dolmann*, and *The Black Crow* for *Valiant*, as well as *Von Hoffman's Invasion* for *Jet* and *Cursitor Doom* for *Smash!*. In 1973, he was the artist on an abortive IPC superhero comic, *Captain Britain*. He joined *Battle Picture Weekly* in 1976, contributing *Joe Two Beans*, *Death Squad*, and *Invasion 1984*. A key early artist for *2000 AD* from 1977 to 1993, he drew *Invasion!*, *The Mean Arena*, and *Rogue Trooper*, and was later called an "early, unsung hero" by the magazine. He also drew *Doomlord* for the revived *Eagle* in the 1980s. Bradbury died in May 2001.