Alexander (Alex) Akerbladh was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...

-born comics artist who drew for the

Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...

in the UK from the 1900s to the 1950s. Born in Sundsvall, SwedenAlex Akerbladh on Lambiek Comiclopedia
/ref> on 25 April 1886,Alan Clark, ''Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors'', The British Library, 1998, p. 1-2 he studied architecture at

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

, and became an apprentice to Sir

John James Burnet Sir John James Burnet (31 May 1857 – 2 July 1938) was a Scottish Edwardian architect who was noted for a number of prominent buildings in Glasgow and London. He was the son of the architect John Burnet, and later went into partnership with ...

for seven years, before studying art at the

St John's Wood Art School The St John's Wood Art School ( The Wood or Calderon's Art School) was an art school in St John's Wood, north London, England. The Art School was established in 1878 and was located on Elm Tree Road. It was founded by two art teachers, Elíseo Ab ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

under Leonard Walker, and in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

under Anton Binder in 1916. He painted interiors and figures in oils and watercolours. His earliest known comics work was "Hounslow Heath the Highwayman" for ''

Illustrated Chips ''Illustrated Chips'' was a British comic magazine published between 26 July 1890 and 12 September 1953. Its publisher was the Amalgamated Press, run by Alfred Harmsworth. Priced at a half-penny, ''Illustrated Chips'' was among a number of Harm ...

'' in 1909. In 1916 he drew a celebrity comic based on vaudeville comedian

Little Tich Harry Relph (21 July 186710 February 1928),Russell, Dav"Relph, Harry (1867–1928)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2013 professionally known as Littl ...

. He went on to draw for many titles from then until the late 1930s, including ''

Comic Cuts ''Comic Cuts'' was a British comic magazine. It was published from 1890 to 1953, lasting for 3006 issues. It was created by the reporter Alfred Harmsworth through his company Amalgamated Press (AP). In its early days, it inspired other publish ...

'', ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'', ''

Jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs ...

'', ''

Kinema Comic ''Kinema'' () is a fermented soybean food, prepared by the Nepali communities of the Eastern Himalayas region: Eastern Nepal, and Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim regions of India. Kinema is a traditional food of the Limbu people, as well as peo ...

'', '' Sports Fun'', ''

Butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

'', ''

Larks Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark ...

'', ''

Merry and Bright Merry may refer to: A happy person with a jolly personality People * Merry (given name) * Merry (surname) Music * Merry (band), a Japanese rock band * ''Merry'' (EP), an EP by Gregory Douglass * "Merry" (song), by American power pop band Magna ...

'', ''

Jingles A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

'' and '' Crackers'', including painting covers for ''Crackers'' annuals. From the late 1930s to the early 1950s his work appeared primarily in ''

Radio Fun ''Radio Fun'' was a British celebrity comics comic paper that ran from (issues dates) 15 October 1938 to 18 February 1961, when it became the first out of twelve titles to merge with ''Buster''. The comic strips included the uncredited work o ...

'', where he drew "

Flanagan and Allen Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act most active during the 1930s and 1940s. Its members were Bud Flanagan (1896 – 1968, born Chaim Weintrop) and Chesney Allen (1894–1982). They were first paired in a Florrie For ...

", "

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and Jerry Colonna", and "

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey, (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation ...

and

Anthea Anthea ( grc-gre, Ἄνθεια), "blossom" in Greek, was an epithet of the Classical Greek goddess Hera, and is used as a female given name in English. It may refer to: *Anthea Askey (1933–1999), British actress *Anthea Bell (1936–2018), Bri ...

". His last known work was for '' TV Fun'' in 1953. A freelancer, he worked from home, and his pages are said to have arrived at the AP "in grubby condition, with no trouble taken to erase pencil marks or spilled ink". He lived for a time in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, and is believed to have retired to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, where he died in 1958.

References

Swedish comics artists British comics artists 1886 births 1958 deaths Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art People from Sundsvall Swedish expatriates in the United Kingdom {{UK-comics-artist-stub