Frank William Huline-Dickens (9 December 1931 – 8 July 2016) was a British cartoonist, best known for his strip ''
Bristow'', which ran for 51 years in the ''
Evening Standard
The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
'' and was syndicated internationally. According to ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
'', ''Bristow'' was the longest running daily cartoon strip by a single author. The character Bristow is even one year older than that, as he debuted in Dickens' older series ''Oddbod'' in ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' in 1960. Due to his popularity, he received his own
spin-off
Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media
*Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine
* ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...
series soon afterwards.
Dickens broke the original record held by
Marc Sleen
Marcel Honoree Nestor ( ridder) Neels (30 December 1922 – 6 November 2016), known as Marc Sleen, was a Belgian comics artist. He was mostly known for his humorous adventure comic '' The Adventures of Nero and Co.'', but also created gag comic ...
, whose ''
The Adventures of Nero
''The Adventures of Nero'' or ''Nero'' was a Belgium, Belgian comic strip drawn by Marc Sleen and the name of Nero (comic book character), its main character. The original title ranged from ''De Avonturen van Detective Van Zwam, Detectief Van Z ...
'' was drawn for 45 years without any assistance.
However, even Dickens' record has been broken in his turn by
Jim Russell, whose series ''
The Potts
''The Potts'' was an Australian comic strip.
The strip was created in August 1920 by Stan Cross under the name ''You & Me''. In 1939, it was taken over by Jim Russell, who changed it to its current title. The strip was continued by Russell u ...
'' ran for 62 years.
Dickens received eight awards for "Strip Cartoonist of the Year" from the
Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain.
Career
Born in
Hornsey
Hornsey () is a district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood to the west and Alexand ...
, London, the son of a painter and decorator, Dickens left school at the age of 16, and began working for his father. He then took a job as a buying clerk in an engineering firm for three months, before in 1946 deciding to pursue an ambition to become a champion racing cyclist. Legend has it that he moved to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
after his
national service
National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
but failed to make a living at cycling, so he tried to make money by selling cycling cartoons to French magazines, including ''
L'Équipe
''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...
'' and ''
Paris Match
''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly gossip magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. ''Paris Match'' has been considered "one of the world's best outlets for photojournalism". ...
''. The part about moving to France is, however, untrue, though much repeated. A self-taught artist, he had his first cartoon published in a British national newspaper, the ''
Sunday Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...
'' on 30 September 1959. Work in the ''Evening Standard'', ''
Daily Sketch
The ''Daily Sketch'' was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton, 1st Baronet.
The ''Sketch'' was Conservative in its politics and populist in its tone during its existence through all its ch ...
'' and ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' followed, and in December 1960 he began a three-month period at the ''
Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'', where he took his strip "Oddbod". One of the characters in that strip was developed into the bowler-hatted Bristow. The Bristow strip first appeared in regional papers, before being taken up by the ''Evening Standard'' on 6 March 1962.
In 1971, Bristow was produced on stage at the
ICA, London, starring
Freddie Jones
Frederick Charles Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.''; at ancestry.com (12 September 1927 – 9 July 2019) was an English actor who had an extensive career in television, theatre and cinema productions for ...
, and in 1999 Dickens himself adapted it as a six-part series for
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
, featuring
Michael Williams,
Rodney Bewes
Rodney Bewes (27 November 1937 – 21 November 2017) was an English television actor and writer who portrayed Bob Ferris in the BBC television sitcom '' The Likely Lads'' (1964–66) and its colour sequel ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? ...
and
Dora Bryan
Dora May Broadbent (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was an English actress of stage, film and television.[Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...]
(1966),
Allison & Busby
Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher.
Background
Launching as a publishing company in Ma ...
(1970), Abelard-Schuman (1972, 1973, 1974, 1975), Futura (1976),
Barrie & Jenkins
Barrie & Jenkins was a small British publishing house that was formed in 1964 from the merger of the companies Herbert Jenkins (founded by English writer Herbert George Jenkins) and Barrie & Rockliff (whose managing director was Leopold Ullstein ...
(1978),
Penguin Books
Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
(1981),
Macmillan (1982), and Beaumont Book Company (Australia, 1977, 1978). The most recent is ''The Big, Big, Big, Bristow Book'' (
Little, Brown & Company
Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...
, 2001).
The strip that brought Dickens greatest financial success, through syndication in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, was "Albert Herbert Hawkins: The Naughtiest Boy in the World" – which reportedly captures the "essential naughtiness" of its author.
Dickens has also published several children's books, as well as thrillers connected with bicycle racing: ''A Curl Up and Die Day'' (
Peter Owen Publishers
Peter Owen Publishers was founded in 1951 as a family-run independent publisher based in London, England.John Self"Peter Owen: Sixty years of innovation" Books Blog, ''The Guardian'', 4 July 2011. The company was acquired by Pushkin Press in 20 ...
, 1980) and ''Three Cheers for the Good Guys'' (Macmillan, 1984).
On 2 February 2012, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a tribute to Frank Dickens called ''Holy Mackerel – It’s My Life!'' to mark his 80th birthday, narrated by
Bernard Cribbins
Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over eight decades.
During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Ground" ...
and with contributors who included fellow cartoonists
Ralph Steadman
Ralph Idris Steadman (born 15 May 1936) is a British illustrator and collaborator with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman draws satirical political cartoons, social caricatures, and picture books.
Early life
Steadman was born in ...
and
Rick Brookes. The programme was repeated on 13 May 2012.
Dickens died on 8 July 2016 after a long illness.
"Frank Dickens, creator of Bristow comic strip – obituary"
''The Telegraph'', 11 July 2016.
References
Further reading
* Michael Bateman, ''Funny Way to Earn a Living: A Book of Cartoons and Cartoonists'' (London: Leslie Frewin, 1966), pp. 55–7.
* Keith Mackenzie, "Cartoonists and their work, No.3: Dickens", ''The Artist'', August 1969, pp. 122–4.
* Mark Bryant, ''Dictionary of Twentieth-Century British Cartoonists and Caricaturists'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000), pp. 59–60.
External links
Official Frank Dickens website
Bristow website at Guter.org
"Holy Mackerel – It's My Life!" Radio 4 biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickens, Frank
1932 births
2016 deaths
British comic strip cartoonists
British comics artists
British comics writers
English humorists