Tom Tully (writer)

Tom Tully (died 2013) was a noted British comic writer, mostly of sports and action-adventure stories. He was the longest-running writer of the popular football-themed strip ''Roy of the Rovers'', which he wrote for much of Roy Race's playing career until the weekly comic closed in 1993. Other notable strips penned by Tully included '' The Steel Claw'', '' The House of Dolmann'', '' The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark'', '' The Leopard from Lime Street'', '' The Robo Machines'', and ''Harlem Heroes''. During his three-decade career, Tully wrote exclusively for what became known as the IPC line of publishers: Amalgamated Press/ Odhams/ Longacre Press/Fleetway/ IPC Magazines.

Biography

Tom Tully was born in Glasgow, but grew up in Reading, Berkshire (where he became a supporter of Newcastle United). He worked as a telephone operator for the Royal Air Force as part of his national service. After a series of civil service jobs and earning a diploma in writing for children, he embarked on a freelance writing career. His first sale was at age 25 — a Buck Rogers story.

From 1963 to 1970, Tully was the principal writer on '' The Steel Claw'' for '' Valiant'' with artist Jesús Blasco, taking over for the fourth serial from Ken Bulmer, and later returning from 1971 to 1973 for the sequel strip, ''Return of the Claw''. In the early 1960s, he wrote ''Heros the Spartan'' with art by Frank Bellamy for ''Eagle''. Another one of his most notable strips for ''Valiant'' was '' The Wild Wonders'', drawn by Mike Western, about a pair of wild boys, brought up by animals, who turn out to be fantastic athletes. He also worked on '' Kelly's Eye'' and '' Janus Stark'' (both with Francisco Solano López) in the 1960s.Steve Holland
Mike Western (1925-2008)
Bear Alley, 20 May 2008

Tully wrote his first scripts for ''Roy of the Rovers'' in 1969, and wrote the comic sporadically until 1974 when he was given the permanent job as lead writer, a position he held for nearly 20 years. During that time, the strip moved from ''Tiger'' to its own self-titled comic.

In the 1970s and '80s, Tully worked on '' Johnny Red'' for ''Battle Picture Weekly''. He worked on many '' 2000 AD'' projects including ''Dan Dare'', and the sports-related ''Harlem Heroes'' and '' Mean Arena''. He also created '' The Mind of Wolfie Smith'' for ''Tornado'', which later transferred to ''2000 AD''.

Tully also wrote three cricket-themed short novels in 1986 and 1987 - The Magnificent 11 (), Dangerous Game, and Showdown at Seabank (). These books followed the adventures of a young teenager Terry Mason and his friends who started their own cricket club after losing a season at their school. The first and last book are available, however Dangerous Game appears very difficult to find.

Tully wrote the ''Roy of the Rovers'' strip until the main comic's demise in 1993, with the final incident of Roy's playing career coming when he lost control of his helicopter and crashed into a field. After the closure of ''Roy of the Rovers'', Tully had very few comics credits. He retired to Wiltshire in the West Country.

He died in Autumn 2013.Tom Tully
DanDare.info. Retrieved May 12, 2021.

Bibliography

Comics work includes:

Action/adventure strips

* 1962–1971 '' Kelly's Eye'':
** in ''Knockout'' (with artist Francisco Solano López, 1962–1963)
** in ''Valiant'' (1963–1971)
* 1962–1964 ''Heros the Spartan'' (with art by Frank Bellamy, in ''Eagle'')
* 1962 ''The Guinea Pig'' (in ''Eagle'')
* 1963–1973 '' The Steel Claw'' (with art by Jesús Blasco, in '' Valiant'')
** ''Return of The Steel Claw'' (in ''Valiant'', 1971–1973)
* 1963–1964 ''Pike Mason'' (in '' Boys' World'')
* 1964– 1969 '' Mytek the Mighty'': (with Bill Lacey and Eric Bradbury, in '' Valiant'', first appearance September 26th, 1964)
* 1966–1970 '' The House of Dolmann'' (with art by Eric Bradbury, in '' Valiant'')
* 1969–1971 '' The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark'' (with art by Francisco Solano López, in '' Smash!'')
* 1970–1971 '' Adam Eterno'' (in ''Thunder'', 1970–1971)
* 1971–1973 ''Raven on the Wing'' (in '' Valiant'')
* 1971 ''Von Hoffman's Invasion'' (in '' Jet'')
* 1976–1985 '' The Leopard from Lime Street'' (with art by Mike WesternIan Wheeler
Mike Western remembered
, Down The Tubes, 21 May 2008 and Eric Bradbury, in '' Buster'', 27 March 1976 to 18 May 1985)
* 1977–1987 '' Johnny Red'' (with art by Joe Colquhoun, in ''Battle Picture Weekly'')
* 1978 ''Operation Shark'' (''Battle Picture Weekly'')
* 1979–1980 '' The Mind of Wolfie Smith'':
** "The Mind of Wolfie Smith" (with art by Vanyo, in ''Tornado'' #1–11, 15–22, 1979)
** "The Evil of Matthew Hobb" (with art by Ian Gibson, in ''2000 AD'' #127–130, 1979)
** "Night of the Carnivore" (with art by Vanyo (1–12) and Mike White (13–14), in ''2000 AD'' #131–134, 136–145, 1979)
** "The Mind of Wolfie Smith Book 2" (with Jesus Redondo –14and Mike Dorey as J. Clough 5 in ''2000 AD'' #162–175, 177, 1980)
* 1979 ''Dan Dare'': "Servant of Evil" (with art by Dave Gibbons, in '' 2000 AD'' #100–126)
* 1982–1983 ''Thunderbolt and Smokey'' (in ''Eagle'')
* 1984–1985 '' The Robo Machines'' (with Mario Capaldi and Kim Raymond, in ''Eagle'', 10 November 1984–27 July 1985)
* 1984 ''The Nightcomers'' (with art by John Richardson, in '' Scream!'')
* 1987 ''The Avenger'' (with art by Mike Western, in ''Eagle'')

Sporting strips

* 1968–1979 ''Football Family Robinson'' (with art by Joe Colquhoun):
** in '' Jag'' (1968–1969)
** in ''Tiger'' (1969–1976)
** in ''Roy of the Rovers'' (1976–1979)
* 1968–1973 ''The Wild Wonders'' (with art by Mike Western, in ''Valiant'')
* 1969–1993 ''Roy of the Rovers'' (from 1969; continuously 1974–1993)
** in ''Tiger'' (1969–1976)
** in ''Roy of the Rovers'' (1976–1993)
* 1969–1971 ''Master of the Marsh'' (with art by Francisco Solano López, in '' Smash!'')
* 1970– 1980s ''Nipper''
** in '' Scorcher'' (with art by R. Charles Roylance, 1970–1976)
** in ''Tiger'' (with art by Roylance, 1976)
** in ''Roy of the Rovers'' (with art by Roylance, 1976– 1980s)
* 1976–1977 ''Death Game 1999'' / ''Spinball'' (with art by Ian Gibson and Massimo Bellardinelli, in ''Action'')
* 1976–1977 ''Look Out For Lefty'' (with art by Barrie Mitchell and Tony Harding, in ''Action'')
* 1976–1977 ''The Spinball Slaves'' (in ''Action'')
* 1976 ''The Team That Went to War'' (with art by Mike Western and Jim Watson, in ''Battle Picture Weekly'')The Team that Went to War
at Captain Hurricane's Best of Battle
* 1977–1983 ''The Spinball Wars'' (in ''Battle Picture Weekly'')
* 1977 ''Harlem Heroes'' (with art by Dave Gibbons, in ''2000 AD'' progs 2–27)
* 1978 ''Inferno'' (a sequel to 'Harlem Heroes') (with art by Massimo Belardinelli, in '' 2000 AD'')
* 1980–1981 '' Mean Arena'' (with art by John Richardson, in ''2000 AD'', progs 178–202)
* 1990–1992 ''Goalmouth'' (with art by Francisco Solano López, in ''Roy of the Rovers'')
* 1992–1993 ''Buster's Ghost'' (with art by Francisco Solano López, in ''Roy of the Rovers'')

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Tom Tully
at 2000 AD online
*

External links

Tom Tully
at the official Roy of the Rovers site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tully, Tom
2013 deaths
Year of birth missing
British comics writers
British sportswriters
Writers from Glasgow