Comic Genres

By Dr Kevin Patrick Comic Adventures SL Magazine Autumn 2015 pg 10

Frank Johnson Publications (FJP) was one of the first Australian companies that rushed to fill this vacuum (imposed bans on imported books) , releasing its debut title, Amazing Comics, in 1941. There soon followed a torrent of FJP ‘one-shot’ (single edition) comics, many written by novelist AC Headley and illustrated by notable Sydney newspaper cartoonists such as Norm Rice, Unk White and Noel Cook. These action-packed comics contained every conceivable genre, from science fiction (‘Dr Darbil’, Thunder Comics) and superheroes (‘Powerman’, Startling Comics), to crime-detection (‘Wanda Dare, Girl Reporter’, Colossal Comics) and wartime adventures (‘Airspeed Holland’, Terrific Comics).