RIP Jeff Wilkinson

Jeff Wilkinson, the British-born artist who made a significant contribution to Australia's postwar comics' industry, passed away on 22 June 2007. He was 83 years-old.

Born in Yorkshire in 1924, Jeff served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War and migrated to Australia at the war's end. An aspiring artist since childhood, Jeff wrote and illustrated two comic book series, The Phantom Ranger and The Shadow, for Frew Publications of Sydney, Australia in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

He remained a prolific freelance comics writer and illustrator for various Australian publishers throughout the 1950s, including a comic book adaptation of British author Capt W.E. Johns' Gimlet series.

After the Australian comic book industry went into decline by the late 1950s, Jeff turned his hand to a variety of business ventures, before relocating with his Australian-born wife, Marjorie Booth, to the United Kingdom during the early 1980s. It was there that Jeff re-entered the comic book industry, illustrating comic strips for such UK publishers as IPC and DC Thomson.

Retiring from comics in 1987, Jeff continued to teach art for local adult education courses, until deafness forced him to give up teaching in 2004. He lived in West Sussex, England, until his sudden passing on 22 June 2007.

Months before he died, Jeff took part in the only major interview about his life and work, which can be read online here.