Biggles graphic novels

Pete Hill · 4 March 2006, 03:27 PM

Years ago I read a graphic novelised version of W.E Johns "Biggles: Spitfire Parade". Does anyone know if they have ever done the same with any of his WW1 Biggles novels?

Vin · 5 March 2006, 01:23 PM

Capt. W E Johns wrote 3 books of Biggles' WW1 exploits, didn't he ? The three are a series of short stories. All the post WW1 Biggles' books are full length novels. I'm sure I read "Spitfire Parade" as a boy although I can't remember it now. It would have been a full length novel, like "Biggles defies the swastika", which I do recall. Is that what you mean, Pete ? Somewhere in a thread long past is a reference to a study completed by some academic who went through the Biggles WW1 stories and has concluded that he would have been 4th placed of English aces.

Colin A Owers · 5 March 2006, 01:49 PM

The Swedish illustrator Bjorn(?) Karlstrom, draughtsman for many plans that appeared in Model Airplane News, etc, illustrated a couple of Biggles books in the comic - grraphic novel style. Some were brought up to date with the story the same. As to be expectced from karlstrom, the aircraft were excellently drawn.

Have not seen them for years.

Colin A Owers

5 March 2006, 02:34 PM

Hi Pete,

I can definitely say that no Biggles graphic novels from WWI have been done.

Alan

rwhphoenix · 11 March 2006, 01:09 PM

A biography "By Jove, Biggles" of W. A. Johns by Peter B. Ellis and Piers Williams, 1981, shows that there were several comic strips about Biggles. During the late 50s and early 1960s a regular comic strip of Biggles' adventures were published in the Express Weekly. Action Comics of Sydney printed "The Adventures of Biggles" with an English edition published by Strato Publications of London.
The author was a prolific writer and there were 102 "Biggles" books published between 1932 and 1970.

Vin · 11 March 2006, 02:34 PM

Biggles was serialised on radio in the early '60's.

buzz1941 · 11 March 2006, 02:47 PM

When I was a (largely unemployed) comic artist in the '70s I did some concept sketches of Biggles and Camels, (or a Biggles-like character) but couldn't get the bigs to bite.

duckman · 13 March 2006, 10:01 PM

There are many post-war ones, including this (which I own):

But I've never seen a WWI period piece.

16 March 2006, 04:13 AM

I've been a Biggles fan since I was 8 or so. The WWI short stories were published in the 70s by Dean and Son as Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter, Biggles of 266, Biggles of the Camel Squadron, and as part of Biggles Air Detective: it was originally in book form as The Camels Are Coming. There are also two other novels I am aware of in the WWI era, Biggles Learns to Fly and Biggles and the Rescue Flight. Biggles Flys East, I think, is a post WWI air combat adventure set in a Ruritanian type East European fictional country but think Balkans or Hungary. Some of these stories have recently been republished in the UK by Red Fox with some title changes ie, Biggles and the Fighter Squadron (since today's kids think Camels are desert animals with one or two humps).

Great memories, I always preferred the WWI stuff to the later adventures.

De Petrowski Alexander · 16 March 2006, 01:11 PM

There is one Biggles comic involving WW I, it's called Roland Garros and it's a biography of the life of French Flyer Roland Garros. It is a part of the recent series of Biggles comics which also contain the earlier mentioned Battle of Britain (Duckman) There are at least 4 other editions but there all about WW II or the Falklands 1982.