269:
495:, it meant additional income. Whilst some artists handled their own storylines, the bulk of the early comics were written by Alfred Charles Headley (A. C. Headley or Alf or Chuck). Essentially after an artist had brought in their pages from the previous week they would confer with him, who would type a synopsis of the new story on the spot. The artist would then break down the story and supply or modify the dialogue as they saw fit. A similar approach would be taken by
24:
178:
Frank C. Johnson served in the A.I.F. during World War I, enlisting in
September 1915. After the war had ended, before returning to Australia, Johnson worked for the London export bookseller, John Clark of 12 Ludgate Square, for three months from early May to early August 1919. Johnson's period of
220:
Johnson left
Dymocks and launched his own publishing-business, at first under his own name and later as the Macquarie Head Press. Under these labels Johnson published a series of books by a number of Australian writers and artists. In late 1931 forty-one of Kenneth Slessor's poems, each of them
289:
richest period in
Australian literary history; thousands of titles were produced, millions of copies sold, and dozens of authors found gainful employment". Despite wartime paper restrictions and lack of experienced comic book artists a local industry soon developed, with new publishing companies
284:
In July 1940 the
Australian Government facing a US dollar shortage enforced a series of trade regulations and banned the importation of American comic material. This ban created the opportunity for local publishers and artists to enter into the market, creating what has been described as
294:, which was released in July 1941. Since wartime regulations prohibited the publication of new periodicals, Frank Johnson Publications published one-shot comics. They continued to release a new comic each week, which in order were
639:
260:, a monthly magazine devoted "to music, stage, screen and dance-band news". In October 1937 Johnson was described as "perhaps Australia's most persistent publisher outside the bigger commercial houses".
210:. The magazine served as a vehicle for an aesthetic philosophy supporting "the literary and artistic traditions rejected by European modernists". In December 1923 Johnson published an anthology called
520:
Locally created comics, including Frank
Johnson Publications, disappeared in the 1950s as a result of combined effect of import bans being lifted, a censorship campaign, and the introduction of
491:
Generally the regular artists were paid 30 shillings per page and were guaranteed four to six pages a week. For some this represented a full week's wages, for others, particularly those
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179:
work experience in London was supported by the
Australian military in order for him to receive clerical experience prior to his return to civilian life in Australia.
963:
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378:. They continued to change the title week after week and when they had exhausted their supply of titles they re-used the old titles by adding the
233:. Johnson also published a book of lino cuts by the Melbourne artist, Jim Flett, as well as works by prominent Australian authors, including
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430:
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Essentially Frank
Johnson Publications were publishing four different comics a month and releasing one each week, with the stories in
171:
Frank
Charles Johnson was born on 27 August 1898 at Glebe, the youngest of seven children of William Percy Johnson and Jeanne Amelie (
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858:
614:"Johnson Francis Charles : SERN 1434 : POB Sydney NSW : POE Warwick Farm NSW : NOK F Johnson William P"
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New South Wales marriage registration: Francis
Charles Johnson & Gwen Arton Davies; reg. no. 226/1942; Sydney.
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New South Wales marriage registration: Francis C. Johnson & Adeleen K. Rennix; reg. no. 9693/1926; Sydney.
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Frank
Johnson's wife Adeleen died in 1941. In 1942 Johnson married Gwen Arton Davies in Sydney.
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was responsible for not only drawing the cover of the first comic but also the first adventure
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Most of the regular artists who worked for Frank Johnson Publications, were freelancers from
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202:, which ran for four editions between May 1923 and February 1924. The poems and essays in
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127:
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New South Wales death registration: Francis Charles Johnson; reg. no. 255/1960; Sydney.
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producing indigenous comic books. The first Frank Johnson Publication comic issued was
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between 1928 and 1931, were published by Johnson in a single volume collection called
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New South Wales birth registration: Frank C. Johnson; reg. no. 21152/1898; Glebe.
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Johnson-Woods, Toni (2006). ""Pulp" Fiction Industry in Australia 1949-1959".
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Pulp Demons: International Dimensions of the Postwar Anti-Comics Campaign
747:(in) '1994: ASAL Sixteenth Annual Conference 3-8 July 1994 Proceedings',
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826:
751:, Association for the Study of Australian Literature (ASAL), pages 7-13.
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32:. 1945), bookplate caricature (detail) by N. M. Sherlock ('Lock').
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Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature
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Frank Johnson married Adeleen Kathleen Rennix in 1926 in Sydney.
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in Sydney. While still working for Dymocks, Johnson joined with
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quarterly were ornamented by drawings of nymphs and satyrs by
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Frank C. Johnson papers and pictorial material, ca.1906-1960
889:
Panel by Panel - An Illustrated History of Australian Comics
792:. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 22.
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63:
53:
45:
37:
182:After returning from the war Johnson "entered the
460:, Frank Jessup, Rhys Williams, Ron Broadley,
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969:Comic book publishing companies of Australia
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721:, 7 February 1924 (Issue No. 10), page 611.
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715:Proceedings Under the Copyright Act 1912
564:Prendergast of the Silent Service (1944)
546:Doctor Evil & the Robotman (1943â44)
253:, Kurt Offenberg and J. A. R. McKellar.
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198:to edit the quarterly literary journal
847:Bonzer - Australian comics 1900s-1990s
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775:(Sydney), 26 December 1931, page 11.
767:(Sydney), 2 December 1931, page 36;
515:Blue' Hardy and Diamond Eyed Pygmies
679:(Sydney), 30 October 1937, page 13.
891:. Cassell Australia. p. 166.
769:"Darlinghurst Nights" in Book Form
593:Family records (per Ancestry.com).
549:Famous Detective Stories (1946â54)
440:and other newspapers and included
158:publisher in the 1940s and 1950s.
14:
964:Publishing companies of Australia
939:. Library of NSW. September 1965.
719:Commonwealth of Australia Gazette
954:1941 establishments in Australia
739:Peter Kirkpatrick (July 1994),
640:"D. H. Lawrence, David Herbert"
745:: Troping the Light Fantastic'
696:. The University of Queensland
690:"Vision: A Literary Quarterly"
618:National Archives of Australia
280:(a Frank Johnson Publication).
28:Frank C. Johnson at his desk (
1:
845:Shiell, Annette, ed. (1998).
249:, Les Robinson, W. S. Power,
611:World War I service record:
225:and previously published in
853:: Elgua Media. p. 10.
186:", finding a position with
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985:
788:John A. Lent, ed. (1999).
503:Group thirty years later.
221:illustrated by the artist
148:Frank Johnson Publications
17:Frank Johnson Publications
673:Frank Johnson - Publisher
256:In 1937 Johnson launched
167:Early publishing ventures
21:
851:Redhill, South Australia
140:see list of titles below
558:New Adventure (1949â50)
543:Adventure Comics (1946)
561:The New Cracker (1945)
281:
570:True Pirate (1946â49)
567:Star Pocket (1942â45)
271:
264:Comic book publishing
64:Headquarters location
573:Wizard Comics (1946)
555:Magpie Comics (1946)
552:Gem Comics (1946â50)
484:, Ralph Shelley and
887:Ryan, John (1979).
761:Darlinghurst Nights
743:Darlinghurst Nights
644:Schulson Autographs
231:Darlinghurst Nights
212:Poetry in Australia
18:
282:
188:Dymock's Bookstore
150:was an Australian
799:978-0-8386-3784-5
409:; the stories in
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88:Publication types
54:Country of origin
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72:New South Wales
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227:Smith's Weekly
208:Norman Lindsay
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698:. Retrieved
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647:. Retrieved
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624:10 September
622:. Retrieved
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192:Jack Lindsay
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83:A.C. Headley
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741:'Slessor's
482:Lloyd Piper
474:John Jensen
462:Phil Belbin
454:Dan Russell
425:and so on.
251:Colin Wills
120:super heros
948:Categories
578:References
522:television
239:Les Haylen
184:book-trade
152:comic book
78:Key people
815:Antipodes
507:Unk White
466:Stan Pitt
458:Noel Cook
450:Norm Rice
446:Les Dixon
442:Unk White
399:Thrilling
388:New Magic
384:New Crash
368:Startling
308:Thrilling
278:Unk White
175:Turner).
124:thrillers
112:adventure
58:Australia
41:July 1941
827:41957512
497:Stan Lee
407:Hot Shot
352:Terrific
340:Hot Shot
135:Imprints
128:westerns
694:AustLit
499:at the
403:Victory
395:Amazing
390:etc.).
376:Monster
348:Thunder
332:Conquer
324:Victory
292:Amazing
162:History
46:Founder
38:Founded
895:
857:
825:
796:
538:Titles
419:Winner
380:prefix
372:Modern
364:Corker
360:Bullet
328:Winner
320:Master
316:Mighty
300:Marvel
204:Vision
200:Vision
92:Comics
68:Sydney
823:JSTOR
511:strip
423:Crash
415:Super
344:Crash
312:Super
304:Magic
258:Tempo
108:crime
893:ISBN
855:ISBN
794:ISBN
702:2022
651:2022
626:2022
411:Star
405:and
374:and
336:Hero
296:Star
194:and
154:and
513:, '
356:Ace
287:the
173:nÊe
116:war
950::
869:^
849:.
835:^
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30:c
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