Peter Maddocks (b. 1928) Joke and strip cartoonist, animator and scriptwriter. Born in Birmingham on 1 April 1928, Peter Maddocks was taught by NORMAN PETT at Moseley School of Art, Birmingham (1939-42) but left aged 15 to join the Merchant Navy (1943–9). On his return he set up his own advertising agency, designing cinema posters, and wrote western series for the Amalgamated Press ‘Kit Carson’ series. He produced his first cartoons for the Daily Sketch (1953-4) and then moved to the Daily Express (1955-65) where he created the popular strip ‘Four D. Jones’ featuring a cowboy with a ‘time hoop’ through which he travelled in the fourth dimension – which ran for 10 years, and ‘No . 10’ for the Sunday Express (which ran for 21 years). He was Cartoon Editor for Express Newspapers (1965-6), Special Features Editor of King Magazine (1968-71) and ran the London School of Cartooning correspondence in Fleet Street (1977-90). He has also contributed to the Daily Star, Daily Record (‘Cop Shop’ strip), Manchester Evening News, Mail on Sunday, Private Eye, Daily Mirror (taking over ‘Useless Eustace’ from JACK GREENALL in 1975), Daily Telegraph (from 1977), Evening Standard (sports cartoons 1966-70) Evening News (1974-7), Sunday Telegraph (1971-3), Mayfair (1967-84), Woman’s Own (1976-7) and others. In addition he has produced animated commercials for Halas & Batchelor and created animated films for BBC TV since 1984 (notably The Family Ness, Jimbo and the Jet Set and Penny Crayon) and GMTV from 1993. A prime mover (with backing from CARL GILES and OSBERT LANCASTER) in the formation of the British Cartoonists’ Association in 1966, and its first-ever Hon. Secretary, he is currently its Joint President. He uses a black Parker fibre-tip or No. 6 Rotring pen on cartridge paper or 85 gsm A4 typing paper and Dr Martin’s watercolours. His characters tend to be slightly goggle-eyed with splayed out fingers. PUB: No. 10 (1973), Private Eye Maddocks (1981), Peter Maddocks’ Animal Antics (1982), Men – A field Guide (1983), Speedy – Ness Saves the Day (1984), Ferocious – Ness Loses his Roar (1984), So you want to be a Cartoonist (1985), How to be a Super Cartoonist (1985), ‘Jimbo’ series (from 1986), Condomania (1987), Condomania Through the Ages (1988), Caricature and the Cartoonist (1989), How to Draw Cartoons (1991), Cartooning for Beginners (1992), Hard Times (1993), The High Fiber Diet, (1995) ILL: J. Amos, Spain (1987), France (1987) COLL: UKCC Bibliography: Mark Bryant, Dictionary of Twentieth-Century British Cartoonists and Caricaturists, Ashgate Publishing Limited 2000 |