Swift Morgan, unashamedly based on Flash Gordon was created in 1948 by prolific comic strip artist, Denis McLoughlin(April 15, 1918–April 22, 2002) along with his brother, Colin, who wrote the scripts.
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Swift, and his female companion, Silver had many adventures between 1948 and 1954. This original comic, the only one I have dates from June 1949.
In it, Swift and Silver using a midget submarine discover the lost city of Atlantis.
Most of the earlier stories seem to rely on convenient time portals to allow Swift and Silver to encounter historical adventure.
A contemporary setting, and topical for the time (August 1950), Swift Morgan and the Flying Saucers.
This facsimile copy of the Swift Morgan Space Comic from March 1953 shows a more traditional science fiction cover. Around this time American Pyro space toys would have begun appearing in British stores.
I can just imagine Denis nipping round to his local Woolworths and seeing a wealth of reference material.
On this facsimile copy of the Swift Morgan Spaceways comic, which appeared during November 1953. The front cover shows a Pyro X-400 Space Explorer about to be mauled by‘The Beast from Outer Space‘.
1953 also saw the release of the Adventure Annual which showed Swift and Silver on an alien planet being attacked by a Pyro Robot. Behind them is a Pyro X-300.
Both the robot and the X-300 feature quite heavily in ’The Robot Empire’, the story in the annual.
The back cover shows an X-300 and a Pyro ’Space Patrol’ ship being attacked by an X-200.
The following year saw the last of the Swift Morgan stories. Swift Morgan on the Isle of Giants appeared in the Roy Carson comic (Roy being another Denis and Colin McLoughlin creation)
Swift did appear on the cover of The New Spaceways Comic Annual No. 1 with a slightly altered X-300 in the background.
There’s also an intriguing thumbnail monotone illustration of a Pyro Space Clipper flying over a rocky planet surface.
I don’t recall ever owning a Pyro space toy but I figure if I’d been around in the early fifties I’d have tried to get a set to compliment my Swift Morgan comics.
What an excellent piece, Scoop!
ReplyDeleteI thought Spacex were pretty blatant in copying comic strip vehicles for some of their toys, but that doesn't seem to hold a candle to this. :)
Illustrated right up to the raised lettering on the hulls and they didn't even change the names of the ships. Or could this be an early form of product placement? In any case I hope Pyro got some sales out of it!
Cheers -- Paul
Very interesting stuff Scoop.
ReplyDeleteThere was a Swifty Morgan in the film "Support Your Local Gunfighter", I wonder if the makers of that film were familiar with Swift Morgan. :)
The pyro X-400 was still about in the 1960s; I had one in silver-grey. It was very sturdily made, and the friction motor had a satisfying siren-like sound!
ReplyDeleteI had an X-300 - I wish these were available now, with the modelling and painting resources that are available now, I could "super-detail" and paint them up to look great!
ReplyDeleteBTW, OT, the "Beyond Apollo" blog has some interesting stuff about a Mars ship that looks a lot like the Booster Rocket:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/07/nasas-first-piloted-nuclear-rocket-mars-study-1961/
Grif
Scoop, this was a great article and it's also the first photo I've seen of the Space Clipper, a heretofore unknown toy to me. Many Thanx!
ReplyDeleteThey're certainly great looking space toys, especially the X-400 which was quite a futuristic design for it's day.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of product placement did occur to me, Paul. Swift Morgan was published by Boardman books whose biggest customer was Woolworths. I've no doubt that the Pyro toys would be sold in Woolworth stores so it doesn't surprise me that Swift became a fully fledged spaceman about the same time as Pyro toys were hitting the shops.
Andy, I'm sure you're right about Pyro toys being sold into the sixties. I suspect that most of the Pyro toys were available right up to at least the mid sixties. I'm basing this assumption on the Amicus Sci-fi flick, 'The Terrornauts' which came out in 1967. I'm sure some of the special effects shots used Pyro toys, the Space Clipper in particular.
I got a red Tudor Rose X-300 with grey astronaut in the very early 50s along with an X-200, and Rocket car, an X-100 and Pyrotomic Energiser maybe later. Then when I was older (maybe at school or started work) and could buy for myself - probably early 60s - I found the X-400 and Space Clipper on sale again so bought them
ReplyDeleteThey certainly were super designs for the fifties, and great collectables.
DeleteThanks for sharing your memories, David.