Maurice Dodd

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Maurice Dodd (October 25, 1922 - December 31, 2005) was a writer and cartoonist most notable for his years spent working on The Perishers comic strip published in The Daily Mirror.

Dodd was born in Hackney, England, and during World War II served in the Royal Air Force as a Servicing Commando, alongside Bill Herbert. After the war, Dodd was demobilized and began to study art. Dodd found work in advertising, and after winning a competition to write a slogan for Time, Bill Herbert, by then the cartoon editor at The Daily Mirror, offered Dodd the chance to write a comic strip he had created, The Perishers which hadn't been particularly well received.

Working with artist Dennis Collins, Dodd's provided rough layouts, which Collins would then draw. Dodd continued to work in advertising and worked upon the Clunk Click Every Trip series of public information adverts, intended to remind drivers of the benefits of wearing a seatbelt. It was whilst working on this campaign that Dodd came into contact with FilmFair, a company also responsible for the creation of television programmes based on The Wombles and Paddington Bear. Dodd collaborated with the company in bringing The Perishers to television, allowing him to leave advertising in 1980. He subsequently wrote a number of children's books.

In 1983 Collins retired, leaving Dodd to both write and draw The Perishers until, in 1992, Bill Mevin assumed all art work for the strip. Dodd continued working on the strip until his death from a brain haemorrhage on December 31, 2005.

[edit] References

• Mike Dodd notice of the death of Maurice Dodd. The Authentic Perishers - Maurice Dodd, Cartoon, Strips, Art, Comic, Catalogue. Retrieved on 2006-01-01.
• About myself, and the Perishers, by Maurice Dodd. Retrieved on 2006-01-01.