Angus Allan
Encyclopedia
Angus Peter Allan was a British comic strip writer and magazine editor who worked on TV Century 21
in the 1960s and Look-in
magazine during the 1970s. Most commonly known as Angus Allan and sometimes credited as Angus P. Allan, he was responsible for original comic strip adaptations of numerous popular TV series.
Allan's output was prolific, and virtually all the Look-In comic strips were his creations. Some of his comic works included The Six Million Dollar Man
, Logan's Run and Charlie's Angels
. Allan collaborated with many well-known British comic strip
artists, including Jim Baikie
and Arthur Ranson
.
, 22 July 1936 and attended King's College School
there.
Allan's first job in publishing, in late 1952, was as an office junior at Amalgamated Press (later Fleetway
, then IPC
). He worked on the weekly comic The Comet, and the monthly titles Cowboy Comics and Super Detective Library, edited by Ted Holmes.
Following a period of national service in the Gordon Highlanders from November 1954 to November 1956, having been on active service in Cyprus
, Allan returned to Amalgamated Press and after working on Super Detective Library, eventually became co-editor of what was now known as "Cowboy Picture Library", with Alan Fennell
. He handled the Davy Crockett and Kansas Kid monthly titles.
Eventually, he was headhunted to join the team producing Marty, the first photo-strip teenage romance weekly published by Newnes and Pearson. Here he met his future wife, Gillian, and made the decision to become a freelance writer instead of editing. He has remained a freelance ever since.
Later, he was heavily involved with Alan Fennell's Century 21
Publishing company, becoming associated with Gerry Anderson
classics such as Stingray
, Thunderbirds
, etc. He was also the mainstay scriptwriter for Fennell's Look-In
magazine, and at one time was writing every strip in the paper, including DangerMouse
.
Allan also wrote for many other outlets, and penned several of the Garth
adventures for the Daily Mirror. In January 1990, he and his wife moved to France
.
Allan died on 16 July 2007, having been admitted to hospital the previous Thursday of cancer. He died just six days before his 71st birthday.
TV Century 21
TV Century 21, also known as TV 21, was a weekly British children's comic of the 1960s and early 1970s. It promoted the many television science-fiction puppet series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Century 21 Productions...
in the 1960s and Look-in
Look-in
Look-in was a long running children's magazine centred around ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior TVTimes". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994...
magazine during the 1970s. Most commonly known as Angus Allan and sometimes credited as Angus P. Allan, he was responsible for original comic strip adaptations of numerous popular TV series.
Allan's output was prolific, and virtually all the Look-In comic strips were his creations. Some of his comic works included The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
, Logan's Run and Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
. Allan collaborated with many well-known British comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
artists, including Jim Baikie
Jim Baikie
Jim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
and Arthur Ranson
Arthur Ranson
Arthur James Ranson is an English illustrator, whose fine line penwork and attention to visual detail has led to the misapplied epithet 'photo-realistic'...
.
Biography
Allan was born in WimbledonWimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, 22 July 1936 and attended King's College School
King's College School
King's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is an independent school for day pupils in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to...
there.
Allan's first job in publishing, in late 1952, was as an office junior at Amalgamated Press (later Fleetway
Fleetway
Fleetway, also known as Fleetway Publications and Fleetway Editions, was a UK publishing company which mainly produced comic magazines. For a time owned by IPC Media, they are now a division of Egmont Publishing....
, then IPC
IPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
). He worked on the weekly comic The Comet, and the monthly titles Cowboy Comics and Super Detective Library, edited by Ted Holmes.
Following a period of national service in the Gordon Highlanders from November 1954 to November 1956, having been on active service in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Allan returned to Amalgamated Press and after working on Super Detective Library, eventually became co-editor of what was now known as "Cowboy Picture Library", with Alan Fennell
Alan Fennell
Alan Fennell was a British writer and editor best known for work on series produced by Gerry Anderson, and for having created the magazines TV Century 21 and Look-in....
. He handled the Davy Crockett and Kansas Kid monthly titles.
Eventually, he was headhunted to join the team producing Marty, the first photo-strip teenage romance weekly published by Newnes and Pearson. Here he met his future wife, Gillian, and made the decision to become a freelance writer instead of editing. He has remained a freelance ever since.
Later, he was heavily involved with Alan Fennell's Century 21
AP Films
AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s...
Publishing company, becoming associated with Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
classics such as Stingray
Stingray (TV series)
Stingray is a children's marionette television show, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by AP Films for ATV and ITC Entertainment from 1964–65. Its 39 half-hour episodes were originally screened on ITV in the UK and in syndication in the USA. The scriptwriters included Gerry and...
, Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
, etc. He was also the mainstay scriptwriter for Fennell's Look-In
Look-in
Look-in was a long running children's magazine centred around ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior TVTimes". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994...
magazine, and at one time was writing every strip in the paper, including DangerMouse
DangerMouse
Danger Mouse is a British animated television series which was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Thames Television. It features the eponymous Danger Mouse, an English mouse who works as a superhero/secret agent. The show is a loose parody of British spy fiction, particularly James Bond and the...
.
Allan also wrote for many other outlets, and penned several of the Garth
Garth
A garth is an enclosed quadrangle or yard, especially one surrounded by a cloister .-Garth is a given name::*Garth Brooks, top-selling American country music artist...
adventures for the Daily Mirror. In January 1990, he and his wife moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Allan died on 16 July 2007, having been admitted to hospital the previous Thursday of cancer. He died just six days before his 71st birthday.