Lion (comics)

AP was acquired by IPC/Fleetway in 1959. Eves retired, while Smith guided Lion through the upheaval. This included a merger with Sun as part of the reorganisation; for several months the cover bore the title Lion and Sun before reverting to simply Lion. By the end of the fifties prose stories had disappeared in favour of either strip material of factual features. Popular additions over this period included stuntman Rory MacDuff and Norse saga "Karl the Viking", while Barrie Tomlinson joined the editorial staff in 1961.[1][2] Several strips of the era would benefit from IPC's policy of moving towards cheaper artists based in Spain;[7] this saw the likes of Alfonso Font, Víctor de la Fuente, Francisco Cueto and Jose Ortiz work on various Lion stories.[8]

In 1962, Smith left the title to oversee Air Ace Library, before retiring. George Beal was appointed his replacement as editor, though he delegated most of the work to assistant Geoff Kemp. Recognising the growing foothold of imported American Silver Age comics on the British market - particularly rivals Odhams Press' line of Power Comics featuring Marvel reprints - Kemp responded by adding more fantastical strips to Lion. "The Amazing Jack Wonder" was short-lived, but more success was found by anti-heroes like "The Sludge" and "The Spider".[9] The latter was created by Ted Cowan and featured artwork from Reg Bunn, covering the escapades of the eponymous arrogant criminal genius. The Spider's memorable status was sealed when Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel arrived looking for work and chose to write the character.[1][10] Siegel would later also devise "Gadgetman and Gimmick Kid" for Lion.[10][11]

IPC's short-lived revival of The Champion was folded into Lion in 1966; the influx from that title's roster included "The Phantom Viking", heavily indebted to Marvel's version of Norse deity Thor. The Champion merger also brought in a then-rare licensed story in the form of "Danger Man", featuring new adventures of Patrick McGoohan's television secret agent John Drake drawn by Jesús Blasco.[12] Another new face was Electra Glide-riding Highway patrolman Zip Nolan. Initially introduced as a straightforward action strip in 1963, the following year it was revamped as "Spot the Clue with Zip Nolan", with readers encouraged to solve crimes by hints provided in the story - an idea previously used in a 1957 strip featuring detective Bruce Kent. Inevitably some mainstays had to make way for the new direction. In 1964 "Captain Condor" switched to reprinting earlier stories before being retired from the weekly two years later; Sandy Dean's adventures concluded in 1965, and in 1969 Paddy Payne stepped down from duty, having been dropped from the hallowed front page in favour of factual military feature Badges of the Brave.[2] From early 1965 the cover switched to a splash illustration, rotated between various features.[1] Spin-off titles included the hardback Lion Annuals (issued every autumn, ahead of the Christmas gift market), various specials and the Lion Picture Library series of digest-sized comics. Unlike the weekly, these featured self-contained stories, and would often feature characters that had been dropped from the weekly.[1]

1969 saw another merger, this time with Eagle.[1][13] Throughout the sixties sales of Eagle had dwindled considerably as successive owners sought to cut costs; notably since 1967 Dan Dare had been switched to reprint status, and with its circulation dropping to an unsustainable 40,000 it was subsumed by the title created to rival it. As well as continued Dare reprints,[14] the retitled Lion and Eagle brought in "The Waxer". The first Lion and Eagle also introduced "Turville's Touchstone"; retitled "Spellbinder" shortly into its run, the story would be one of the most popular Lion features over the next five years.[1] IPC had merged IPC/Fleetway and Odhams into IPC Magazines in 1969, and a slew of new titles followed.

Despite the reorganisation with a former rival causing some internal friction,[11] Lion continued, and in 1971 absorbed young rival Thunder. The merger brought six new stories to Lion, some of which – such as "Adam Eterno", "Black Max" and "Sam" – would be mainstays, while the Lion and Thunder name would stick until cancellation.[15] Between November 1970 and February 1971, no new issues were printed due to IPC being in dispute with their printers.[16] Future Action and 2000 AD creator Pat Mills would produce some of his earliest work for Lion, creating "The Can-Do Kids" in 1971.[17]

The title soldiered on until 1974, when it was finally folded into Valiant from 25 May, 1974 after 1,156 issues.[18] This merger was not without controversy, with Lion's final assistant editor Chris Lowder ascribing it to internal politics. Lowder has stated it was outselling Valiant at the time, and that Jack Le Grand - responsible for launching Valiant and now managing director of Fleetway - ensured the comic he had helped devise survived. Lowder recalled he and Kemp took Le Grand to lunch to state their case, and were told they "just had to facking [sic] deal with it".[1][19] The final line-up consisted of the doughty "Robot Archie, "Steel Commando", "Spellbinder", super-villain team-up "Masters of Menace", "Marty Wayne", "Sark the Sleeper", "The Team Terry Kept in a Box", "The Last of the Harkers", reprint "The 10,000 Disasters of Dort", "Adam Eterno", "Spot the Clue with Zip Nolan" and "Mowser".[20] Only the latter trio would migrate to Valiant, while the Steel Commando would become a guest character in "Captain Hurricane". "Spellbinder" was instead allotted to the short-lived Valiant Book of Mystery and Magic, originally created as a Lion spin-off.[1] As was common for cancelled IPC titles, the Lion Annual continued to be created for the lucrative Christmas market until 1983, albeit with an ever-increasing focus on reprints.[21]