Real Life Adventure

Advertisement for Real Life Adventure from back cover of Conquest Magazine

Real Life Adventure was published in New Zealand by A.H and A.W. Reed. There are no dates or credits included in the comic but the advert above from Reed's Magazine For Youth, Conquest, indicate Real Life Adventure was published in early 1947. A prolific publisher of the twentieth century, Reed published over a hundred publications annually including some with comics content although Real Life Adventure is the only example of a monthly comic I have found. Featuring adaptions of stories from the Bible, Real Life Adventure is a rare example of a New Zealand comic with colour pages from this era.

The art style is very similar to the Russ Denver strip featured in Conquest magazine. It is possible Real Life Adventures was the product of an artist or artists from the Haythorn Thwaite Studios in Auckland.

Real Life Adventure #4 courtesy Geoff Harrison

The Lost City and the Adventures of Russ Denver

 

There is very little information available about Conquest 'The Magazine for Youth' produced by A.W & A.H Reed in the 1940's. Conquest appears to be composed of entirely New Zealand articles, stories, gag strips and pulp style illustrations. Of special interest is a serial adventure comic strip, The Lost City and The Adventures of Russ Denver produced by the Auckland advertising agency of W. Haythorn-Thwaite.

 Tourism Ephemera produced by Haythorne-Thwaite Ltd

The Haythorne-Thwaite studios produced print advertising, tourism material, and television commercials and merged with The Wardlaw Advertising Agency in 1968 to form WHT Advertising and Marketing Ltd.