Keith Chatto Gallery

Ronald Keith Chatto (1924 - 1992) had a prolific involvement in comics from his early twenties until his last years. Chatto was the first artist to illustrate The Phantom for Frew Comics in collaboration with publisher, Jim Shepherd, on writing duties for four issues. Chatto produced numerous covers for Page Publications with interiors reprinting material from America, England and Europe.

Read Greg Ray's Biography of Chatto here.

 

 

 

Several months in development, Destiny Scott, was produced by a 21 year old Chatto in 1946 for The Sydney Herald Sun after Chatto's deployment as a draughtsman for the R.A.A.F. during World War two.

In 1947 Chatto took up staff artist duties for The Australian Sunbather, contributing illustrations, comics, photography and layout duties.

Illustrations from The Australian Sunbather Annual 1951

Source: Destiny Scott strips from http://trove.nla.gov.au

Phantom Commando - Flame Over Korea

Flame Over Korea is a nine page Phantom Commando story by Maurice Bramley from Page Publications Phantom Commando #16. This issue also features two other Maurice Bramley stories, The Big Gun and The Raiders.

 

Maurice Bramley

Maurice Bramley was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand in the late nineteenth century. Bramley migrated to Sydney in the 1920's and worked as a commercial illustrator for newspapers and magazines from the 1930's through to the 1950's. Bramley worked on a wide range of material from advertising campaigns to newspaper and pulp illustrations. Later he depicted Marvel superheroes on the covers of Australian reprints of familiar titles like The Avengers and Strange Tales. From the late fifties to the early seventies he worked in Australian comics including stints on war and western titles for Page Publications and Horwitz Publishing House.

Examples of Australian comics Bramley illustrated

Australian comics historian Kevin Patrick has researched Bramley extensively and written about him here and  here and here and here.

Daniel McKeown wrote about Bramley here and provides examples of his pulp and comic cover work.

In the fifties Bramley and his wife Dell lived in Tuross, New South Wale. The Tuross village website feature details of Bramley's career here.


Below are samples of his fifties illustrations for Pocket Book Storyteller Weekly.

 

Sources: Comics Down Under

Daniel McKeown at Ozcomics  

turosshead.org