John Ryan was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Aged 7, he wrote his first book 'Adventures of Tommy Brown' and sold it to his mother for two pennies. After service in Burma he went to study at the Regent Street Polytechnic.
Ryan created the character 'Captain Horatio Pugwash' for The Eagle in 1950. 'Captain Pugwash' was adapted into a TV series, using cardboard cut-outs filmed in live-action by the BBC in 1957.
Floating Jungle
He was also the creator of 'Harris Tweed, Extra Special Agent', a would-be private eye, and 'Lettice Leefe, the Greenest Girl in School' (for magazines Girl and Princess). John Ryan has written and illustrated 20 books such as 'The Very Hungry Lions', 'Mamel and the Tower of Babel' and 'Giantkiller'.
