'Lifebuoy Larry in the Jungle!' (1937).
Jack Grandfield was an early 20th-century British illustrator, who flourished in the 1930s and 1940s. He mostly livened up the pages of women's magazines and made advertising art. His comics output consists of an advertising comic for Lifebuoy Soap, 'The Adventures of Lifebuoy Larry In The Jungle' (1937) and a 'Sexton Blake' comic strip story, 'Sexton Blake and the Strange Case of the Plastic Bullet' (1949), published in Knockout.
Early life and career
John Grandfield, nicknamed "Jack", was born in 1911 in Barnet, London (some sources claim Kent). Not much is known about his life and career. His father David Northcott Grandfield was a post office supervisor. In the 1930s, Grandfield made illustrations for the weekly magazines The Passing Show and Titbits, which regularly serialized written stories. His art also adorned the pages of the women's magazines Good Housekeeping and Woman's Weekly. He additionally designed an advertising campaign for the holiday resort chain Butlin. In 1937, he illustrated 'Lifebuoy Larry In The Jungle' (Lever Brothers, 1937), an advertising comic book promoting Lifebuoy Soap and personal hygiene to a youthful audience.
Sexton Blake
In comics history, Jack Grandfield was notable as one of the illustrators of the 'Sexton Blake' comics. Since 1893, Harry Blyth's detective stories about the brilliant inspector Sexton Blake had been strong bestsellers in Britain. Blake was in many ways an imitation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 'Sherlock Holmes', down to the fact that he smoked pipe and also lived in Baker Street. After Blyth died in 1898, new writers were brought in to pen new stories. The demand was so strong that a special digest title was launched in 1915: The Sexton Blake Library. The spellbinding tales were serialized in many magazines, while receiving various media adaptations on stage, in film and in comics. From 1939 on, 'Sexton Blake' comics became an exclusive feature in the children's magazine Knock-Out, with artists like Jos Walker, Alfred Taylor and Eric Parker.
On 11 June 1949, the 'Sexton Blake' serial 'Sexton Blake and the Strange Case of the Plastic Bullet' was launched in Knock-Out magazine, with artwork by Jack Grandfield. The plot was written by editor Edward Holmes, AKA Ted Holmes. It was Grandfield's only contribution to the feature. Later artists who have drawn 'Sexton Blake' stories or comics have been Graham Coton, Roland Davies, Mike Dorey, William Bryce Hamilton, Reginald Heade, Robert MacGillivray and John Valda.
Death
Grandfield's promising career was cut short by his early death at age 37 in Whitstable, Kent, in January 1949. This was five months before his 'Sexton Blake' comic first appeared in print. His cause of death is unknown. Grandfield was married to Yvette Spong.
'Sexton Blake and The Strange Case Of The Plastic Bullet' (Knockout, 11 June 1949)..