'Rupert and the Ice Skates' (from the Rupert Annual 1979).
Jennifer ("Jenny") Kisler was a British illustrator and comic artist, known as one of the artists who continued 'Rupert Bear' between 1965 and 1977.
Life and career
Born in 1935 as Jennifer Miles, she succeeded 'Rupert Bear' artist Alfred Bestall in the Daily Express, right after his retirement in 1965. Her first story was 'Rupert and the Secret Shell' (July-September 1965). She also drew that year's Christmas story 'Rupert and the Ice Skates', and continued to work on new 'Rupert' adventures written by Freddie Chaplain until 1977. She drew a total of 15 stories for the newspaper, and also produced artwork for the title pages of the Rupert Annuals in the 1960s. It was however Alex Cubie who drew most of the stories during this period, with Enid Ash and Wendy Arnot providing art to a handful additional stories. After 1976, Lucy Matthews and John Harrold also joined the art team. Harrold was eventually appointed the full-time 'Rupert' artist in 1985. Several of Kisler's stories have appeared in color in the Rupert annuals. Of all the series' artists during the so-called "intermission period", her style approached Bestall's mastership the most.
Kisler has also made illustrations for children's books, including religion-themed books for Scripture Union Publishing, such as Jacqueline Sibley's 'Story Time' series (1968) and Jeanne Wesson's 'Simon and Sarah' (1978). Jenny Kisler passed away in May 2020.
'Rupert and the Secret Shell' (1965, reprint from Rupert Annual 1978).