'Sexton Blake'.
Little is known about British comic artist Josiah Walker. In the 1920s, Walker did sport cartoons for Football and Sports Favourite, Sports Budget and Sport and Adventure. He also contributed to The Boy's Friend (1926-27) and to story papers like Bullseye, Champion, Thriller, Detective Weekly and Chums. Other known credits are 'Harry Weldon' in Golden Penny (1926) and film adaptations for Film Picture Stories (1934-35). For Film Fun, he made features like 'James Cagney' and 'Buck Jones'.
Comic art by Jos Walker, 10 November 1934.
Walker was one of the first to draw the comic version of pulp-detective 'Sexton Blake'. This character, a Sherlock Holmes lookalike, was created by writer Hal Meredith, pseudonym of Harry Blyth, who first came up with a 'Sexton Blake' story in 1893. Unfortunately, Blyth died before Sexton Blake achieved his huge popularity, and in the course of time, his adventures were written by over 175 authors, and appeared in numerous magazines, including The Halfpenny Marvel, Union Jack, Boys' Friend Library, Penny Popular, The Sexton Blake Library, Pilot and the London Evening Standard.
'Sexton Blake'.
On March 4, 1939, the first 'Sexton Blake' comic appeared in the first issue of Knockout. It was written by Edward Holmes and drawn by Jos Walker. During most of the 1940s, however, the artwork was done by Alfred Taylor, and after that, many different artists, such as Eric Parker, Robert MacGillivray, Reginald Heade, Frank Pashley, Graham Coton, George Parlett and William Bryce Hamilton have brought Sexton Blake to life.
'Sexton Blake' (probably by Josiah Walker).
Jos Walker was also a well-known sports cartoonist. Up until the Second World War he drew the cover for Tottenham Hotspur weekly programme, plus West Ham speedway covers and regularly contributed a cartoon for the Evening News. He died in 1942 at age 55.
Comic art by Josiah Walker.