John McLusky | Artist

Artist John McLusky is the man responsible for developing the visual style of James Bond in his comic strips for the Daily Express newspaper in the late 1950s.

Born in Glasgow in 1923, John studied at the Slade School of Art and became an artist for Air Force Bomber Command during WWII, drawing training schematics and aircraft interiors. He went on to work as a freelance illustrator before being commissioned to bring Fleming’s secret agent to life in a new comic strip series. After approval from Fleming, the first strip was published in August 1958. It was an instant hit with readers and boosted sales of the newspaper.

John partnered with writer Henry Gammidge from 1958 for seven years, creating a Bond comic strip each day, six days a week, before passing the baton to a new pairing of artist Yaroslav Horak and writer Jim Lawrence. Later, in 1981, John returned to work with Jim on an additional four Bond adventures.

John’s strips, composed with meticulous detail and pace, brought Fleming’s stories to a wide audience and are said to have been storyboard references for the 007 filmmakers. His Bond has a similar look to Sean Connery and is thought to have had an influence on the actor’s casting for the Dr. No movie. John lived in Hertfordshire until his death in 2006 at age 83. His work and influence on the world of James Bond live on.

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