Michael Hubbard, an unsung hero of British comics, was born in Dublin in 1904. Probably his best known work is the Daily Mirror‘s cheesecake strip Jane, which he worked on first as Norman Pett’s assistant, then as the strip’s artist from 1948 to 1959.

He started out as an illustrator on The Thriller, a story paper published by the Amalgamated Press (later Fleetway) in the 1930s, and moved into comics in the 40s, drawing classic serials like Treasure Island for Knockout. He had a resurgence in the 60s, returning to classic serials for The Ranger and Princess Tina, now in painted colour. Here’s a page of King Solomon’s Mines from The Ranger.

He also drew for AP’s girls’ comics, including “Jane Bond – Secret Agent” for Tina, Princess Tina and June.

His last work before he died in 1976 was an unfinished, unpublished colour adaptation of Lorna Doone for Princess Tina, of which I believe there are pages doing the rounds of the original art market.