Jack Edward Oliver facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jack Edward Oliver |
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| Born | 19 June 1942 Dartford, Kent, England |
| Died | 26 May 2007 (aged 64) |
| Nationality | British |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, Writer, Artist |
| Pseudonym(s) | JEO |
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Notable works
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Master Mind Cliff Hanger Vid Kid The Champ Record Mirror |
| https://www.jedwardoliver.uk/ | |
Jack Edward Oliver (born June 19, 1942 – died May 26, 2007) was a talented British cartoonist. He was often known as J. Edward Oliver, or simply JEO or Jack. He created many popular comic strips for newspapers and magazines.
Contents
A Cartoonist's Life
JEO became famous in the 1970s. He drew a long-running comic strip for a UK music paper called Disc (and Music Echo). Later, this paper became Record Mirror. His comic strip had many fans, including the famous musician John Lennon.
His strips featured characters from TV, movies, and music. A big part of the strip was dedicated to drawings sent in by readers. Jack also created other fun content. This included a pop music comic called The Nose and many cool graphics.
Popular Characters and Strips
One character became very popular: a dinosaur named Fresco-Le-Raye. J. Edward Oliver continued to draw Fresco strips until he passed away. You can still see these strips on his official website. The website also shows other comics, like The Invisible Man. This was a regular feature during his Record Mirror years.
In November 1977, the Record Mirror strip ended. Oliver then started working for IPC Magazines Ltd. Here, he created many new comic strips. These included Buster's Master Mind (from 1980 to 1983). He also drew Cliff Hanger (1983-1987) and Vid Kid. From 1979 to 1981, he drew The Champ for Whizzer and Chips. Many of his comic strips included fun puzzles and games.
In 1984, Oliver also wrote the words for a musical. It was called Swan Esther. This musical was performed at London's Young Vic theatre. It was also broadcast on BBC radio.
The End of an Era
When the Buster comic stopped being published in 2000, Oliver was the last artist still working on it. He drew the very last original material for the comic's final issue. This special comic looked back at what happened to all the Buster characters.
After Buster ended, Oliver explored other types of work. He looked into drawing newspaper strips and creating special covers for stamp collectors. In 2000, he teamed up with his cousin Steve. Together, they created Phil Stamp Covers. These were unique first day covers for people who collect stamps.
Later Work and Legacy
In 2000, a website was launched to celebrate JEO's early work. It featured his comics from Disc and Record Mirror. Later, JEO himself started adding new material to the site. He also shared old, rare comics. He even started a new, free weekly comic strip of Fresco-Le-Raye. This strip was sent by email and had hundreds of subscribers. It ran for several hundred episodes.
In 2007, Oliver announced he was battling cancer. However, he kept creating new comics. In March 2007, he married Liz Hales, his girlfriend of many years. He passed away peacefully on May 26, 2007.
An Interesting Discovery
In 1986, J. Edward Oliver's father, John, made an amazing discovery. He was digging to build an extension to his home in Dartford. He found a rare collection of tools and weapons from the Middle Bronze Age. This was around the 13th century BC.
The collection included four items: two axe-heads, a knife, and a shaving razor. These items are now known as the Leyton Cross Bronzes. The Dartford Museum bought these ancient treasures. You can see them on display there today.
