Dennis Malcolm Reader was one of the first British strip cartoonists specialising in super-heroes.
He was born to Evelyn Mary Colls on 28th May 1927, in the Blaby area of Leicestershire. However, the 1929 Electoral Roll indicates that Evelyn was living with her father, Richard Harry Colls at 79 Russell Street, Peterborough.
Although, Dennis’ mother was a Milliner by trade, she also loved painting water-colours, and very much of her spare time was spent following her artistic tallent. Dennis once said that “my mother did not force a pencil into my hand, but seeing her always painting, I decided that this is what you did”. Drawing strip cartoons was his first love and whilst at school he became very influenced by the American Comics appearing in England in the 1930’s.
As Dennis’ grandfather’s sight deteriorated, he spent many hours reading to him. Maybe this is where his love of storytelling first started and encouraged him to write books later on in his life?
Dennis left school in 1941, and took up an apprenticeship with a local printer. He stayed there until he was 20 years old, and whilst doing his apprenticeship, he received extra lessons in art from a retired teacher.
Dennis’ grandfather, Richard Colls died on 29th September 1949, but Dennis and his mother continued to live at 79 Russell Street, where Dennis continued to draw for a living.
During the Second World War, the import of American comic books had stopped and an entrepreneur, Gerald G Swan, decided to start publishing 3d comic books in the American style. It wasn’t until 1944 when Dennis submitted his four page 38 panel adventure of ‘Cat Girl’ to Swan, that Swann knew this was the type of work that his company was looking for.
Together with submitting work to Gerald Swan, Dennis also found a small company, Cartoon Art Productions (CAPtoons) in Glasgow that suited his style of pseudo-American work. Crime Comics and Super Heroes (Powerman, G-Boy and Wonder-Boy, to name but a few) was the type of work that he supplied to them. This increased his work load and he was flooded out with writing and drawing. It meant that the late night working as well as working at a local newspaper during the day, Dennis became ‘drawn out’ and it affected the polish of his work.
By the 1950’s, despite being offered a staff job as an inker in New York, Dennis decided to give up the comics and took charge of Perkins Engineering Art Department as editor of their in-house magazine ‘Perkins Echo’. In the 1960’s he met Anita Edgley and they married in 1964.
Dennis and Anita moved into The Paddock in 1975, and their neighbours recall them as being quiet and a very private couple.
In the 1980’s with the onset of health issues, Dennis retired from Perkins and became a freelance illustrator, producing work for training and sales books. It was in the late 1980’s that Dennis started writing and illustrating his own children’s books. His first book was ‘A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts’ in 1989, which was published by Walker Books.
He continued his writing of childrens’ books and ‘I Want One’ was published the following year, followed by ‘Butterfingers in 1991, ‘Fed Up’, ‘Job Useless’ and ‘Into the Jungle’ in 1993. Two of these books were adapted for television.
A neighbour recalls that Dennis kept up correspondence with a class of school children in Canada; maybe something to do with one of his books that was published in Canada.
Dennis died on 31st March 1995 and after his death. his wife Anita, gave a full set of Dennis’ books to both her neighbours’ children.
2022
Information supplied by friends and neighbours in the village, and also from the Independent Obituary written by M Gifford.