Denis McLoughlin

Denis McLoughlin (15 April 1918 – 22 April 2002) was a well-known British illustrator.

After a career that spanned eight decades, British illustrator Denis McLoughlin gained a degree of long overdue recognition in the late-1990s for his hard-boiled detective illustrations that graced book covers produced primarily for the London publishing house of T.V. Boardman, Ltd. (Boardman Books). It is this work, no doubt, with which McLoughlin will always be most strongly associated. Bio-bibliographer David Ashford claims for McLoughlin, "In the history of British Illustration there is no one who can be reasonably compared to him. He does not fit anywhere into the British tradition." Ashford concludes that when it comes to hard-boiled illustration, McLoughlin is simply the best.

Despite having produced over a hundred paperback covers, about 550 monthly Bloodhound Detective dust jacket illustrations, "scores" of Bloodhound Detective Story Magazine and other pulp magazine covers, and over a hundred other book covers, it is for his work in British comic books that Denis McLoughlin is best known. However, it would be impossible to consider the biography of Denis McLoughlin without touching the history of the Boardman publishing house at the same time.

Denis McLoughlin was born on 15 April 1918, in Bolton, Lancashire, England, where he still resided at the time of his death, 22 April 2002. Always interested in drawing, McLoughlin credits his artistic influence as film, pulp magazines (particularly the covers), and American comics. In the 1930s he collected American True Detective type magazines and American pulp magazines. McLoughlin also sought out the work of Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon, Secret Agent Corrigan) who he also calls an influence. On scholarship, in 1932, he attended the Bolton School of Art, which survives today as the Bolton College of Art, but left the same year for employment with Ward & Copley Art Studio of Oxford Road, Manchester. At Ward & Copley from 1932 until about January 1940 when lack of business ended his employment, McLoughlin found himself creating product illustrations for catalogues and newspaper advertisements for 10/- a week.

T.V. Boardman, Ltd., was but one of many London publishing houses turning out both paperback and hardcover books, pulp magazines, and comics. Boardman pioneered British reprinting of American comics. During the week of 16 October 1937, the first issue of a Boardman tabloid comic in the traditional British format, Okay Comics Weekly, arrived at newsagents all over England. The content was mostly American newspaper strips and the first issue sported a cover strip by Will Eisner. Okay lasted only until 26 February 1938, or a total of twenty issues. At about this same time, other British publishers experimented with reprinting American comics and imports of the real thing began to land on British shores. It rapidly became apparent that a significant British market for American comic books existed.

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