Ron Smith (artist)

Ron Smith
Born	Ronald George Smith 1924 (age 92–93) Bournemouth, England
Nationality	British
Area(s)	Artist
Notable works	Judge Dredd

Ronald George Smith (born 1924) is a retired British comic artist whose career spanned almost fifty years. Primarily producing strips for the two main publishers, DC Thomson and IPC Magazines, Smith is best known for drawing Judge Dredd for 2000 AD and the Daily Star.

Smith was born in Bournemouth in 1924, the son of a structural engineer. He studied to become an engineer himself, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. Smith enlisted as a pilot with the Empire Flying Training Programme, and ended up flying Spitfires. He was demobbed in 1947, and joined the Gaumont British animation studio, alongside future comics artists Mike Western and Eric Bradbury.

After Gaumont British's parent company, the Rank Organisation, went bust in 1949, Smith found work drawing comics for the Amalgamated Press under editor Leonard Matthews, starting on Knockout with humour strips like "Deed-a-Day Danny" and "Young Joey". His first adventure strip was an adaptation of the Burt Lancaster film The Flame and the Arrow in 1951. More adventure work, including "Ryan of the Redcoats" and adaptations of the western films Buffalo Stampede and The Last Outpost for The Comet, followed.

In 1952 he was hired by D. C. Thomson & Co. as an illustrator for boys' story papers like Hotspur, Adventure and The Wizard under editor R. D. Low. Smith was now married with a child and no longer wanted to live in bomb-damaged London, so Thomsons bought him a house outside Dundee, where they had their headquarters, paid for from deductions from his wages. He also drew for their girls' comics Bunty and Judy.

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