Happy Semi-Retirement Lew Stringer!

by Richard Bruton

One of Britain’s great cartoonists and comic makers, Lew Stringer, announced this past week that he’d be retiring from comics – well, semi-retiring at least!

Lew Stringer‘s been working in comics professionally since 1983, although he was active in the comics fanzine-making community in the UK well before that. Over the years, his work has appeared in Action Force, Transformers, Somic the Comic, Oink, Whoopee, Beano, Dandy, Viz, Elephantman, Dr Who Magazine, and many, many more, not to mention creating a whole load of his own material including Brickman, Tom Thug, Pete and his Pimple, Derek The Troll, and Combat Colin.

Well, now that he’s turned 66 and is eligible for his pension, he’s announced his retirement from comics. Well, retirement from mainstream comics anyway. Unfortunately, Lew’s suffering from a few health issues and, as he puts it, ‘it’s time to step back and take things easier.’

But that’s not the end of Lew’s comics – thankfully. As he says:

‘However… comics are still my passion and there’s no “off switch” to creativity so it’ll be semi-retirement. I’ll still be contributing my ‘Daft Dimension’ mini strip to Doctor Who Magazine every month for as long as they want me, and I have some loose ends to tie up such as some overdue commissions, a strip for The Dandy Annual 2027 and some work for The77 and suchlike.

‘My main focus after that though, apart from relaxing and getting things in order, will be my self-published comics. I want to get the final issue of Combat Colin out this summer and hopefully some other comics after that. I won’t be taking on any more commissions as yet, but I’ll continue to sell my old artwork to collectors via eBay to help pay the bills etc.

‘I’ve had 42 happy years freelancing in the comics industry and now I’ll simply be focusing on my own comics and creations and publishing those in my own time as it suits me. I’ll also be attending comic cons if I’m fit and able to, as I don’t want to lose touch with the many good friends I’ve made in comics over the past four decades!’

Lew in 2024 at London Film & Comic Con after his induction into their Hall of Fame

It’s been a wonderful 42 years in comics and we all hope that we’ll be seeing much more from Lew, even as he enjoys his retirement. Here’s hoping there are many more years of comic-making and so much fun from Lew!

Personally, I first saw Lew’s work in Marvel UK’s Daredevils, still one of my favourite comics of all time, where editor Bernie Jaye, on the prompting of a certain Alan Moore, commissioned Lew’s first pro work…

And from there, I looked forward to, and enjoyed seeing, all of his Marvel UK strips over the years. Indeed, when I worked at Nostalgia and Comics in Birmingham, UK, I met the man himself – he’s a native Midlander and was a regular shopper at N&C over the years. It’s been a pleasure seeing his work, especially as he’s a really lovely man.

So, happy semi-retirement Lew, we’ll be looking forward to seeing more comics from you soon!

Of course, you should all be following his website, and also his excellent Blimey! blog on British comics, a wonderful resource.

Now, a little of Lew’s art through the years…

Captain Wally And Smail Man – info at Lew’s site – 1985 Marvel UK