John Dixon, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor

Good news arrives from OZ via Nat Karmichael: “I have just sent to the printer yesterday a book I have written “John Dixon, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor.” The 200 page book is both a biography and a collection of 5 complete daily adventures of Air Hawk from the seventies, sporting a superb cover by Eddie Campbell (original Campbell art above).

Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor was begun in Perth, Western Australia in the Weekend Mail of 30 May 1959, and was carried from 12 May 1963 in the Sidney Sun-Herald. The Sunday Air Hawk ended in 1980. The daily ran from 1963 until at least 14 Nov 1984, a nice record for comic strip longevity. John Dixon created comic book character The Crimson Comet in 1947 when he was a fresh-faced 19 year old. The Crimson Comet was a pretend hunchback who wore shades and a trench coat. When duty called he would discard his coat and hump and soar into the sky on his mighty wings. John Dixon moved to the U.S. in 1986 where he contributed to Valiant and other publishers. Air Hawk continued in reprints in Sidney newspapers until the early nineteen-nineties.

Comicoz has also secured the rights to reprint and update John Ryan’s seminal book on Australian comic history Panel by Panel. Details on both titles can be found HERE.