The Seekers (comics)
The Seekers is a British comic strip drawn by John M. Burns, written by Les Lilley, succeeded by Phillip Douglas and Dick O'Neil. The strip ran from 1966 to 1971 in The Daily Sketch.
Synopsis
The main characters, Susanne Dove and Jacob Benedick, are two preferred secret agents employed by Una Frost, director of "The Seekers", an elite agency of missing persons retrieval. Their investigations frequently lead to adventures connected to the sex industry, exploiting the attractiveness of both detectives, and usually leading to the downfall of sexual predators and oppressors.[1]
Publication history
The Seekers began publication on 2 May 1966 in The Daily Sketch.[1][2] The concept of the strip bears some resemblance to another strip Burns later drew for a brief period, Modesty Blaise. The female characters were consistently drawn in an enticing manner, indicating Burns' evident intent to challenge the limits of the daily British newspaper strip conventions of the times.[1] The initial writer Les Lilley was succeeded by Phillip Douglas starting with episode 14, The Missing Golfers, occasionally aided by Dick O'Neil, who wrote one story, The Curse of the One-Eyed Sailor.
The strip ended on 10 May 1971, abandoned due to its lack of lasting success.[1] It enjoyed some popularity in Italy where it was known as I Segugi, and the Scandinavian countries, serialised as Spårhundarna in Sweden, Sporhundene in Norway and Denmark, and Vainukoirat in Finland. The name, Seekers, translates as Bloodhounds in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish publications of the strip.
Story list
| № | Title | Author | Strips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Boneyard Club | Les Lilley | M103–M180 |
| 2 | The Missing Groom | M181–M252 | |
| 3 | Red Elibank | M253–N12 | |
| 4 | The Bookman Vanishes | N13–N84 | |
| 5 | The Collection | N85–N155 | |
| 6 | The Irish Caper | N156–N233 | |
| 7 | Jamaican Joyride | N234–N309,P1-P2 | |
| 8 | John Silver | P3–P83 | |
| 9 | The Highest Bidder | P84–P169 | |
| 10 | The Missing Star | P170–P254 | |
| 11 | Lost Monastery | P255–P278,Q1-Q60 | |
| 12 | The Off-Beat Case | Q61–Q120 | |
| 13 | Art Theft | Q121–Q198 | |
| 14 | The Missing Golfers | Phillip Douglas | Q199–Q276 |
| 15 | A Matter of Life and Death | Q277–Q309,R1-R45 | |
| 16 | Where’s Una? | R46–R117 | |
| 17 | The Man Who Died Twice | R118–R178 | |
| 18 | The Boy With the Golden Boots | R179–R239 | |
| 19 | Hoop of Fire | R240–R305,T1-T8 | |
| 20 | The Day the Birds Dropped Dead | T9–T68 | |
| 21 | The Curse of the One-Eyed Sailor | Dick O'Neil | T69–T107 |
| 22 | Title missing | Phillip Douglas | T109–T125 |
| 23 | Wheels of Fate | T126–T185 | |
| 24 | The Tracy Madison Affair | T186–T245 | |
| 25 | Goddess of the Seven Moons | T246–T317 | |
| 26 | Legs on Broadway | T318–T365 | |
| 27 | Dead Girls Tell | T366–T413 |
Sources
- The Seekers - Spårhundarna (in Swedish)
- John M. Burns bio FFF (in Italian)
- Footnotes
- Filippini, Henri (1997). Encyclopédie de la bande dessinée érotique (in French). La Musardine. p. 73. ISBN 2-84271-082-7.
- Lambiek Comiclopedia. "John M. Burns".
External links
- The Seekers archives on Thrilling Adventures!