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Terry Hooper-Scharf

Wednesday, 18 June 2025

Why D-Gruppe Art Changed

  I was asked by someone -not on this blog obviously as no one ever comments or asks questions here- about the art for D-Gruppe and why it changed from the first story.

Well, the Revenge of the Ice Queen story was pencilled by me and on a visit to Bristol Ben Dilworth took a fancy to the pages "I'll ink those" he said as he put the pages into his bag. On his next visit a month later the pages were all inked and how could I not love them? The style was just so right for the story and it was what attracted an editor at Bastei Verlag in Germany.


Sadly, the Big Fella (that's him to the left) moved to Osaka in Japan and that left me with the art chores. The pencils were fine but then health issues kicked in and I just ploughed through inking the pages and although people liked the pages I see every single flaw.  Other artists have tried to draw the series but most give up as they complained about no skyscrapers and the lack of super steroid physiques -all the characters are perfectly regular builds. Mr Dilworth has created a few D-Gruppe strips over recent years -as you'll have seen on this blog.

The Osaka Giant has two styles and one is a very loose style but is still full of energy and works with the stories he writes.  The other style is solid black and white and when he uses that I don't think any b&w artist comes near to his quality.

My style has developed into almost an old British weekly comic strip one; Dilworth is a 100% better artist than I will ever be so I do what I do which is a serious style with a few cartoony aspects that do not look too over the top cartoony as I don't like that style. Every time I take a break of a few weeks from drawing the style changes slightly but that is my problem!

I ought to remind people that Izzy Iskander Islam drew Rotkappchen and John Erasmus drew Deutsch Michael and both are excellent -these pages can be found on this blog.

So in response to the original question the art is not the same as the genius of Mr Dilworth is not drawing it!

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Black Tower -Black Tower -A Little Midnight Horror No. 6 (of 6)

 


The final gut-wrenching issue of the magazine that will whiten your hair! 
They dared us not to publish -so we did! 
Stories include: 
"Watch Your Step" 
"Lady Silana" 
"You Pay For What You Use" 
"Death Is Just The Beginning" 
"Asimov's Horror" 
"Death In The City" 
and more!

Black Tower - A Little Midnight Horror No. 5

 


A4
B&W
24pp
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/a-little-midnight-horror-no-5-july-2020/paperback/product-98y9v6.html

The 5th in the 6 issue series of hair-whitening short stories from Stransky and Labbat is here -edited by the Big Man from Osaka Ben R. Dilworth. 

Stories include "Vampire"; "Tree", "The Wicked", "Scream"m "The Ghost Dance", "The Rule of Wolves" and more. 

Illustrated text stories for bedtime, on the bus or during lunch"!

Black Tower -A Little Midnight Horror No. 4

 


Stransky & Labbat
Ed. B. R. Dilworth
A4
24pp
B&W
Illustrated Text
£7.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/a-little-midnight-horror-4-june-2020/paperback/product-76qj9q.html

The fourth issue is here! Messrs Dilworth, Stransky and Labbat bring us more short stories designed to make your hair curl (or uncurl). Contents include Monster, Gun, Wishing Well, Monkey, Moon Warriors, Skull and more!

Black Tower - A Little Midnight Horror No. 3

 


Stransky & Labbat
Ed. B R Dilworth
A4
B&W
24pp
Illustrated Text
£6.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/a-little-midnight-horror-3-june-2020/paperback/product-1vgqvzkr.html

The third of Stransky & Labbat's short illustrated text horror stories edited by Ben R. Dilworth' Stories include Adrift, Our Future, Mouth, Out of the Dark,Creep and others

Black Tower -A Little Midnight Horror No. 2

 


Stransky & Labbat
Ed. B R Dilworth
A4
B&W
24pp
Illustrated Text
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/a-little-midnight-horror-2-may-2020/paperback/product-1gq9mj67.html

16 Short horror stories to entertain brought to you by Stransky & Labbat and Edited by Benjamin R. Dilworth. Stories include The Bat, Zombie Stadium Pies, Hell Pigs and Endless White!

Black Tower -A Little Midnight Horror No. 1

 




Stransky & Labbat
Ed. B R Dilworth
A4
24pp
B&W
Illustrated Text
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/a-little-midnight-horror-1/paperback/product-1mm5vzg9.html

From Joel Stransky & Pierre Labbat come 20 "very short" illustrated pulp horror stories designed to whiten your hair: Old Mother Shipton, End, Sad Skeleton, Zombie Me and more. Edited by Benjamin R. Dilworth

Black Tower -The Ultimate British Comics Gold Collection

 



A4
Paperback
B&W
405 pages
Price: £25.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

Combining volumes 1-6 (still available as individual issues but that works out far more expensive) of the BT Golden Age British Comics Collections (minus adverts) this is the ultimate for any Golden Age collector or historian or just plain comic lover.

Features....
Ace Hart
TNT Tom
Electrogirl 
Wonderman 
The Phantom Raider
Captain Comet 
Acro Maid
Phantom Maid
Dene Vernon
The Iron Boy
The Boy Fish
Professor Atom
The Tornado
Powerman
Wonder Boy
Slicksure
Masterman 
Dane Jerrus
Alfie
Tiny Tod
Maxwell The Mighty 
Back From The Dead
Zeno At The Earth's Core
Colonel Mastiff
Ally Sloper
Super Injun
Super Porker  (oo-er, no, Madam, ooh),
Tiger Man
King Of The Clouds
Captain Comet 

and MANY others!

Plus text features defining The Ages OF British Comics (Platignum, Gold, Silver), the artist William A. Ward and more.

If you knew nothing about British comics of the Platinum, Golden and Silver Ages then once you buy and read this book you'll be a goddam omic intellectual dinosaur! Yipes!

All in that beautiful Iron Warrior cover exclusively drawn for Black Tower by that meta-gargantuoso talented Ben R. Dilworth!

I sold my family to be able to get this book out! Help me buy them back by purchasing your very own 

whizz-o copy today!

Black Tower Gold Volume 6

 



A4
Paperback
B&W
35 pages
Price: £8.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

Yes! Now at issue 6 and bringing you more lost strips of the British Golden Age of Comics.There's a collection of strips featuring non other than TNT Tom and one of the weirdest UKGA characters -the Iron Boy.

Ever heard of Ingy Roob? Or his pet "Stretchy"? You will have if you read this issue.How about Dennis M. Readers Cat Girl?

Two other UK comics are reprinted in full, both from 1946 and the only issues ever published:Lucky Dice and The Fudge.

Black Tower -keeping UK comics history alive!

Black Tower Gold Volume 5 -Back From The Dead

 


A4
Paperback
B&W
68pp
Price: £6.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

William McCail’s 1940 classic is reprinted for the first time in 60 years.
If you are into British Golden Age comics or early comics in general this is for you.

Robert Lovett rises from the dead and finds he has some startling powers: deaths follow, as does a Scotland Yard detective determined to track down the mysterious killer!

Black Tower Gold Volume 4

 



A4
Paperback
B&W
86 pages
Price: £8.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

The fourth volume of this series features some great finds of the lost era of British comics:
Ace Hart The Atom Man, Captain Comet -Space Ranger TNT Tom, Clive Lynn -Space Reporter, Superstooge", The White Gorilla", Atomic Tuffy, Cast Iron Chris, Sigord and many others!

Black Tower Gold volume 3

 



A4
Paperback
B&W
68 pages
Price: £8.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

This is the third volume in Black Tower Comics’ collection of Golden Age British comic strips that have not seen print for 50-60 years!
Included in this volume is a bumper crop of Ace Hart:The Atom Man strips and an article on the character.
A complete 1949 comic in Smugglers Creek; Denis Gifford’s Search For The Secret City and science fiction legend Bryan Berry’s rendition of Kid Carter -Teenage Tec! A must for all comic collectors and historians.

Black Tower Gold Volume 2

 


A4
Paperback
B&W
Price: £8.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

The second collection of British 1940s comic strips featuring Maxwell The Mighty, Slicksure, Iron Boy,Alfie, Ace Hart and more.
Featuring the work of Golden Age Greats Alf Farningham and Harry Banger.
Specifically designed to feature more humour than the previous volume this should be a treat for all comic collectors. Reprinting the full content of The Meteor and The Rocket Comics from 1948.