# Neville Colvin

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Neville_Colvin
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Neville_Colvin.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Colvin
> Source revision: 1301150465
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Neville Maurice Colvin** (17 December 1918, [Dunedin](/source/Dunedin) – 1 September 1991, London) was a New Zealand-born [cartoonist](/source/Cartoonist) and illustrator. Dr Warren Feeney has referred to him as "alongside [\[David\] Low](/source/David_Low_(cartoonist)) [...] undoubtedly New Zealand's most famous international illustrator".[1]

## Early life

Colvin was born in [Dunedin](/source/Dunedin) and educated at [Otago Boys' High School](/source/Otago_Boys'_High_School).[1] His skill in illustration and satire were already evident at high school, where he contributed cartoons and caricatures to the school's quarterly magazine.[1] His school career appears to have been successful: "He was a member of the first eleven cricket team and a scholar in English, Chemistry and Latin, as well as a regimental sergeant-major of the cadet corps and head boy in his final year."[1] He attended the [Dunedin Training College](/source/Dunedin_College_of_Education) between 1938 and 1940, training to be a teacher and studying for an arts degree.[1]

## Career

Colvin volunteered for World War II, initially training as a commando in Australia before being conscripted into the Second Expeditionary Forces ([2NZEF](/source/New_Zealand_Expeditionary_Force)). He arrived in Egypt in October 1941, working as a draughtsman. When [Peter McIntyre](/source/Peter_McIntyre_(artist)) took on the role of war artist, Colvin took over his role as 'camp humorist', contributing regular cartoons to the *2NZEF Times*.[1] It was during this time that he developed the soldier characters Johnny Enzed and Fred Clueless. The latter has been described by Ian F Grant as, alongside [Gordon Minhinnick's](/source/Gordon_Minhinnick) Soldier Sam, New Zealanders' 'best-loved cartoon characters' during the War.[2]

Colvin's reputation as a cartoonist was well established through is work on the 2NZEF Times when he returned to New Zealand. He took up the high-profile role of editorial cartoonist for *[the Evening Post](/source/The_Evening_Post_(New_Zealand))* in 1946, a post he held until 1956.[3]

Colvin emigrated to England in 1956, having become 'increasingly frustrated with criticism of his work by senior staff at the *Evening Post*' and, more generally, with the stifling environment of 1950s New Zealand.[1] He soon found work on [Fleet Street](/source/Fleet_Street), working for the *[News Chronicle](/source/News_Chronicle)*, *[Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)*, *[News of the World](/source/News_of_the_World)*, the *[Daily Sketch](/source/Daily_Sketch)*, the *[Daily Express](/source/Daily_Express)*, and the *[Sunday Express](/source/Sunday_Express)*.[3] He branched out into serialized newspaper strips in the 1960s, working on a number of titles before, most famously, working on the comic strip [Modesty Blaise](/source/Modesty_Blaise). Between 1980 and 1986, he drew the daily Modesty Blaise strip, drawing approximately 1902 strips.

## References

1. Feeney, Warren (2011). "The name's Colvin. Neville Colvin.". *Journal of New Zealand Art History*. **32**: 1–14.

1. Fraser., Grant, Ian (1987). *The unauthorized version : a cartoon history of New Zealand*. 2nd ed. rev. & updated ed. Auckland, N.Z.: D. Bateman. ISBN 0908610726. [OCLC 23141125](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23141125)

1. ["Neville Colvin | New Zealand Cartoon Archive"](http://www.cartoons.org.nz/cartoonists/neville-colvin). *www.cartoons.org.nz*. Retrieved 2019-02-27.

## External links

- [Neville Colvin on DigitalNZ.](https://digitalnz.org/records?text=colvin%2C+neville+maurice)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Neville Colvin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Colvin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Colvin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.