Serge Drigin was born in Moscow on 8 October 1894. He joined the Russian merchant navy in his teens and travelled the world, rising from deck-hand to mate. He published his first drawings on his travels, and on his return to Moscow he enrolled in art school, later seeing his drawings published in a variety of countries including the UK. He served in the Russian army during the First World War, and after the war was part of the British Army of Occupation.
In the 1920s he settled in London and started working freelance for the Amalgamated Press, starting with illustrations for The Champion, working for editor Reg Eves, and other story papers. He also produced full colour illustrations for boys' books, excelling at science fiction. From the 1930s on he drew comics, including "Kidnapped" (1934) for Fun Picture Stories, "The Last Roundup" and "The Flying Fish" (1934) for Sparkler, "Island in Space" (1947) for The Joy Wheel, "Dick Daring" (1949) for Merry-Go-Round, "Trail of the Panther" (1949) for The Comet, "Space Police" (1949) for Novels and Comics, and "Formula X" (1948) and "Secret Harbour" (1949) for The Sun.
He died in Lambeth, London, in the second quarter of 1977.
References[]
- Alan Clark, Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors, The British Library, 1998, pp. 51-52
- Steve Holland, Serge Drigin, Bear Alley, 11 December 2006