Boardman Books

T.V. Boardman, Ltd

Company type	Private
Industry	Publishing
Founded	1930s
Founder	Thomas Volney Boardman
Defunct	1967
Fate	Ceased operations
Headquarters	London , United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom
Key people	Thomas Volney Boardman
Products	Paperback and hardcover books, pulp magazines, comic books

T.V. Boardman, Ltd, also recognized as Boardman Books, was a publishing firm based in London, established by Thomas Volney Boardman during the 1930s. The company specialized in producing both paperback and hardcover books, alongside pulp magazines and comic books. It is particularly renowned for its enduring monthly hardcover series, Bloodhound Mysteries, many of which showcased cover illustrations by Denis McLoughlin. The Boardman's Best American Detective Stories of the Year anthology is considered by certain genre experts to be among the premier collections of hard-boiled fiction. Additionally, Boardman issued the inaugural British hardcover edition of Robert E. Howard's The Coming of Conan, as well as other works originally published by Gnome Press in the United States. Besides mystery, fantasy, and science fiction titles, Boardman offered a diverse selection of genre fiction and nonfiction.

History

Boardman was a trailblazer in introducing British reprints of American comics, initiating Okay Comics Weekly in October 1937. This publication primarily featured American newspaper strips and boasted a cover created by Will Eisner. Although it lasted fewer than 30 issues, it revealed a substantial British appetite for American comic material. The official importation of American comics ceased with the onset of World War II in 1939; however, from 1942 onward, American comics intended for G.I.s were still delivered.

Capitalizing on this opportunity, Thomas Volney Boardman collaborated with Everett M. "Busy" Arnold of Quality Comics to produce British versions of Feature Comics (#29–33) and Smash Comics (#7–11) during 1940–1941. To satisfy Woolworths' demand for economical titles, these editions included roughly half of the original content; the remaining material was released through two additional titles, Super Funnies (#29–33) and Mystery Comics (#7–11).

Following the war, Boardman maintained monthly comic publications utilizing rotogravure printing at an accessible price of 3 pence. In the late 1940s, it introduced children's annuals under its Popular Press label, primarily aimed at the Christmas market via Woolworth's outlets. These annuals blended text stories and comic strips featuring both original British creations and reprints from Quality Comics. Increased competition from legally imported American comics in the late 1950s prompted Boardman to discontinue its comics annuals; the last publication was the Buffalo Bill True West Annual in 1961.

The firm ended its operations in 1967, although the Bloodhound Mystery series continued to be published by other companies for several years afterward. Among notable authors featured in Bloodhound Mystery was Drew Launay, who wrote the Detective Adam Flute novels:

• She Modelled Her Coffin
• The New Shining White Murder
• A Corpse in Camera
• Death and Still Life
• The Two Way Mirror
• The Scream

Original titles

• Annuals (a combination of original narratives and Quality Comics reprints):
  • Buffalo Bill Wild West Annual (12 editions, Christmas 1949–1960)
  • Super Coloured Comic Annual (3 editions, 1949–1951)
  • Ajax Adventure Annual (single edition, Christmas 1952) – 192 pages
  • Adventure Annual (single edition, Christmas 1953) – 192 pages
  • New Spaceways Comic Annual (single edition, Christmas 1954) – 192 pages
  • Okay Adventure Annual (3 editions, 1955–1957)
  • Okay Annual of Adventure Stories (2 editions, 1958–1959)
  • First Book of Heroes (1960) – without comic content
• Buffalo Bill (17 editions, 1948–1954)
• Buffalo Bill True West Annual (single edition, 1961)
• The Lone Rider (single edition, 1950)
• Mystery Comics (5 editions, 1940–1941)
• Roy Carson (8 editions, February 1948 – February 1951)
• Roy Carson Comic (2 editions, January 1953 – 1954)
• Spaceways Comic (single edition, November 1953)
• Super Funnies (5 editions, 1940–1941)
• Swift Morgan (7 editions, March 1948 – April 1951)
• Swift Morgan Space Comic (2 editions, March–November 1953)

Reprint titles

primarily sourced from Quality Comics, unless otherwise indicated

• Blackhawk (16 editions, January 1949–1951)
• Buccaneers (single issue, May 1951)
• Captain Midnight (one issue, 1946) – originally published by Dell Comics
• Crack Western (3 editions, 1948–1954)
• Doll Man (one issue, 1951)
• Feature Comics (5 editions, 1940–1941)
• Okay Comics Weekly (20 editions, October 1937 – February 1938)
• Plastic Man (4 editions, 1954)
• Smash Comics (6 editions, 1940–1941)
• The Spirit (2 editions, February–July 1949)

Sources

• Gore, Matthew H. "Collector's Corner: Denis McLoughlin", in Goldenage Treasury Volume One. AC Comics: Longwood, Florida, 2003.
• Hertzberg, Francis. Denis McLoughlin: The Master of Light & Shade. Gryphon Books: Brooklyn, New York, 1995.
• Holland, Steve. "The Lancashire Cowboy and the Bloodhound: The Art of Denis McLoughlin", featured in Paperback Parade #24 (June 1991), pages 60–62.
• Holland, Steve. The Mushroom Jungle. Zeon Books: Dilton Marsh, England, 1993.
• Lesser, Thomas M. "The Boardman Hardcovers", published in Paperback Parade #38 (April 1994), pages 21–44.