Jim Russell

James Newton Russell AM MBE (26 March 1909 – 15 August 2001) was an Australian cartoonist who drew The Potts for 62 years.

Russell has entered the Guinness Book of Records for drawing the same comic strip singlehandedly without any assistance for a period of over 62 years, beating the record previously held by Frank Dickens' Bristow, which was in syndication for over 51 years, and Marc Sleen's The Adventures of Nero, which was in syndication for a period of 45 years.

Jim's brother Dan Russell was also a cartoonist.

Biography Russell was born in Campsie, New South Wales, the son of William John "Billy" Russell, a foreman plumber with the Sydney City Council, the president of the New South Wales Plumbers' Union, the national secretary of the Australian Plumbers and Gasfitters Employees Union, and unsuccessful Australian Labor Party candidate for the seats of Parkes and Canterbury, who was killed in a workplace accident in 1915. His mother Catherine Elizabeth (née Diggs), remarried in 1926 Russell was educated at Tempe Technical School and Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham In 1924 at age 14 he began work as a copy boy on the Daily Guardian before transferring later that year to Smith's Weekly, working as an art room messenger boy to Stan Cross. Russell also studied at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney, In 1939 he temporarily abandoned cartooning and accompanied the Australian Davis Cup team to the United States as a tennis writer. The team won the cup just as World War II broke out. Russell tried to enlist in the Royal Australian Air Force, unsuccessfully.

When Stan Cross left Smith's in 1940 Russell succeeded him as art editor and also took over drawing Cross's comic strips, including You and Me, which he renamed Mr and Mrs Pott, and from 1950, The Potts. Through the war years Russell was responsible for two satirical strips, Adolf, Herman and Musso (which made fun of Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring and Benito Mussolini) and Schmit der Sphy.

Russell branched out into comic books during the 1940s when import restrictions gave Australian comics a lion's share of the market. At the beginning of 1947, Jim and his older brother, Dan, began their own publishing company, All-Australian Comics. The lead title of the company was Tex Morton's Wild West Comics, starring the popular country music singer. Like many Australian comics of the time, it was a copy of American material, in this case, featuring cowboy actors such as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. Tex Morton was always featured in a lead-off story along with his mates Jacky, Shorty and Slim, drawn by Dan Russell. For the first two years companion features were Keith Chatto's Bunny Allen, Les Dixon's Alfie the Jackaroo and a series of bush yarns by Jack Hemming. Early in 1949 they added another title, Kanga's K.O. Comics, with the lead strip drawn by Russell, who used the pseudonym 'Mick Newton'.

In 1924, Russell was one of the founders of the Black and White Artists' Club. He succeeded Cross as president in 1955–57, then again in 1965–73. He won the Club's first Silver Stanley in 1985 for his contribution to black and white art, was appointed its patron in 1984 and a life member in 1991.