{"id":312740,"date":"2025-11-23T03:33:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T03:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/norman-cliffords-aerial-adventures\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T03:33:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T03:33:49","slug":"norman-cliffords-aerial-adventures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740","title":{"rendered":"Norman Clifford's Aerial Adventures"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Above<\/b>: Norman Clifford, Melbourne 1959<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Norman Clifford was one of many talented and enterprising Australian artists who created opportunities for themselves in a competitive comic book market in the 1950s by creating stories which resonated with local audiences, and stood out among the American and British comics which crowded newsagents’ shelves at the time. His passion for aircraft and aviation history inspired him to create a string of successful air combat-themed comics that capitalised on the Royal Australian Air Force’s then-current involvement in Korean War (1950-53), and the postwar fascination with breakthroughs in aviation technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following is Norman’s own recollections of this exciting early phase in his decades-long career as a cartoonist and commercial artist. It is reprinted here by arrangement with his daughter, Vicki Sach (editor and journalist at OneHorse Media<\/a>). Unless otherwise indicated, all images are taken from the official Facebook page for Norman Clifford Aviation Artist<\/a> (Special thanks to Jeff Batista for originally sharing the following material via the Facebook page for Old Australian Pre-Decimal Comics up to 1966<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

– Kevin Patrick<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Born in Footscray in
\n1927, Norman Clifford attended Tottenham State School. He completed one year of
\na three-year art course at RMIT before deciding to quit. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He worked at the
\nCommonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC)<\/a> at Fisherman\u2019s Bend for three years,
\nassembling Boomerang<\/a> and Mustang<\/a> airplanes.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Above<\/b>: Norman Clifford (third from right) on the CAC “Boomerang” assembly, circa late 1940s<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

He applied to train as
\na pilot with the <\/span>Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)<\/a>, but the CAC wouldn\u2019t
\nrelease him (and he also failed the arithmetic part of assessment!)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He grew up devouring
\ncomics and developing his talent as a self-taught artist, focusing mostly on
\nairplanes, finally illustrating a full-length comic which he pitched to
\nSouthdown Press. He drew the artwork\u2026making the story up as he went\u2026with his
\nnew bride, Shirley doing all the speech lettering.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The comics were a huge
\nsuccess, their relevant war topic and military aviation theme capturing
\npublic\u2019s imagination, with their sales eclipsing the popular Disney and Marvel
\ncomics of the time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Norman Clifford
\nrecalls \u2026<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When I was 24 years
\nold and with no qualifications, line drawings were about all I could do, but at
\nthat stage they still lacked light and shade. I knew nothing about printing and
\nvery little about design.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


I started work with
\nJohn Warlow, who ran a photographic studio in Collins Street. His staple was weddings,
\nbut he did everything from portraits to industrial photography. It was there I
\nlearned all aspects of photography\u2026developing, printing, retouching and print <\/span>colouring<\/span>,
\ndone in an era before colour photos (Note<\/b>: The Melbourne Argus <\/i>newspaper published an interview with John Warlow about amateur photography in August 1953, which can be viewed here<\/a>).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Above<\/b>: John Warlow, 1953<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Warlow\u2019s studio had an
\narea large enough to photograph complete wedding parties or anything else
\nrequiring specific lighting. Clients came up by lift and entered the waiting
\nroom.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I hand coloured large
\nphotographic prints for Trans Australian Airlines (TAA)<\/a> and mine were better
\nthan the other girls employed there because I knew the civil transport
\naircraft\u2026the white roofs, natural metal and reflected light. I changed the TAA
\nhand lettering to blue with a black outline, and coloured the concrete tarmac a
\nlight shade of fawn. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

John Warlow nearly had
\na fit when he saw the contrast between my work to the girls, and was within an
\nace of having them redone but the TAA rep loved them!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It was an interesting
\nplace to work but my heart was still firmly fixated on comic books. I liked
\nreading but the comics always interested me more because they were illustrated
\nstories.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Could I do one? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

——<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d already had three
\ngoes, but conked out when I reached the limits of my ability.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Was I up to attempting
\na fourth? After all, they were only illustrated stories!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So away I went. When
\nit came accurately drawing characters, I knew enough about cameras and film
\ndeveloping to ask friends to model the characters\u2019 poses for me, which I then
\ndrew into the artwork.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My room at home was a
\ncombination of bedroom and art studio, while the family washhouse my darkroom.
\nMy parents were very patient, but my brothers thought it resembled a dump. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I slaved away, working
\nat Warlows during the day, and on my art in the evenings and weekends (when I
\nwasn\u2019t doing Saturday weddings).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

195I was a key year
\nfor me. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

——<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/span>Working from my
\nbedroom\/studio, I created complete art for a 24-page comic book containing two
\naction stories: Korea, and an air racing epic titled Speed Demons.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In both stories,
\nairplanes featured as much as the cast. The artwork was a bit rough around the
\nedges, but I offered it to Southdown Press [publisher of New Idea<\/a>] in North Melbourne.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There were very few
\ncomic books that featured airplanes and those that did were done in typical
\nAmerican style with the flying secondary to the action. Mine were just the
\nopposite\u2026 airplanes were the main focus with human characters a distant second.
\nI didn\u2019t know any other way to do it!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I was surprised when
\nBill Bednall from Southdown Press took it up with the only request being that
\nthe title be changed from \u201cThe Air Strip\u201d to \u201cSky Demons\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I was proud of \u201cThe
\nAir Strip\u201d title, which I thought was a rather clever play on words with air
\nlanding strip\/comic strip. But Bill and his sales chief wanted something more
\nflamboyant and outranked me. And so it was that \u201cSky Demons\u201d was added to
\nSouthdown Press library under their \u2018Tip Top Comics\u2019 banner. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n


Bill Bednall had been
\na journalist in his younger days and wrote a spirited foreword for the No.1
\nSpecial, adding a few flourishes to jazz it up a bit. For example:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cGreat pains have been
\ntaken by the artists to ensure that technical details are as accurate as can
\nbe\u2026\u201d and \u201c\u2026the artists are well versed in flying.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That was a laugh,
\nthere was only me!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

My work was based more
\non enthusiasm than anything else.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

American comic books
\nwere in every newspaper shop and mine looked a bit rustic by comparison.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sky Demons came to
\nlife on Southdown\u2019s big flatbed printing press, and I heard nothing more about
\nit while it was being distributed to newsagents Australia-wide.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

During this era,
\ntelevision was still in the distant future and comic books were a popular form
\nof entertainment. Over 100 titles were distributed monthly but very few were
\nAustralian and none exclusively featured airplanes. Hot competition from other
\nsources included Micky Mouse, Donald Duck, Captain Marvel<\/a>, Red Ryder<\/a>, Hurricane Hawk<\/a>, Buck Rogers and many others. If I\u2019d done mine with this competition in
\nmind I mightn\u2019t have even started! I was completely <\/span>na\u00efve<\/span>, and it shows in
\nevery illustration.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

——<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After Sky Demons had
\nbeen distributed for a while, Bill called me in to Southdown Press to share
\nsome sales details. He revealed that my one comic effort had out-sold
\neverything on the market, including Disney and Marvel Comics.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It was hard to
\nbelieve!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Did my singular effort
\nwin on artistic merit? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I think there\u2019s a few
\nfactors to consider: The story line, action and reasonably drawn adventure
\nabout airplanes (No. 77 Squadron, RAAF<\/a>) and above all, pilots fighting in the Korean War<\/a> was a topical subject.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As a beginner artist,
\nI\u2019d kicked a goal.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Australian Mustang
\nflying pilot hero \u2018model\u2019 in the first story was none other than my boss, John
\nWarlow. In real life he was a portly photographer. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The story lines were
\nmostly plotted on the go\u2026 in other words, I drew panels as I made up the story
\n(which fortunately concluded at the finish-line!) I didn\u2019t know you were
\nsupposed write the story, then do a storyboard to guide the layout. I didn\u2019t
\neven know what a storyboard was! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I knew nothing about
\nthe American technique for creating comics, which was to have a trio of
\nwriters, artists and speech letterers working on the strips.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Most of my comics
\nwaved the airplane flag against a backdrop of Europe and the Southwest Pacific\u2026
\nthe Allies against enemy. Just to be different, one story was on air racing,
\nwhile another was about a flying circus. Two of six comics I drew were a space
\nfantasy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The first comic, Sky
\nDemons, smacked of inexperience but I gave it my all and the aircraft depicted
\nwere as accurate as I could draw them. When I compare my first comic to my
\nlast, I can see a vast difference between them, a change fired by my enthusiasm
\nand experience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Above<\/b>: Readers’ Letters, Sky Demons, no.6<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Bill and his sales
\nchief thought they had struck gold\u2026 a local artist with the right touch.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I was amazed at the
\nsuccess, but quickly recovered when they paid me \u00a3100 and the prospect of more
\ncomics (and money) to come.
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

——<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Back in my early days
\nwith Southdown Press, Bill would occasionally mention the number of letters
\nrolling in applauding my strips. He\u2019d scratch his head and mutter that it was
\nthe first time in his experience, that readers had ever been moved to write to
\nthe publisher about comic material. Their new \u2018local artist\u2019 reeled in
\nsurprise\u2026 even my own family (who weren\u2019t the least bit interested in aviation)
\ncouldn\u2019t figure out how I\u2019d done it! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

——<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Above<\/b>: ‘Fools Rush In’ (Excerpt)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

One boy who liked aeroplanes as much as
\nI did was Ian Baker, who was so impressed, he kept a particular story called
\n\u201cFools Rush In\u201d from Sky Demons No 6. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The storyline depicted
\na Japanese fighter pilot fresh from his graduation, bidding farewell to his beloved
\n‘kanojou’ (girlfriend) before leaving for the South-Eastern Pacific Theatre of
\nwar to fight against American and Australian air forces. When American\u2019s bombed
\nJapan and his lady friend was killed, he volunteered for duty as a kamikaze
\npilot and was one of many who flew a one man powered rocket, \u2018Baka\u2019, against
\nadvancing American aircraft carriers. He, too, was killed. Baka, the name given
\nthe rocket, meant \u2018fool\u2019\u2026hence \u201cFools Rush In\u201d to their death.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ian went on to become
\na member of the Australian Society of Australian Artists (ASAA) and sent me an
\neleven-page photocopy extract of this story. His personal comment is
\nembarrassing (but nice!) to read:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIn contrast to
\ntedious repetitiveness of comic book super-heroes, Norm\u2019s work embodied an
\nintrinsic honesty in its approach\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I wish I had known
\nthat when I was creating my comics, because the truth is that as a relative
\nnewcomer, I always felt I was making a fool of myself! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

——<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One morning the Warlow
\nStudio staff were on a tea break in the colourist room when in walked a young
\ngirl recently employed as a wedding print colourist. He introduced her to
\neveryone including me\u2026 and I was smitten. She was nearly 18 years old and dressed
\nfor summer in a sleeveless pale blue dress, nicely styled hair, pretty
\nsun-tanned face, arms and shoulders. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Her name was Shirley,
\nand we were married 12 months later.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Early on in our
\nmarriage, I was working from an ancient holiday house at the foot of Arthurs
\nSeat in Dromana. To get to Southdown Press and with my wares under my arm, I
\nhad to either catch a bus to Frankston, then the train to Melbourne, or thumb a
\nride.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I converted one room
\ninto my \u2018studio\u2019, installed all my books and drawing equipment and set about
\ncreating comics.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Covers were in colour
\nbut inside pages were black and white. Strangely enough, working exclusively in
\nblack outline shading made for steady and controlled rendering of the story
\nillustration later, but one thing I discovered\u2026I was a dud at speech lettering!
\nIt was the Achilles heel of my comic career. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Shirley got sick of me
\ncomplaining about it and volunteered to have a go. Shock and surprise, her
\nrendering of the words was unbelievably good from the outset\u2026 neat and clean\u2026
\nshe reckoned it was easy! She wasn\u2019t an artist (although could have been) her
\nlettering was very nearly typeset standard. She was a natural.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

——<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While all my this was
\ngoing on, Southdown Press informed me they had rights to post-war Buck Rogers<\/a> material, minus covers and Bill Bednall gave me the job of doing about five
\ncolour Buck Rogers covers. I\u2019d been reading Buck Rogers since I was a kid, so I
\nwas thrilled to be doing it for the money AND the privilege!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Above<\/b>: Cover art by Norman Clifford<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

However, pressure was
\nmounting and the incessant application to continually produce artwork for my
\nstorylines was starting to tell, but they represented my bread and butter so
\nthere wasn\u2019t much I could do but hang in there.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then the worst
\nhappened\u2026 TELEVISION!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

TV entered the scene [in 1956]<\/a> and almost overnight the bottom dropped out of Australian and American comic
\nsales. Southdown Press needed to keep the presses rolling and Bill Bednall
\ndidn\u2019t want to give up without a fight. He decided to scrap further issues of
\nSky Demons and asked me to do my comics under individual titles, so I dreamt up
\nvarious comics; Daredevil Comics<\/a>, Wonder Wings<\/a>, Billy Battle<\/a>, Thrilling Space Adventures<\/a>, and\u2026 with a last roll of the dice\u2026 the Christmas Comic<\/a>, featuring a
\ncoloured cover depicting the Russian space dog \u2018Sputnik\u2019 circling the world.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Above<\/b>: Christmas Comic<\/i>, 1958<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Comic prices dropped
\nto sixpence and finally the last few issue covers were reduced from full colour
\nto two-colour to save money. But with moving pictures now in many lounge rooms,
\ntelevision won out. All the new Southdown titles were scrapped and sadly, so
\nwas I, leaving me wondering where my next quid was coming from.
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

——<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of the friends I
\nasked to model for me was my best mate, Mike Dunbar.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To my delight, he\u2019d
\njoined the air force and was in 3rd Course (1950-53) at the RAAF College, Point
\nCook. I was envious of [him], but had to be content with drawing the flying
\nmachine rather than actually flying them. Mike thought it was a great joke and
\nquite an achievement to make the grade turning out comics. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After the success of
\nSky Demons No. 1 and anticipating further comics, I [sought] assistance from
\nCadet Mike. Some of his 3rd Course Cadet friends would visit me in uniform at
\nthe Warlow Studio on their Saturday off and we\u2019d visit a coffee shop,
\nexhibition, or anything else worth looking at around Melbourne on a Saturday. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I already had a Type C
\nleather flying helmet from a disposal store, but asked Mike another RAAF
\nCollege Cadet, Ron Green, 4th Course, if they could possibly scrounge a loan of
\na flight overall and flying boots and bring them on a Saturday visit as I
\nwanted to know what gear a pilot wore. They obliged and I photographed them in
\ncostume on the roof of Howey Place Arcade<\/a> in Collins Street.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Above<\/b>: Mike Dunbar (left) posing in RAAF flight gear<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

I\u2019d kept in touch with
\nMike right up to the time he graduated, gained his wings and after a tour with 77
\nSquadron, RAAF, in Korea, he was posted abroad for a three-year stint in
\nGermany with the Royal Air Force, then back to RAAF Base East Sale<\/a> for duties
\nas instructor in the early-sixties.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We were great friends,
\nand I asked him to be godfather to my son, also named Michael.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I’d been with the agency
\nfor four years when in 1962, Flight Lieutenant Michael Dunbar was killed in a
\nterrible accent that wiped out four Vampire T33 two-seat trainers at the RAAF
\nbase in East Sale. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

They were rehearsing as part of the \u201cRed Sales\u201d aerobatic
\nteam when they crashed, killing all four pilots and two crew members. It was a
\nterrible shock, and I was unable to go to work the next day.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Notes from Vicki Sach:
\n(Daughter of Norm Clifford)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

After his career as a comic artist
\nground to a halt and with a young family to support, Norm began work as a
\ncommercial artist (known these days as a graphic designer). This was during an
\nera when all products for print advertising were illustrated by hand. He worked
\nfor major Melbourne advertising agencies before going freelance, setting up his
\ndrawing board in the lounge room of the family home in Glen Waverley during the
\n1970\u2019s. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of his first major
\nfreelance jobs was as advertising illustrator for the first Kmart store<\/a> to open
\nin Melbourne, located in Burwood. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Military aviation
\nremained his passion, and he became known for his accuracy and attention to
\ndetail when it came to illustrating vintage aircraft. He was asked to work for
\nthe Aviation Safety Digest<\/a>, and was commissioned to illustrate multiple
\nmagazine and book covers as well as air show posters. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Above<\/b>: Norman Clifford (left) in his studio, 1988<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In 1995, he was
\ncommissioned by Australia Post to paint a series of Australian military
\naviation stamps.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He completed many
\ncommissioned paintings for the RAAF and his artwork can be found at the Point Cook museum<\/a>, Australian air bases, the Australian War Memorial<\/a> and in many
\nprivate and corporate collections world-wide.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He was obsessed with
\nauthenticity\u2026his airplanes had to be as accurate as he could possibly paint
\nthem! Ditto pilots and personnel, and he would frequently dress his
\nlong-suffering family in vintage RAAF gear and photograph them in his back yard
\nto use for painting reference. If he couldn\u2019t buy or borrow what he needed, he
\nwould source specifications and make it himself, once mocking up two life-size
\nmachine guns made from wood, just so he could photograph a family member
\ndressed in full WW1 pilot gear complete with helmet and goggles, sitting on a
\nkitchen chair taking \u201caim\u201d at the enemy. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now 93 years old, Norm
\nis no longer able to paint after a minor stroke left him with balance issues.
\nBut his passion for all things military aviation remains as strong as ever!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The following images were sourced from these websites: Photo of John Warlow (Trove-National Library of Australia<\/a>); Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Special, no.174 & Christmas Comic (AusReprints<\/a>); Sky Demons Special, no.1 & excerpt from ‘Fools Rush In’ (Old Australian Pre-Decimal Comics up to 1966\/Facebook<\/a>). All other images from Norman Clifford Aviation Artist<\/a> and\/or courtesy of Vicki Sach\/One Horse Media<\/a>) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Above: Norman Clifford, Melbourne 1959 Norman Clifford was one of many talented and enterprising Australian artists who created opportunities for themselves in a competitive comic book market in the 1950s by creating stories which resonated with local audiences, and stood out among the American and British comics which crowded newsagents’ shelves at the time. His […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":312741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142522,142523,142524,142525,142526,142527,142528,142529,142530,142531],"tags":[4224,17657,142532,42355],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-312740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australian-comics","category-billy-battle","category-buck-rogers","category-dare-devil-comics","category-korean-war","category-norman-clifford","category-royal-australian-air-force","category-sky-demons","category-southdown-press","category-thrilling-space-adventures","tag-adventures","tag-aerial","tag-clifford039s","tag-norman"],"yoast_head":"\nNorman Clifford's Aerial Adventures - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Norman Clifford's Aerial Adventures - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Above: Norman Clifford, Melbourne 1959 Norman Clifford was one of many talented and enterprising Australian artists who created opportunities for themselves in a competitive comic book market in the 1950s by creating stories which resonated with local audiences, and stood out among the American and British comics which crowded newsagents’ shelves at the time. His […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-23T03:33:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AVvXsEg2wiSd2j4GbGcN2fFmejHWWfcPJlNKDJg7mp-G8GxWDlrFlaiWP8zqdFNsIUykgFAL2RMWZm888uIzM98iLWj2X_Nm8s6x.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"15 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Norman Clifford's Aerial Adventures\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-23T03:33:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740\"},\"wordCount\":3089,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AVvXsEg2wiSd2j4GbGcN2fFmejHWWfcPJlNKDJg7mp-G8GxWDlrFlaiWP8zqdFNsIUykgFAL2RMWZm888uIzM98iLWj2X_Nm8s6x.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Adventures\",\"Aerial\",\"Clifford039s\",\"Norman\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Australian comics\",\"Billy Battle\",\"Buck Rogers\",\"Dare-Devil Comics\",\"Korean War\",\"Norman Clifford\",\"Royal Australian Air Force\",\"Sky Demons\",\"Southdown Press\",\"Thrilling Space Adventures\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740\",\"name\":\"Norman Clifford's Aerial Adventures - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AVvXsEg2wiSd2j4GbGcN2fFmejHWWfcPJlNKDJg7mp-G8GxWDlrFlaiWP8zqdFNsIUykgFAL2RMWZm888uIzM98iLWj2X_Nm8s6x.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-23T03:33:49+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AVvXsEg2wiSd2j4GbGcN2fFmejHWWfcPJlNKDJg7mp-G8GxWDlrFlaiWP8zqdFNsIUykgFAL2RMWZm888uIzM98iLWj2X_Nm8s6x.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AVvXsEg2wiSd2j4GbGcN2fFmejHWWfcPJlNKDJg7mp-G8GxWDlrFlaiWP8zqdFNsIUykgFAL2RMWZm888uIzM98iLWj2X_Nm8s6x.jpeg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Norman Clifford's Aerial Adventures\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Norman Clifford's Aerial Adventures - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Norman Clifford's Aerial Adventures - Som2ny Network","og_description":"Above: Norman Clifford, Melbourne 1959 Norman Clifford was one of many talented and enterprising Australian artists who created opportunities for themselves in a competitive comic book market in the 1950s by creating stories which resonated with local audiences, and stood out among the American and British comics which crowded newsagents’ shelves at the time. His […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-11-23T03:33:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AVvXsEg2wiSd2j4GbGcN2fFmejHWWfcPJlNKDJg7mp-G8GxWDlrFlaiWP8zqdFNsIUykgFAL2RMWZm888uIzM98iLWj2X_Nm8s6x.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"15 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"Norman Clifford's Aerial Adventures","datePublished":"2025-11-23T03:33:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740"},"wordCount":3089,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AVvXsEg2wiSd2j4GbGcN2fFmejHWWfcPJlNKDJg7mp-G8GxWDlrFlaiWP8zqdFNsIUykgFAL2RMWZm888uIzM98iLWj2X_Nm8s6x.jpeg","keywords":["Adventures","Aerial","Clifford039s","Norman"],"articleSection":["Australian comics","Billy Battle","Buck Rogers","Dare-Devil Comics","Korean War","Norman Clifford","Royal Australian Air Force","Sky Demons","Southdown Press","Thrilling Space Adventures"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740","name":"Norman Clifford's Aerial Adventures - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AVvXsEg2wiSd2j4GbGcN2fFmejHWWfcPJlNKDJg7mp-G8GxWDlrFlaiWP8zqdFNsIUykgFAL2RMWZm888uIzM98iLWj2X_Nm8s6x.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-11-23T03:33:49+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AVvXsEg2wiSd2j4GbGcN2fFmejHWWfcPJlNKDJg7mp-G8GxWDlrFlaiWP8zqdFNsIUykgFAL2RMWZm888uIzM98iLWj2X_Nm8s6x.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AVvXsEg2wiSd2j4GbGcN2fFmejHWWfcPJlNKDJg7mp-G8GxWDlrFlaiWP8zqdFNsIUykgFAL2RMWZm888uIzM98iLWj2X_Nm8s6x.jpeg","width":1080,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=312740#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Norman Clifford's Aerial Adventures"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=312740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/312741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=312740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=312740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=312740"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=312740"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=312740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}