Virgil Reilly

• Born 1892-11-29 · Died 1974-01-23

During the 1910s Reilly drew for motion picture advertising, the magazine Lone Hand and the Melbourne Truth. He also drew propaganda and recruitment posters during the first world war. From the twenties, Reilly was staff artist at Smith’s Weekly. He drew political cartoons but was famous nationally for his sexy 'Virgil girls’. After Smith's Weekly closed in 1950, he became political cartoonist at the Sydney Daily Mirror and Melbourne's The Truth. He had work in the Bulletin, K.G. Murray's Man magazine, and the Australian Women’s Weekly. He illustrated books, notably Kenneth Slessor's Darlinghurst Nights (1933). Reilly's first comics were two 'Texas Cody' one-shots (1947) for publisher Joseph Swanson Wilkinson. He next drew 'The Invisible Avenger' (1950) for Illustrated, but completed just six issued due to workload. At this time, he created his long-running series 'Silver Flash' (1950-1955) for Invincible Press; was briefly responsible for the Chesty Bond advertising comic strip; and created 'Punch Perkins of the Fighting Fleet' (1950-1952) for Red Circle. His war stories subsequently continued in every third issue of Red Circle's Comics Library (1952-1954) and then in Jubilee's True Navy Combat (1954-1955). From 1955, he produced a number of one-off stories or one-shot comics for Calvert and other publishers, mostly not signed or credited. Reilly was married five times and had four sons. When a fire destroyed his Potts Point flat in 1968, a public 'Virgil Fund' was established to help him.