David Niven - Actor, Raconteur, step-son of Southsea, and Comic-Book star

[Ed note: Well, just got under the wire with at least one article for the month of July. Apologies for the delay - life and Mini Cooper rallies got in the way. - Baggsey]

As long-time readers of this blog will know, Portsmouth and Southsea has sent forth many illustrious celebrities who subsequently made their mark not only in popular culture, but also in the world of comics. In these pages, we’ve taken a look at Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arthur Conan Doyle. H. G. Wells, and others. This week we take a look at one of the world's most beloved actors, the late David Niven’s involvement with Portsmouth, and his subsequent impact on comics.

© Dell, Marvel and DC. The many comic-book appearances of David Niven

In his 1971 autobiography The Moon's A Balloon,  Niven talks about attending school in Southsea. It was, apparently, a school for naughty boys and located somewhere in or near Kent Road. He was sent there as a punishment, having been expelled from his previous public school.

He does not mention the exact year, but it was probably around 1922, when he was twelve years old. Being taken by car from Portsmouth and Southsea station, he recalled: ‘I can always remember Southsea Common: flat, greasy, wet and windswept with a dejected flock of dirty sheep morosely munching its balding surface.’

‘ The car stopped at a dreary house in a shoddy row. The "school" for "difficult" boys was run by a Commander Bollard. ‘

Niven appears to have spent only three or four weeks there before being shipped off to a ‘crammer’ to get him sufficiently capable of passing an entrance exam to a more reputable institution, but the experience left its mark.

Reading his very entertaining biography, Niven obviously employed a measure of artistic license in his descriptions. However, there must be some truth in the story, and it is likely that Niven was talking about Annesley House, a maritime training school in Queen’s Crescent, just off Kent Road. 

The intersection of Kent Road, Castle Road and Southsea Common may very well turn out to be the nexus of popular comics culture, with Niven being schooled within minutes of both the birthplace of Peter Sellers (who went on to portray Fu Manchu ), and the second-hand comic shop where Nigel Brown and I had our own “Edgar Church Collection” comic-buying experience in 1971, as documented here.

David Niven went on to have a glittering film career in Hollywood, and his likeness has graced comics from the late 1950s to the current decade, first in adaptations of his films, and later as the template for both a well-known villain and hero. Whether Niven ever gave permission for the use of his likeness, or was even aware of his involvement in comics, we shall never know.

#1 Around the World in Eighty Days - Dell - 1956

The earliest appearance of Niven’s likeness (that I could find) in comics was in the Dell comic adaptation of the film Around the World in Eighty Days - directed by Michael Anderson in 1956.

© Dell. Four Color Movie Classic Comic (No. 784) – December 18, 1956

Dell decided to adapt the film of the Jules Verne story "Around the World in 80 Days" in its Dell Four Color Movie Classic Comic (No. 784) – published December 18th, 1956. The story was adapted by Gaylord Du (Space Family Robinson) Bois with art by Mike (Justice League of America, Man from U.N.C.L.E.) Sekowsky & Mike (G-8 and his Battle Aces) Peppe. 

The likeness of David Niven as Phileas Fogg is well rendered by Sekowsky, although a comparison of the opening scene in the comic and the same scene in the film makes it quite clear that Sekowsky had either not seen a cut of the movie, or was drawing it from memory.

© Dell. Opening scene drawn by Mike Sekowsky

© MGM. Phileas Fogg at the Reform Club.

#2 David Niven as villain Sinestro - Green Lantern #7-#9 - 1961 

It has become commonly accepted in the comics community that the likeness of the Green Lantern villain Sinestro, as drawn by Gil Kane, was based on David Niven. However, despite many searches, I cannot find any source interview with Gil Kane that asserts this as fact.  

© DC. Green Lantern #8. Art by Gil Kane.

Sinestro was created in 1961 by John Broome and Gil Kane as an adversary for Hal Jordan. Sinestro first appeared in Green Lantern #7 in a story written by John Broome, and pencilled by Gil Kane and inked by Joe Giella. 

Gil Kane despised Joe Giella’s inking, as he stated in an interview in Alter Ego #149, reprinted from Fantasy Advertiser #100 (1988): "Unfortunately I also had Joe Giella for years. I thought that Giella was, generally speaking, a nice guy – but he was probably the most inept single inker that ever worked professionally in comics."

The earliest mention of the Niven/Sinestro connection I have found is in a Wizard article by Jeremy Brown posted on June 2007 - seven years after Kane's passing - where Brown notes that artist Gil Kane reported noted that Sinestro's appearance was based upon British actor David Niven, but quotes no source.

According to an interview with actor Mark Strong on April 10, 2010, the relationship between Sinestro and Jordan is based in part on the actors who inspired their creation.

“That widow’s peak and thin mustache was for some reason originally based on David Niven, and Hal Jordan was based on Errol Flynn,” said Strong. “In the ‘30s and ‘40s, they shared an apartment together in Hollywood when they were making movies and they were great friends. Obviously at the time, whoever was doing the original comics must have looked at them as guys doing very well in the film industry, and based those characters on them. So I would like to do justice to the Sinestro that was conceived for the comic books.”

Personally, I feel that any claim for a deliberate likeness between Sinestro and David Niven is pretty tenuous, unless any reader can put me right on this matter? Gil Kane confirmed that he based Morbius on Jack Palance in a 1999 interview, so anything is possible.

#3 Niven in '55 Days at Peking' - 1963 - Dell - film adaptation

© Gold Key

© Gold Key. Artwork by Mike Sekowsky

The comic is an adaptation of the film 55 Days at Peking, which tells the story of a siege during the Chinese Boxer Rebellion of 1899-1901. As detailed in the blogintomystery website, the comic does a pretty good job following the film's narrative. The panel above shows Charlton Heston’s and Niven’s characters (an American Marine officer and the British ambassador, respectively) trying to reason with the Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi and her corrupt minion. The artwork, as in 80 Days Around The World, is by Mike Sekowsky. 

Mike Sekowsky’s likeness of David Niven is less accurate than his Phileas Fogg rendition of 7 years earlier, and Charlton Heston’s likeness is very vague indeed.

#4 Percy 'Pinky' Pinkerton - July 1964 - Marvel - Sgt Fury & His Howling Commandos

Niven's next appearance was as Percy 'Pinky' Pinkerton in the July 1964 issue of Sgt Fury & His Howling Commandos, playing an effete British Officer replacing the Juniper character in issue #8, "The Death Ray of Doctor Zemo". Niven can be seen on the cover in the lower right-hand corner.

© Marvel 1964

Artist Dick Ayers said in a subsequent interview that Stan Lee had told him to base the likeness on Niven, which bears some similarities to Niven's performance in The Guns of Navarone.

© Marvel. Sgt Fury July 1964. Percy Pinkerton's introduction

Pinkerton is introduced as a mistakenly effete individual, who quickly proves himself to be made of tougher stuff. Pinkerton has continued to be an ongoing member of the Commandos in comics, as well as being portrayed by actor Richard Short in episode 5 of the first TV season of Agent Carter. 

#5 Sarsfield - 1976 - Marvel - Master of Kung Fu

Niven's next appearance was twelve years later as MI6 communications officer Ward Sarsfield in Master of Kung Fu 1976, #47 “Phantom Sand” , from the Creative Team of Doug Moench & Paul Gulacy. The character Sarsfield is named after the real name of Sax Rohmer (creator of Fu Manchu).

Sarfield made six appearances in Master of Kung Fu, the last being in the June 1979 issue #77.

Gulacy admitted in a 1999 interview that he often used celebrities' likenesses for characters for fun, agreeing the deliberate likeness to Niven.

#6 Niven as Alfred Pennyworth - Batman's Grave #1  - 2019

Niven's most recent, and most iconic, comic's performance has been as Alfred Pennyworth in The Batman's Grave, a 2019 limited series from Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch.

© DC Comics.

Of all the likenesses of Niven over the years, this is the most lifelike. 

Bryan Hitch told Den of Geek “I have been tempted to redraw Alfred’s face a bit but only because it’s come out more David Niven-y that I’d planned on. I’ve found actually that, as far as expressions go, less is always more. Over dramatize and you lose the emotion so, given the dialogue I get, I try to do as little as possible with the faces and hint at emotion and expression."

Perhaps Niven's appearance as Alfred will be his swansong in comic books. It amazes me that it has been sixty-six years since he first appeared in the pages of a comic book. There may be other appearances that I have missed ; if you're aware of any others, please let me know.