Robot Archie, Lion (1970) by Kearon

"Return of the Sludge" by E. George Cowan (Ted Cowan, Edward George Cowan). Fleetway. Cover date April 18, 1970.

Title stat "Robot Archie Versus the Sludge" is likely for a reprint. The page was cut in half to fit smaller reprint formats and taped back together. The popular black-and-white series was reprinted in other countries including the Netherlands where it was called Archie de Man van Staal (Archie the Man of Steel) but colored and redrawn to give his companions a more contemporary look.

Robot Archie is an appealing character. Armed with a sword, Archie talks like the Hulk (before the Hulk's creation), boasting about his strength and protecting his chums Ted Ritchie and Ken Dale who call him tin-bonce, tin-ribs, and the like.

The Blob-like Sludge was a formidable foe created by the mixing of radioactive fallout and sulfur from a volcanic eruption. Invulnerable to heat, cold, and military weapons, he could absorb and control objects and living things including Robot Archie. Fire extinguisher foam and formic acid such as in ant spray can kill him, although inevitably a bit of Sludge is left somewhere for him to return.

What drew my attention besides Robot Archie is the Sludge-controlled Centurion tank he's fighting. The British developed Centurion tanks in response to superior German Panther and Tiger tanks, albeit too late for use during the war. They were used, however, during the Korean War and became the mainstay of the British military for decades. The Israeli military also had them in the 1967 Six-Day War, 1973 Yom Kippur War, 1978 South Lebanon conflict, and 1982 Lebanon war.

Although not the first artist on Robot Archie, Ted Kearon drew most of the run including the stories from 1957 to 1971 and during a brief revival in 1973-74. Not much is known about the artist's life besides his Fleetway and DC Thomson comics work.

(Sources: Facebook, Lambiek Comiclopedia, Rebellion's Treasury of British Comics, Wikipedia)