Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman

F.A.Q.—FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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QUESTION 1: When, where, and by whom was Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman created?

ANSWER: David Boswell created Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 29th of June, 1977. A Wednesday.

QUESTION 2: When and where did Reid Fleming first appear in print?

ANSWER: 9 June 1978, in Vancouver's Georgia Straight, #550.

QUESTION 3: When, and by whom, was the first Reid Fleming comic book published?

ANSWER: October 1980—by the artist.

QUESTION 4: Was Reid Fleming inspired by an employee of the (now defunct) Vancouver sea food restaurant, The Only?

ANSWER: For some years after Reid's appearance, people would ask me if his look and demeanor derived from a certain gentleman who worked at this famous eatery on Hastings Street. Never having been to The Only, I had to say "no"; Reid was "invented" before I came to Vancouver.

Nonetheless, I was intrigued by the frequency of this query, and one day in September 1983, quite by chance, found myself very near The Only. Camera in hand (as ever), I approached the restaurant and was amazed when, at that exact moment, the man himself—it had to have been he—emerged woozily, pausing to light a cigarette. His movements suggested the recent intake of several refreshing libations.

Quickly and surreptitiously, I took two photographs, the second of which was shot blind. (That is to say, the camera was aimed without looking through the finder.) And they weren't too bad. The guy really did resemble Reid Fleming!

(Vancouver photographer Lincoln Clarkes told me several years ago that this man was no longer living.) Here are the two photos, taken Wednesday 21 September 1983 (the numbers below the photos are the negative numbers):

83-006-29

83-006-30

More to come!!

2 February 2023