English comic book artist and writer
John Higgins (born 1949) is an English
comic book artist and writer. He did significant work for
2000 AD , and he has frequently worked with writer
Alan Moore , most notably as
colourist for
Watchmen .
Biography
John Higgins was born in
Walton , Liverpool. After leaving school when he was 15, he joined the
army and, on leaving, spent some time in a
commune in Wiltshire. He returned to Liverpool and, in 1971, resumed his studies at
Wallasey College of Art .
[2] There, in 1974 he qualified in
technical illustration , which allowed him to get a job as a
medical illustrator at
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust .
[3]
After getting his first comic book art published in
Brainstorm Comix in 1975, he drew the cover for
2000 AD No. 43 in 1977
[4] and decided to go freelance in 1978, with an eye on becoming a comic artist. In 1981 he started getting regular work at 2000 AD , one of his early projects being the art for a
Tharg's Future Shocks by
Alan Moore , as well as doing covers for
Marvel UK .
After this he worked steadily at 2000 AD and joined the
British Invasion in the mid-eighties—notably doing the colouring on Moore's
Watchmen and
Batman: The Killing Joke , a job he got through colouring
Steve Dillon 's art on Moore's
ABC Warriors story.
[5] This led to more work in the American market, although he has kept working on British titles too, especially with
Judge Dredd over 20 years.
He provided the art for
Greysuit with
Pat Mills , as well as working with
Justin Gray and
Jimmy Palmiotti on
The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning
[6] and
Jonah Hex No. 28.
[7]
Higgins is also a writer. He wrote and drew his first Future Shock at 2000 AD and did the same for
Razorjack , a comic book mini-series from
Com.x , which was reprinted in 2009.
[5]
[8]
Higgins has worked in a number of different areas providing artwork for animation, film and book covers like
The Cabinet of Light and
The Morgaine Stories . In 2012, Higgins worked on the
Before Watchmen project, drawing the serialised feature "Curse of the Crimson Corsair" which was initially written by
Len Wein .
[9] Higgins later became the writer of the feature as well.
[10]
In 2016 he provided the art for six
stamps commemorating the
Great Fire of London , illustrating them in the style of a comic strip.
[11]
In 2017 a collection of his artwork was exhibited at the
Victoria Gallery & Museum in Liverpool, in an exhibition called Beyond Dredd & Watchmen: The Art of John Higgins.
[12]
Bibliography
Comics work includes:
Brainstorm No. 5 (1975)
Brainstorm Fantasy Comix No. 1: "TIT Company" (script and art, 1977)
Graphixus No. 5 "Barbarian" (1978)
Battlestar Galactica :
Battlestar Galactica Annual (art on various stories, Grandreams, 1978)
Mission Galactica Annual (art on various stories, Grandreams, 1980)
Tharg's Future Shocks :
"Together" (script and art, in
2000 AD No. 108, 1979)
"The Last Rumble of the Platinum Horde" (with
Alan Moore , in 2000 AD No. 217, 1981)
"Salad Days" (with Alan Moore, in 2000 AD No. 247, 1982)
"Horn of Plenty!" (with
Kelvin Gosnell , in 2000 AD No. 248, 1982)
"The Bounty Hunters" (with Alan Moore, in 2000 AD No. 253, 1982)
"No Picnic" (with Alan Moore, in 2000 AD No. 272, 1982)
"Car Wars" (with
Peter Milligan , in 2000 AD No. 434, 1985)
"Project Salvation" (with Peter Milligan, in 2000 AD No. 436, 1985)
One-Off :
"Last Thought" (with
Steve MacManus , in 2000 AD No. 202, 1981)
"Hot Item" (with Alan Moore, in 2000 AD No. 278, 1982)
Joe Black (with Kelvin Gosnell):
"Joe Black's Tall Tale!" (in 2000 AD No. 241, 1981)
"The Hume Factor" (in 2000 AD No. 252, 1982)
"Joe Black's Big Bunco" (in 2000 AD No. 56, 1982)
Time Twisters (with Alan Moore):
"Einstein" (in 2000 AD No. 309, 1983)
"The Startling Success of Sideways Scuttleton" (in 2000 AD No. 327, 1983)
Grailquest (with
James Herbert Brennan ):
The Castle of Darkness (1984)
The Den of Dragons (1984)
The Gateway of Doom (1984)
Voyage of Terror (1986)
Kingdom of Horror (1986)
Realm of Chaos (1987)
Tomb of Nightmares (1987)
Legion of the Dead (1987)
ABC Warriors : "Red Planet Blues" (colours, short story, with writer Alan Moore and art by
Steve Dillon , in 2000 AD Annual 1985 , 1984)
Judge Dredd :
"Crime Call" (with
John Wagner /
Alan Grant , in Judge Dredd Annual 1986 , 1985)
"Beggars' Banquet" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD No. 456, 1986)
"Letter From a Democrat" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD No. 460, 1986)
"The Exploding Man" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD No. 471, 1986)
"Russell's Inflatable Muscles" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD No. 480, 1986)
"Phantom of the Shoppera" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #494–495, 1986)
"On the Superslab" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD No. 504, 1986)
"Revolution" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #531–533, 1986)
"
Oz " (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #564–565, 1987)
"Last of the Bad Guys" (with John Wagner, in Judge Dredd Annual 1988 , 1987)
"The Blob" (with Alan Grant, in Judge Dredd Mega Special 1988 )
"Joe Dredd's Blues" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD Annual 1989 , 1988)
"Breakdown on 9th Street" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD #620–621, 1989)
"The Shooting Match" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD No. 650, 1989)
"Ex-Men" (with
Garth Ennis , in 2000 AD No. 818, 1993)
"Scales of Justice" (script and art, in 2000 AD #884–885, 1994)
"Casualties of War" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD No. 900, 1994)
"Caught Short " (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD No. 953, 1995)
"My Son the Hero" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD No. 955, 1995)
"Generation Killer" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD #1212, 2000)
"Citizen Sump" (with John Wagner, in
Judge Dredd Megazine #4.12–4.12, 2002)
"
Monkey on My Back" (with Garth Ennis, in Judge Dredd Megazine #204–206, 2003)
"Fat Christmas" (with John Wagner, in Judge Dredd Megazine No. 227, 2005)
"What's Another Year?" (with
Al Ewing , in Judge Dredd Megazine No. 292, 2009)
"
Tour of Duty : The Talented Mayor Ambrose" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD #1674–1678, 1684–1685, March–May 2010)
"Idle Hands" (with Al Ewing, in Judge Dredd Megazine No. 303, November 2010)
"Served Cold" (with Al Ewing, in 2000 AD #1718–1725, January–March 2011)
"Unchained" (with
Michael Carroll , in Judge Dredd Megazine #316–317, November–December 2011)
Zoids Special #1: "A War Between Blue and Red Zoids on Planet Zoidstar" (inks, with writer
Steve Parkhouse and pencils by
Johnny Aldrich ,
Marvel UK , 1986)
Watchmen (colours, with Alan Moore and art by
Dave Gibbons ,
DC Comics , 1986)
Freaks :
"Freaks" (with Peter Milligan, in 2000 AD #542–547, 1987)
"Faces" (art and co-authored with
Mindy Newell , in 2000 AD #1412–1419, 2004)
Batman: The Killing Joke (colours, with Alan Moore, and art by
Brian Bolland , DC Comics, 1988)
Doctor Who : "Follow that TARDIS!" (with
John Carnell ,
Doctor Who Magazine No. 147, 1989)
Death's Head (with
Simon Furman ):
"Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling!" (Death's Head No. 5, Marvel UK, 1989)
"Clobberin' Time!" (pencils, with inks by
Geoff Senior , Death's Head No. 5, Marvel UK, 1989)
"Keepsake" (The Incomplete Death's Head #4–5, 1993)
World Without End (with
Jamie Delano , six-issue mini-series, DC Comics, 1990)
The Thing from Another World (with
Chuck Pfarrer , two-issue mini-series, 1991–1992,
Dark Horse Comics , collected in Thing from Another World and Climate of Fear , 1993,
ISBN
1-878574-85-X )
[13]
The Spider (with
Mark Millar and
David Hine , in 2000 AD Action Special , 1992)
Mutatis (with
Dan Abnett /
Andy Lanning , three-issue mini-series,
Epic Comics , 1992)
Scarlet Witch (with Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning, four-issue mini-series,
Marvel Comics , 1994)
Batman : "Storm" (with
Andrew Donkin and
Graham Brand ,
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight No. 58, DC Comics, 1994)
What If...? vol. 2 #65: "What if Archangel fell from grace?" (pencils, with Simon Furman and inks by
Martin Griffiths , Marvel Comics, 1994)
Blood Syndicate #24: "Things Fall Apart" (pencils, with
Ivan Velez Jr. and inks by
Bobby Rae ,
Milestone Media , 1995)
Chopper : "Supersurf 13" (with
Alan McKenzie , 2000 AD #964–971, 1995)
Vector 13 : "Case Two: Trinity" (with Simon Furman, in 2000 AD #989, 1996)
Hellblazer #129–139:
Son of Man (with Garth Ennis,
Vertigo , 1998–1999,
tpb collects #129–133, 2004,
Titan Books ,
ISBN
1-84023-830-5 , DC Comics,
ISBN
1-4012-0202-0 )
[14]
Haunted (with
Warren Ellis , Vertigo, 1999, tpb collects #134–139,
Titan Books ,
ISBN
1-84023-362-1 , DC Comics,
ISBN
1-56389-813-6 )
[15]
Razorjack (script and art, two-issue mini-series,
Com.x , 2001, tpb, 100 pages, March 2009,
ISBN
1-60743-817-8 )
Pride & Joy (with Garth Ennis, four-issue limited series, Vertigo, tpb, 2003
ISBN
1-4012-0190-3 )
[16]
War Story : "D-Day Dodgers" (with Garth Ennis,
one-shot , Vertigo, 2001, collected in tpb War Stories: Volume 1 , 2004,
ISBN
1-84023-912-3 )
[17]
Identity Disc (pencils, with
Robert Rodi and inks by
Sandu Florea , five-issue mini-series, Marvel Comics, 2004, tpb,
ISBN
0-7851-1567-6 )
Thunderbolt Jaxon (with Dave Gibbons, five-issue mini-series, 2006,
Wildstorm , tpb, 2007,
ISBN
1-4012-1257-3 )
Meet Darren Dead (with
Rob Williams ):
"Meet Darren Dead" (in Judge Dredd Megazine No. 240, 2006)
"Eats, Shoots & Kills" (in Judge Dredd Megazine #287–289, 2009)
The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning (with
Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray,
Fox Atomic Comics , 2007,
ISBN
9780061243547 )
Greysuit (with
Pat Mills ):
"Project Monarch" (in 2000 AD #1540–1549, 2007)
"The Old Man of the Mountains" (in 2000 AD Prog 2009 and #1617–1624, 2008–2009)
Jonah Hex No. 28 (with Jimmy Palmiotti and
Justin Gray , DC Comics, February 2008)
Before Watchmen "Curse of the Crimson Corsair" backup feature (with
Len Wein , DC Comics, August 2012 – February 2013)
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1 "The Devil in the Deep... Part One" Artist August 2012
Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #1 "The Devil in the Deep... Part Two" Artist August 2012
Before Watchmen: Comedian #1 "The Devil in the Deep... Part Three" Artist August 2012
Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #1 "The Devil in the Deep... Part Four" Artist August 2012
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #1 "The Devil in the Deep... Part Five" Artist September 2012
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #2 "The Devil in the Deep... Part Six" Artist September 2012
Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #2 "The Devil in the Deep... Part Seven" Artist September 2012
Before Watchmen: Comedian #2 "The Devil in the Deep... Part Eight" Artist September 2012
Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #2 "The Devil in the Deep... Part Nine" Artist October 2012
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #2 "The Devil in the Deep... Part Ten" Artist October 2012
Before Watchmen: Rorschach #1 "The Evil That Men Do... Part One" Artist October 2012
Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #1 "The Evil That Men Do... Part Two" Writer/Artist October 2012
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #3 "The Evil That Men Do... Part Three" Writer/Artist October 2012
Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #3 "The Evil That Men Do... Part Four" Writer/Artist November 2012
Before Watchmen: Comedian #3 "The Evil That Men Do... Part Five" Writer/Artist November 2012
Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #3 "The Evil That Men Do... Part Six" Writer/Artist November 2012
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #3 "The Evil That Men Do... Part Seven" Writer/Artist November 2012
Before Watchmen: Rorschach #2 "The Evil That Men Do... Part Eight" Writer/Artist December 2012
Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #2 "Wide Were His Dragon Wings Part One" Writer/Artist December 2012
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #4 "Wide Were His Dragon Wings Part Two" Writer/Artist December 2012
Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #4 "Wide Were His Dragon Wings Part Three" Writer/Artist December 2012
Before Watchmen: Comedian #4 "Wide Were His Dragon Wings Part Six" Writer/Artist December 2012
Before Watchmen: Moloch #1 "Wide Were His Dragon Wings Part Four" Writer/Artist January 2013
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #4 "Wide Were His Dragon Wings Part Five" Writer/Artist January 2013
Before Watchmen: Rorschach #3 "Wide Were His Dragon Wings Part Eight" Writer/Artist January 2013
Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #3 "Wide Were His Dragon Wings Part Nine" Writer/Artist January 2013
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #5 "Wide Were His Dragon Wings Part Seven" Writer/Artist February 2013
Before Watchmen: Moloch #2 "Wide Were His Dragon Wings Conclusion" Writer/Artist February 2013
References
Further reading
"Interrogation: Anatomy of an Artist" (interview with
Michael Molcher , in Judge Dredd Megazine No. 281, 2009)
External links
Comics Adaptations
Characters
Parodies See also
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International National Other