Steve Dillon: RIP
I
was shocked to read of the death of comic artist Steve Dillon at the end of last month.
I’ve loved his artwork since I bought the very first issue of Warrior back in early 1982. This comic (and Steve’s contribution to it) was a massive influence on me. I was just eleven when that first issue appeared without fanfare at my local newsagents. I didn’t know anything about it but Steve’s cover drew me in and, once I’d thumbed through the pages, I had to buy it. Fifty pence was half my pocket money but it was well worth it.
I didn’t know it then but Warrior contained a wealth of British talent who would go on to redefine the comic-book landscape over the coming decades: Alan Moore, Gary Leech, Alan Davis, David Lloyd, John Bolton, Steve Moore, Paul Neary, Steve Parkhouse, Grant Morrison, Jim Baikie, Brain Bolland and, of course, Steve Dillon. I still have the full run of Warrior comics. They’re battered, well worn, yellowed with age, but still full of originality, oozing the punk energy of young creative minds testing their abilities.
Steve drew Laser Eraser and Pressbutton, tucked away at the end of the comic. His clean realistic style appealed immediately and I studied his artwork for hours. There’s a natural storytelling style on display even in this early work, an understanding of timing and animation that gives his work a cinematic quality.
He made futuristic environments and vehicles look real, giving them a grubby detail that suggested age and decay.
He was the perfect artist for strips like Judge Dredd, drawing some of the most popular and enduring stories. 
Steve went on to co-create the comic anthology Deadline, a natural successor to Warrior, before working for the large american publishers. He’s probably best remembered for Preacher but for me Steve will always be the artist who captured my eleven-year-old imagination and took me on an adventure to dozens of different worlds.
Steve’s biography from Warrior comic #1
Alien comic images
- At June 19, 2012
- By Niel
- In Artwork, Blog
2
The excitement (and disappointment) around the release of Prometheus reminded me of some old artwork I made many years ago for an Aliens fanzine called Dropship. I did a couple of covers and some interior art, all black and white pen and ink drawings.
It terrifies me to realise I did these almost 20 years ago!
This first one was a cover image, and I remember enjoying doing it at the time. I always tried hard to make the black areas work, to give some shape and form to the characters. It was only weeks later that I realised I’d missed off the tail! How did that happen?
I tried to correct that on this second image, but still missed off the alien’s horns/spikes that run up its back. I was still learning about the alien’s anatomy and, in my defense, reference was pretty thin on the ground. I was trying to suggest an intelligence by putting the marine’s pulse rifle in the alien’s hand. The pose is quite balletic for an alien, but I enjoyed it, and this is porbably my favourite of these three. I don’t think I had the patience for the stipple effect in the background.
This third one is my least favorite, but at least its got all the right bits on – tail, horns etc. Its the pose that bothers me, its just not sinister or dynamic enough. We can’t tell if the alien is going to rip our throat out of sing to us. But I had fun doing those light shafts in the background, so it wasn’t all for nothing.
At the time I harboured ambitions to be a comic artist, but got sidetracked into animation instead. I’d still love to do some comic work one day, but the craft has advanced so much in the last two decades that I’d have a lot of catching up to do. I still prefer black & white art over coloured stuff though. I was brought up on black & white comics and I think its much easier to appreciate the artists work that way. Maybe one day I’ll get out the pen, inks and brushes again. Maybe.
