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CREATOR PROFILE:

DAVE GIBBONS

Biography:

Dave Gibbons (1949 - ) cut his teeth on underground comics and fanzines before becoming a frequent contributor to 2000AD, illustrating Harlem Heroes, Dan Dare, and co-creating Rogue Trooper. Since then, he has drawn and written for most comics publishers on both sides of the Atlantic. His work has encompassed Doctor Who, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Predator, Aliens, the Hugo Award winning Watchmen and the Martha Washington series.

Essential Reading:


Watchmen
with Alan Moore
DC Comics, 1986-1987

It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero called Rorschach. But is Rorschach really insane or has he in fact uncovered a plot to murder super-heroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians? On the run from the law, Rorschach reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives, but what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet. Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story.

Eddie Campbell says:
Collossal and intricate clock of a comic, thoroughly calculated on every level, using only the ingredients of the American superhero comic.

Neil Gaiman says:
Moore’s writing is remarkable. He catches the rhythms of speech so naturally, presents his world so seamlessly, that the whole seems effortless… Gibbon’s art has never been better. Each panel a semiotician’s heaven… undoubtedly the most ambitious work of science fiction since Gene Wolfe’s Book Of The Sun, and the most ambitious and, in my opinion, most successful graphic novel ever.



The Originals
DC/Vertigo, 2004

Dave Gibbons has drawn on his love of Mod culture to create an all-new, semi-autobiographical graphic novel. The story chronicles the struggles of two friends, Lel and Bok, in a strangely-familiar future, Dealing in classic teenage themes such as alienation, gangs, girls, drugs and violence, the centre of the struggle is the urgent need of the boys to join the coolest of the cool: the ice-cold gang called The Originals. Slapping the Mod movement into the face of the Austin Powers generation.

Paul Gravett says:
His Mod-like Earth-2 comes fully realised, not in black and white but in shades of grey. The clothes, the clubs, the girls, the drugs, in a rites-of-passage tale that grows out of Dave Gibbons’ eternal teenage years.



The Life & Times Of Martha Washington
In The Twenty-First Century

with Frank Miller
Dark Horse, 2009

The complete life story of Martha Washington, the twenty-first century freedom fighter in one volume. Our story begins in the squalid corridors of a maximum-security housing project, where a young girl will rise from the war-torn streets of Chicago to battle injustice in a world insane with corruption. Her fight will take her far, from the frontlines of the second American Civil War, to the cold, unforgiving reaches of space. She will be called a hero, a traitor, and nearly everything in between, but all along the way, her courage, her integrity, and her unwavering commitment to that most valuable of rights-liberty-will inspire a movement that will never surrender.

Dave Gibbons says:
...it was some time after [Frank Miller] had done Dark Knight Returns and I’d done Watchmen and it was an obvious thing really. We’d got to know each other quite well, and one day one of us said “wouldn’t it be really good to do something together?” And it kind of all sprang from that… Looking at the subject matter, it’s very strange the way politics kind of go around the block and back again. With the American forces trying to keep peace in the world is as topical today as it was when Frank wrote it back in the ‘90s.



Watching The Watchmen
with Chip Kidd
Titan Books, 2008

The ultimate companion to a comics masterpiece, Dave Gibbons gives his own account of the genesis of Watchmen, opening his vast personal archives to reveal never-published pages, original character designs, page thumbnails, sketches and much more, including posters, covers and rare portfolio art.

Dave Gibbons says:
I’ve had a great time, re-visiting the very beginnings of Watchmen and unearthing material I haven’t set eyes on for many years. As a fan myself, this is the kind of stuff I eat up and I’m sure the many devotees of the graphic novel will do the same!

 

Bibliography:

As Writer/Artist:
The Originals (2004)
Watching The Watchmen (2008) with Chip Kidd

With Alan Moore:
The Big Heat in Tom Strong #6 (2000)
The Spirit: The New Adventures #1 (1998)
Watchmen #1-12 (1986-1987)
For The Man Who Has Everything in Superman Annual #11 (1985)
Mogo Doesn’t Socialize in Green Lantern #188 (1985)
Chronocops in 2000AD #310 (1983)
The Wild Frontier in 2000AD #269 (1982)
The Disturbed Digestions Of Doctor Dibworth in 2000AD #273 (1982)
Return Of The Thing in 2000AD #265 (1982)
Skirmish in 2000AD #267 (1982)

With Frank Miller:
Give Me Liberty #1-4 (1990)
Martha Washington Goes To War #1-5 (1994)
Happy Birthday, Martha Washington #1 (1995)
Martha Washington Stranded In Space #1 (1995)
Martha Washington Saves The World #1-3 (1997)
Martha Washington Dies #1 (2007)

Doctor Who Comics:
The Iron Legion with Pat Mills & John Wagner
Dragon’s Claw with Steve Moore & Steve Parkhouse
The Tides of Time with Steve Parkhouse

As Writer:
Batman vs Predator (1991) with Andy Kubert & Adam Kubert
World’s Finest #1-3 (1990) with Steve Rude

Links:

Official Site:
Dave Gibbons

Online Resources:
Paul Gravett’s Articles
Dave Gibbons Fan Site

Publishers:
Dark Horse
DC Comics
Rebellion / 2000AD

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