EXTRACTS: Illustrators Crime Comics Special © 2020 Book Palace Books (144 pages in full edition)

30 ABOVE: J udge Dredd cover art RIGHT: Armitage from Judge Dredd the Megazine 1991. FACING PAGE Phillips and Smith’s gay exorcist Devlin Waugh was a big hit with Megazine readers back in 1992. that he promptly phoned up Pat Mills and insisted that he “give this kid some work”. Thinking that he would soon be working for 2000AD , Sean continued with his studies and the occasional commission that his agent sent him. But the 2000AD connection was a long time in coming to fruition, and it was subject matter closer to home that was destined to iniate a flow of regular work. Judy & Co . comics provided the young artist with a lead and a regular cover spot. His eye for youth fashion, coupled with his greatly enhanced drawing skills, pleased the readers and the editorial team at DC Thomson were keen to give him more work. His breakout from girls’ comics occurred when Fleetway launched a new fortnightly comic, Crisis, aimed at a slightly more adult market than 200AD . The new commission proved to be timely both in the short term, as Sean had just left college, and in the longer term, as the market for girl’s comics was rapidly coming to an end. Working on strips such as New Statesmen and Third World War he really began to experiment and developed a way of painting comic strips within a relatively tight deadline. The work with Fleetway blossomed, at the time Sean was first living in London with his wife to be Janette. Being able to deliver artwork in person as well as providing a quality service, ensured he got a lot of cover assignments for 2000 AD on top of his strip work. When Fleetway launched Judge Dredd The Megazine Sean was able to turn his design skills to great effect, creating both the logo and the overall look of the title. The Megazine Copyright © 2020 Rebellion Ltd Text continued from page 26