Citizendia

John Wagner

Born1949
Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)writer
Pseudonym(s)John Howard
T. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern B. Grover
Mike Stott
Keef Ripley
Rick Clark
Brian Skuter
Notable worksJudge Dredd
Robo-Hunter
A History of Violence

John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. For the 1995 film see Judge Dredd (film. For the Reggae / Ska performer see Judge Dread. Robo-Hunter is a recurring strip in the British Comic 2000 AD, initially written by John Wagner and illustrated by Ian Gibson This article is about the graphic novel For the film see A History of Violence (film. Comics (via Latin from the Greek "" kōmikos, of or pertaining to "comedy" from kōmos "revel" The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since. Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics' is a Comics writer and editor who along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s and A British comic is a periodical published in the United Kingdom that contains comic strips

He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, for which he created Judge Dredd. For the 1995 film see Judge Dredd (film. For the Reggae / Ska performer see Judge Dread. He is noted for his taut, violent thrillers and his black humour. The thriller is a broad Genre of Literature, Film, Gaming and Television.

Contents

Biography

Early career

Wagner started his career as a sub-editor at D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd in the 1960s, where he met Pat Mills. D C Thomson & Co Ltd, is a publishing company based in Dundee, Scotland, best known for producing Oor Wullie, The Broons The pair left to go freelance in 1971, writing for various IPC comics. A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer This is a list of Comics -related events in 1971. Related year entries List of years in comics | 1970 in comics | 1971 in comics IPC Media is one of the United Kingdom 's leading consumer Magazine and digital publisher with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year Wagner later edited the girls comics Sandie and Princess Tina, often adding increasingly bizarre storylines in order to not only amuse himself, but to see if anyone actually read the strips! He briefly left comics in 1974, but returned to help Mills develop Battle Picture Weekly to compete with DC Thompson's Warlord title. Battle Picture Weekly, at various time also known as Battle Action Force, Battle and Battle with Storm Force Battle was the first title in a wave of tougher boys’ comics IPC were to produce during the 1970s. In Battle, he most notably wrote Darkie's Mob, a tough World War II action series which was among one of the most popular strips in the comic. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including He also edited Valiant, for which he wrote the tough cop series One-Eyed Jack based upon the film Dirty Harry, and scripted the spy strip Dredger for Mills's Action. Dirty Harry is a 1971 Crime film produced and directed by Don Siegel.

2000 AD

In 1976 Mills brought Wagner in as script adviser for the new science fiction title 2000 AD. This is a list of Comics -related events in 1976. Related year entries List of years in comics | 1975 in comics | 1976 in comics Among Wagner 's contributions was M.A.C.H. 1, a thinly disguised copy of The Six Million Dollar Man, who appeared in the first issue. MACH 1 directs here for the Thunderbolts member formerly known as M The Six Million Dollar Man is an American Television series about a fictional Cyborg working for the OSI (which was usually said to refer A more enduring character, however, had to be held over until issue 2. Judge Dredd began as another tough cop in the Dirty Harry mould, but the strip's futuristic setting allowed Wagner to push the crime and punishment theme to extremes, often to satirical effect. Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human The character was initially visualised by artist Carlos Ezquerra, who left the strip unhappy at having to share it with other artists. Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra (born November 1947 in Zaragoza) who has also worked under the alias L Wagner also briefly left in the pre-publication stages over a dispute over ownership, but soon returned. Judge Dredd quickly became the most popular story in 2000AD. Some important early stories, notably "The Return of Rico" and "The Cursed Earth", were written by Pat Mills and contributed much to the character's development. Rico Dredd is a Fictional character in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD magazine The Cursed Earth is the second extended storyline of the Judge Dredd character to appear in Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics' is a Comics writer and editor who along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s and

Wagner also created Robo-Hunter, with artist Ian Gibson, under his 'T. Robo-Hunter is a recurring strip in the British Comic 2000 AD, initially written by John Wagner and illustrated by Ian Gibson Ian Gibson is a British Comic book Artist, best known for his 1980s Black-and-white work for 2000 AD. B Grover' pseudonym. A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) This strip also proved highly popular and in 1978, Wagner and Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra went on to create Strontium Dog for Starlord, a spin off title which would eventually merge with 2000 AD. Strontium Dog is a long-running Comics series featuring in the British Science fiction weekly 2000 AD, starring Johnny Starlord was a shortlived weekly British Science fiction comic published by IPC in 1978 as a sister title to After the merge, Strontium Dog would become as popular as Judge Dredd and Robo-Hunter. For the 1995 film see Judge Dredd (film. For the Reggae / Ska performer see Judge Dread. Robo-Hunter is a recurring strip in the British Comic 2000 AD, initially written by John Wagner and illustrated by Ian Gibson

By 1980 Wagner was now writing the majority of his work in partnership with his housemate Alan Grant, although most of their stories were credited to either Wagner alone (under one of his pseudonyms) or Grant alone. Alan Grant (born 1949 is a Scottish Comic book writer known for writing Judge Dredd in 2000 AD as well as various Some stories, such as Ace Trucking Co., were credited to "Grant/Grover" to ensure both writers' got an equal share of the proceeds. Ace Trucking Co is a Comedy Science fiction series that featured in the comic 2000 AD from 1981 to 1986. Throughout the rest of the 1980s Wagner and Grant were writing the majority of strips in 2000 AD, Battle, the relaunched Eagle and others, although writers such as Alan Moore, Peter Milligan and Grant Morrison also created notable strips for 2000 AD during this time. Alan Moore (born November 18 1953 in Northampton) is an English Writer most famous for his influential work in Comics, including the acclaimed Peter Milligan is an British writer best known for his Comic book, film and television work Grant Morrison (born January 31 1960 is a Scottish Comic book writer and artist

American work in the 1980s

Wagner and Grant became part of the so-called "British Invasion" of American comics during the 1980s. The British Invasion of American comics is a term used to describe the influx in the late 1980s of British comics creators especially writers In 1987 their first title, a mini-series called Outcasts, was published by DC Comics with Cam Kennedy as artist. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Campbell ("Cam" Kennedy is a Scottish Comics artist He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, especially the flagship titles Outcasts was well received, though it never sold in great quantities, and this success led to the pair writing Batman in the pages of Detective Comics from issue 583. Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a fictional Comic book Superhero co-created Detective Comics is an American comic book published monthly by DC Comics since 1937 best-known for introducing the iconic Superhero Batman The pair also created the bleak nuclear dystopia The Last American for Epic Comics with longtime Dredd artist Mike McMahon. The Last American is a four-issue comic book mini-series released by Marvel 's Epic Imprint in 1990. Epic Comics was a creator-owned Imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982 lasting through the mid-1990s and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s Michael (known as Mike or Mick) McMahon is a British Comics Artist best known for his work on 2000 AD characters Wagner says it was The Last American which broke his regular writing partnership with Grant, although Grant says a dispute over the ending of the Judge Dredd story "Oz" was also important. Oz is a mini-series featured in the comic 2000 AD, running for 26 episodes (Progs 545 to 570 from 24th October 1987 to 16th April 1988 They split their work between them: Wagner kept Judge Dredd, while Grant continued Strontium Dog and Judge Anderson and became the sole writer of Detective Comics. Judge Cassandra Anderson is a comics Fictional character that started as a supporting character in the comic strip Judge Dredd of 2000 AD Although the two continue to collaborate from time to time, they have never resumed a full time partnership.

The Bogie Man and the 1990s

In 1989 the first issue of The Bogie Man was released. Events January Invasion! crossover event in DC Comics February March April May June The Bogie Man is a Comic book series created by writers John Wagner and Alan Grant and artist Robin Published by Fat Man Press, the title was meant to tie in with Glasgow's position as European City of Culture in 1990. Fat Man Press was set up by John McShane of the Glasgow comic shop AKA Books and Comics in 1989 Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one Calendar year during which it is given a chance to showcase its Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Although the title suffered from shipping delays it became Britain's biggest selling independently published comic ever. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

Wagner had become disillusioned with 2000 AD and writing Judge Dredd during this time, and set out on what was proposed to be his last Dredd story, entitled Necropolis. "Necropolis" is a 26-part Judge Dredd epic by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, published in 1990 in 2000 AD progs He had also become part of the creative team on Toxic!, a new weekly comic set up in direct competition to 2000 AD. Toxic! was a British weekly Comic book published by Apocalypse Ltd. Apart from The Bogie Man, most of Wagner's strips were rejected for Toxic! as they did not fit in with editor Pat Mills plans for the comic. Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics' is a Comics writer and editor who along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s and Of his other strips, Button Man, with illustration by Arthur Ranson, ended up in 2000 AD, where it has spawned three sequels, while another, Al's Baby, a comedy about a gangster who becomes the first man to carry and give birth to a child, drawn by Carlos Ezquerra, was published in the Judge Dredd Megazine in 1990. Button Man is a comic strip created for leading British comic 2000 AD, written by John Wagner and illustrated by Arthur Ranson. Arthur James Ranson (1939 -) is an English illustrator whose fine line penwork and attention to visual detail has led to the misapplied epithet 'photo-realistic' Judge Dredd Megazine is a monthly British Comic magazine, launched in October 1990.

Wagner decided to remain writing for 2000 AD, and Toxic! was eventually cancelled when the publishers went bankrupt in 1991. Events January February March April X-Force debuts in New Mutants vol In that same year, he co-wrote the Batman/Judge Dredd crossover Judgement on Gotham with Alan Grant, with Simon Bisley providing art. Judgement on Gotham is the first of four Batman and Judge Dredd crossover Comic books published by Simon Bisley (born March 4 1962) is a British Comic book artist best known for his 1990s work on ABC Warriors, Lobo The crossover was a huge hit and helped convince Wagner to remain on Dredd, while writing for American publishers on titles such as Dark Horse Comics' Aliens and Star Wars titles, the latter notably featuring solo stories starring the popular Boba Fett character. Dark Horse Comics is one of the largest independent American Comic book publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics Aliens is the key word in the titles of a number of Comic book Limited series and one-shots first published by Dark Horse Comics in 1988 and set in the Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded Boba Fett is a Fictional character and Anti-hero from the Star Wars universe.

1995 saw the release of the second of his works adapted for the screen (a Bogie Man film had been made by BBC Scotland in 1992 starring Robbie Coltrane, but was not well received and a series was never made). Robbie Coltrane, OBE (born 30 March 1950) is a Scottish Actor, comedian and author Judge Dredd was a big budget version of the comic based loosely on an early Dredd strip in 2000 AD. Judge Dredd is a 1995 Action film directed by Danny Cannon, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider Wagner and Grant were invited to write a treatment for the script but were offered no money for doing so, and declined. A film treatment (or treatment for short is a piece of prose typically the step between scene cards ( Index cards and the first draft of a Screenplay for Dredd was played by Sylvester Stallone and many critics felt this was a poor choice in casting. Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6 1946 is an American Actor, director, producer and Screenwriter. The film did poorly both critically and at the box office. After this Wagner was reluctant to allow any of his works to be made into a film.

In 1997 Wagner wrote his first original graphic novel, A History Of Violence, drawn by Vince Locke for the Paradox Press imprint of DC Comics. Events January Avengers ( 1996 series #3 - Marvel Comics Captain America ( A This article is about the graphic novel For the film see A History of Violence (film. Vincent Locke is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Deadworld and A History of Violence. Paradox Press is a division of DC Comics. It was designed to publish Graphic novels that were not of the superhero genre as comprises most of DC's publishing efforts DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company The book was very well received critically but did not sell well. Paradox also reprinted the original Bogie Man story.

Present day work

Wagner remains a prolific writer for 2000AD. He still writes the majority of Judge Dredd strips each year, as well as his Button Man strip among others. For the 1995 film see Judge Dredd (film. For the Reggae / Ska performer see Judge Dread. Button Man is a comic strip created for leading British comic 2000 AD, written by John Wagner and illustrated by Arthur Ranson. In 2002 he co-wrote with Andy Diggle the first Judge Dredd/Aliens crossover, Incubus, which was co-published by Dark Horse Comics and 2000 AD. Andy Diggle is a British Comic book writer and former editor of 2000 AD. Judge Dredd vs Aliens is an Intercompany crossover, featuring the Judge Dredd and the Alien from the film Alien franchise Dark Horse Comics is one of the largest independent American Comic book publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics

In 2005 his graphic novel A History Of Violence was adapted into a film, directed by David Cronenberg and starring Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris. This article is about the graphic novel For the film see A History of Violence (film. A History of Violence is an Academy Award nominated 2005 crime thriller Film directed by David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg OC, FRSC (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian Film director and occasional Actor. Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr (born October 20 1958 is a Golden Globe - and Academy Award -nominated Danish American Theater and movie Edward Allen "Ed" Harris (born November 28 1950 is a four-time Academy Award -nominated and Golden Globe -winning American actor writer and director Wagner had backed the film once he saw the group of actors Cronenberg had gathered. The film has been highly praised and was nominated for the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2005. The Palme d'Or ( English: Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded to competing films at the Cannes Film Festival. The Cannes Film Festival (le Festival de Cannes founded in 1946 is one of the world's oldest most influential and prestigious Film festivals alongside Venice, Future mooted film productions include a Button Man movie.

Wagner has said he intends to retire from writing Judge Dredd at some point when a suitable replacement writer has been found, occasionally hinting that he favours fellow Scot Gordon Rennie. Gordon Rennie is a former music journalist turned Comics writer responsible for White Trash Moronic Inferno, as well as several Comic strips for However, in the meantime he has launched one of the biggest Dredd 'epics' yet - "Origins", intended to flesh out the still sketchy background for the Judge Dredd character. "Origins" is one of the longest Judge Dredd storylines to run in the pages of British comic 2000 AD.

He is a supporter on the Moniaive comics festival held annually each September. Moniaive is a village in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway, near Thornhill, on the A702 road and B729 road.

John currently resides in the Shropshire countryside with his Wife.

Pseudonyms

Wagner is famous for writing under various pseudonyms. A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) This was due to him writing entire issues of comics during the 1970s and 1980s. The best known are John Howard, T. B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter (Brian Skuter was later used as a character in Judge Dredd, a reporter who wrote a bad article on Judge Death and was killed by him).

Bibliography

Comics work includes:

Notes

  1. ^ Death, Lies, & Treachery at the Comic Book DB
  2. ^ Shadows of the Empire at the Comic Book DB
  3. ^ "The Jabba Tape" at the Comic Book DB
  4. ^ Enemy of the Empire at the Comic Book DB
  5. ^ "Sacrifice" at the Comic Book DB

References

External links

Interviews

Banzai Battalion are a group of recurring characters created by John Wagner, that appears in 2000 AD. Ian Gibson is a British Comic book Artist, best known for his 1980s Black-and-white work for 2000 AD. US publications --> Events and publications Year overall February March Ian Gibson is a British Comic book Artist, best known for his 1980s Black-and-white work for 2000 AD. Events January February March April May June July August September Steve Roberts is a British Comics artist best known for his work on the long-running humour strip Bec & Kawl (written by Simon Spurrier Events January January 1 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons David Bishop is an award-winning screenwriter and author Born in New Zealand, he was a UK comics editor during the 1990s running such titles as the Judge Dredd Rebellion is a British Computer games company based in Oxford, who are most famous for the first Aliens versus Predator computer game The Grand Comic-Book Database ( GCD) is an Internet -based project to build a Database of Comic book information with the aim that this database Dark Horse Comics is one of the largest independent American Comic book publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics
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