Bryan Talbot (born 24 February 1952) is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and its sequels Heart of Empire and The Legend of Luther Arkwright, as well as the Grandville series of books. He collaborated with his wife, Mary M. Talbot to produce Dotter of Her Father's Eyes, which won the 2012 Costa biography award.[1]
Bryan Talbot | |
---|---|
Born | Wigan, Lancashire, England, UK | 24 February 1952
Area(s) | Writer, Penciller, Inker, Colorist |
Pseudonym(s) | Véronique Tanaka |
Notable works | The Adventures of Luther Arkwright Heart of Empire Alice in Sunderland The Tale of One Bad Rat Grandville |
Awards | Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: Reprint (1996) Haxtur Award for Best Long Comic Strip (1999) Inkpot Award (2000) Costa biography award (2012) |
https://www.bryan-talbot.com |
Early life
editBryan Talbot was born in Wigan, Lancashire,[2] on 24 February 1952.[3] He attended Wigan Grammar School, the Wigan School of Art, and Harris College in Preston, Lancashire, from which he graduated with a degree in Graphic Design.[4]
Career
editTalbot began his comics work in the underground comix scene of the late 1960s. In 1969 his first work appeared as illustrations in Mallorn, the British Tolkien Society magazine,[5] followed in 1972 by a weekly strip in his college newspaper. He continued in the scene after leaving college, producing Brainstorm Comix, the first three of which formed The Chester P. Hackenbush Trilogy, a character reworked by Alan Moore as Chester Williams for Swamp Thing.[6]
Talbot started The Adventures of Luther Arkwright in 1978. It was originally published in Near Myths and continued on over the years in other publications, including Pssst! and by the publisher Valkyrie Press. It was eventually collected into one volume by Dark Horse Comics. Along with Raymond Briggs' When the Wind Blows, it is considered one of the first British graphic novels.[citation needed] In the early-to-mid 1980s Talbot provided art for some of 2000 AD's flagship serials, producing three series of Nemesis the Warlock, as well as occasional strips for Judge Dredd.
Talbot moved to the U.S. market in the 1990s and principally worked for DC Comics on titles such as Hellblazer,[7] Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, and Dead Boy Detectives. Talbot collaborated with Neil Gaiman on The Sandman and provided art for the "Fables & Reflections", "A Game of You", and "Worlds' End" story arcs.[8][9] His The Tale of One Bad Rat (1994) deals with a girl's recovery from childhood sexual abuse. He drew The Nazz limited series which was written by Tom Veitch and worked with Tom's brother Rick Veitch on Teknophage, one of a number of mini-series he drew for Tekno Comix. Talbot has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game. He has illustrated Bill Willingham's Fables,[10] as well as returning to the Luther Arkwright universe with Heart of Empire.
In 2006, he announced the graphic novel Metronome, an existential, textless erotically charged visual poem,[11][12] written under the pseudonym Véronique Tanaka.[13] He admitted that he was the author in 2009.[14] Talbot turned down an offer to appear in character as Tanaka for an in-store signing of the work.[15]
In 2007 he released Alice in Sunderland, which documents the connections between Lewis Carroll, Alice Liddell, and the Sunderland and Wearside area.[16] He wrote and drew the layouts for Cherubs!, which he describes as "an irreverent fast-paced supernatural comedy-adventure."[17]
In 2019 it was reported that Talbot was producing the third installment in the Arkwright series, titled The Legend of Luther Arkwright,[18] which was published by Dark Horse in 2022.
In April 2024, it was announced that Talbot will be inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame, the highest accolade for comic writers and artists from across the world.[19]
Awards and recognition
edit- 1985 Eagle Award for Favourite Character for Torquemada, from Nemesis the Warlock [20]
- 1988:
- Eagle Award for Favourite Artist (British)[21]
- Eagle Award for Favourite New Comic, for The Adventures of Luther Arkwright
- Eagle Award for Favourite Character (UK), for Luther Arkwright
- Eagle Award for Favourite Comic Cover, for The Adventures of Luther Arkwright
- 1989 Society of Strip Illustration Mekon Award for "Best British Work" for The Adventures of Luther Arkwright[22][23]
- 1995 UK Comic Art Award for Best New Publication for The Tale of One Bad Rat
- 1996 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: Reprint, for The Tale of One Bad Rat
- 1999 Haxtur Award, for Best Long Comic Strip for The Tale of One Bad Rat
- 2000 Inkpot Award[24]
- 2007:
- BSFA Award nominee, Best Novel, for Alice in Sunderland
- Nominated for "Award for Favourite Comics Writer/Artist" Eagle Award[25]
- Nominated for "Favourite Original Graphic Novel" Eagle Award, for Alice in Sunderland
- 2008: Nominated for "Best Painter or Multimedia Artist (interior art)" Eisner Award.[26]
- 2009 Talbot was given an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by University of Sunderland in July 2009, the first time this has been done for a comic book artist.[27]
- 2010: Nominated for "Favourite Original Graphic Novel Published During 2009" Eagle Award for Grandville
- 2012:
- Talbot was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters on 17 July 2012 by Northumbria University in recognition of his lifetime's work in the graphic novel field.[28]
- Winner of the Costa biography award for Dotter of Her Father's Eyes, with Mary Talbot.[1]
- Prix SNCF for "Best Bande Dessinée 2012" for Grandville Mon Amour[29]
- 2014: Guest of honor at NordicFuzzCon.
- 2018: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Bibliography
edit2000 AD
editTharg's Future Shocks
edit- "The Wages of Sin" (with Alan Moore, in 2000 AD No. 257, 1982)
Ro-Busters
edit- Ro-Busters: "Old Red Eyes is Back" (with Alan Moore, in 2000AD Annual 1983, 1982)
Nemesis the Warlock
edit- "The Gothic Empire (Book IV)" (in 2000 AD No. 390–406, 1984–1985)
- "Vengeance of Thoth (Book V)" (in 2000 AD No. 435–445, 1985)
- "Torquemurder (Book VI)" (in 2000 AD No. 482–487 and 500–504, 1986–1987)
- Torquemada: "The Garden of Alien Delights" (with Pat Mills, in Diceman No. 3, 1986)
Sláine
edit- "The Time Killer" (with Pat Mills, in 2000 AD No. 431, 1985)
Judge Dredd
edit- "House of Death" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in Diceman No. 1, 1986)
- "Last Voyage of the Flying Dutchman" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD No. 459, 1986)
- "Judge Dredd and the Seven Dwarves" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in Judge Dredd Annual 1987, 1986)
- "Ladies' Night" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000AD Annual 1987, 1986)
- "Caterpillars" (script by Michael Carroll, coloured by Alwyn Talbot, in 2000 AD No. 1730, April 2011)
Enemy Alien
edit- "Enemy Alien" (with script and pencils Mike Matthews, in 2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1987)
Memento
edit- "Memento" (in 2000 AD Prog 2002, 2001)
Ad Astra
edit- Frank Fazakerly, Space Ace of the Future (October 1978 - September 1981)[2]
Avatar Press
edit- Nightjar (with Alan Moore, in Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths No. 1, Avatar Press, 2003)
Brainstorm Comix
editChester P. Hackenbush, the Psychedelic Alchemist
edit- "Out of the Crucible", in Brainstorm Comix #1 (Alchemy, 1975)
- "From Here to Infinity", in Brainstorm Comix #2 (Alchemy, 1976)
- "A Streetcar Named Delirium", in Brainstorm Comix #4 (Alchemy, 1977)
Amazing Rock'n'Roll Adventures
edit- "The Omega Report", in Brainstorm Comix #6 (Alchemy, 1978)
Dark Horse Comics
edit- The Tale of One Bad Rat (1995, ISBN 1-56971-077-5)
DC Comics/Vertigo
edit- Hellblazer Annual No. 1 (written by Jamie Delano, 1989)
- The Nazz (written by Tom Veitch, issue #1 coloured by Steve Whittaker and issues #2-4 coloured by Les Dorscheid, 1990 - 1991)
- Batman: Dark Legends (reprints Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight No. 39 – 40, 50, 52 – 54, 1996, ISBN 1-85286-723-X)
The Sandman
edit- The Song of Orpheus (in Sandman Special 1, inks by Mark Buckingham, coloured by Daniel Vozzo, 1991)
- A Game of You (DC Comics, 1991–1992, ISBN 1-56389-089-5 )
- Fables and Reflections (DC Comics, 1991–1993, ISBN 1-56389-105-0 )
- Worlds' End (DC Comics, 1993, ISBN 1-56389-170-0)
- The Dreaming No. 9–12 (writer, with artists Dave Taylor (No. 9) and Peter Doherty (No. 10–12), DC Comics, February–May 1997)
- The Dead Boy Detectives (with Ed Brubaker, Vertigo, four-issue mini-series, 2001)
Shade, the Changing Man
edit- The Santa Fe Trail (written by Peter Milligan, inks by Mark Pennington, coloured by Daniel Vozzo, August 1991)
Fables
edit- Bag o’Bones (with Bill Willingham, Vertigo, 2004, ISBN 1-4012-0256-X)
Desperado Publishing
edit- Cherubs! (with Mark Stafford, graphic novel, 104 pages, Desperado Publishing, November 2007, ISBN 0-9795939-9-9)
Jonathan Cape
edit- Alice in Sunderland (graphic novel, Jonathan Cape, April 2007, ISBN 978-0-224-08076-7)
- Dotter of Her Father's Eyes (written by Mary M. Talbot, 2012)
- Sally Heathcote: Suffragette ( written by Mary Talbot, lettering, layouts and rough pencils by Bryan, finished artwork by Kate Charlesworth, 2014)
- The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia (written by Mary M. Talbot, 2016)
- Rain (Graphic Novel) (written by Mary M. Talbot, 2019)
Grandville
edit- Grandville (graphic novel, 104 pages, November 2009)
- Grandville Mon Amour (graphic novel, 104 pages, December 2010)
- Grandville Bête Noire (graphic novel, 104 pages, December 2012)
- Grandville: Nöel (graphic novel, Jonathan Cape, November 2014)
- Grandville: Force Majeure (graphic novel, Jonathan Cape, November 2017)
Luther Arkwright
edit- The Papist Affair (in The Mixed Bunch 1, 1976)
- The Adventures of Luther Arkwright (various publishers: 1978–1989, ISBN 1-56971-255-7)
- For A Few Gallons More (with Chris Welch, in Moon Comics 3, 1979 Street Comics)
- The Fire Opal of Set (in Imagine 14, 1984 TSR UK Ltd)
- Heart of Empire: Or the Legacy of Luther Arkwright (Dark Horse Comics, nine-issue limited series, 1999, ISBN 1-56971-567-X)
- The Legend of Luther Arkwright (Dark Horse Books, 2022, ISBN 9-781-50673-647-1)
Moonstone Books
edit- The Naked Artist: Comic Book Legends. Calumet City, Illinois: Moonstone Books. 2007. ISBN 978-1-933076-25-6.
NBM Publishing
edit- The Art of Bryan Talbot (96 pages, NBM Publishing, December 2007, ISBN 1-56163-512-X)
- Metronome (as Véronique Tanaka,[14] 64 pages, NBM Publishing, May 2008, ISBN 1-56163-526-X)
Sounds
edit- Scumworld (credited to The Crabs from Uranus, 1983 – 1984)
Tekno Comix
edit- Neil Gaiman’s Mr. Hero the Newmatic Man (Issue #1, 6 pages pencils and inks, written by Rick Veitch, coloured by Angus McKie, 1995)
- Neil Gaiman’s Mr. Hero the Newmatic Man (Issue #2, 5 pages, inked by Angus McKie (1995, Tekno Comix Written by Rick Veitch, coloured by Angus McKie, 1995)
- Neil Gaiman’s Wheel of Worlds One shot, 11 pages (1995, Tekno Comix Written by Rick Veitch, coloured by Angus McKie,)
- Neil Gaiman's Teknophage (pencils only, written by Rick Veitch, Issues #1-6, 1995-1996)
- Neil Gaiman's Phage: Shadow Death (script, with pencils by David Pugh and inks by Tim Perkins, six-issue limited series, Tekno Comix, June–November 1996)
Other
edit- Superharris with Bonk in Hac, Harris College's Student Newspaper 1971 - 1972)
- Brainworms (script by Matthias Schultheiss, in Crisis presents the Second Xpresso Special, 1991)
References
edit- ^ a b "Hilary Mantel wins 2012 Costa novel prize". BBC News. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ a b Ó Méalóid, Pádraig (1 October 2009). "The road from Wigan Pier: Bryan Talbot talks with Pádraig Ó Méalóid, part one". Forbidden Planet. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ Miller, John Jackson (10 June 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Iola, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011.
- ^ "Bryan Talbot: biography". The Official Bryan Talbot website. n.d. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- ^ "Bryan Talbot". Lambiek Comiclopedia. 2012. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012.
- ^ Whitson, Roger (Winter 2007). "Engraving the Void and Sketching Parallel Worlds: An Interview with Bryan Talbot". ImageTexT. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012.
- ^ Irvine, Alex (2008). "John Constantine Hellblazer". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The Vertigo Encyclopedia. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 102–111. ISBN 978-0-7566-4122-1. OCLC 213309015.
- ^ Bender, Hy (1999). The Sandman Companion. New York City: DC Comics. pp. 266–270. ISBN 978-1563894657.
- ^ Burgas, Greg (7 January 2013). "Comics You Should Own – Sandman". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 10 April 2014.
- ^ Irvine, "Fables" in Dougall, pp. 72–81
- ^ "A Graphic Poem..." Down The Tubes. 16 July 2006. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (17 July 2006). "Lying in the Gutters Volume 2 Column 61". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 27 September 2008.
- ^ Ó Méalóid, Pádraig (2 October 2009). "Rabbit Holes, Detective Badgers, and Cherubs Part Two of Bryan Talbot's Interview with Pádraig". Forbidden Planet. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ a b Gordon, Joe (14 April 2009). "Shaved her leg and then he was a she". Forbidden Planet. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ Holland, Stephen (2009). "Talbot Unmasked". Metronome.shadowgallery.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
It's a shame you never came to sign here, as I suggested at the time, in high heels, wig and lipstick.
- ^ Robertson, Ross (27 March 2007). "News focus: Alice in Pictureland". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 2 April 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
- ^ Gravett, Paul (2007). "Bryan Talbot: An Artistic Wonder From Wearside". Paul Gravett. Archived from the original on 24 October 2007.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (21 August 2009). "After Twenty Years, Bryan Talbot Returns With 'The Legend of Luther Arkwright'". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ Leatherdale, Duncan (7 April 2024). "Bryan Talbot: The comics legend lurking in a Sunderland basement". BBC News. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "Eagle Awards Previous Winners 1985". Eagle Awards. 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013.
- ^ "Eagle Awards Previous Winners 1988". Eagle Awards. 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013.
- ^ Johnston, Rich. "After Twenty Years, Bryan Talbot Returns With 'The Legend of Luther Arkwright'," Bleeding Cool (August 21, 2019).
- ^ Freeman, John. "Timelord Talbot!", DownTheTubes.net (29 July 2012).
- ^ "Inkpot Award Winners". Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012.
- ^ "Eagle Awards Previous Winners 2008". Eagle Awards. 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013.
- ^ Brady, Matt (14 April 2008). "2008 Eisner Award Nominees Named". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009.
- ^ "University honour for comic book artist". Sunderland Echo. 18 July 2009. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012.
- ^ "Honour for ground-breaking writer and artist". Northumbria University. 17 July 2012. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012.
- ^ FREEMAN, JOHN (4 June 2012). "Bryan Talbot scoops SNCF Award for Grandville Mon Amour". DownTheTubes.net.
External links
edit- Official site
- Bryan Talbot at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Bryan Talbot at the Grand Comics Database
- Bryan Talbot at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
- "Memento" and "From Homogenous to Honey", free online comics by Talbot
- The Moorcock Effect Archived 1 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine by Bryan Talbot, Heliotrope 5, 2008
Interviews
edit- British Comics Month – Bryan Talbot speaks, Forbidden Planet, 26 July 2006
- Curioser and curioser – Bryan draws on Alice, Sunderland Echo, 17 March 2008