Colin Wilson (comics)

Colin Wilson
Colin Wilson (2012)
Born	31 October 1949 Christchurch, New Zealand
Nationality	New Zealand
Area(s)	Artist
Notable works	Rogue Trooper Blueberry Judge Dredd Star Wars: Invasion
Awards	2004: Best Story Prix Saint-Michel
http://colinwilsonart.com/

Colin Wilson (born 13 October 1949) is a New Zealand comic book artist.

He is known for his detailed artwork which he used in 2000 AD stories like Rogue Trooper and Judge Dredd. According to Andy Diggle, the 2000 AD editor who got him back to the title in the late nineties and has worked with him since, "no one ... draws near-future military hardware like him".^[1]

Wilson has also had success in the French comics field, working on his own title Dans l'Ombre du Soleil, as well as having runs on well-established titles, like Blueberry. David Bishop. Another 2000 AD editor says that Wilson is "a true rarity, a comics artist whose work has been acclaimed in America, Britain and most especially in Europe."^[2]

Biography

Born in Christchurch, Wilson received his formal training as an artist at Christchurch School of Art in 1967-1968. Working as an illustrator, he started his own fanzine, Strips, in 1977. Originally meant as a showcase for Wilson's own comics, Strips soon hosted many New Zealand comics and revived the New Zealand comic scene. In 1980, he first moved to London and did work for 2000 AD, working on Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper before moving to France in 1982. In 1997, he moved to Australia, but continued his work for Europe and 2000 AD.

Wilson produced a series in La Jeunesse de Blueberry, entitled Dans L'Ombre du Soleil. His works in the US include Point Blank, written by Ed Brubaker, and Star Wars: Invasion, written by Tom Taylor.^[3]

On 14 October 2008, Variety reported that his graphic novel Du Plomb Dans La Tete, also known as Headshot, written by Matz and illustrated by Colin Wilson, had been acquired by Warner Brothers.^[4] It was adapted into the 2012 film Bullet to the Head.

In 2000 he drew a long story for Italian western comics character Tex Willer, written by Claudio Nizzi and published by Sergio Bonelli Editore.

Bibliography

Comics

• The Adventures of Captain Sunshine (with Peter Farrell, Roy Middleton, Reuben Sandler, Helen Cross, Joe Wylie and Jean-luc Bozzoli, 1979)
• Judge Dredd:
  • "The Body Sharks" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #209-215, 1981)
  • "The Numbers Racket" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #218-219, 1981)
  • "Diary of a Mad Citizen" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #229-230, 1981)
  • "The Sweet Taste of Justice" (with Alan Grant, in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1981)
  • The Doomsday Scenario:
    • "War Games" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD #1158-1159, 1999)
    • "Doomsday" (with John Wagner, in Judge Dredd Megazine #3.56-3.57, 1999)
    • "Volt Face" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #1167, 1999)
    • "Short Circuit" (with John Wagner, in Judge Dredd Megazine #3.61, 2000)
    • "The Cal Legacy" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #1178-1179, 2000)
  • "Relentless" (with Robbie Morrison, in 2000 AD #1237-1239, 2001)
  • "Hellbent" (with Robbie Morrion, in 2000 AD #1242, 2001)
  • "Magic Bullets" (with Al Ewing, in Judge Dredd Megazine #280-281, 2009)
• Tharg's Future Shocks (with Kelvin Gosnell):
  • "Diversion" (in 2000 AD #222, 1981)
  • "Seeing Is Believing" (in 2000 AD #225, 1981)
• Rogue Trooper (with Gerry Finley-Day):
  • "Ascent to Buzzard-Three" (in 2000 AD #236-238, 1981)
  • "Blue Moon" (in 2000 AD #241, 1981)
  • "Fear of the Machine" (in 2000 AD #246-248, 1982)
  • "The Buzzard" (in 2000 AD #251-253, 1982)
  • "War of Nerves " (in 2000 AD #258, 1982)
  • "All Hell on the Dix-I Front" (in 2000 AD #266-271, 275-277, 1982)
  • "Marauder" (with co-artist Cam Kennedy, in 2000 AD #282-289, 1982)
• Dans l'Ombre du Soleil (Glénat):
  • Rael (script and art, January 1984, ISBN 2-7234-0419-6)
  • Mantell (script and art, July 1986, ISBN 2-7234-0647-4)
  • Alia (art, with writer Thierry Smolderen, January 1989, ISBN 2-7234-1014-5)
• La Jeunesse de Blueberry #4-9 (4-6 with Jean-Michel Charlier and 7-9 with François Corteggiani, 1985–1994):
  • Les démons du Missouri (The Missouri Demons)
  • Terreur sur le Kansas (Terror Over Kansas)
  • Le raid infernal (The Train from Hell)
  • La pousuite impitoyable (The Merciless Pursuit)
  • Trois hommes pour Atlanta (The Three Men from Atlanta)
  • Le prix du sang (The Price of Blood)
• Thunderhawks #1-2 (with writer François Corteggiani and co-artist Michel Suro, 1992–1994)
• Pulp Sci-Fi:
  • "Welcome to the Machine" (with Kek-W, in 2000 AD #1119, 1998)
  • "The Irydian Factor" (with Robbie Morrison, in 2000 AD #1125, 1998)
• Tor Cyan (with John Tomlinson):
  • "World Of Hurt" (in 2000 AD #1254-1256, 2001)
  • "The Dead Sorcerer's Coachman" (in 2000 AD #1263, 2001)
• Rain Dogs (with Gordon Rennie, in 2000 AD #1213-1222, 2000, tpb, Rebellion, 52 pages, hardcover, 2002, ISBN 1-904265-01-4)
• Point Blank (with Ed Brubaker, Wildstorm, 2002–2003)
• Du plomb dans la tête (aka Headshot) (with Matz, Casterman):^[5]
  • Les Petits poissons (January 2004)
  • Les Gros poissons (February 2005)
  • Du bordel dans l'aquarium (January 2006)
• Losers #26-28: "UnAmerica" (with Andy Diggle, Vertigo, 2005)
• Battler Britton (with Garth Ennis, 5-issue mini-series, Wildstorm, 2006, tpb, 120 pages, Wildstorm, May 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1378-2, Titan Books, June 2007, ISBN 1-84576-560-5)
• Star Wars:
  • Legacy (with John Ostrander and Jan Duursema):
    • "Trust Issues" (in Legacy #9-10, 2007)
    • "Ready to Die" (in Legacy #13, 2007)
  • Rebellion:
    • "Small Victories" (with Jeremy Barlow, in Rebellion #12-14, 2008, ongoing)
    • "Vectors" (with Rob Williams, in Rebellion #15-16, 2008, forthcoming)
  • Invasion (with Tom Taylor):
    • "Refugees" (in Invasion #1-5 and #0, 2009)
• Bionic Commando: Chain of Command (with Andy Diggle, game tie-in, forthcoming)^[6]
• The Example (with Tom Taylor, graphic novella, Gestalt Publishing, May 2009, ISBN 0-9775628-4-0)

Other

Apart from his work on comics listed above, Colin Wilson has also done a lot of work as an illustrator, doing covers, illustrations and sketches for many different projects. This also includes work on role-playing games like:

• Mega-City One in Drokk City Prog 2: Mega-City One: Book 2, written by John Caliber, many different co-artists (2005)
• Mega-City One in Drokk City Prog 3: The Justice Department, written by John Caliber, many different co-artists (2006)
• Mega-City One in Drokk City Prog 4: Future Crime, written by John Caliber, many different co-artists (2005)

Awards

• 2004 - won Best Story, Prix Saint-Michel, for Du plomb dans la tête

Notes

1. Diggle: Bringing Bionic Commando to Webcomics, Newsarama, 18 July 2008
2. Colin Wilson: Genius at work, by David Bishop, 24 July 2006
3. NYCC: Colin Wilson Readies the Troops for “Star Wars: Invasion”, Comic Book Resources, 7 February 2009
4. Warner aims for 'Headshot', Variety, 14 October 2008
5. Casterman profile for Du plomb dans la tête
6. Bionic Command comic page

References

• Colin Wilson at the Comic Book DB
• Colin Wilson at 2000 AD online
• Colin Wilson at Lambiek's Comiclopedia
• Colin Wilson at Bedetheque (French)

External links

• Personal blog
• Website

Interviews

• Interview with Colin Wilson at New Zealand Comics