Celebrating 2000AD 46th birthday

Art by Chris Weston

Few days ago, the extraordinary British artist CHRIS WESTON posted the above, fantastic illustration on his Facebook page. He added: "Happy 46th Birthday to the comic that changed my life and  paid a good chunk of my mortgage! Cheers, 2000 AD!" The first issue dated 26 February 1977.

You can recognize some familiar faces: Halo Jones and Waldo "D.R." Dobbs.

Marvelman vs. Kid Marvelman by Chris Weston

Art by Chris Weston.

Above a gorgeous sketchbook commission by the incredible CHRIS WESTON featuring Marvelman fighting Johnny Bates aka Kid Miracleman.

Marvelman by Chris Weston

Art by Chris Weston.

Above, a gorgeous portrait of Marvelman by the great CHRIS WESTON. A generous gift by Chris for my personal collection.Thank you, Chris!

More info about Chris Weston and his works: here.

Chris Weston talks about Moore

A sketch of Allan Quatermain drawn by Chris Weston at Bristol Con 2003.

The following contribution written by amazing comics artist Chris Weston was originally published in Ultrazine's Alan Moore Special in 2002.

Chris Weston: So what have I got to say about Alan Moore? Not much. Never worked with him; never met him; haven't even read an interview by him. Let's face it, I'm the wrong person to be writing about him, really. He looks like a big hippy bastard and I'm told he smokes too much dope, apparently. I don't know anything else about his private life. Nothing. And I wouldn't have it any other way! "There shouldn't be artists, only their works." Orson Welles once said. I couldn't agree more. In this new millennium, Celebrity is no longer just a Cult; it's a bloody Craze! It's poisoned every single popular art-form I can think of, including comics. I don't need to tell you about all the so-called "big-name" writers who put so much time and effort into promoting themselves, they actually forget to sit down and write some decent stories.
Worse than that, there's even gossip columns devoted to the activities of comics creators... that has got to be the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard.

I don't know if Alan Moore has his own website, and I couldn't give a toss if he did. All I know is I've never heard of one, so I'm going to assume he spends all his valuable time on his craft: writing comics. Funny ones like "D.R. and Quinch". Ground-breaking ones like "Watchmen". Moving ones like "Halo Jones". Traditional ones like "Tom Strong". Shit, I'm not going to reel off his whole back catalogue; we all know his work and its brilliance. But nothing about the man, please!

I will let you know which Alan Moore book is my own personal favourite, though: it's gotta be "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"! The single most charming publication in the whole history of comics!

Marvelman vs Big Ben

Art by Chris Weston

Above you can admire a marvellous "Marvelman vs Big Ben" commission conceived and drawn by the amazing Chris Weston. Posted on this blog with the artist's permission. 

What's the difference between American and British super-heroes? The answer is: Alan Moore! I'm more of a Moore fan than a super-hero fan, to be honest. I like stories that have beginnings, middles and ends like Watchmen, rather than endless continuity where "something will happen but after a while everything will go back to the way it was before." [Chris Weston]

20th Anniversary Watchmen tribute: Hollis Mason

Art by Chris Weston

Above, a stunning homage to Watchmen featuring Hollis Mason drawn by the amazing CHRIS WESTON, included in the gallery section of "Watchmen 20 anni dopo", an Italian tribute book published in 2006 by Lavieri with all net profits donated to AIMA, the Italian Alzheimer organization. It was basically a collection of 12 brand new essays by well known comics experts analyzing Moore & Gibbons masterpiece.

Weston also wrote a piece to accompany the illustration. You can read it in the following.

Many thanks to Mr. Weston for his permission to present the material on this blog.

For more info about Chris Weston, visit his blog.

"Possibly the greatest perk of becoming a professional comic-strip illustrator is the opportunity to hang out with your own artistic heroes; sometimes, the very creators whose work entertained and inspired you throughout your own childhood. I’ve been lucky enough to make acquaintances with Dave Gibbons, an artist whose work I have admired since I first saw it published in the ‘Hotspur’ comic in the early seventies. I can honestly say he’s one of the friendliest, most amusing and fair people I’ve ever encountered. If there were an award for the comic industry’s greatest “diamond geezer”, he’d win it, hands down, every year without fail.

But, however easy his company is, and despite the laughably generous way he treats me as a fellow professional, there’s always a moment mid-conversation, when I suddenly think, “Oh my god. I’m chatting with DAVE ‘WATCHMEN’ GIBBONS!”. Because, although he was already one of my favourite artists, (thanks to his work on ‘Rogue Trooper’, and ‘Doctor Who’), it was definitely that classic, ground-breaking, twelve part mini-series that has elevated him to the comic world’s equivalent of a “Made Man”.

I’m not going to go into a long and redundant treatise about why ‘WATCHMEN’ is one of the greatest comic-strip stories ever… for starters, that would take up more pages than the actual graphic novel did. But what I would like to point out is just how brilliant Dave Gibbons’ art is on the book; something that doesn’t get mentioned enough in articles I read about the book. His artwork is deceptively simple, dramatic and coherent. His greatest achievement on the book?
Making this complex and convoluted tale of intrigue, with its fractured time structure and large cast of characters easy to follow.
Not many other artists could have maintained that consistency of quality storytelling for all twelve chapters. But being consistent doesn’t mean there aren’t any astonishing artistic flourishes to be found. There are… many. In fact, panel four on page sixteen of issue eight is worth the hefty price of the Absolute ‘WATCHMEN’ edition alone: a dynamic shot of Nite Owl running through the shattered prison windows… possibly the greatest single image of a ‘super-hero’ ever drawn.

It’s no wonder I still occasionally come over all star-struck when I’m in his company. I’ve admitted this to Dave, and he replied, “Jeez, Chris… I’m just a bloke…!”. You are a ‘bloke’, Dave; and a bloody good one, too. 

But how many ‘blokes’ have drawn ‘WATCHMEN’…?!"

Chris Weston, 2006