Simon Bisley Explained

Nationality:British
Art:y
Pencil:y
Ink:y
Color:y

Simon Bisley is a British comic book artist best known for his 1990s work on ABC Warriors, Lobo and Sláine.

Early life

Simon Bisley began drawing when he was six years old. He is self-taught, with only a short one-year stay at an art college, saying "I found it very difficult to get any kind of feedback from the art teachers. They weren't interested at all in what I was doing, so I became kind of very introverted with regard to my artwork and yeah, I was just all self-taught."[1]

Career

Bisley started his career doing magazine and album covers, his first work being a T-shirt design for heavy metal magazine Kerrang![1]

Eventually, even though he had no experience in comics strip drawing at the time, he was hired by the magazine 2000 AD after they saw his interpretations of their magazine characters. According to the Comic Book Database, "while still a student, Bisley did a painting of a robot holding a baby that he sent to the offices of 2000 AD. The image was seen by Pat Mills and inspired him to relaunch the ABC Warriors strip, with Bisley as artist, in 1987".[2] He started with work on ABC Warriors in 1987, later moving to Sláine and Judge Dredd.[3]

Simon Bisley significantly contributed to the visual and conceptual development of the character Lobo (DC Comics) in the comic book universe.[4] Alan Grant and Keith Giffen initially contacted Bisley to rework Lobo's appearance. Bisley added distinctive elements such as big biker boots, skull knee guards, a hook and chain around Lobo's arm, and made the character much more muscular, transforming him into an impressive space biker.

He also created Lobo's dog, “Dawg”,[5] incorporating the character into the story despite it not being in the original script. Bisley's tendency to add more than what was written in the script sometimes led Grant to rewrite sections of the book.[6]

Bisley distorted and surreal artistic style, combined with garish colors and crude language, emphasized the character's violent and absurd nature.[7] He illustrated the 1990 4 issues mini-seriesLobo: The Last Czarnian, written by Keith Giffen and Alan Grant, where Lobo, the intergalactic bounty hunter, escorts a mysterious prisoner. Simon Bisley also illustrated the 1992 four-issue mini-series Lobo's Back, where Lobo is killed and sent to both heaven and hell, only to fight his way back to life. The series is filled with dark humor, over-the-top violence, and Lobo's characteristic irreverence.

In addition to his interior artwork, Bisley also produced iconic painted covers that became closely associated with Lobo's brutal and offbeat image. Originally a minor character, Bisley significantly contributed to the reinvention of Loboy with an anarchic touch that left a lasting impact, making it one of his most iconic contributions to the comic book world.[8]

The original painting for Lobo #1 sold for $192,000 at auction in 2021.[9]

Since 1997, Bisley has been a regular contributor to the comics magazine Heavy Metal.[10]

Bisley has done design work for several music videos, including Chippendales' "Room Service".[11]

In the early 2000s, Bisley was commissioned to create artwork for the drum kit used by System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan, an avid comic book collector and vendor. Dolmayan commissioned Bisley to illustrate the Hulk and Thing on one drum, while the art for other drums in the kit, which depicted other characters and scenes, were produced by Kevin Eastman, Tim Vigil, and Arthur Adams.[12]

Influences

Bisley's style is strongly influenced by Frank Frazetta,[13] Gustav Klimt, Salvador Dalí, and Richard Corben, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Egon Schiele.[14] He also took inspiration from rock album covers and graffiti as well as traditional comics art.

Bisley's work influenced the Beast in the 2006 Doctor Who episode "The Satan Pit",[15] and Simon Pegg's character graphic artist Tim Bisley on the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced.[16]

Bibliography

Comics

DC

Fleetway

Full Circle

Marvel

Verotik

Other publishers

Bodycount (with Kevin Eastman, 4-issue mini-series, tpb, Image Comics, 1996, tpb,)

Golgotha (illustration by Bisley, Acclaim Comics, 1996)

Collected editions

Holiday Hell (160 pages, 2006)

Music album covers

Computer game box

Role-playing games

Movie posters

Books

Awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Comic Art & Graffix Gallery Artist Interviews - Simon Bisley. www.comic-art.com.
  2. Web site: Simon Bisley Comic Book DB . . 2008 . comicbookdb.com .
  3. Web site: Steve. Ringgenberg . interview with Bisley, p. 1 . comic-art.com . 1995 . Wayback Machine.
  4. Web site: Lobo - The Art of Simon Bisley.
  5. Web site: Dawg (Character) - Comic Vine.
  6. Web site: An Interview with Simon Bisley (Part One) - The Gutter Review.
  7. Web site: AN INTERVIEW WITH SIMON BISLEY (PART TWO).
  8. Web site: 4 Lobo Stories to Unleash Your Inner Bastich - COMICSXF.
  9. Web site: Lobo #1: Original Cover Art - Simon Bisley, 1990 // SOLD: $192,000.00 in 2021 - Felber Gallery.
  10. Book: Randy. Duncan. Matthew J.. Smith. Icons of the American Comic Book: From Captain America to Wonder Woman, Volume 1. 2013. 332. 9780313399237.
  11. Web site: Simon Bisley . 2024-10-30 . Sci-Fi and Fantasy Art and Graphics . en-US.
  12. Web site: System of a Down's drummer on his art-covered kit. Entertainment Weekly. Collis, Clark. en-US. live. August 8, 2006. May 12, 2023. November 20, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151120165340/https://ew.com/article/2006/08/08/system-downs-drummer-his-art-covered-kit/.
  13. Web site: Steve. Ringgenberg. interview with Bisley, p. 5. comic-art.com. Wayback Machine. 1995.
  14. http://eastcoastcomicon.com/guests/2015/simon-bisley "Simon Bisley"
  15. "Artist Biography", "The Tick's 20th Anniversary Special Edition #1", May 2007, New England Comics Press
  16. Spaced Series 2 DVD Homage-o-meter (Alternative subtitles)
  17. http://www.thedeadcomic.com/issue-1/ The Dead issue #1
  18. http://www.thedeadcomic.com/church-of-hell/ Church of Hell
  19. http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/eisner92.php 1992 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners
  20. "Newswatch: UK Awards Named," The Comics Journal #149 (March 1992), p. 22.
  21. http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/eisner93.php 1993 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners
  22. ER. "International Miscellanea: 1993 UK Comic Art Awards," The Comics Journal #161 (August 1993), p. 40.
  23. Web site: Simon Bisley & Lew Stringer Into London Film & Comic Con Hall Of Fame.

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