Woodrow Phoenix

Last updated

Woodrow Phoenix
NationalityBritish
Area(s) Cartoonist, Writer, Penciller, Letterer
Pseudonym(s)Trevs Phoenix
Notable works
Rumble Strip
SugarBuzz!
The Sumo Family

Woodrow Phoenix is a British comics artist, writer, editorial illustrator, graphic designer, font designer and author of children's books. [1]

Contents

Phoenix is best known for Rumble Strip, published in 2008, a non-fiction look at the difficult social issues arising from society's dependence on the automobile, which was reviewed in the London Times as "an utterly original work of genius". [2]

Among his other solo creations, are The Sumo Family and The Liberty Cat. The Sumo Family debuted in Escape magazine, and was serialised weekly in the Independent on Sunday newspaper in the UK, then monthly in both Manga Mania magazine, and German/Swiss Instant magazine. The Liberty Cat was published in Japan by Kodansha in Morning magazine. [1]

Phoenix's critical essays on comics have appeared in catalogues for exhibitions at the ICA in London, and at the University of Sussex. Books he has authored include a children's book titled Count Milkula: A Tale of Milk and Monsters! ( ISBN   9780954657659); [3] a cultural study Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World ( ISBN   978-4-7700-3017-7), an in-depth look at Japanese toy designs from the post-war era to present times, and their effect on the imaginations and Western markets along with their impact on trends in design and pop culture; [4]

In 2011 Phoenix edited and directed the production of Nelson from an original idea by Rob Davis. Nelson was a groundbreaking "collective graphic novel," with 54 creators producing chapters of a single continuing story, a unique storytelling experiment that won huge critical acclaim. Published by Blank Slate Books, it was The Guardian newspaper's Graphic Novel of The Month, November 2011. [5] The Times newspaper awarded it Best Graphic Novel of 2011,[ citation needed ] it was nominated for an Eisner Award [6] and was voted Book of The Year in the British Comic Awards 2012. [7]

In 2012, for Blank Slate Books, Phoenix wrote and designed Felt Mistress: Creature Couture ( ISBN   978-1-9066533-2-3), a book with similar design and pop-cultural concerns to Plastic Culture, focused on the work of a creative duo from Wales, Louise Evans and Jonathan Edwards.

In spring 2014 Phoenix completed a new graphic novel She Lives, unusual for its surprising size and dramatic presentation: a 96-page handmade, handbound book that is one metre square. The book is hardcover with an austere black surface featuring embossed giant type. Each interior page is composed of images drawn by hand in India ink rather than printed, making the entire book a one-off piece of original comics art. In a further challenge to standard comics production, Phoenix intends not to print this work so that it can only be viewed in person wherever it is exhibited. [8] This unique object was premiered at the British Library's Comics Unmasked exhibition from May to August 2014. [9]

Biography

Phoenix grew up in Brockley, south London, his parents Joe and Sybil Phoenix having migrated to the UK from Guyana in about 1958. [10] [11]

He studied typography at university, and in the 1990s was a letterer for most of the UK's comics publishers, including Escape , Fleetway, Dark Horse UK, Toxic, and Acme Press. He also lettered graphic novels for Gollancz and Methuen.

He self-published several comics during this time as part of the Fast Fiction collective begun by Paul Gravett, before working as a professional artist and writer for UK and US comics companies.

Phoenix's first collaboration was with Glenn Dakin on Sinister Romance, a humour title they jointly wrote, drew, and edited. Four issues were published by Harrier Comics' New Wave imprint. Phoenix has since collaborated as artist and/or writer with Andi Watson, Matt Wagner, Alan Moore, Chris Reynolds, Chris Webster, Eddie Campbell, Rian Hughes, Gordon Rennie, Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison, Paul Grist, Evan Dorkin, Oscar Zarate, José Muñoz, Carl Flint, Ian Carney, Jake Carney, Zach Howard, Annie Caulfield, and Steve May.

With co-writer Ian Carney, Phoenix created an anthology comic called SugarBuzz , published by Slave Labor Graphics, featuring a cast of more than 50 characters. The most popular was Pants Ant, who was featured in an animated cartoon for The Cartoon Network; and the Where's It At, Sugar Kat? series, which was also optioned for film and TV projects by Walt Disney inc.

Phoenix was one of the first Western comics creators to appear in Kodansha's weekly manga anthology Comics Morning magazine in Japan, producing a mystery detective strip called The Liberty Cat. His work has also appeared in numerous anthologies and book collections including Grendel: Black White and Red (with writer Matt Wagner), The Big Book of Death and The Big Book of Weirdos , It's Dark in London edited by Oscar Zarate, The Brighton Book and Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman.

Phoenix shares a studio in London known as Detonator with two comics writer/artists, Ed "ILYA" Hillyer and JAKe.

Art style

Phoenix's work is graphic and playful, while noted for its high degree of formal experimentation. He draws in very different styles, which make his comics appear to be the work of three or four completely different creators. The vividly coloured angular graphics of The Sumo Family are completely unlike the grainy impressionist mood of The Liberty Cat. The elegant line of Sherlock Holmes and The Vanishing Villain is a differing style again that bears no relation to the many SugarBuzz! comics that followed. His book Rumble Strip is his most radical departure from previous directions that even dispenses with characters, leaving only backgrounds.

Bibliography

Comics (selected)

Animation

Children's books

Other books

Anthologies

Notes

Related Research Articles

A graphic novel is a long-form work of sequential art. The term graphic novel is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics scholars and industry professionals. It is, at least in the United States, typically distinct from the term comic book, which is generally used for comics periodicals and trade paperbacks.

Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publisher, well known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat adult comics. Creators associated with SLG over the years include Evan Dorkin, Roman Dirge, Sarah Dyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Jhonen Vasquez, and Andi Watson.

Phil Elliott is a British comic book creator who was published in Escape Magazine. He was part of the British small press comics scene in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derf Backderf</span> American cartoonist

John Backderf, also known as Derf or Derf Backderf, is an American cartoonist. He is most famous for his graphic novels, especially My Friend Dahmer, the international bestseller which won an Angoulême Prize, and earlier for his comic strip The City, which appeared in a number of alternative newspapers from 1990 to 2014. In 2006 Derf won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for cartooning. Backderf has been based in Cleveland, Ohio, for much of his career.

British small press comics, once known as stripzines, are comic books self-published by amateur cartoonists and comic book creators, usually in short print runs, in the UK. They're comparable to similar movements internationally, such as American minicomics and Japanese doujinshi. A "small press comic" is essentially a zine composed predominantly of comic strips. The term emerged in the early 1980s to distinguish them from zines about comics. Notable artists who have had their start in British small press comics include Eddie Campbell, Paul Grist, Rian Hughes, Jamie Hewlett, Alan Martin, Philip Bond and Andi Watson.

Slab-O-Concrete Productions was a British mail order distributor and publisher, founded by Peter Pavement, Dave Hanna, Emma Copsey and Chris Tappenden; operating mostly in Brighton and Hove during the 1990s. Initially selling British small press comics and zines, Slab-O-Concrete also imported publications from the United States, Australia and Europe.

Duncan Fegredo is a British comic book artist.

<i>Valiant</i> (comics) British weekly comic

Valiant was a weekly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications and later IPC Magazines from 4 October 1962 to 16 October 1976. A boys' adventure comic, it debuted numerous memorable characters, including Captain Hurricane, The Steel Claw and Mytek the Mighty. Valiant lasted for 712 issues before being merged with stablemate Battle Picture Weekly.

<i>Garth</i> (comic strip) Comic strip in the British newspaper Daily Mirror

Garth was a comic strip in the British newspaper Daily Mirror that ran from 24 July 1943 – 22 March 1997. It belonged to the action-adventure genre and followed the exploits of the title character, an immensely strong hero who battled various villains throughout the world and in different eras. It was widely syndicated in English-speaking countries. 1960s Australian fast bowler Garth McKenzie was nicknamed after its hero. Book collections of the strip were first published in 2011.

Ed Hillyer, better known as ILYA, is a British comics writer/artist.

Craig Conlan is a Scottish comics writer/artist. He is best known for his character Hairy Mary, who has appeared in two graphic novel collections and several minicomics, all through Brighton publisher Slab-O-Concrete from 1998 to 2002. Conlan has also created the cartoon Ghost Cat's Pedigree Chums which was nominated for Best Young People's Comic Award at the British Comic Awards 2015. He has created a number of other comic strip creations. He has also worked as an editorial illustrator for UK women's magazines.

Where's it at Sugar Kat? is a humorous action comic book series created by Woodrow Phoenix and Ian Carney, published by Slave Labor Graphics. Sugar Kat is a supermodel and the most popular girl in the world. Rebecca is Sugar's brainy twin sister. Together they are the Kat and Kat Detective Agency and their specialty is supernatural mysteries.

Ian Carney is a British comics animation writer. Born in Liverpool, Merseyside on 21 August 1962, Carney began writing comics in the 80s for Fleetway Editions in the UK and First Comics and Dark Horse Comics in the US.

Pants Ant is a fictional character created by Woodrow Phoenix and Ian Carney. Pants Ant first appeared in 1998 in the second issue of SugarBuzz! by Carney and Phoenix, and was eventually featured in his own book, a one shot special, The Pants Ant Trouser Hour, published by Slave Labor Graphics. He was also featured in an animated cartoon for The Cartoon Network.

Ed Pinsent is a British cartoonist, artist, and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan McDaid</span> British comic book writer and artist

Dan McDaid is a British comic book writer and artist.

Glyn Dillon is a British costume designer, as well as a comics and film storyboard and concept artist, best known for his work on the Star Wars films The Force Awakens and Rogue One, designing the batsuit for Matt Reeves' 2022 The Batman ...as well as his 2012 graphic novel The Nao of Brown.

Rob Davis is a British comics artist, writer, and editorial illustrator located in Blandford Forum, Dorset. He has contributed to Roy of the Rovers, Judge Dredd, Doctor Who Magazine and Doctor Who Adventures. He has also created the graphic novels Don Quixote and a trilogy of original graphic novels, beginning with The Motherless Oven.

Blank Slate Books (BSB) was a publishing company based in the United Kingdom. It published primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections, with an emphasis on new work by British artists and translated work by European artists. The books it published were noted for their "indie-friendly" content, and were frequently by small press artists whose initial work was self-published. The name of the company was a pun on "drawing" or "writing" on a blackboard.

Kate Charlesworth is a British cartoonist and artist who has produced comics and illustrations since the 1970s. Her work has appeared in LGBT publications such as The Pink Paper, Gay News, Strip AIDS, Dyke's Delight, and AARGH, as well as The Guardian, The Independent, and New Internationalist. Lesbian and Gay Studies: A Critical Introduction calls her a "notable by-and-for lesbian" cartoonist.

References

  1. 1 2 "About the Author". www.powells.com. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
  2. "Rumble Strip". Myriad Editions . Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  3. "Count Milkula: A Tale of Milk and Monsters!". Mogzilla. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
  4. "Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World". Kodansha International. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
  5. Cooke, Rachel (18 November 2011). "Nelson, edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix – review: A collaboration between 54 British comic artists has produced a surprisingly cohesive and heartfelt novel". The Guardian .
  6. Freeman, John (10 April 2012). "Blank Slate pride at Eisner award nomination for 'Nelson'". DownTheTubes.net.
  7. "Nelson wins Best Book at the 1st British Comics Awards!". Blank Slate Books. 21 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020.
  8. Price, Ludi (20 July 2014). "Woodrow Phoenix's 'She Lives' – a (fan) experience".
  9. "Woodrow Phoenix turns the pages of She Lives at the British Library". British Library. 17 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  10. Daniel, Jon (23 July 2015). "'Everyone has ideas. But ideas are worthless unless you do something with them'". Design Week .
  11. "Celebrating 50 years of activisim in Lewisham". The Lewisham Ledger. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2021 via Issu.