John McCrea (comics)

For other people named John McCrea, seeJohn McCrea (disambiguation).

John McCrea(born 1966) is a comic book artist best known for his collaborations with writerGarth Ennis.

John McCrea
McCrea atF.A.C.T.S.2008
Born	1966 (age 57–58) Belfast,Northern Ireland
Area(s)	Penciller, Inker
Notable works	Hitman The Boys(Herogasm,Highland Laddie,andBarbary Coast)
www.johnmccrea.co.uk

Career

In 1989, after a few years of drawing television and toy tie-ins, he illustrated Ennis's debut, the political seriesTroubled Souls,inCrisis,as well as its sequel, the farceFor a Few Troubles More.He later illustrated the seriesCarla AllisoninDeadline.

He broke into American comics in 1993, drawing Ennis's run onDC Comics'sThe Demon,followed by its spin-off,Hitman,from 1996 to 2001, on which McCrea developed a versatile drawing style equally at home with goofy humour, action, and subtle characterisation. Hitman issue 34 won theEisner AwardforBest Single Issuein 1999. His wilder, more exaggerated cartooning found an outlet withDicks,a mini-series spinning off fromFor a Few Troubles Moreinto more outrageous dialect, sexual and toilet humour, published byCaliberin 1997, with a sequel,Dicks II,fromAvatarin 2002.

SinceHitmanfinished he has drawn a variety of characters for DC,Marvel,Dark Horse Comics,2000 ADand others. Recent work includesHerogasmandHighland Laddie,limited series spun off from Garth Ennis'The Boys,andThe Boysstory arcBarbary Coast.

On 9 April 2011, McCrea was one of 62 comics creators who appeared at theIGNstage at the Kapow! convention in London to set twoGuinness World Records,the Fastest Production of a Comic Book, and Most Contributors to a Comic Book.

In 2012, he started work on the Mars Attacks! 50th anniversary relaunch of the ongoing comic, written byJohn Laymanand published byIDW.He also contributed 15 new cards to theTopps MA!Heritage set and exclusive variants for the set.

While pencilling and inking the MA! comic, he has also found time to pencil and ink issue 49.1 ofDeadpoolfor Marvel,Warpaint(written byPhil Hester) for UK based Strip Magazine andProgenitor(also written by Hester) forDavid Lloyd's bold new online only publishing adventureAces Weekly.

He returned to DC briefly in 2013 through their Vertigo imprint for an 8 pager (written byNeil Kleid) for their one shotGhosts.He returned again, this time to mainline DC Comics, for miniseriesSection 8,based on supporting characters ofHitman.Section 8also marks his reunion withHitmanwriterGarth Ennisand the team's return to the series.

Bibliography

• "Fast Forward" (with Hilary Robinson, in2000 ADNo. 615, 1989)
• Troubled Souls(withGarth Ennis,inCrisis#15–27, 40 & 46, 1989–1990)
• "Wyrmwood" (withMalachy Coney,inCrisisNo. 29, 1989)
• "Her parents" (withMark Millar,inCrisisNo. 31, 1989)
• Chopper:"Earth, Wind and Fire" (withGarth Ennis,inJudge Dredd Megazine#1.01–1.06, 1990)
• Judge Death:"Masque of the Judge, Death" (withSi Spencer,inJudge Dredd Mega-SpecialNo. 4, 1991)
• Middenface McNulty:"Wan Man an' His Dug" (withAlan GrantandTony Luke,inJudge Dredd Megazine#1.15–1.20, 1991–1992)
• Judge Dredd:
  • "The Craftsman" (withGarth Ennis,in2000 ADNo. 817, 1993)
  • "Last Respects" (withGordon Rennie,in2000 AD#1389, 2004)
  • "Placebo" (with Rufus Dog, in2000 AD#1405, 2004)
  • "Harvey" (withJohn Wagner,in2000 AD#2024-2029, 2017)
• The Demon#40,42–48,50,52–60 (withGarth Ennis,DC Comics, 1993–1995)
• Hitman(withGarth Ennis,60 issues, DC, specials: Annual #1,issue #1,000,000,1996–2001)
  • Hitman(tpbcollects #1–3 +The DemonAnnualNo. 2 +Batman ChroniclesNo. 4, 1997ISBN1-56389-314-2)
  • 10,000 Bullets(tpbcollects #4–8, 1998ISBN1-56389-404-1)
  • Local Heroes(tpbcollects #9–14 + Annual No. 1, 1999ISBN1-56389-509-9)
  • Ace of Killers(tpbcollects #15–22, 2000ISBN1-56389-614-1)
  • Who Dares Wins(tpbcollects #23–28, 2001ISBN1-56389-718-0)
  • uncollected: 29–33, 1,000,0000, 34–60
  • Hitman/Lobo:That Stupid Bastich!(one-shot,1999)
  • JLA/Hitman(2-issuemini-series,DC, 2007, ongoing)
• Dicks(withGarth Ennis,1997–2005)
• Preacher Special; Tall in the Saddle(withSteve Dillon,one-shot, DC/Vertigo 1999)
• Cruel and Unusual(pencils, with authorsJamie Delano/Tom Peyerand inks byAndrew Chiu,Vertigo,4-issue mini-series, 1999)
• Wonder Woman Annualvol. 2 #154–155 (withDoselle Young,DC, 2000)
• Superman80-Page Giant:"How To Be A Super-Hero" (withGarth Ennis,DC, 1999)
• Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority(withMark Millar,5-issue mini-series,Wildstorm,2000,ISBN1-56389-769-5)
• Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror#7: "In Springfield, No-One Can Hear You Scream" (withGarth Ennis,2001)
• "Trooper"(withGarth Ennis&Jimmy Palmiotti,inStar Wars Tales#10,2001, collected inStar Wars Tales, Volume Three,Dark Horse Comics,2003,ISBN1-56971-836-9)
• The Monarchy(withDoselle Young,12 issues, Wildstorm, 2001–2002)
• Superboy#92–100
• Spider-Man's Tangled Web#1–3: "The Coming of the Thousand" (withGarth Ennis,2001,tpb,2002ISBN0-7851-0803-3)
• Spider-Man:"Get Kraven" (pencils withRon Zimmerman,and inks byJames Hodgkins,5 issues, Marvel, 2002)
• Hulk Smash!(withGarth Ennis,Marvel,2 issues, 2001, collected intpbIncredible Hulk Vol. 7: Dead Like Me,August 2004,ISBN0-7851-1399-1)
• Sinister Dexter"Vircade" (withDan Abnett,in2000 AD#1431, 2005)
• The Atheist(withPhil Hester,Image Comics,2005)
• The 99(withFabian Nicieza,Teshkeel Comics,2007-ongoing)
• Theseus battling the Minotaur(one-shot,Lerner Publishing Group)
• The Boys:Herogasm,Highland Laddie,andBarbary Coast(withGarth Ennis,mini-series,Dynamite Entertainment,2009-2011)

Awards

• 1998Eisner Awardfor Best Single Issue (forHitman#34: Of Thee I Sing)

Trivia

John McCrea also had a drawing ofToyah Willcoxas aJudgeprinted in 2000AD for a Dredd readers' art page in prog 310.

References

• John McCreaat theGrand Comics Database
• John McCreaat 2000 AD online
• John McCreaon Marvel.com
• John McCreaatLambiek's Comiclopedia

External links

• Official website
• Old site
• John McCreaat the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)

Interviews

• John McCrea interviewbyPJ Holdenand Richmond Clments, 2000 AD Review, 11 May 2005
• John McCrea, hitman and madman,Broken Frontier, 7 November 2008