Friday 13 March 2009

JOHN HIGGIN'S RAZORJACK







Here's what some well known folks in the business say about my old buddy, John Higgins (colourist of WATCHMAN , artist for 2000AD,THE HILLS HAVE EYES, THUNDERBOLT JAXON, HELLBLAZER) whose fantastic self written, drawn and coloured mini series RAZORJACK is finally getting collected at the end of March from COMX...

"John Higgins sickens me. He can write, pencil, ink and colour allseemingly effortlessly. Had he just performed neuro-surgery on a young child this morning too, I would not be at all surprised."
--Mark Millar Writer of The Authority: Wanted, The Ultimates, Civil War, Kick-Ass.


"It's always a pleasure to see John's work, and Razorjack is one of his best-kept secrets. If there's any justice, this new collection should find the audience the story has always deserved."
--Garth Ennis: Writer of Preacher, Punisher, The Boys.


"Razorjack delivers something rare: A solid story and artistic brilliance by John Higgins. It must be nice to be getting better with age." --Jimmy Palmiotti: Writer of The Hills Have eyes: The Beginning, Jonah Hex, Vampire Hunter D: american Wasteland.


"I've always thought Razorjack was a killer concept. A cosmic horror story of huge-scope, breath-taking visuals and insane ambition: Unique, wonderful, quintessential John Higgins."
--Mike Carey: Writer of Lucifer, X-Men, Hellblazer, Crossing Midnight .

To me, John is kind of like the slightly dirty uncle I never had, but also a huge mentor to me when I was struggling to break into the comics business.

We met many years ago when he did a talk in a Liverpool library and I was drawing a story about an incredibly handsome man (ahem) fighting villians with rubber chickens strapped to his body,for a smallpress comic. Luckily for me, he saw some potential in my work and was actually kind enough to contact me just to say hi.

From that point on we stayed in touch, he invited me to hang out with his wonderful family, and gave me invaluable advice about my work to the point where he felt confident enough in my abilities to actually let me look after his Luton studio and home for a few months while he was in America--an incredibly daunting, but worthwhile experience made all the more easier by the fact that he had a fantastic bunch of friends who welcomed me, and it was across the hall from a modelling agency...

He threw some big jobs my way as well, most notably as his inker for a LEVI'S 3D comicbook that was distributed in stores worldwide (You should have seen how excited I got when I saw the displays when on holiday in Spain!), and of course the ROCKY HORROR SHOW theatre poster (You should have seen how excited I got when I saw in on the side of a bus!)

Years later, you can imagine how it was a very proud moment for me when Defoe shared it's 2000AD debut with his Pat Mills' written story Greysuit...

So there you go. I wouldn't be the artist I am today if it hadn't been for John Higgins. Take my advice and ask for RAZORJACK at your local comic store, book store, or you can order from Amazon HERE!

There's a great inteview with the man himself HERE.

Thanks guys,
L