John M. Burns (born 1938) is an English comics artist, with a career stretching back to the mid-1960s.

Biography

His initial work was as an illustrator for ''

Junior Express ''Express Weekly'' was a British children's comic magazine, published between 1954 and 1962 under a progression of titles: ''Junior Express'', ''Junior Express Weekly'', ''Express Weekly'', and ''TV Express Weekly''. The publication was similar ...

'' and ''

School Friend ''School Friend'' was the name of two different British weekly publications marketed toward girls, both of which were pioneering in their respective categories. The first ''School Friend'', published from 1919 to 1929, was the first story paper ...

''. During the 1960s, Burns worked on ''

TV Century 21 ''TV Century 21'', later renamed ''TV21'', ''TV21 and Tornado'', ''TV21 and Joe 90'', and ''TV21'' again, was a weekly British children's comic published by City Magazines during the latter half of the 1960s. Originally produced in partnership ...

'' and its sister magazines, including the ''

Space Family Robinson ''Space Family Robinson'' was an original science-fiction comic-book series published by Gold Key Comics. It predates the ''Lost in Space'' television series. Both are loosely based on the 1812 novel by Johann David Wyss and similarly named movi ...

'' series in ''

Lady Penelope Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward is a fictional character introduced in the British 1960s Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'', which was produced by AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. The character also appears in the film seque ...

''. For a while he drew daily comics strips for newspapers ''The Daily Sketch'', ''

The Daily Mirror ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' and '' The Sun'', including ''

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...

'', ''Danielle'' and, for a period succeeding

Enrique Romero Enrique Fernández Romero (born 23 June 1971) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a left-back. He played for four clubs during his professional career over 16 seasons – notably Deportivo which he helped win four major ...

during 1978–79, ''

Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talent ...

''. He moved on to illustrate TV

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

strips for ''

Look-in ''Look-in'' was a children's magazine centred on ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior ''TVTimes''". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994.Angus Allan Angus Peter Allan (22 July 1936 – 16 July 2007) was a British comic strip writer and magazine editor who worked on ''TV Century 21'' in the 1960s and ''Look-in'' magazine during the 1970s. Most commonly known as Angus Allan and sometimes credit ...

. He also worked on the title story for ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

''. Burns was already well known by the start of the 1980s, but it was when he made the crossover to '' 2000 AD'' (along with fellow ''Look-in'' alumni

Jim Baikie James George Baikie (28 February 1940 – 29 December 2017) was a Scottish comics artist best known for his work with Alan Moore on ''Skizz''. He was also a musician. Biography Baikie served as a Corporal with the Royal Air Force in 1956–1963 ...

and

Arthur Ranson Arthur James Ranson (born 1939) is an English comic book illustrator, known for his work on ''Look-in'', '' Anderson: Psi Division'', '' Button Man'' and '' Mazeworld''. His work on Cassandra Anderson has been called "photo-realistic". Early lif ...

) that his position in British comics was cemented. In 1991 Burns began by working on ''

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology Comic book, comic. He is the ...

''. By his own admission, Burns does not enjoy drawing science fiction strips, and the look of Judge Dredd is one that he finds particularly unpleasant to draw. David Bishop. "Interrogation – John Burns Veteran," ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #224 (2004). In 2007, Burns began working on the ''

Nikolai Dante ''Nikolai Dante'' was a comic book series published in the weekly British science fiction anthology '' 2000 AD'' from March 1997 through July 2012. History ''Nikolai Dante'' was created by writer Robbie Morrison and artist Simon Fraser. The ...

'' strip. He has also co-created (with

Robbie Morrison Robbie Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer known for his work in the weekly anthology '' 2000 AD'', where he co-created the long-running serial ''Nikolai Dante'' with artist Simon Fraser. Career Morrison began his career in '' 2000 ADs ...

) a contemporary adventure strip — ''The Bendatti Vendetta'', for the ''

Judge Dredd Megazine ''Judge Dredd: The Megazine'' is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in September 1990. It is a sister publication to '' 2000 AD''. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Judge Dredd's locale Mega-City One. Content Like ...

''; this is unique for the title in having no science fiction or fantasy elements at all. in 2008, he finished an adaptation of

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

's ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

'', whose script was rendered by

Amy Corzine Amy Corzine is an American-born fiction and non-fiction writer and poet. Her first book was a Cadogan travel guide to Ireland for families in which she included stories she wrote based on Irish folktales. After that, Watkins Publishing commissione ...

, for UK publisher

Classical Comics Classical Comics is a British publisher of graphic novel adaptations of the great works of literature, including Shakespeare, Charlotte Brontë and Dickens. Overview All of the volumes will be published as graphic novels. Art is being provide ...

.Classical Comics – Bringing classics to life
He previously worked on similar adaptions of ''

Lorna Doone ''Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor'' is a novel by English author Richard Doddridge Blackmore, published in 1869. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly ar ...

'' by

R. D. Blackmore Richard Doddridge Blackmore (7 June 1825 – 20 January 1900), known as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. He won acclaim for vivid descriptions and personification of the ...

and, ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...

'' by Brontë's sister Emily.

Bibliography

*''

'': ** "Garbage Disposal" (with

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dari ...

, in ''2000 AD'' No. 738, 1991) ** "Twilight's Last Gleaming" (with

, in ''2000 AD'' #754–756, 1991) ** "Raider" (with

, in ''2000 AD'' #810–814, 1992) ** "Part Exchange" (with

Dan Abnett Dan Abnett (born 12 October 1965) is an English comic book writer and novelist. He has been a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, sinc ...

, in ''2000 AD'' No. 903, 1994) ** " Revenge of the Chief Judge's Man" (with

John Wagner John Wagner (born 1949) is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #1342–1349, 2003) ** "Bite Fight!" (with John Smith, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #224–225, 2004) *''Black Light'': "Survivor Syndrome" (with

/ Steve White, in ''2000 AD'' #1001–1005, 1996) *''

Penthouse Comix ''Penthouse Comix'' was an American mass-market, magazine-sized comic book, published by Penthouse International/General Media Communications from spring 1994 through July 1998. Founded and initially edited by George Caragonne and Horatio Weisfeld ...

'': ** "Abducted by Aliens" (with Eliot R. Brown/

George Caragonne George Caragonne (September 16, 1965 – July 20, 1995) was an American comic book writer and editor, most notable for being co-founder of ''Penthouse Comix'' magazine. He died by suicide on July 20, 1995, by jumping off the 45th floor of the inte ...

Buzz Dixon Buzz Dixon (December 7, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, film, and cartoons. He has written comics for multiple companies, including Eclipse Comics (where he wrote ''Destroyer Duck'' alongside Steve Gerber), Marvel Comics, and a ''Bu ...

, in ''Penthouse Comix'' #17–20, 1996–1997) ** "Zheena: Deadlier Than The Male" (with

Ian Edginton Ian Edginton is a British comic book writer, known for his work on such titles as ''X-Force'', '' Scarlet Traces'', '' H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'' and ''Leviathan''. Career Ian Edginton is known for his steampunk/ alternate history wor ...

, in ''Penthouse Comix'' No. 26, 1997) *''

'' (with

): ** "Cruel Seas" (in ''2000 AD'' #1148–1149, 1999) ** "Requiem for Lost Love" (in ''2000 AD'' #1150, 1999) ** "Rudinshtein Irregulars " (in ''2000 AD'' #1183–1190, 2000) ** "Love and War" (in ''2000 AD'' #1200–1207, 2000) ** "One Last Night in the House of Sin" (in ''2000 AD'' prog 2001, 2000) ** "The Romanov Empire" (in ''2000 AD'' #1250–1262, 2001) ** "Hell and High Water" (in ''2000 AD'' prog 2003 & #1322–1328, 2002–2003) ** "The Sea Falcon" (in ''2000 AD'' prog 2004, 2003) ** "Agent of Destruction" (in ''2000 AD'' prog 2005 & #1420–1427, 2004–2005) ** "How could you believe me when I said I loved you when you know I've been a liar all my life?" (in ''2000 AD'' #1428–1431, 2005) ** "Primal Screams" (in ''2000 AD'' #1433–1436, 2005) ** "Devil's Deal" (in ''2000 AD'' prog 2006, 2005) ** "Usurper" (in ''2000 AD'' #1487–1489, 2006) ** "The Depths" (in ''2000 AD'' #1500–1501, 2006) ** "Dragon's Island" (in ''2000 AD'' #1502–1507, 2006) ** "The Road of Bones" (in ''2000 AD'' prog 2007, 2006) ** "Deadlier than the Male" (in ''2000 AD'' #1518–1520, 2007) ** "The Beast of Rudinshtein" (in ''2000 AD'' #1532–1535, 2007) ** "The Dissenter" (in ''2000 AD'' #1537, 2007) ** "The Chaperone" (in ''2000 AD'' #1560–1564, 2007) ** "Destiny's Child" (in ''2000 AD'' prog 2008, 2007) ** "The Tsar's Daughter" (in ''2000 AD'' #1578–1580, 2008) ** "Prisoner of the Tzar" (in ''2000 AD'' #1612-1616, 2008) ** "Bring me the Head of Nikolai Dante" (in ''2000 AD'' prog 2009) ** "Hero of the Revolution" (in ''2000 AD'', prog 2010, #1666-1675, 2010) ** "The Master of Krondstadt" (in "2000 AD", #1705-1708) ** "The Dante Gambit" (in "2000 AD", #1774-1779) *''

The Scarlet Apocrypha ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'': "Necrocultura" (with

, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #4.12, 2002) *'' The Bendatti Vendetta'' (with

): ** "The Bendatti Vendetta" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #4.13–18, 2002) ** "Blooded" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #209–211, 2003) ** "See Naples and Die" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #234–236, 2005) *''

'' (adapted by

, 144 pages,

, Spring 2008, , )

Interviews

* ''Ark'' #28 (1989) * ''

'' Meg 224 (2004) * ''True Brit'' (Twomorrows Publishing, 2004) * ''

Vworp Vworp The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...

'' Vol. 3 (2007)

Notes

References

2000 AD profile

FFF {{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, John M. 1938 births English comics artists Living people Peter O'Donnell