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Si Spencer (1961 – 16 February 2021)Si Spencer, 1961-2021
at '' 2000AD''; published February 17, 2021; retrieved February 17, 2021
was a British comic book writer and TV dramatist and editor, with work appearing in British comics such as ''
Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...
'', before moving to the American comics industry. He often collaborated with Dean Ormston.


Biography

After starting in ''
Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...
'', he was signed up for the hip but short-lived title '' Revolver'' where two long series, 'Stickleback' and 'YoYo' were intended to run. The magazine folded before they saw print though and from 1993 to 1995 he was a regular writer 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 Li ...
'', creating characters such as ''
Harke & Burr ''Harke & Burr'' are two fictional comic book characters who appeared in their own stories for thirteen episodes in issues of British comic '' Judge Dredd Megazine''. The majority of the ''Harke & Burr'' stories were written by Si Spencer and dra ...
'' and '' The Creep'' as well as working on established characters (e.g. ''
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'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running c ...
''). Si was also editor of comics and music magazine '' Deadline'' between 1991 and 1992. Among North American publishers his work has primarily appeared in series published by
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
under their
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties ...
imprint, such as '' Books of Magick: Life During Wartime''. Si Spencer has also written for television. After winning a 'New Voices' competition with the play 'Tracey and Lewis', he secured a position at the BBC as script editor on primetime cop show '' City Central''. He later worked as a staff writer for the BBC's '' EastEnders'' and ITV's ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...
'' in addition to being storyliner and series editor and contributing scripts to ''
Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running program ...
''. He was credited as script editor on the 2009 Aardman pilot for
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
show '' Men in Coats''. In March 2006, it was announced in issue 368 of ''
Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the follo ...
'' that he was to write an episode for the '' Doctor Who'' spin-off series ''
Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of '' Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...
'' and even made an appearance at the 2006 Bristol Comic Expo to publicise it though he was not among the writers of episodes for the first series. However, a 2010 book ''Torch, Wood & Peasants'', credited to "Webley Wildfoot" details the story of a writer on a fictitious British SF series and contains a script that has several strong similarities to ''
Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of '' Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...
''. His later work included ''
The Vinyl Underground ''The Vinyl Underground'' is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, created and written by Si Spencer with art by Simon Gane. The title debuted in October 2007 and ran for twelve issues before its cancellation in Sept ...
'' for Vertigo. In October 2010, Vertigo published the first issue of a ''
Hellblazer ''John Constantine, Hellblazer'' is an American contemporary horror comic-book series published by DC Comics since January 1988, and subsequently by its Vertigo imprint since March 1993, when the imprint was introduced. Its central character is ...
'' mini series, '' Hellblazer: City of Demons.'' Spencer also ran a Facebook page 'Script Doctor' providing advice and support for new writers. In June 2014, Vertigo published the first issue of his creator-owned monthly eight issue limited series ''
Bodies Bodies may refer to: * The plural of body * ''Bodies'' (2004 TV series), BBC television programme * Bodies (upcoming TV series), an upcoming British crime thriller limited series * "Bodies" (''Law & Order''), 2003 episode of ''Law & Order'' * ...
.'' In September 2015, Self Made Hero published the one shot graphic novel ''
Klaxon A horn is a sound-making device that can be equipped to motor vehicles, buses, bicycles, trains, trams (otherwise known as streetcars in North America), and other types of vehicles. The sound made usually resembles a "honk" (older vehicles) or a ...
.'' In November 2015, Vertigo comics published the first issue of six-part series ''
Slash and Burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...
.'' In February 2021, Spencer died from reasons unknown. In 2022
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
announced that a series based on Spencer's Vertigo series Bodies had been greenlit, with Moonage Pictures producing.


Bibliography

* "Two pretty names" (with Sue Swassy) in ''
Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...
'' No. 33, 1989) * "Strange hotel" (with Adrian Dungworthy, in ''Crisis'' No. 62, 1991) * '' Judge Death'': "Masque of the Judge, Death" (with
John McCrea John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
, in ''Judge Dredd Mega-Special'' No. 4, 1991) * ''Mytek the Mighty'': "Mytek Lives!" (with Shaky Kane, in ''2000 AD Action Special'', 1992) * ''
Harke & Burr ''Harke & Burr'' are two fictional comic book characters who appeared in their own stories for thirteen episodes in issues of British comic '' Judge Dredd Megazine''. The majority of the ''Harke & Burr'' stories were written by Si Spencer and dra ...
'': ** "Antique and Curious" (with Dean Ormston, in ''
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 Li ...
'' (vol. 2) #27–28, 1993) ** "Hamster Horror" (with Dean Ormston, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' (vol. 2) #40–42, 1995) ** "Grief Encounter" (with Dean Ormston, in 'Judge Dredd Megazine'' (vol. 2) #47–49, 1994) ** "Secret Origin" (with Paul Peart, in 'Judge Dredd Megazine'' (vol. 2) No. 83, 1995) ** "Satanic Farces" (with co-author
Gordon Rennie Gordon Rennie is a Scottish comics writer, responsible for ''White Trash: Moronic Inferno'', as well as several comic strips for '' 2000 AD'' and novels for ''Warhammer Fantasy''. In May 2008, he announced he was leaving comics to concentrate ...
and art by Dean Ormston, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' (vol. 3) #4–7, 1995) * ''
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'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running c ...
'': ** "
Creep Creep, Creeps or CREEP may refer to: People * Creep, a creepy person Politics * Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP), mockingly abbreviated as CREEP, an fundraising organization for Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign Art ...
" (with Kevin Cullen, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' (vol. 2) #41–44, 1993) ** "Creep's Day Out" (with Kevin Cullen, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' (vol. 2) No. 50, 1994) ** "Creep: True Love" (with Kevin Cullen, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' (vol. 2) #51–54, 1994 ** "Fall of the House of Esher" (with Dean Ormston, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' (vol. 2) #70, 1995) ** "A Very Creepy Christmas" (with Kevin Cullen, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' (vol. 2) #70, 1995) ** "Plagues of Necropolis" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' (vol. 2) #78–84, 1995) ** "Sleeping Satellite" (with Morak, in ''Judge Dredd Mega Special 1995'') ** "Judge Planet II" (with Shaky Kane, in ''Judge Dredd Mega Special 1995'') * ''The Corps'': "Fireteam One" (with Colin MacNeil and Paul Marshall, in '' 2000 AD'' No. 923, 1994) * '' Books of Magick: Life During Wartime'' #1–15 (with Dean Ormston, Steve Yeowell and
Duncan Fegredo Duncan Fegredo (; born 1964) is a British comic book artist. Career Born in Leicester, Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a sh ...
,
ongoing series In comics, an ongoing series is a series that runs indefinitely. This is in contrast to limited series (a series intended to end after a certain number of issues thus limited), a one shot (a comic book which is not a part of an ongoing series), ...
,
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties ...
, 2004–2005,
trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...
collects #1–5, 2005, ) * ''
The Vinyl Underground ''The Vinyl Underground'' is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, created and written by Si Spencer with art by Simon Gane. The title debuted in October 2007 and ran for twelve issues before its cancellation in Sept ...
'' #1–12 (with Simon Gane and Cameron Stewart, ongoing series, Vertigo, December 2007 – November 2008) collected as: ** ''Watching the Detectives'' (collects #1–5, 128 pages, June 2008, )''Watching the Detectives'' profile at DC
/ref> ** ''Pretty Dead Things'' (collects #6–12, 128 pages, December 2008, ) * '' Hellblazer: City of Demons'' (with Sean Murphy, five-issue limited series, Vertigo, December 2010 – February 2011, tpb, May 2011, ) * ''
Bodies Bodies may refer to: * The plural of body * ''Bodies'' (2004 TV series), BBC television programme * Bodies (upcoming TV series), an upcoming British crime thriller limited series * "Bodies" (''Law & Order''), 2003 episode of ''Law & Order'' * ...
'' with Dean Ormston, Tula Lotay, Phil Winslade, Meghan Hetrick, Lee Loughridge, eight part limited series, July 2014 – February 2015 * ''
KLAXON A horn is a sound-making device that can be equipped to motor vehicles, buses, bicycles, trains, trams (otherwise known as streetcars in North America), and other types of vehicles. The sound made usually resembles a "honk" (older vehicles) or a ...
'' with Dix Grim, 120-page self-contained graphic novel published by Self Made Hero September 2015 * ''
Slash and Burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...
'' with Max Dunbar, Ande Park, Nik Filardi, six-part limited series, Vertigo November 2015 – April 2016 * ''Script Doctor's 100 Writing Tips For TV and Film'' (
Lulu.com Lulu Press, Inc., doing business under trade name Lulu, is an online print-on-demand, self-publishing, and distribution platform. By 2014, it had issued approximately two million titles. The company's founder is Red Hat co-founder Bob Young. Lu ...
, February 2010, ) * ''Script Doctor's 100 More Writing Tips For TV and Film'' (Lulu.com, September 2010, )


Notes


References

* *
Si Spencer
at Barney


External links

*
Script Doctor
at Facebook *
Si Spencer's interview
Student Life, BBC {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Si 1961 births 2021 deaths People educated at Abbeydale Grange School British comics writers British television writers Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing