Steven Cook is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

artist, photographer, and

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

er. Best known for his work in the comics field, Cook was art director and designer for the British comic '' 2000 AD'' (1988–2001). During this time he produced a number of striking cover illustrations along with its distinctive, iconic logo still in use to this day. He has also worked for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

Deadline magazine ''Deadline'' was a British comics magazine published between 1988 and 1995. Created by '' 2000 AD'' artists Brett Ewins and Steve Dillon, ''Deadline'' featured a mix of comic strips and written articles aimed at adult readers. ''Deadline'' sat ...

, Manga publishing,

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 thei ...

and

Vertigo comics Vertigo Comics, also known as DC Vertigo or simply Vertigo, was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use, ...

for whom he created the anniversary cover for VERTIGO X, a special edition celebrating ten years of DC's adult-fiction imprint. His other notable work outside of the comics industry includes three album sleeves for

Asian Dub Foundation Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and gui ...

(''

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

'', ''Time Freeze'', ''A History of Now''),

William Orbit William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...

(''

Strange Cargo III ''Strange Cargo III'' is the fourth album by electronic instrumentalist William Orbit. It is the third in a series of similarly titled albums: '' Strange Cargo'', '' Strange Cargo II'' and '' Strange Cargo Hinterland''. The album was performed, ...

'') and Last Man Standing ''False Starts & Broken Promises'', which was selected in September 2008 by Peter Saville and

Dylan Jones Dylan John Jones OBE (born 1960) is an English journalist and author. He served as editor of the UK version of men's fashion and lifestyle magazine '' GQ'' from 1999 to 2021. He has held senior roles with several other publications, including ...

for the London exhibition 'SPIN – The Art of Record Design'. More recently, April 2010 saw

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

using Cook's comic book logo for '' The Losers'' film campaign. Steven Cook is a lecturer at the

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...

. Over the past ten years he has produced a body of work that sees him remixing his own photography and fusing it with imagery from a bygone era. With this series 'Alternity' he creates random scenes from a parallel universe, where the boundaries of time have been compromised and liaisons between the inhabitants of different eras can occur in secret. Exhibited in New York and London, his first show featured a live performance by writer

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...

, reading a specially crafted monologue to accompany the images, with the musical accompaniment of

Ysanne Spevack Ysanne Spevack (born 24 June 1972) is a British-American Jewish composer, conductor and arranger who plays violin, viola and cello, and assorted multi-instruments including mbira, keyboards and guitar. best known for her work recording and tour ...

Biography

Cook is an alumnus of the College of Distributive Trades before it became a part of the

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

. He initially worked as a display artist for leading department stores before taking on the role of stylist for Carlton Photographic Studios in London where he realised his passion for photography. This was followed by a stint in a small advertising agency in Surrey as photographer and graphic designer, working on ads and concert programmes for musicians

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...

and

The Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line ...

. During this time he was also moonlighting as a house photographer for a circuit of prestigious restaurants and clubs in Knightsbridge and the West End, being on hand to photograph their celebrity clientele. A chance meeting with British photographer Bruce Fleming gave Cook the opportunity to assist and learn from this respected artist, best known for his classic images of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

in the 60s. In 1983,

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Di ...

Alan McKenzie Alan McKenzie is a British comics writer and editor known for his work at '' 2000 AD''. Biography McKenzie worked for Marvel UK during the early 1980s, editing '' Starburst'', ''Cinema'' and '' Doctor Who Monthly'' magazines. After leaving the ...

, who was editor of the long-running '' Starburst'' magazine hired Cook as photographer and designer. Cook became art editor in 1985 and completely redesigned the title, giving it a logo that was in use for 24 years. He followed this with a revamp 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 followi ...

'' and as its new art editor, came to an arrangement with Marvel and

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

's producer

John Nathan-Turner John Nathan-Turner (''né'' Turner; 12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002) was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. He was also the final producer of the series' first ...

to freelance as photographer on set, supplying exclusive images for the magazine. The next commission from Marvel saw Cook combine his skills as stylist and photographer to produce the cover images for another of their licensed magazines,

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

's ''

Sindy Sindy is a British fashion doll created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. A rival to Barbie, Sindy's wholesome look and range of fashions and accessories made her the best-selling toy in the United Kingdom in 1968 and 1970. After Louis Marx and ...

''. Having previously styled mannequins during his window display period, Cook set about re-defining doll photography by shooting outdoors on-location, thereby pre-empting the "Blythe" series by 14 years. This was followed by a commission from Hasbro themselves to produce a "Cook style" Sindy cover for their 1988 catalogue. In that same year, Alan McKenzie, who was now working on Fleetway's '' 2000 AD'', recommended Cook as designer for their new-look that was being planned. After submitting a few preliminary ideas he was taken on to completely re-vamp the title giving it the logo that has since become its brand identity. He also assimilated Japanese and Thai typography into the design aesthetic as a precursor to the

Manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

craze. In 1988,

Fleetway Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies that merg ...

Steve MacManus Steve MacManus (sometimes credited as Ian Rogan) is a British comics, comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at ''2000 AD (comic), 2000 AD''. Biography Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC Media, IPC in ...

commissioned both Cook and

Rian Hughes Rian Hughes is a British graphic designer, illustrator, type designer, comics artist and novelist. Overviews Hughes has written and drawn comics for '' 2000 AD'', Vertigo CMYK and Batman: Black and White, and designed for DC Comics and Marv ...

to design a new title that was to be called ''50/50''. The design duties were split so that they would each design half of the comic, Cook responsible for '' The New Statesmen'' and Hughes the ''

Third World War World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use since at ...

''. This title later became known 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 ...

'' and forged a strong alliance between Cook and Hughes who, between them were designing most of the British comics and graphic novels of this period. As well as the design for ''New Statesmen'', Cook hired fashion designers to style the clothing of the characters in the strip, which was a first for British comics. During this period 1988 – 89, known as the Second Summer of Love, Cook was also doing editorial shots for ''

'', working for

Rhythm King Records Rhythm King Records Ltd was a British independent record label, founded in the mid-1980s by Martin Heath, Adele Nozedar, DJ Jay Strongman and James Horrocks. It was based in Chiswick, London. History Beginnings Starting out as an offshoot of D ...

and designing for

and his new label

Guerilla Records Guerilla Records was a British record label that was founded in 1990 by Dick O'Dell and John Gosling, with William Orbit. It specialised in a style of progressive house that they preferred to call "dub house", with artists such as Leftfield, ...

, for whom he produced a distinctive blue camouflage sleeve influenced by a Thai Air-force shirt that he'd found on his travels in South-East Asia. 1996 saw Cook producing his first digitally manipulated photographs for the covers of ''Manga Mania magazine''. There were concerns by the publishers that his imagery looked more suitable for '' Skin Two magazine'', which became even more evident when Cook was commissioned by Skin Two themselves to produce a cover and fashion feature with his collaborators, Alexander Brattell and Grant Morrison. The subsequent 'Story of Zero' was nominated for an Erotic Oscar in 1999. Diametrically opposed to this, Cook was back on the dolls again producing elegantly styled and manipulated photographs for Egmont's ''

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

Magazine'' to which he contributed more than 60 covers. Continuing as art director for ''2000 AD'' until 2001 he consistently updated the look of the title commissioning

to design several exclusive fonts, which alongside Cook's graphic style gave it a unique identity on the newsstands. Cook also appeared in the 2010 documentary '' Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods''.

Bibliography

Comics

Comics work includes

2000 AD publications

* '' 2000 AD'' Cover artist: #600, 637, 647, 649, 662, 667, 722, 772, 843, 1137, 1158, 1571, 1615 * ''3000AD'' Cover artist: 2000 AD Anniversary Supplement (Mar 1997) * ''2000AD Monthly'' Cover artist: #63 * ''

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 ...

'' vol.1 No. 12, ''Megapolitan'' variant back cover art featuring

Sophie Aldred Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''Do ...

(Sep 1991)

Vertigo

* ''

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 w ...

X: Anniversary Preview'' Cover Artist: (Apr 2003) Logo design for: * ''

Clean Room A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientif ...

'' (2015) * ''

Effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

'' (2014) * ''Bodies'' (2014) * ''

Dead Boy Detectives The Dead Boy Detectives are fictional characters that have appeared in comic books published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. They were created by writer Neil Gaiman and artists Matt Wagner and Malcolm Jones III in '' The Sandman'' #25 (April 1991). ...

'' (2014) * ''Coffin Hill'' (2013) * ''

Mystery in Space ''Mystery in Space'' is the name of two science fiction American comic book series published by DC Comics, and of a standalone Vertigo anthology released in 2012. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 to 1966, with a further seven issues ...

'' (after Ira Schnapp) (2012) * '' Saucer Country'' (2012) * '' The Unexpected'' (2011) * '' Strange Adventures'' (2011) * ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series. First serie ...

'' (2008) * ''American Virgin'' (May 2006 – Mar 2008) * ''

The Dead Boy Detectives The Dead Boy Detectives are fictional characters that have appeared in comic books published by DC Comics' Vertigo Comics, Vertigo imprint (trade name), imprint. They were created by writer Neil Gaiman and artists Matt Wagner and Malcolm Jones III ...

'' (2005) * '' Death: At Death's Door'' (2003) * ''Zatanna: Everyday Magic'' (2003) * '' Blood & Water'' (May – Sep 2003) * '' The Losers'' (Aug 2003 – Mar 2006) * ''

Deadenders ''Deadenders'' is a science fiction comic book ongoing series, series written by Ed Brubaker and published by DC Comics. It is set in a post-apocalyptic future in New Bethleham USA and features a heavy Mod (subculture), Mod content among the char ...

'' ( Mar 2000 – Jun 2001)

DC Comics

* ''

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

'' #12: "Jelly Night & Jelly Day" (fotofuzz remix,

, with

Brendan McCarthy Brendan McCarthy is a British artist and designer who has worked for comic books, film and television. He co-wrote the film '' Mad Max: Fury Road''. He is the brother of Jim McCarthy. Life and career Early life and work Brendan McCarthy was ...

, October 2006) Logo design for: * '' The Wild Storm'' (2017) * ''

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the D ...

'' (2016) * ''

Black Canary The Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics: Dinah Drake and her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance. The original version was created by the writer-artist team of Robert Kanigher and ...

'' (2015) * ''

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...

'' (2011) * '' Knight and Squire'' (2010) * '' DC Universe: Legacies'' (2010) * ''

Red Tornado Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

'' (2010) * '' Superman: Red Son'' (2003) * ''Batman/Judge Dredd: Die Laughing'' (1998)

Marvel Comics

* ''Spider-Man: Fever'' (digital FX, colours and letters, with Brendan McCarthy, 3-issue mini-series, Marvel Comics, 2010)

Music

Album covers: *

, ''A History of Now'' (2011) * Last Man Standing, ''False Starts & Broken Promises'' (2008) * Asian Dub Foundation, '' Time Freeze: The Best of Asian Dub Foundation'' (2007) * Asian Dub Foundation, ''

'' (2005) * Torture Garden Records, ''Extreme Clubbing 4'' (2001) * Torture Garden Records, ''Extreme Clubbing 3'' (2000) *

, ''

'', (design by Orbit & Cook as ''Paranoia Art Inc''), (1993) *

, ''Water From a Vine Leaf'', ''12" single'' (1993) *

, ''Generic Sleeve'' (1990)

Books

Photographic work includes *Doctor Who: Regeneration ''Limited edition collectors’ album''

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Biography

Bibliography

Comics

2000 AD publications

Vertigo

DC Comics

Marvel Comics

Music

Books

Magazines

Exhibitions

Quotes

Notes

Further reading

References

External links