The 2000AD Art of Kevin O’Neill : ComicScene Review

Review by Luke Williams

Kevin O’Neill’s creative impact on 2000AD cannot be underestimated. He was art editor in the early days, designed and created many of its significant characters (some of whom appear in this volume) and famously introduced creator credits to the Prog’. This had huge significance in British comics, leading to greater creator recognition and improved creator rights.

Finally after a short delay and published 9 months after the great man’s passing, we have this volume, compiled by Kevin O’Neill himself. Like the volumes of work by  Brian Bolland and Mike McMahon  this is a collection of hi definition scans of the original artwork created for 2000AD in Rebellion’s ‘Apex’ format, roughly the same size as the original pages.

In his introduction, David Roach describes O’Neill as being ‘dementedly imaginative’, which is as accurate description as you are likely to get. O’Neill strips, particularly his early work, were bizarre and disturbing.  Take ‘Hunted’, reprinted in full here and published in the 1978 2000AD annual. The subject matter of bloodsports is not pleasant, but O’Neill takes it and makes it horrifying, with weird creatures, callous brutality and a black humour. Or another example is the infamous ‘Shok!’ by Steve MacManus and O’Neill a strip about a rogue robot running amok  is a classic and likely to give the audience of’ Judge Dredd’ Annual 1981 readers a shock of their own. Famously the strip later ‘inspired’ the movie Hardware.

Kevin O’Neill was not a “mainstream” artist, idiosyncratic and with wild but strong design sense, the crazier the better; take his work on Nemesis, Ro Busters, or A.B.C Warriors. In his foreword American writer Matt Fraction describes the impact that O’Neill had on him and reminds the reader that O’Neill famously had a Green Lantern Strip that wasn’t approved by the Comic s Code Authority, which he wore as a badge of honour. There is a mischievous glee in his work.

According to Roach, O’Neill kept most of his art and has included some astonishing pieces;  such as the beautiful double page colour spread introducing Deadlock to ‘A.B.C Warriors’ serial;  the alternative pages of the climactic episode to ‘Nemesis Book X’,  the rare Dredd of ‘The Law According to Judge Dredd’  which highlights O’Neill’s knack for drawing the bizarre;  and his and Mills’  score settling ‘Tharg’s Head Revisited’ page from Prog’ 500; not to mention those startling ‘Metalzoic’ covers created for its reprinting in the Prog. There is plenty for your eyes to feast on here.

The volume collects many examples of his early work for the Prog’ with later work such as his last strip, his return to ‘Bonjo From Beyond The Stars’,  the aforementioned final episode of Nemesis Book X and other examples of painted Nemesis strips. In the introduction David Roach refers to volume 2 which will focus on the otherworldly gothic magnificence that is Nemesis the Warlock Book 1. Start saving now.