English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

comic book illustrator A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

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.Anderson: Psi Division'', ''

Button Man ''Button Man'' is a comic strip created for the British comic '' 2000 AD'', written by John Wagner and illustrated by Arthur Ranson. The series is unrelated to the earlier ''Bad City Blue'' featuring Button Men in ''2000 AD'' #468-479. Premise ...

'' and ''

Mazeworld ''Mazeworld'' is a fantasy story created by Alan Grant and Arthur Ranson for British sci-fi comic anthology '' 2000 AD''. It ran in three parts between 1996 and 1999. Overview Adam Cadman is the first man to be hanged in Britain since 1964 bu ...

''. His work on Cassandra Anderson has been called "photo-realistic".

Early life

Born in 1939, Ranson's childhood and formative years included access to the influences of art and artists in a mixture of

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 ...

and American comics, including " heBeano,

Knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

, heDandy,

Film Fun ''Film Fun'' was a British celebrity comics comic book that ran from (issues dates) 17 January 1920 to 15 September 1962, when it merged with '' Buster'', a total of 2,225 issues. There were also annuals in the forties and fifties. As the title ...

, Wizard, Hotspur..., The Eagle with

Frank Hampson Frank Hampson (21 December 1918 – 8 July 1985) was a British illustrator. He is best known as the creator and artist of Dan Dare and other characters in the boys' comic, the ''Eagle'', to which he contributed from 1950 to 1961. Biograp ...

setting new standards.

Wayne Boring Wayne Boring (June 5, 1905 – February 20, 1987) was an American comic book artist best known for his work on Superman from the late 1940s to 1950s. He occasionally used the pseudonym Jack Harmon. Biography Early life and career Boring attende ...

's Superman,

C.C. Beck Charles Clarence Beck (June 8, 1910 – November 22, 1989) was an American cartoonist and comic book artist, best known for his work on Captain Marvel (today known as Shazam!) at Fawcett Comics and DC Comics. Early life C. C. Beck was born on J ...

's Captain Marvel," and others (including, " ter, John Buscema's

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first ...

and his Conan,

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential c ...

's

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing ...

"). He says that Hampson in particular was an early influence, but that Ranson attended the South West Essex Technical College and School of Art in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sou ...

, Essex, where he studied painting and printmaking.Jerry Bails' "Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999": Arthur Ranson
. Accessed September 3, 2008 Trained initially as an "apprentice stamp and banknote designer" in the 1960s, learning "to translate photographs into watercolour... stamp size." A "rare ability at the time," he would later use this skill as a "selling point" when pursuing a career "as an illustrator in advertising and publishing."

Career

After a period of time as a " ttering artist for a cardboard box manufacturer", followed by teaching work, he says he " n away to London." After some time in menial jobs, Ranson gained experience as a " neral patcher-up and filler-in at commercial art studio," where he was encouraged to become a freelance artist by, he recalls Ranson has a son, Jonas, who is also an artist, and daughter, Cassandra.

Look-in

Ranson first brought the precise techniques he had evolved through his apprenticeship to the UK TV comic ''

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.John M. Burns 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'' and ''School Friend''. During the 1960s, Burns worked on ''TV Ce ...

,

Martin Asbury Martin Asbury is a British comic and storyboard artist, best known for drawing the '' Garth'' strip in the ''Daily Mirror'' from 1976 to 1997, and for his colour TV adaptations in ''Look-in''. Biography Asbury was educated at Merchant Taylors S ...

,

Harry North Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

,

Colin Wyatt Colin Wyatt (born 1939) worked from 1957 to 1980 for IPC Magazines as an illustrator of children's comics. Biography Concentrating mostly on the very young children's stories, he contributed to such well-known titles and ''Tiny Tots'' and ''Ja ...

,

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...

,

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 ...

,

Phil Gascoine Phil Gascoine (8 June 1934 – August 2007)Holland, SteveBear Alley (August 17, 2007). was a British comics artist, best known for his work in comics such as '' Jinty'', ''Bunty'', and ''Battle Action'', for which he drew ''The Sarge''.

, Barry Mitchell, and

Bill Titcombe Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. After some time drawing "funnies", Ranson drew on his skill in translating pictures across mediums (generally using a

Grant Projector Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States *Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, Ca ...

, which "projects an image up onto a glass plate, on which one places tracing paper"), and brought his talents to bear for ''Look-in'' by creating strips based on such popular TV series as ''

Sapphire and Steel ''Sapphire & Steel'' is a British television supernatural sci-fi/fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. ...

'' and ''

Danger Mouse Danger Mouse may refer (or appear in) to: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series * Danger Mouse (musician) (born ...

'', all written by

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 ...

. Since these works were based on specific TV shows, he says that "it seemed important that the characters looked as much like the actors as possible", and thus "used the methods I knew" to achieve the accurate likenesses that typify his work.

Musical strips

Ranson also produced a series of comic-strip biographies of well-known music stars and bands, including

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

(1977),

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

(1981),

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

(1981-2),

Haircut One Hundred Haircut One Hundred (also Haircut 100) were a British new wave group formed in 1980 in Beckenham, London by Nick Heyward, Les Nemes and Graham Jones. In 1981 and 1982, the band scored four UK top 10 hit singles: " Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets ...

(1983) and

The Sex Pistols ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

(1983). Most biographical articles on Ranson date his Beatles work to "the 1960s," but Ranson himself dispels this myth by stating that the "first auto-biographical icstrip I did was ABBA." In fact that work was done in 1981. Ranson recalls that ''Look-in'' editor

Colin Shelbourne Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

was convinced to allow Allan and Ranson to "retain... the copyright" to their Elvis and Beatles strips, which had the unfortunate side-effect of delaying complete publication, since such deals were largely unheard of. Ranson says: Ranson describes Shelbourne as "an adventurous editor," who went the extra mile and even allowed the writer and artist to "go to Liverpool for research" for the Beatles strip.

TV strips

Sapphire & Steel

Ranson's best-known work for ''Look-in'' consisted largely of adaptations of two strips based upon totally different British television programmes. The first of these was a strip based on

P. J. Hammond Peter J. Hammond (born c. 1930s; sometimes credited as P. J. Hammond) is a British television writer and novelist. Career Hammond's television career began in the 1960s, when he began by working on BBC police dramas such as ''Dixon of Dock Gree ...

's ''

Sapphire & Steel ''Sapphire & Steel'' is a British television supernatural sci-fi/fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. ...

'', which Ranson was "the first and only one to draw" between 1979 and 1981. Scripted by Angus Allan (almost ''Look-in''s sole writer, according to Ranson), Ranson barely recalls drawing the strip, but does remember that Ranson was denied the chance to meet ''Sapphire & Steel'' star

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'' ( ...

by being absent when she visited the offices. He recalls that, unfortunately, while " e was kind enough to offer to meet me and pose for more photo-reference," " meone told her that no, that would not be necessary. Stupid sods." In 2007, Prion Books reprinted a selection of material from ''Look-in'', and included a three-part ''Sapphire & Steel'' story on pages 132-133, 136-137 and 140-141.

Danger Mouse

Ranson's other famous strip for ''Look-in'' was

Danger Mouse Danger Mouse may refer (or appear in) to: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series * Danger Mouse (musician) (born ...

, an unlikely children's cartoon hero based - loosely - on the

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

TV series ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'', created in cartoon mouse form by

Cosgrove Hall Cosgrove Hall Films (also known as Cosgrove Hall Productions) was an English animation studio founded by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall; its headquarters was in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Cosgrove Hall was once a major producer of childr ...

and voiced on TV by

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector ...

. Ranson says that he "did enjoy it at the time," and was awarded not only the "Good Grief Oh Crikey" Award from Cosgrove Hall ("The award is a painted model of Dangermouse in heroic pose with a nervous Penfold peering from behind him"), but also received an award from the

Society of Strip Illustration The Society of Strip Illustration (SSI), later known as the Comics Creators Guild, was a British network for all those involved in any stage of the creative process of comics production. The SSI, which was co-founded in 1977 by Denis Gifford, met ...

for his work on the strip. Ranson wryly notes that " e reflected glory from the highly popular TV show made me a big hit with my daughter's

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

friends too."

Other

Between 1977 and 1990, Ranson also produced strips based on such TV properties as ''

Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd.

'', ''

Michael Bentine's Potty Time ''Michael Bentine's Potty Time'' was a British children's show, written by and starring Michael Bentine, and directed and produced by Leon Thau for Thames Television on ITV. It ran from 1973 to 1980. Bentine had introduced The Potties on ...

'', ''

Duckula ''Count Duckula'' is a British children's animated comedy horror television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall Films and produced by Thames Television as a spin-off from ''Danger Mouse'', a series in which an early version of the ...

'' (another Cosgrove Hall character whose comics adventures began in ''Look-in'', but also spun off into its own title), ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction film, science fiction Action-adventure fiction, action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson (producer), Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel Cyborg (novel), ''Cyborg'' by M ...

'' and ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court m ...

'', and others. He also produced comic strips based on the TV adaptations of

Richmal Crompton Richmal Crompton Lamburn (15 November 1890 – 11 January 1969) was a popular English writer, best known for her ''Just William'' series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books. Life Richmal Crompton Lambu ...

's "''

Just William ''Just William'' is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for ...

''" novels,

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily US newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books ...

and the film

Logan's Run ''Logan's Run'' is a science fiction novel by American writers William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Published in 1967, the novel depicts a dystopic Malthusianism future society in which both population and the consumption of resou ...

. Ranson also worked briefly for

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 D ...

in the late 1980s, and even illustrated a couple of issues of the comics adventures of Dr. Who for ''

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 ...

'' in 1990.

Advertising

Aside from his ''Look-in'' and (later) ''2000AD'' comics work, Ranson also produced illustrations for

Fiesta ''Fiesta'' (Spanish for "religious feast", "festival", or "party") may refer to: Events *Fiesta San Antonio, a 10-day event held every April in San Antonio, Texas *St. Peter's Fiesta, a five-day festival in Gloucester, Massachusetts *Fiestas d ...

and some " vertising work through an agent, ncludingsome

All-Bran All-Bran is a high-bran, high-fibre, wheat bran breakfast cereal manufactured by Kellogg's and marketed as an aid to digestive health. History The introduction of All-Bran in 1916 came on the heels of the success of Kellogg's Bran Flakes a year ...

adverts." He produced some assorted work for various other

IPC IPC may refer to: Computing * Infrastructure protection centre or information security operations center * Instructions per cycle or instructions per clock, an aspect of central-processing performance * Inter-process communication, the sharin ...

magazines in addition to ''2000AD'', and was glad of the "more challenging" work to be found in comics, branding himself "too sensitive a plant to get on in advertising despite the high fees." Ranson stresses the influence of his peers - particularly

Brian Bolland Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' ( Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology ' ...

- on his own evolution as an artist, moving from being burdened by the "British way of drawing adventure comics... dependable, professional, craftsmanlike and worthy," to seeing and being influenced by work that "looked as though

he artist, particularly Bolland He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

really cared about it."

2000 AD

Ranson stresses the importance of artist

Brian Bolland Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' ( Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology ' ...

, saying that In 1989, Ranson followed in Bolland—and others'—footsteps, and moved to major British sci-fi comic ''2000 AD'', where he has remained ever since, with rare forays into the world of

American comics American comics may refer to: *History of American comics The history of American comics began in the 19th century in mass print media, in the era of sensationalist journalism, where newspaper comics served as further entertainment for mass re ...

, including

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

and the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to ...

. He counts himself lucky that this career path has, in his decades-long comics career seen him work primarily with just three writers.

Judge Anderson: Psi Division

Ranson's first work for'' 2000 AD'' was a one-off Judge Dredd story "Dungeon Master" by John Wagner. It was followed by the ten-part ''Anderson: Psi Division - "Triad"'' storyline, which started in Prog #635 (15 July,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

). David Bishop, in the ''2000 AD ''history volume ''

Thrill Power Overload ''Thrill Power Overload'', or ''TPO'' is a book about the history of the British comic '' 2000 AD'' written by David Bishop, one of its editors. History The book started life as series of articles written by David Bishop and serialised in the ...

'' says that Ranson's A spin-off from

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 ...

, Cassandra Anderson is a Judge with psychic skills, including

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

and

precognition Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...

. Over the next fifteen years, Ranson drew a dozen more serials featuring Judge Anderson, working with writer Alan Grant, who says that since their first collaboration Asked about the changes Anderson had undergone during his 15-years working on her stories, Ranson believed that she had indeed changed Ranson admits to feeling "quite possessive of her", and considers her "the most human of any comic hero I am aware of, and

ne who NE, Ne or ne may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Neutral Evil, an alignment in the American role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' * New Edition, an American vocal group * Nicomachean Ethics, a collection of ten books by Greek philosopher A ...

deals with some of the knottier problems of being human – morality, mortality, meaning." He is especially fond of working on stories in which Anderson is "aware of" her age (of "being between forty and fifty years old") while still "retain

ng her Ng, ng, or NG may refer to: * Ng (name) (黄伍吳), a surname of Chinese origin Arts and entertainment * N-Gage (disambiguation), a handheld gaming system * Naked Giants, Seattle rock band * '' Spirit Hunter: NG'', a video game Businesses a ...

likeness and... glamour."

Button Man

In

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, ''2000 AD'' stalwarts Kevin O'Neill,

Pat Mills Patrick Eamon Mills (born 1949) is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfather ...

,

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. ...

, Alan Grant and Mike McMahon were invited by Geoff Fry to begin work on a publication for

Neptune Distribution Neptune Distribution was a UK based comic distribution company founded and headquartered in Leicester, which existed from 1985 to 1991. Neptune Comics (as it was named at the outset), began as a small B2C mail order company selling American com ...

.Bishop (2007), pp. 142-143 Neptune had acquired premiere British

fanzine A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share t ...

''

Fantasy Advertiser ''Fantasy Advertiser'', later abbreviated to ''FA'', was a British fanzine focused on comic books, founded in 1965 by Frank Dobson, the "Godfather of British Fandom."Skinn, Dez"Early days of UK comics conventions and marts," DezSkinn.com. Access ...

'' in 1988, and sold-out an issue featuring Mills & O'Neill's ''

Marshal Law ''Marshal Law'' is an English-language superhero comic book series created by Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neill. ''Marshal Law'' was first published by Epic Comics in 1987. The series is a satire on the superhero genre as well as a deconstruction o ...

'', prompting the move towards creating a line of comics spearheaded by that character. Having formed an imprint -

Apocalypse Ltd Apocalypse Ltd was a short-lived publishing company formed out of an alliance of Pat Mills, John Wagner, Alan Grant and Kevin O'Neill. Apocalypse was an offshoot of Neptune Distribution, based in South Wigston, Leicester. Apocalypse was meant ...

- the publish the new anthology title, Pat Mills found himself de facto editor of the in-preparation title, now called ''

Toxic! ''Toxic!'' was a British comic that was published weekly from March 28 to October 24, 1991, by Apocalypse Ltd, with a total of 31 issues. History ''Toxic!'' was the idea of Pat Mills, Kevin O'Neill, Mike McMahon, John Wagner and Alan Grant. ...

''. Amid some turmoil, the initial five creators began to splinter, with Wagner in particular feeling that his "style, the way I write, had itself been deemed un-''Toxic!''" The strip he had spent some time working on was vetoed by Mills, who felt that it was "far too close to ''2000 AD'' in style." It eventually fell to the new editor -

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 ...

, head-hunted from

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 D ...

- to inform Wagner. He recalls that " that stage Arthur Ranson had drawn an awful lot of it." The strip - called ''

Button Man ''Button Man'' is a comic strip created for the British comic '' 2000 AD'', written by John Wagner and illustrated by Arthur Ranson. The series is unrelated to the earlier ''Bad City Blue'' featuring Button Men in ''2000 AD'' #468-479. Premise ...

'' - was shelved half-finished. ''Toxic!'' was cancelled in October, 1991 after 31 issues.Bishop (2007), pp. 144 In the spring of 1992, as part of a promotion called "the Mega-Blast," ''Button Man'' was resurrected and launched in Prog 780.Bishop (2007), pp. 153-154 Ultra-violent and one of the first non-science fictional strips to appear in the comic's 15-year history, ''Button Man'' was one of the very few

creator-owned In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-published or published by a corporate publisher. In some fields of ...

strips to appear in ''2000 AD''. Then-editor

Steve MacManus Steve MacManus (sometimes credited as Ian Rogan) is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at '' 2000 AD''. Biography Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub-editor on t ...

sums it up by saying Ranson says that: The first ''Button Man'' serial was collected in 1994 by

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hard ...

, and again by Rebellion in 2003. Ranson remembers that he "

ade Ade, Adé, or ADE may refer to: Aeronautics *Ada Air's ICAO code *Aden International Airport's IATA code *Aeronautical Development Establishment, a laboratory of the DRDO in India Medical * Adverse Drug Event *Antibody-dependent enhancement * AD ...

a small change to the end of ''Button Man''," but praises Wagner's storytelling abilities, for being "self-contained. Complete in themselves, neat, compact and satisfying, solid." A second story followed in 1994, and the third made its debut "after an absence of six years" in 2001.Bishop (2007), pp. 216-217 Writer John Wagner candidly stated that he believes "My writing and Arthur's art were patchier on the third series, but I believe the plot was the best of the three." In 2007, Wagner wrote a fourth series, as well pursuing prospects for a big screen adaptation of the series.

Other comics work

In 1993, Grant and Ranson contributed the two-part story "Tao" to

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 ...

' '' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' series (issues #52-53). In 1997, Ranson provided the artwork for a one-shot prestige-format single issue for DC Comics, ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

/

Phantom Stranger The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in a ...

''. Written by one of Ranson's frequent collaborators, Alan Grant (a mainstay at ''2000 AD'', and also a major contributor to the Batman mythos), the story saw the two characters team-up to "solve the mystery of a missing civilization." . Accessed September 2, 2008 Grant and Ranson had previously produced "an outline of a Phantom Stranger story

anson Anson may refer to: People * Anson (name), a give name and surname ** Anson family, a British aristocratic family with the surname Place names ;United States * Anson, Indiana * Anson, Kansas * Anson, Maine ** Anson (CDP), Maine * Anson, Missour ...

wanted to draw," but were rebuffed. Indeed, Ranson recalls that Grant was asked to write in ''Batman/Phantom Stranger'' a Stranger who "must do nothing spooky." He worked on a number of

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to ...

-related comics for

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

. However, he says that he does not "believe my style suits ," and did not enjoy working from scripts written by American writers who, he felt must have "watched too much television as children," peppering their scripts with TV/film terminology and tropes.

Cameos

Due to his use of photographs as reference materials, Ranson has included cameos of friends, colleagues and family in several of his stories. Examples include: *Angus P Allan: The ''Look-in'' writer and Ranson collaborator on (particularly) ''Sapphire & Steel'' and ''Dangermouse'', recalls being included in an episode of ''Sapphire & Steel'' - "One of the strips featured the 'ghost' of a French naval lieutenant of Bonaparte's time, and Arthur included drawings of me." *Sue and Alan Grant: Ranson included their faces in ''Anderson: Psi Division - "Satan"''... *Arthur Ranson: ...Ranson also included his "own head... in the pile of corpses that Satan imagines," in the same story. *

Dez Skinn Derek "Dez" Skinn (born 4 February 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', 10 June 2005. Accessed 14 August 2010WebCitation archive is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books o ...

: Appeared in ''Button Man''. *

Peter Hogan Peter Hogan is an English writer and comics writer, best known for ''Resident Alien'', which he co-created with artist Steve Parkhouse. Hogan began his comics career as editor of cult British comic '' Revolver'' in 1990–1991, before worki ...

: Appeared in ''Button Man''. * Edward Berridge: Appeared in ''Anderson, Psi'' - "Half Life"

Bibliography

Comics work includes: *''

Sapphire & Steel ''Sapphire & Steel'' is a British television supernatural sci-fi/fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. ...

'' (in ''

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.Anderson: Psi Division'' (with Alan Grant): ** "Triad" (in '' 2000 AD'' #635-644, 1989) ** ''Shamballa'' (June 2008, 224 pages, Rebellion, ): *** "Shamballa" (in ''2000 AD'' #700-711, 1990) *** "Reasons to Be Cheerful" (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 #10, 1992) *** "The Witch?" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' vol. 2 #14, 1992) *** "Jesus Syndrome" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' vol. 2 #22-24, 1993) *** "Satan" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' vol. 3 #1-7, 1995) *** "The Protest" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' vol. 3 #14, 1996) *** "R*Evolution" (in ''2000 AD'' #1263-1272, 2001) ** "Postcards from the Edge" (Part 4) (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' vol. 2 #53, 1994) **"Half-Life" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #214-217, 2004) ** "WMD" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #221-226, 2004) ** "Lock-in" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #227-230, 2005) ** "City Of Dead" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #231-236, 2005) ** "Lucid" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #238-241, 2005) * "Fellow Travellers" (with

Andrew Cartmel Andrew J. Cartmel (born 6 April 1958) is a British author and journalist. He was the script editor of ''Doctor Who'' during the Sylvester McCoy era of the show between 1987 and 1989. He has also worked as a script editor on other television seri ...

, in ''

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 ...

'' #164-166, 1990) *''

Button Man ''Button Man'' is a comic strip created for the British comic '' 2000 AD'', written by John Wagner and illustrated by Arthur Ranson. The series is unrelated to the earlier ''Bad City Blue'' featuring Button Men in ''2000 AD'' #468-479. Premise ...

'' (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. ...

): ** "Book I: The Killing Game" (in ''2000 AD'' #780-791, 1992, tpb, 88 pages,

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hard ...

, May 1994, ,

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its '' Sniper Elite'' series and multiple games in the '' Alien vs. P ...

, hardcover, August 2003, , softcover, January 2007, ) ** "Book II: The Confession of Harry Exton" (in ''2000 AD'' #904-919, 1994, tpb, 112 pages, Rebellion, August 2003, ) ** "Book III: Killer Killer" (in ''2000 AD'' prog 2001 & #1223-1233, 2001) *''

Mazeworld ''Mazeworld'' is a fantasy story created by Alan Grant and Arthur Ranson for British sci-fi comic anthology '' 2000 AD''. It ran in three parts between 1996 and 1999. Overview Adam Cadman is the first man to be hanged in Britain since 1964 bu ...

'' (with Alan Grant, tpb, 192 pages, Rebellion, November 2011, ): ** "Book One" (in ''2000 AD'' #1014-1023, 1996) ** "Book Two" (in ''2000 AD'' #1101-1110, 1998) ** "Book Three" (in ''2000 AD'' #1151-1160, 1999) *''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

/

Phantom Stranger The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in a ...

'' (with Alan Grant,

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

,

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 ...

, 1997) *''

X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' (with

Jeff Jensen Jeff Jensen (born 1970) is an American writer and journalist. Early life Jensen is a native of Seattle, Washington, and a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Career Jensen is a screenwriter, journalist and author based i ...

, 4-issue mini-series,

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book 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 Comics'' in 19 ...

, 2002) *'' X-Treme X-Posé'' (with

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...

, 2-issue mini-series, Marvel Comics, 2003) *'' Soldier X'' #9-10 (with

Karl Bollers Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

, Marvel Comics, 2003)

Notes

References

* Bishop, David (2007) ''

Thrill-Power Overload ''Thrill Power Overload'', or ''TPO'' is a book about the history of the British comic '' 2000 AD'' written by David Bishop, one of its editors. History The book started life as series of articles written by David Bishop and serialised in the ...

: The Official History of 2000AD'' (

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its '' Sniper Elite'' series and multiple games in the '' Alien vs. P ...

, June 2007, )
Arthur Ranson
at Barney * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranson, Arthur 1939 births British comics artists Living people