Paul Grist (born 9 September 1960) is a British
comic book creator
developed specialized terminology. Several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under di ...
, noted for his hard-boiled police series ''
Kane'' and his unorthodox superhero series ''
Jack Staff
''Jack Staff'' is a British superhero created by comic book writer/artist Paul Grist. While the title character is billed as "Britain's Greatest Hero", the series is known for being in the style of an anthology title and featuring an ensemble c ...
''.
Biography
Grist was born in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
. His first work was published in the 1980s by
DC Thomson
DC Thomson is a media company based in Dundee, Scotland. Founded by David Couper Thomson in 1905, it is best known for publishing ''The Courier (Dundee), The Courier'', ''Evening Telegraph (Dundee), The Evening Telegraph'' and ''The Sunday Pos ...
and
Fleetway
Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London.
History
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 t ...
. His early work also includes ''
St. Swithin's Day'' (written by
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...
and published by
Trident Comics
Trident Comics was a short-lived comic book publishing company based in Leicester, UK. Specialising in black-and-white comics created by new British talent, it was formed in 1989 as an offshoot of the comics distributor/wholesaler Neptune Di ...
), ''
Grendel
Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'' (700–1000 AD). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. He is referred to as b ...
: Devil in Our Midst'' (written by
Steven T. Seagle and published by
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
), and a
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 the British weekly anthology Comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977). He is the magazi ...
adventure, ''Kinky Boots'', authored by
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 ...
.
He later founded his own publishing company,
Dancing Elephant Press, under which ''Kane'' and ''Jack Staff'' were first published, but both titles later moved to
Image Comics
Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...
.
He also published ''
Burglar Bill'' under the Dancing Elephant umbrella (May–Nov. 2003, though it had partly appeared in an earlier form published by
Trident Comics
Trident Comics was a short-lived comic book publishing company based in Leicester, UK. Specialising in black-and-white comics created by new British talent, it was formed in 1989 as an offshoot of the comics distributor/wholesaler Neptune Di ...
).
Grist's art is notable for its spare — sometimes stiff — style, heavy use of shadow, and inventive layouts. His writing is marked by a penchant for sudden cuts between events occurring in different time periods, without the gradual transitions common to the comic book medium. Following the structure of Grist's stories can be a challenge, but he provides subtle visual clues to aid the alert reader.
Bibliography
Comics work includes:
* ''
St. Swithin's Day'' (with
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...
,
Trident Comics
Trident Comics was a short-lived comic book publishing company based in Leicester, UK. Specialising in black-and-white comics created by new British talent, it was formed in 1989 as an offshoot of the comics distributor/wholesaler Neptune Di ...
, 1990) — originally appeared in black and white in ''
Trident
A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...
'' (Trident Comics' anthology title) issues #1-4. Trident collected and reprinted it in 1990 in colour. This edition quickly went out of print and for many years it remained out of print as Trident Comics had gone out of business in 1991. Later reprinted by
Oni Press
Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon, best known for publishing such series as '' Scott Pilgrim'' and ''Rick and Morty''. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's ...
in 1998.
* ''
Insiders'' (with
Mark Millar
Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series ''The Authority (comics), The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ext ...
, in ''
Crisis
A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...
'' #55-59, 1991)
* ''
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 the British weekly anthology Comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977). He is the magazi ...
'': "Kinky Boots" (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 ...
, ''Judge Dredd Mega Special'', 1993)
* ''
Kane'' (
Dancing Elephant Press, 1993–present) collected as:
# ''New Eden''
# ''Rabbit Hunt''
# ''Histories''
# ''Thirty Ninth''
# ''The Untouchable Rico Costas & Other Short Stories''
# ''Partners''
* ''
Jack Staff
''Jack Staff'' is a British superhero created by comic book writer/artist Paul Grist. While the title character is billed as "Britain's Greatest Hero", the series is known for being in the style of an anthology title and featuring an ensemble c ...
'' (
Image Comics
Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...
, 2000–2011) collected as:
# ''Everything Used to Be Black & White'' (352 pages, February 2004, )
# ''Soldiers'' (160 pages, November 2004, )
# ''Echoes Of Tomorrow'' (200 pages, January 2007, )
# ''Rocky Realities'' (224 pages, March 2010, )
* ''
Rift War!'' (collected ''Rift War'', 128 pages, June 2009,
Titan Books
Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...
, ):
** "Part One"/"Part Two" (with
Simon Furman
Simon Christopher Francis Furman (born 22 March 1961) is a British comic book writer who is best known for his work on Hasbro's ''Transformers'' franchise, starting with writing Marvel Comics's initial comic book to promote the toyline worl ...
, in ''
Torchwood Magazine
''Torchwood – The Official Magazine'' was a British magazine devoted to the BBC science fiction television series ''Torchwood''. The first issue was released on 24 January 2008 and concluded on 16 December 2010 The United States version was due ...
'' #3-4, 2008)
** "Dark Times"/"Circles" (script and art, in ''
Torchwood Magazine
''Torchwood – The Official Magazine'' was a British magazine devoted to the BBC science fiction television series ''Torchwood''. The first issue was released on 24 January 2008 and concluded on 16 December 2010 The United States version was due ...
'' #7-8, 2008)
** "The Calm Before"/"The Storm" (script and art, in ''
Torchwood Magazine
''Torchwood – The Official Magazine'' was a British magazine devoted to the BBC science fiction television series ''Torchwood''. The first issue was released on 24 January 2008 and concluded on 16 December 2010 The United States version was due ...
'' #11-12, 2008)
* ''
Mudman'' (
Image Comics
Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...
, 2011–2013)
*''
Demon Nic'' (serialized in Judge Dredd Megazine #361-368, 2015-2016)
*''
The Visitor: How & Why He Stayed'' (
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
, 2017)
*''
The Union'' (script, art by
Andrea Di Vito
Andrea Di Vito (born May 28, 1971) is an Italian comic book artist.
Biography
Di Vito was born in Rome, and showed a love for drawing from an early age. His first published work appeared in the form of two short stories in the Italian magazine ...
,
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
, 2020)
See also
*
British comics
A British comic is a periodical published in the United Kingdom that contains comic strips. It is generally referred to as a comic or a comic magazine, and historically as a comic paper. As of 2014, the three longest-running comics of all time w ...
Notes
References
*
*
Paul Grist publicationsreadyourselfraw
2000 AD profile
External links
The Paul Grist Comics IndexIn-depth interview with Paul Grist at the Forbidden Planet International blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grist, Paul
1960 births
Living people
Writers from Sheffield
English comics artists
English comics writers