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Home ¦ Features ¦ Steve Parkhouse

21st November 04

Shadowman concept art for Angel Fire (view larger version)

Steve Parkhouse has now been working in the comics field for twenty-five years, beginning his career with Marvel Comics Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D in 1969. Since then, he has gone on to work for a variety of publishers, such as IPC and DC, and was one of the founding artists on the groundbreaking British anthology comic Warrior, where he co-created ‘The Bojeffries Saga’ with writer Alan Moore. He was the longest serving writer on Marvel UK’s strip for Dr. Who Weekly, co-created ‘Big Dave’ with Grant Morrison and Mark Millar for 2000AD, and has worked on a vast number of titles, including The Invisibles and The Sandman.

His Milkman Murders (written by Joe Casey) has just seen print from Dark Horse, and is about to imminently release the original graphic novel Angel Fire with long-term collaborator Chris Blythe, whilst next year sees the arrival of ‘Tiger Sun Dragon Moon’ in 2000AD.

Who, or what, would you say were your influences, both as a writer and artist – MAD magazine and Alex Toth seem like obvious examples? Were you influenced by British humour artists like Ken Reid and Leo Baxendale at all?

Mad Magazine, yeh...for sure. Yes, Alex Toth is a personal demigod for me. Though I've often said I'm more influenced by European artists I'd be hard-pressed to name them. It's more of an attitude. There's a generic feel to the European style that I admire. Victor de la Fuente is a case in point - and Palacios, the Spanish artist who had many aliases, I understand. Their work is very mature, very accomplished. It's not in your face all the time.
It's not always demanding attention. It serves the story rather than trying to dominate the page. Many more contemporary artists, especially in this country, are so insecure they feel they have to make every frame a
masterpiece. It's a waste of energy and subsequently they exhaust themselves by the time they're twenty three.

As a writer? Nobody that would be immediately apparent. I'm more of a natural writer than artist; so I'm happier working in my own style. Yes I've been influenced by the likes of Ken Reid and Leo Baxendale. Those guys
taught me my trade. They were masters of British comics - along with good old Paddy Brennan and Dudley Watkins - the Leonardo and Michelangelo of the funnies.

Parkhouse and Blythe's Future Shock

I believe that when you were working for IPC you told Kevin O'Neil to never learn how to letter, as he'd get swamped by freelance lettering jobs. Dave Gibbons has also credited 'looking over your shoulder' as the method he used to learn lettering. Having most recently lettered the Future Shock 'The Shape of Things to Come' (prog 1404, written by Chris Blythe) what is your opinion of letterers and lettering today?

I'd better be careful what I say, because I'm married to a letterer. They're the salt of the earth, obviously - the unsung heroes of the industry. You'd be amazed at the trials and tribulations the letterer has to face at the
hands of unthinking artists. And most artists are unthinking! There are artists working today who still don't know the basic rule of drawing characters in the sequence in which they speak. It's pathetic. I like letterers. I am one! It's a tough job - and good lettering is a joy to read. I've enjoyed digitising fonts both for myself and my wife, Annie. It's made life a lot easier.

You've said previously that you see lighting as a very important point when coming to illustrate a script. Do you see yourself in a similar way to a cinematographer does in film?

Yes. It's a little game I play to make life more interesting. It gives me a sense of power. The right lighting creates a much stronger mood, which contributes to the emotional resonance of a story. It increases the credibility of the characters. It also demands that the drawing is basically sound, which further enhances the realism of the scene. I'm currently moving from a linear approach to drawing, to a more sculptural approach, concentrating on the broader masses so the atmosphere is sustained. It makes the balance of black and white a lot easier to deal with as well. Drawing is an ongoing thing, when you stop learning you may as well give up.

Parkhouse and BWS on Fury

Sheer fluke. Barry and I met at art school and he gradually persuaded me to write some stuff for him. He was determined to get to New York - so by the time we left college it seemed natural to start his campaign in tandem. He was the driving force. I was much more interested in mainstream illustration and graphics. I was also a natural cartoonist, so it seemed an obvious development to get into comics. Marvel were doing some cartoon books at the
time. And Mad Magazine was just down the road. Basically, we invaded the Bullpen and didn't shift until Stan Lee talked to us. I liked him immediately. He's been criticised heavily over the years, but he was incredibly generous to us. The company hired lawyers to help us get working visas. Stan was always charming and affable and surprisingly self-effacing. Jack Kirby, by comparison, was a miserable old git.

How did you find working at IPC on humour titles like Whizzer & Chips and Buster?

Probably the best time I ever had. The management at IPC were so spectacularly incompetent that I spent three years playing table tennis, office cricket, conkers, ummm...Subbuteo... and a lot of dope was smoked. And very very very little work was done at all. In the end I just got bored and drifted away. But I did learn how to write a script. And I got to see some beautiful artwork. And I met Annie.

You also worked for House of Hammer on 'Kronos: Vampire Hunter', written by Steve Moore? What are your memories of the magazine?

I didn't do myself any favours during that period. I was trying too hard. I think I was a fish out of water. There was some magnificent work being done by the likes of Paul Neary, John Bolton and Brian Lewis. There was no way I could compete. I was also going through a very difficult time in my personal life.

Go to part 2