Kevin O'Neill, born in London in 1953, is a British comics illustrator best known as the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock and Marshal Law (with writer Pat Mills), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (with Alan Moore). Kevin ONeill can be Kevin ONeill, the comics illustrator Kevin ONeill, the basketball coach Kevin ONeil, the music drummer: see The Honeydrippers: Volume One. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Nemesis the Warlock is a comic strip created by writer Pat Mills and artist Kevin ONeill which appeared in the pages of the weekly comic book 2000 AD. The title character, a fire-breathing demonic alien, fights against the fanatical Torquemada, Grand Master of the Terran Empire in Earth... Cover of the Marshal Law Takes Manhattan one-shot, art by Kevin ONeill Marshal Law is a superhero comic book series created by Pat Mills and Kevin ONeill. ... For the film adaptation, see The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Comics (or, less commonly, sequential art) is a form of visual art consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the form of speech balloons or image captions. ... Nemesis the Warlock is a comic strip created by writer Pat Mills and artist Kevin ONeill which appeared in the pages of the weekly comic book 2000 AD. The title character, a fire-breathing demonic alien, fights against the fanatical Torquemada, Grand Master of the Terran Empire in Earth... Cover of the Marshal Law Takes Manhattan one-shot, art by Kevin ONeill Marshal Law is a superhero comic book series created by Pat Mills and Kevin ONeill. ... Pat Mills, nicknamed the godfather of British comics, is a 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. ... For the film adaptation, see The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film). ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ...

Biography

Early career

O'Neill began working for the publishing company IPC at the age of 16 as an office boy for Buster, which was a children's humour title. By 1976 he was working as a colourist on Disney comics reprints and British children's comics such as Monster Fun and Whizzer and Chips. Tired of working on children's humour titles, he heard that a new science fiction title was being put together at IPC and went to see Pat Mills and asked to be transferred to the new comic which was to be called 2000 AD. IPC Media the UKs leading consumer magazine publisher, with an unrivalled portfolio of brands, selling over 350 million copies each year. ... Buster was a long-running British comic (28 May 1960 - 4 January 2000) which carried a mixture of humour and adventure strips, although the latter genre would become a rarer occurrence as the comic went on. ... Disney redirects here. ... Monster Fun was a British comic for young children (7-12). ... Whizzer and Chips was a British comic book that ran from the issues dated 18 October 1969 to 27 October 1990, when it merged with Buster. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Pat Mills, nicknamed the godfather of British comics, is a 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. ... Cover of the first issue of 2000 AD, 26 February 1977. ...

2000 AD

O'Neill initially provided art for pin-ups and covers, including the centre image of Tharg on the cover of the first issue of 2000AD. After a period of being nurtured by Mills, he eventually started branching out drawing short Tharg the Mighty strips, Future Shocks and various humorous short stories. However it wasn't until he started work on Ro-Busters (with Pat Mills as writer) in 2000AD issue 88 that O'Neill started work on his first major ongoing strip for the title. O'Neill's quirky and unusual work on Ro-Busters proved popular and helped establish him as a major 2000AD creator, as well as establishing what would become a long series of collaborations with writer Pat Mills. Tharg, drawn by Kev Walker The Mighty Tharg is a recurrent character in science fiction comic 2000 AD, one of only two characters to appear in nearly every issue of the comic (the other being Judge Dredd). ... Tharg, drawn by Kev Walker The Mighty Tharg is a recurrent character in science fiction comic 2000 AD, one of only two characters to appear in nearly every issue of the comic (the other being Judge Dredd). ... Cover to Alan Moores Shocking Futures. ... Ro-Busters is a comic strip written by Pat Mills and drawn by Dave Gibbons, Mike McMahon and Kevin ONeill among others. ...

Mills and O'Neill's next major work was a one-off story called Terror Tube in issue 167 which was said to be inspired by the song Going Underground by The Jam. However the story was a reaction against IPC objecting to a long chase sequence in Ro-Busters. So the pair created a six page story which consisted entirely of an extended chase sequence between the hordes of the villainous Torquemada and a mysterious character called Nemesis. Going Underground, back of single cover Going Underground was the first British number one chart single by The Jam, released in March 1980. ... The Jam were an English punk rock/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... Nemesis the Warlock is a comic strip created by writer Pat Mills and artist Kevin ONeill which appeared in the pages of the weekly comic book 2000 AD. The title character, a fire-breathing demonic alien, fights against the fanatical Torquemada, Grand Master of the Terran Empire in Earth...

The story proved popular and the pair followed Terror Tube up with a two part story featuring Nemesis called Killer Watt. This proved to be even more popular and by now O'Neill's grotesque style was winning over more and more fans who also wanted to see more of Nemesis. In issue 222 they would get their wish with the first book of an ongoing Nemesis the Warlock series. The strip would eventually rival Judge Dredd in terms of popularity but O'Neill's art would get him into trouble with IPC's censors who considered his work too violent and disturbing. However O'Neill was one of 2000AD's most popular artists and would not only continue working on Nemesis the Warlock, but would provide art for The ABC Warriors and even Judge Dredd. Nemesis the Warlock is a comic strip created by writer Pat Mills and artist Kevin ONeill which appeared in the pages of the weekly comic book 2000 AD. The title character, a fire-breathing demonic alien, fights against the fanatical Torquemada, Grand Master of the Terran Empire in Earth... For the 1995 film, see Judge Dredd (film). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

It was with Nemesis the Warlock that O'Neill would spend most of his time working on for much of the early 1980s, but O'Neill was suffering from financial difficulties and decided to take offers of work from DC Comics. This meant stopping work upon Nemesis and becoming freelance, although he would return for the occasional one-off episode of Nemesis and provide other work for 2000AD. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ...

DC Comics and controversy

O'Neill had drawn several fill-in issues and short stories for titles such as The Omega Men, but his first major work for DC was a story written by Alan Moore for the Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2 in 1986. This proved to be instantly controversial as the Comics Code Authority objected to O'Neill's art. When DC asked what was wrong and if anything could be changed (the story featured scenes of a crucifixion) to get approval, the Authority replied that it was O'Neill's entire style they found objectionable. DC pointed out that his art had been passed previously but the Authority stuck by their decision. DC decided to print the comic without the Comics Code Authority stamp. The Omega Men are a team of alien comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe. ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ... The Green Lantern redirects here. ... The seal of the Comics Code Authority, which appears on the covers of approved comic books. ...

1986 also saw the release of the graphic novel Metalzoic by the team of Mills and O'Neill. This was highly acclaimed and one of the first creator owned stories published by DC. The story would later be reprinted in 2000AD. Trade paperback of Will Eisners A Contract with God (1978), often mistakenly cited as the first graphic novel. ... The cover of the Metalzoic graphic novel. ...

Marshal Law

Mills and O'Neill created a six issue mini-series for Epic Comics called Marshal Law which would be their take on superheroes. However this was a vicious satire of the superhero genre (both Mills and O'Neill hated the genre^{[citation needed]}) which was controversial not only for the scenes of sex and violence, but O'Neill's art was again criticised for being too disturbing. Although the series sold well, Epic received several complaints about the art, as well as forcing Mills and O'Neill to change the characters in the Marshal Law Takes Manhattan one-shot from the familiar Marvel Comics characters as they intended to use to thinly disguised duplicates of heroes such as Captain America, Spider-Man and The Punisher. Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s. ... Cover of the Marshal Law Takes Manhattan one-shot, art by Kevin ONeill Marshal Law is a superhero comic book series created by Pat Mills and Kevin ONeill. ... For other uses, see Superhero (disambiguation). ... 1867 edition of Punch, a ground-breaking British magazine of popular humour, including a good deal of satire of the contemporary social and political scene. ... This article is about the comic book company. ... This article is about the original comic book character named Captain America. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... This article is about the Marvel Comics character. ...

The pair decided to take Marshal Law from Epic to the newly formed Apocalypse Comics for a one-off special (featuring a satire on the Batman character) before launching a new weekly comic titled Toxic! with Marshal Law as its flagship character. Toxic! was an attempt to take on and even rival 2000AD but although the title initially sold well, it suffered from stories missing issues, including Marshal Law which was left incomplete during a story. After 31 issues the title was cancelled and Apocalypse Comics went bankrupt shortly afterward. Apocalypse Ltd was a publishing company formed out of an alliance of Pat Mills, John Wagner, Alan Grant and Kevin ONeill along with Neptune Distribution, who were also involved with Trident Comics. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Toxic! was a British weekly comic published in 1991 by Apocalypse Ltd. ...

After this Mills and O'Neill took Marshal Law to Dark Horse Comics where the story started in Toxic! was completed. Dark Horse also published several mini-series featuring Marshal Law, and Epic Comics published a two issue series pitting the character against Clive Barker's Pinhead character. The character then appeared on the Cool Beans World website in a series of illustrated novellas, but since the site closed in 2002, Marshal Law has been in limbo since, with the exception of one appearance in 2000AD. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the South African football (soccer) coach, see Clive Barker (soccer). ... Pinhead is a fictional character, and the main antagonist in Clive Barkers Hellraiser universe. ... A now-defunct subscription website which published animated or partially-animated web comics. ...

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

In 1999 O'Neill teamed up with Alan Moore for a six issue series for America's Best Comics called The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This teamed up various characters in Victorian literature such as Captain Nemo, Allan Quatermain and Dr. Jekyll. The title was a huge success and was followed by a second six issue series followed which again proved successful but issue five was recalled by Paul Levitz due to a real advert for a Victorian "Marvel Douche"^[1] due to him not wishing to offend Marvel Comics . Alex Ross cover to Americas Best Comics 64 Page Giant, featuring all of the characters created by Alan Moore for the imprint. ... For the film adaptation, see The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film). ... The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... Captain Nemo is a fictional character featured in Jules Vernes novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and The Mysterious Island (1874). ... Allan Quatermain is a fictional character, the protagonist of H. Rider Haggards King Solomons Mines and its various sequels and prequels. ... The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. ... Paul Levitz (born 21 October 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. ...

The film version of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was released in 2003. The film was critically mauled and both Moore and O'Neill disowned it. After a legal dispute where it was alleged the story was plagiarized by Moore, the pair have taken the third volume of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to Knockabout Comics and Top Shelf Productions due mainly to Moore feeling insulted by the lack of support from 20th Century Fox and DC comics. Knockabout Comics is a UK publisher and distributer of underground and alternative comic books. ... Top Shelf Productions is one of the critically-acclaimed independent press publishers of graphic novels and comics, owned by publishers Chris Staros and Brett Warnock. ... Twentieth (20th) Century Fox Film Corporation (known from 1935 to 1985 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation) is one of the six major American film studios. ...

Present day work

O'Neill drew the final Nemesis the Warlock story in the special Prog 2000 millennium edition of 2000AD in 1999. Apart from this and his work on League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, he has worked on short strips for Negative Burn published by Caliber Comics. His most recent major work is the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier, a hardcover graphic novel which was released in November 2007. Caliber Comics or Caliber Press was an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. ...

Bibliography

Comics work includes:

• Tharg's Future Shocks:
  • "Wings" (script and art, in 2000 AD #28, 1977)
  • "Play Pool!" (with Kelvin Gosnell, in 2000 AD #36, 1977)

• Bonjo from Beyond the Stars (writing and drawing, in 2000 AD #41-49, 1977)

• M.A.C.H.0: "Cyborg Express" (with Henry Miller, in 2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1978)

• Ro-Busters (with Pat Mills):
  • "Hammerstein's War Memoirs" (in 2000 AD #88-92, 1978)
  • "Fall & Rise of Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein" (in 2000 AD #103-115, 1979)

• ABC Warriors (with Pat Mills):
  • "ABC Warriors" (in 2000 AD #119, 1979)
  • "The Order of Knights Martial" (in 2000 AD #123-124, 1979)

• Captain Klep (in occasional issues of 2000 AD between #127-155, 1979-1980)

• Ro-Jaws' Robo-Tales: "The Inside Story" (with Pat Mills, in 2000 AD #144, 1979)

• One-Off: "Shok!" (co-writer and artist with Steve MacManus, in Judge Dredd Annual 1981, 1980)^[2]

• Dash Decent (with Dave Angus, in 2000 AD #178-198, 1980-1981)

• Nemesis the Warlock (by Pat Mills):
  • "Terror Tube" (in 2000 AD #167, 1980)
  • "Killer Watt" (in 2000 AD #178-179, 1980)
  • "The Sword Sinister" (in 1981 Sci-Fi Special)
  • "The World of Termight (Book 1)" (in 2000 AD #222-244, 1981)
  • "The Secret Life of the Blitzspear" (in 2000 AD Annual 1983, 1982)
  • "The World of Nemesis (Book 3)" (in 2000 AD #335-349, 1983)
  • "A Day in the Death of Torquemada" (in 2000 AD Annual 1984, 1983)
  • "The Secret Life of the Blitzspear" (in 2000 AD Annual 1984, 1983)
  • "The Gothic Empire (Book 4)" (first two episodes only, in 2000 AD #387-388, 1984)
  • "Ego Trip" (in 2000 AD #430, 1985)
  • "The Torture Tube" (in Dice Man #1, 1986)
  • "Torquemada the God" (in 2000 AD #520-524, 1987)
  • "The Tomb of Torquemada" (in Poster Prog Nemesis #1, 1994)
  • "Book X: The Final Conflict" (in 2000 AD prog 2000, 1999)

• Omega Men #26: "Brief Lives" (with Alan Moore, DC, 1985)

• Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2: "Tygers" (with Alan Moore, DC, 1986)

• Metalzoic (with Pat Mills, DC Graphic Novel, 1986)

• Judge Dredd (with John Wagner/Alan Grant):
  • "The Law According to Dredd" (in 2000 AD #474-475, 1986)
  • "Varks" (in 2000 AD #503, 1986)
  • "What If Judges Did Ads?" (in 2000 AD #523, 1987)

• Torquemada: "Torquemada's Second Honeymoon" (with Pat Mills, in 2000 AD Annual 1988, 1987)

• Marshal Law (with (Pat Mills):
  • Fear and Loathing (collects Marshal Law #1-6, Epic Comics, 1990, ISBN 0-87135-676-7)
  • Blood Sweat and Tears (collects Kingdom of the Blind, Hateful Dead, and Super Babylon, Dark Horse, 1993, ISBN 1-878574-95-7).
  • Fear and Loathing (collects Marshal Law #1-6 (Titan, 2002, ISBN 1-84023-452-0)
  • Blood, Sweat and Fears (collects Kingdom of the Blind, Hateful Dead, and Super Babylon, Titan Books, 2003, ISBN 1-84023-526-8)
  • Fear Asylum (collects Takes Manhattan, Secret Tribunal, and vs The Mask, Titan Books, 2003, ISBN 1-84023-699-X)
  • The Day of the Dead (an illustrated novella, Titan Books, 2004, ISBN 1-84023-636-1)
  • Cloak of Evil (an illustrated novella, Titan Books, 2006, ISBN 1-84023-683-3)

• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (with Alan Moore):
  • Book One (DC Comics/Wildstorm/ABC, 6-issue mini-series, 1999-2000, collected hardback edition, 2001, ISBN 1-56389-665-6, paperback, 2002, ISBN 1-56389-858-6)
  • Book Two (DC Comics/Wildstorm/ABC, 6-issue mini-series, 2002-2003, collected hardback edition, 2003, ISBN 1-4012-0117-2, paperback, 2004, ISBN 1-4012-0118-0)
  • Black Dossier (forthcoming hardback, published by DC Comics/Wildstorm/ABC, ISBN 1-4012-0306-X)
  • Book Three (forthcoming 3-issue mini-series, published by Top Shelf Productions)

Cover to Alan Moores Shocking Futures. ... Kelvin Gosnell is a writer of British comics. ... M.A.C.H. 1 was a series that appeared in the first Prog of the British science fiction comic 2000 AD and ran nearly continuously to Prog 80. ... Ro-Busters is a comic strip written by Pat Mills and drawn by Dave Gibbons, Mike McMahon and Kevin ONeill among others. ... Pat Mills, nicknamed the godfather of British comics, is a 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. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Pat Mills, nicknamed the godfather of British comics, is a 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. ... Pat Mills, nicknamed the godfather of British comics, is a 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. ... Steve MacManus (sometimes credited as Ian Rogan) is a British comic writer known for his work at 2000 AD, which also included stints as in editorial positions (most notably as the first editor of the Judge Dredd Megazine). ... Nemesis the Warlock is a comic strip created by writer Pat Mills and artist Kevin ONeill which appeared in the pages of the weekly comic book 2000 AD. The title character, a fire-breathing demonic alien, fights against the fanatical Torquemada, Grand Master of the Terran Empire in Earth... Pat Mills, nicknamed the godfather of British comics, is a 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. ... Cover of Dice Man no. ... The Omega Men are a team of alien comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe. ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... The fictional Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic police force featured in DC Comics, particularly featuring the superhero Green Lantern, Earth’s member of the group. ... The Green Lantern Corps has at least 7200 members, two per sector (originally 3600 — one per sector), in addition to assorted other members who fulfill roles other than patrolling. ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ... The cover of the Metalzoic graphic novel. ... Pat Mills, nicknamed the godfather of British comics, is a 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. ... For the 1995 film, see Judge Dredd (film). ... John Wagner is a comics writer who has also written under the pseudonyms John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter, among others. ... For others of the same name, see Alan Grant. ... Tomás de Torquemada is the main villain from the comic strip Nemesis the Warlock in British comic 2000 AD, who eventually got a number of spin-off adventures of his own. ... Pat Mills, nicknamed the godfather of British comics, is a 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. ... Cover of the Marshal Law Takes Manhattan one-shot, art by Kevin ONeill Marshal Law is a superhero comic book series created by Pat Mills and Kevin ONeill. ... Pat Mills, nicknamed the godfather of British comics, is a 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. ... Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Titan Books is a UK publisher of graphic novels. ... For the film adaptation, see The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film). ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ... WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm or Wildstorm, is a publishing imprint and studio of American comic book publisher DC Comics. ... Alex Ross cover to Americas Best Comics 64 Page Giant, featuring all of the characters created by Alan Moore for the imprint. ... Top Shelf Productions is one of the critically-acclaimed independent press publishers of graphic novels and comics, owned by publishers Chris Staros and Brett Warnock. ...

Shok!/Hardware

• The story "Shok!" (created with Steve MacManus) was involved in controversy when it was realised that it was the basis of Richard Stanley's 1990 film Hardware. Only after a court case, which Stanley lost, were the two given writing credits on the film. Hardware is now considered the first 2000 AD stories to be adapted into film.^[3]

Steve MacManus (sometimes credited as Ian Rogan) is a British comic writer known for his work at 2000 AD, which also included stints as in editorial positions (most notably as the first editor of the Judge Dredd Megazine). ... Richard Stanley (born 22 November 1966) is a film director and screenwriter born in South Africa. ... The year 1990 in film involved some significant events. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Interviews

The DVD of the documentary feature film The Mindscape of Alan Moore contains an exclusive bonus interview with Kevin O'Neill, elaborately detailing the collaboration with Alan Moore. The Mindscape of Alan Moore is a documentary which chronicles the life and work of Alan Moore, author of acclaimed graphic novels such as From Hell and V for Vendetta. ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ...

References

• 2000 AD Profile
• Kevin O'Neill at the Internet Movie Database

For the in-memory database management system, see In-memory database. ...

Footnotes

External links

• Marshal Law review
• Kevin O'Neill interview