Mike Collins

Infobox Comics creator


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birthdate = 1961
location = West Bromwich
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area = Penciller, Inker
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Mike Collins is a Wales-based comic book artist and writer and has been working in comics since the mid-1980s.

Biography

Born in West Bromwich in 1961, he moved to Wales in 1985 after an abortive stab at a career in the Law, in London. Despite his training as a barrister, Mike decided that he enjoyed the fiction-based life of comic book characters over the fiction-based statements of clients. He is married to Karen Collins and father of 3 daughters, Bethan, Rebecca and Rhiannon and is currently placed in Cardiff.

UK comics

In the mid to late 1980s, Mike wrote and drew strips for Marvel Comics United Kingdom division, amongst them; "Spider-Man", "Transformers", "Doctor Who", and "Zoids". He also worked on the celebrated UK weekly comic "2000 AD" drawing "Judge Dredd", "Sláine" and "Rogue Trooper", as well as writing various "Future Shocks".

US comics

He was hired in the 'Second Wave' of British artists lured to the United States in the late 1980s. Through the 1990s he worked primarily for DC Comics on their key titles - "Batman", "Superman", "Flash", "Teen Titans", "Wonder Woman" and the "Justice League".

He also drew a series of licenced comics for the company, using various TSR/Dungeons and Dragons characters. A brief spell at Marvel saw Mike working on "Uncanny X-Men" (Key issue: #266, the first appearance of Gambit). He was back to DC though, to write and draw "Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt", a revival of a 1960s Charlton Comics character.

Mike's primarily known for his work on TV and Movie tie-in comics- for both Marvel and DC he has written and drawn "Star Trek" comics. In the late 90s he drew a "Babylon 5" mini-series, "In Valen's Name", written by series creator J. Michael Straczynski and Peter David. A departure from most tie-in productions in that it actually serves as series 'canon' being based on an unused 3rd season script.

Current work

Currently the artist (and sometime writer) on Panini Comics "Doctor Who Magazine", Mike also writes and draws a strip for "Weekly World News", as well as co-creating the series "American Gothic" with Ian Edginton for "2000 AD".

Outside of comics Mike paints covers to a monthly series of downloadable Star Trek novels - the "Starfleet Corps of Engineers", and works as a storyboard artist for both animation and live-action TV and movies.

Major work at the moment is a 135 page adaptation of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' for Classical Comics, due out October 2008. His regular 'Doctor Who' collaborators, inker David Roach and colour artist James Offredi, are working with him on the book, alongside writer Sean M. Wilson.

Unusual and unique work

He wrote and designed the first ever Welsh language graphic novel - Mabinogi in association with Cartwyn Cymru in 2001, and is the first UK artist to produce a series of graphic novels for Norway with Gunnar Staalesen, featuring his celebrated private eye, Varg Veum.

He works a key illustrator for Welsh language school books using the comic strip medium, aimed at reluctant learners.

He supplied art for a number of cards in the Harry Potter Trading Card Game.

Film and TV

As well as comics work, Mike is a storyboard artist for Calon and Dinamo on children's TV shows, primarily the BAFTA winning Hana's Helpline and Cwm Teg. He has also worked on short live action movies, one of which -Day At The Beach- was BAFTA nominated in 2004.

Music

When not working in comics, Mike fronts a tribute band: TomWaits4NoMan.

Bibliography

*"Tharg's Future Shocks": "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World" (with Alan Davis, in "2000 AD" #509, 1987)

*"Judge Dredd": "Doomsday" (with John Wagner, in "Judge Dredd Megazine" #3.58-3.59, 1999)

*"Sinister Dexter": "Wising Off" (with Dan Abnett, in "2000 AD" #1311, 2002)

*"Starfleet Corps of Engineers": "Caveat Emptor" (with Ian Edginton, ebook, 2002, tpb "No Surrender", 2003)

* "American Gothic" (with Ian Edginton, in "2000 AD" #1432-1440, 2005)

*"Doctor Who":
** "The Nightmare Game" (with Gareth Roberts, in "Doctor Who Magazine" #330-332, collected in "The Flood", 226 pages, 2007, ISBN 9781905239658)
**"The Ninth Doctor Collected Comics" (98 pages, April 2006) collects:
*** "The Love Invasion" (with Gareth Roberts, in "Doctor Who Magazine" #355-357)
*** "Art Attack" (art and script, in "Doctor Who Magazine" #358)
*** "The Cruel Sea" (with Rob Shearman, in "Doctor Who Magazine" #359-362)
*** "A Groatsworth of Wit" (with Gareth Roberts, in "Doctor Who Magazine" #363-364)
** "The Betrothal of Sontar" (with John Tomlinson and Nick Abadzis, in "Doctor Who Magazine" #365-367)
** "The Lodger" (with Gareth Roberts, in "Doctor Who Magazine" #368)
** "F.A.Q." (with Tony Lee, in "Doctor Who Magazine" #369-371)
** "The Futurists" (in "Doctor Who Magazine" #372-374)
** "Interstellar Overdrive" (with Jonathan Morris in "Doctor Who Magazine" #375-376)
** "The Woman Who Sold the World" (with Rob Davis in Doctor Who Magazine #381-384)

*"A Christmas Carol" (adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, with inks by David Roach, 132 pages, Classical Comics, October 2008, Original Text, ISBN 1906332177, Quick Text, ISBN 1906332185)

References

* [http://www.2000adonline.com/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=MIKEC 2000 AD profile]

External links

* [http://www.freakhousegraphics.co.uk Official website]
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/michael.collins17/mikecv.htm A CV of Mike's various and varied work]
* [http://www.myspace.com/dafreakhouse Mike Collins] at MySpace
* [http://www.mikecollins.deviantart.com Mostly non-comics work] at DeviantArt
* [http://www.comicspace.com/mikecollins Mike's page on the Comics version of MySpace]