Andrew Luke

Infobox Comics creator


birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1973|12|06
location = Oxford
deathdate =
deathplace =
nationality = Northern Irish
area = Cartoonist, Columnist, Activist
alias =
notable works = "TRS2, 'Gran'"
awards =

Andrew Luke (born 6 December 1973) is a Northern Irish comic artist based in Belfast.

He has contributed writings to "Bugpowder", "Borderline", and "Comics Village", and has acted as a publisher, contributor and cartoonist since 1997.

Biography

First self-published the contentious "Brookside: The Comic", following on from a debate with Paul Rainey and Pete Ashton in Comics International. This was to be the first of five A5 comics published over A5 months. The following works were an ongoing series called "Bob's", based around the interaction between characters in a bedsit of Luke's hometown Bangor.

Around this time he began submitting commentaries to Comics International on sociable comics festivals, and the episodic nature of comics. Although contributing to "The Alchemist", "GRIP Studios" and other small press titles of the time, his interest in "Bob's" and the act of creating comics waned. Inspired by Pete Ashton's TRS - The Review Sheet, Luke created a replicate pamphlet "TRS2". These were A4, and on occasion A3 sheets folded over and containing 20-30 reviews of UK comics and zines. Between December 1999 and August 2002, twelve issues of TRS2 were published. Luke continued to contribute to the online version of the reviews listing set up by Ashton as a "Bugpowder" subsite.

Around 2001, Luke was also asked to contribute a regular column to Tripwire Magazine and reviews to the newly launched Borderline. As well as his reviews for Comics International and 'Line of Fire' reviews for Silver Bullet Comics, these were cut short by a period of upheaval.

Luke returned to creating small press comics slowly, resolving "Bob's" with the sixth issue. "Andrew Luke's Comic Book" was published once a year from 2001 and veered in its content between slice of life stories, pop culture excesses, and his growing interest as a political activist.

Moving to Oxford in 2005 saw Luke influenced by the strong comics scene. He began to serve as Secretary for Caption, the UK's longest running comics festival. At the end of 2007, he took part in 24 Hour Comics Day. Moved by the recent death of his grandmother, his 24 hour comic was created as a response to this, and has earned him much acclaim in the UK Comics scene.

Luke aligned himself with Oli Smith and the London Underground Comics venture, which promised a fair distribution of profits from sales by self-publishing cartoonists. In January 2008 his name was also attached to the boycott of the 2008 UK Web and Mini Comics Thing, a previously very popular London comics festival.

In January 2008, he began writing "Sheridan Cottage" for Comics Village, a commentary on the social and economic aspects surrounding the UK comics industry. Inspired by his experiences with London Underground Comics, Luke began in February creating and releasing one new comic per week for the following seven weeks.

Bibliography

Self - Published Works

*Bob's 1 - 6 (1996-2004)
*TRS2 1 - 12 (1999-2002)
*Andrew Luke's Comic Book 1 - 7 (2001 - 2008)
*Gran (2007, 2008)
*Sociology Comix (2008)
*Optimus and Me (2008)

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.comicsvillage.com/columns.aspx?columnID=21 Sheridan Cottage, Comics Village]
* [http://www.bugpowder.com/trs2/]

Interviews

Andrew Luke has been interviewd by Alex Fitch for the show 'Panel Borders' on Resonance FM