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Woodrow Phoenix

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Woodrow Phoenix is a British comics artist and writer who also works in the fields of editorial illustration, graphic design, font design and children's books. His work is graphic and playful but is unusual for its high degree of formal experimentation. He draws in very different styles which make his comics appear to be the work of three or four completely different creators.

He was a contributor to a number of British comics magazines including Escape, Blaaam! and Blast! and was part of the British small press comics scene in the 1980s.

His main solo creations are The Sumo Family who debuted in Escape magazine and then went on to be serialised weekly in the Independent on Sunday newspaper, then monthly in Manga Mania magazine, also appearing in german/swiss Instant magazine.

A trained typographer, Phoenix was a letterer in the 1980s for most of the UK's comics publishers including Escape, Fleetway, Dark Horse UK, Toxic and Acme. He also lettered graphic novels for Gollancz and Methuen. He self-published several comics during this time as part of the Fast Fiction collective begun by Paul Gravett before working as a professional artist and writer for UK and US comics companies.

His first collaboration was with Glenn Dakin on Sinister Romance, a humor title they jointly wrote, drew and edited. Four issues were published by Harrier Comics' new wave imprint. Stories were also contributed by Warren Pleece and Bob Lynch.

He has since collaborated as artist and/or writer with Andi Watson, Matt Wagner, Alan Moore, Chris Reynolds, Chris Webster, Eddie Campbell, Rian Hughes, Gordon Rennie, Warren Ellis, Oscar Zarate, Carl Flint, Ian Carney, Jake Carney, Zach Howard, Annie Caulfield, Steve May.

With co-writer Ian Carney he created an anthology comic called SugarBuzz published by Slave Labor, featuring a cast of over fifty characters. The most popular being Pants Ant, who featured in an animated cartoon for The Cartoon Network; and the Where's It At, Sugar Kat? series which was also optioned for film and tv projects by Walt Disney inc.

His work has also appeared in numerous anthologies and book collections including Grendel: Black White and Red (with writer Matt Wagner), The Big Book of Death and The Big Book of Weirdos, It's Dark in London and Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman.

He shares a studio in London with another comics writer/artist, Ed 'Ilya' Hillyer.


Bibliography


Comics work

  • The Sumo Family weekly comic strip in The Independent on Sunday, 1990
  • The Sumo Family one page color comic strip in Manga mania magazine 1991-93
  • The Liberty Cat 4 episodes for Comics Morning magazine, Kodansha Japan 1993-94
  • Sugar Buzz! with Ian Carney, 9 issues (SLG Publishing, 1998-)
  • Sugar Buzz: Live at Budokan! (Slab-O-Concrete, 1999) ISBN 1 899866 33 7
  • The Pants Ant Trouser Hour (SLG Publishing, 2001) ISBN
  • Where's it at Sugar Kat: The Thin Of the Land (SLG Publishing, 2003) ISBN 0-943151-56-2
  • Kitsune Tales (SLG Publishing, 2003) with Andi Watson, artist
  • Sherlock Holmes in the Curious Case of the Vanishing Villain (Atomeka, Tundra Publishing 1993) with Gordon Rennie, writer


  • Lazarus Churchyard #2 (Tundra Publishing 1992) "Goodnight Ladies" pin ups by D'Israeli, Phil Winslade, Steve Pugh, Woodrow Phoenix, Duncan Fegredo, Garry Marshall and Gary Erskine.


  • "Ecco the Dolphin" Sonic the Comic (Fleetway Editions, 1993)

writer & letterer: Woodrow Phoenix Artist:Chris Webster


Animation

  • Vicious mouse (1999) MTV Asia
  • Net Worth (2001) The Prudential
  • Pants Ant (pilot, 2004) for Cartoon Network, unaired


Children's Books


  • Count Milkula (2006) Mogzilla ISBN: 0954657659
  • Baz the Biz (Mammoth, 1999) ISBN 0749736305
  • Is that your Dog? (Mammoth, 2001) ISBN: 074974247X


Anthologies


  • "End of the Line" The Brighton Book (Myriad Editions, 2005) ISBN: 0954930908
  • "You are here" It's Dark in London (Serpent's Tail, 1997) ISBN: 1852425350



References

  • Withrow, Steven (2003) Toon Art: The Graphic Art of Digital Cartooning. Watson-Guptill Publications ISBN: 0823053784
  • Stangroom, Howard (2003) "Howard Stangroom interviews Sugar Buzz co-creator Woodrow Phoenix" Comics Forum Magazine 25
  • Clarke, Theo (1988) "And then nothing happened" The Comics Journal #122 p. 107-124
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