Liam Sharp

This article is about the Real World

Liam Roger Sharp (born May, 1968) is a British comic book artist, writer and publisher. He loves to read, watch movies, and occasionally indulges himself as an amateur musician and some-time rock frontman.

Liam Sharp was born in Derby at St. Mary's Hospital to parents Roger and Linda Sharp. He has a younger sister, Kerry, and younger brother, Rien. He went to School at Brackensdale Junior then infants school, before moving to Allestree Lawn Junior school because of his parents work. At the suggestion of his teachers he was advised to meet with the Gifted Children's Society, who in turn advised St. Andrew's Prep School in Meads, Eastbourne, to take Sharp on and establish their first Art Scholarship. He then went on to win the first Art Scholarship to Eastbourne College, where he stayed until his A Levels. At 17 Sharp fatefully met Don Lawrence via a mutual friend, and opted against going to university in order to become Don's apprentice and follow his dream.

He now lives back in Derby, East Midlands with his wife Christina, and three children, Matylda, Lorcan and Jeff.

Biography

Sharp made his debut in the 1980s for the famous science-fiction magazine 2000 AD after a year's apprenticeship with the legendary Don Lawrence, artist on the seminal Dutch comic Storm. His works included many Judge Dredd stories, the origin of Finn, ABC Warriors and one of Tharg's Future Shocks. Sharp's fame increased markedly when he moved to Marvel UK, for which he drew the famous mini-series Death's Head II. Thereafter he began working mainly in the United States on books as diverse as X-Men, Hulk, Spider-Man, Venom, Man-Thing (for Marvel Comics), Superman, Batman for DC Comics, and Spawn: The Dark Ages for Todd McFarlane.

Sharp has also worked on more mature themed books for Verotik, doing GOTH, Jaguar God and Frank Frazetta's "The Death Dealer". He briefly worked on a strip originated by Stan Winston called 'Realm of the Claw'. Later he co-created the Wildstorm series The Possessed with writer Geoff Johns, and a strip for Heavy Metal magazine, entitled "A-crazy-A" featuring Playb model Tiffany Taylor - for which he provided the art and script. Likewise for a short story in Vampirella magazine called "Winter Rose".

In 2004 Sharp set up his own publishing company, Mam Tor Publishing, with wife Christina McCormack to publish the artbook Sharpenings: the Art of Liam Sharp.

After the early success with this, Sharp saw a hole in the comic book market for alternative independent comics, and together with designer Tom Muller and friend John Bamber set out to expand the company to start publishing more work. This saw the launch of the critically acclaimed and award -winning anthology, Mam Tor: Event Horizon. Event Horizon features art by Glenn Fabry, Brian Holguin, Ashley Wood, Simon Bisley, Alan Grant, Steve Niles, Emma Simcock-Tooth, Ali Powers, Kev Crossley,Lee Carter and Dave Kendall.

Sharp went on to illustrate the controversial and critically well-received DC Comics Vertigo comic Testament Testament written by Douglas Rushkoff, and the Countdown-related title, Lord Havok and The Extremists with writer Frank Tieri. He is now providing the art for the Wildstorm title based on the video game Gears of War.

Mam Tor and the advertising agency Mother produced a free sixteen page comic given away from with Time Out for which Sharp was the art director, as well s providing the art for a story in the first two issues as well as the cover for the first issue.

In September 2008 he signed an exclusive deal with DC.

Sharp has also written the novel God Killers.

Sharp is involved with a UK Midland-based art movement Beardism, certain elements of which are similar to Dadaism. The practitioners are required to wear beards, though this can be interpreted as symbolic. A recent exhibition was held in the Crompton Arms, a Derby public house and alternative art gallery, featuring the work of Sharp, Ali Pow3rs, Adam Dutton and Chris Tree.

Works

Liam's Marcus Fenix, this comic striped lead to Liam Sharp job for Wildstorm and Epic Games.

Comics

• Tharg's Future Shocks: "Some One is Watching Me" (with Alan McKenzie, in 2000 AD #531, 1987)
• Judge Dredd:
  • The Complete PJ Maybe (September 2006, ISBN 1904265960) collects:
    • "Bug" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #534, 1987)
    • "PJ Maybe, Age 13" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD #592-594, 1988)
    • "The Further Adventures of PJ Maybe" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD #599, 1988)
    • "The Confeshuns of PJ Maybe" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD #632-634, 1989)
  • "Corporal Punishment" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #542, 1987)
  • "Killcraze" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #543-544, 1987)
  • "Skeet and the Wrecking Crew" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #575-576, 1988)
  • "Playaday" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD #642, 1989)
  • "The Confessions of P. J. Maybe, Age 14" (with John Wagner, in Judge Dredd #48, 1990)
• Death's Head #6 (pencils, with Simon Furman and inks by Paul Marshall, Marvel UK, 1989, reprinted in The Incomplete Death's Head #7, Marvel UK, 1993, collected in Death's Head Volume 1, 204 pages, Panini Comics, February 2007, ISBN 1-905239-34-3)
• Death's Head II (vol. 1) #1-4 (pencils, with Dan Abnett and inks by Bambos Georgiou/Andy Lanning, Marvel UK, 1992)
• Dinosaurs: A Celebration: #2 (Epic Comics/Marvel, 1992, ISBN 0-87135-905-7)
• Death's Head II (vol. 2) #1-5 (pencils (1-4) and inks (5), with Dan Abnett and inks by Rodney Ramos/Andy Lanning, Marvel UK, 1992–1993)
• Bloodseed #1-2 (with Paul Neary, Marvel UK, 1993)
• Bodycount (with various artists, Marvel UK, 1993)
• Avengers Strikefile (with Robert Harras, one-shot, Marvel Comics, 1994)
• Death's Head Gold (script and pencils, Marvel UK)
  • #0: "The Nechromachiad: The Prologue" (with inks by Robin Riggs/Rodney Ramos, reprinted in Death's Head II #14, 1994)
  • #1: "The Nechromachiad" (with inks by Andy Lanning/Rodney Ramos, 1994)
• Venom: The Mace (pencils, with Carl Potts and inks by Bill Reinhold, 3-issue mini-series, Marvel Comics, 1994)
• X-Men Unlimited #5 (with John Francis Moore, and inks by Kevin Conrad, Steve Moncuse and Robin Riggs, Marvel, 1994)
• X-Men #35 (pencils, with Fabian Nicieza and inks by Robin Riggs, Marvel, 1994)
• "The Double" (with J. M. DeMatteis and inks by Robin Riggs, Marvel Comics, October 1994) in:
  • Web of Spider-Man #117
  • The Amazing Spider-Man #394
  • Spider-Man #51
  • The Spectacular Spider-Man #217
• Finn: "Origins of Finn" (with Pat Mills, in 2000 AD #924-927, 1995)
• Incredible Hulk #425-432 (with Peter David and inks by Robin Riggs] Marvel Comics, 1995)
• Satanika (with various artists, Marvel Comics, 1995)
• Spider-Man: The Jackal Files (with various artists, Marvel Comics, 1995)
• "The Space Between Good and Evil" (with Alan Grant, in Batman Chronicles #2, DC Comics, 1995)
• Batman: Shadow of the Bat #42 (with Alan Grant, DC Comics, 1995)
• G.O.T.H. (with Glenn Danzig, 3-issue mini-series, Verotik, 1995–1996, tpb, 80 pages, 1996, ISBN 1885730446)
• Spider-Man: The Lost Years #0 (with J. M. DeMatteis, Marvel Comics, 1996)
• Death Dealer #2-3 (with Glenn Danzig, 3-issue mini-series, Verotik, 1996–1997
• Man-Thing #1-8 (with J. M. DeMatteis, Marvel Comics, 1997–1998)
• "So Near" (with Marv Wolfman, in Shadows and Light (vol. 2) #2, Marvel Comics, 1998)
• "Destroyer Of Worlds"/"The End Of All Things! " (with J. M. DeMatteis, in Strange Tales #1-2, Marvel Comics, 1998)
• Spawn: The Dark Ages #1-14 (with Brian Holguin, Image Comics, 1999–2000)
• Peter Parker Spider-Man Annual '99 (with J. M. DeMatteis, Marvel Comics, 1999)
• Magik (with co-authors Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning, 4-issue mini-series. Marvel Comics, 2000–2001)
• Superman Where Is Thy Sting? (with J. M. DeMatteis, graphic novel, DC Comics, 2001)
• JLA: Riddle of the Beast (with Alan Grant, DC Comics, 2001)
• ABC Warriors:"The Clone Cowboys" (with Pat Mills, in 2000 AD #1237-1239, April 2001, collected in The Third Element, October 2008, ISBN 1905437803)
• Global Frequency #3 (inks, with Warren Ellis, and pencils by Glenn Fabry, Wildstorm, 2003, collected in Planet Ablaze, ISBN 1401202748)
• The Possessed (with[Kris Grimminger/Geoff Johns, 6-issue mini-series, Cliffhanger, 2003–2004, tpb, 144 pages, 2004, ISBN 1401202926)
• "Vampirella/Witchblade: Union of the Damned" (pencils, with Justin Gray, and inks by Jimmy Palmiotti, one-shot, Top Cow, 2004, collected in Vampirella/Witchblade Trilogy, 88 pages ISBN, 0910692904)
• "Winter Rose" (script and art, in Vampirella Comics Magazine #10, 2005)
• Firestorm #7 (pencils, with Dan Jolley, and inks by Andy Lanning, DC Comics, 2005)
• Event Horizon (#1, May 2005, 140 pages, ISBN 0954999800, #2, November 2005, 208 pages, ISBN 0954999819, Mam Tor Publishing):
  • "Fucking Savages" (art, with writer Steve Niles, in Event Horizon #1-2)
  • "Machivarius Point: Avatar" (script, as Roger M. Cormack, with art by Edmund Bagwell, in Event Horizon #1-2)
  • "The True Adventures of Jed Lightsear, Space Pirate!" (script, as Ralph Raims, with art by Edmund Bagwell, in Event Horizon #1-2)
  • "Necromachia" (script, with art by Lee Carter, in Event Horizon #1-2)
  • "Dustbowl" (script, as Roger M. Cormack, with art by Rob Randle, in Event Horizon #2)
  • "Lap of the Gods" (script and art, in Event Horizon #2)
• "On The Way To The Front" (with China Miéville, in Looking for Jake, 352 pages, Macmillan, pages 213-225, hardback, September 2005, ISBN 1405048301, paperback, 2005, ISBN 1405052325, Pan, paperback, 2006, ISBN 0330434187)
• "Red Sonja: One More Day" (with Justin Gray/Jimmy Palmiotti, one-shot, Dynamite Entertainment, 2006)
• Testament #1–5, 8–11, 14–17, 20–24 (with writer Douglas Rushkoff, Vertigo, 2006–2008):
  • Akedah (collects Testament #1–5, July 2006, ISBN 1-4012-10632)
  • West of Eden (collects Testament #6–10, January 2007, ISBN 1-4012-12018)
  • Babel (collects Testament #11–16, November 2007, ISBN 1-4012-14967)
  • Exodus (collects Testament ##17–22, August 2008, ISBN 1-4012-18113)
• Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and The Extremists (with writer Frank Tieri, 6-issue limited series, DC Comics, 2007–2008, tpb, September 2008, ISBN 140121844X)
• Four Feet From a Rat (with Mother):
  • "The Crane Gods" (in Four Feet From a Rat #1, March 2008)
  • "A Pocketful of Posies" (in Four Feet From a Rat #2, July 2008)
• Gears of War:Hollow #1- #6 (with writer Joshua Ortega, Wildstorm, December 2008 -ongoing)

Advertising

• Diet Coke advert for Mother (London) Advertising Ltd. Super woman art with Duffy and two other models superimposed used on billboards in European campaign.

Project managed and contributed to design of Rubberduckzilla, plus provided ATL art for 96 sheet poster campaign for Oasis drink, cover art for comic in ad, plus art for animation in BG on TV: http://rubberduckzilla.com/

Books

• Sharpenings: the Art of Liam Sharp (artbook, 2004)
• [God Killers: Machivarius Point and Other Tales]http://machivariuspoint.weebly.com/ (novel, 2008, ISBN 095499986X)

"God Killers: Machivarius Point and Other Tales" second edition, including two new stories and map (novel, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9549998-8-9)

Film and television

Design work for television and film include:

• Lost in Space, production design
• Batman Beyond, character design
• Small Soldiers, production design

External links

• Official website of Mam Tor Publishing
• Message boards for Liam Sharp and 'God Killers'
• Liam Sharp at DeviantArt
• Liam Sharp at ComicSpace

Interviews

• An Interview With One Sharp Artist: Liam Sharp!, The Comic Fanatic, February 2004
• Pixelsurgeon interview: Liam Sharp at Pixelsurgeon, October 2005 and a follow-up
• Interview with Liam Sharp, SFFWorld, November 2005
• Valhalla Comic’s (Mug O’ Mead) Interviews Industry Pro: Liam Sharpe (cached), May 2007
• Erth Chronicles interview, August 2007
• The Razor’s Edge: An Interview with Liam Sharp, Earth's Mightiest, May 2008
• 10 Questions With.... Liam Sharp at Comic Avalanche

References

• Interrogation: "Critical Mass" (interview conducted by Michael Molcher, in Judge Dredd Megazine #248, 2006)
• Liam Sharp at Lambiek's Comiclopedia
• Liam Sharp at 2000 AD online
• Liam Sharp and Liam Roger McCormack-Sharp at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Liam Sharp. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.