British comic artist John M. Burns, perhaps best known for his work on 2000AD and Look-In, has announced his retirement, prompting deserved plaudits from fellow creators and fans, and an update on a long-planned biography-art book which is being compiled by author and editor Paul Duncan.
John is one of the grandmasters of British comics, revered by creators and fans alike for his dynamic action sequences, fluid storytelling, and realistic characterisations. He has been plying his trade in every major British comic and newspaper for decades, working into his eighties with “The Order” for 2000AD.
It had previously been announced, via the dedicated John M Burns Art Facebook Group that, after taking medical advice, John had to cut back on his workload, but he has now decided to give up work.
The announcement prompted thanks from comic creators and fans alike, on various social media channels.
We too, at downthetubes, wish John and his partner, Julia, all the best in retirement and thank him for his unique but influential work down the decades.
“John’s produced a fantastic body of work that any creator would be proud to have produced even a quarter of,” said artist, writer and publisher Dave Elliot in a thread on John’s Facebook fan group. “The consistent quality and quantity of his work is unrivalled. I hope John’s health improves so we can at least see him doing pieces for fun and his own enjoyment.”
“What a fantastic and inspirational career he’s had, noted artist Mack Chater. “Been a huge fan for years. I wish him all the very best in his retirement! And so glad we have amazing places like these where we can always see his fantastic artwork. What a career! Thank you so much for the inspiration.”
“[An] incredible artist with an amazing body of work,” enthused artist Laurence Campbell. “I still look at his work to help me understand folds in clothing, action and storytelling. One of the best. Enjoy your rest you’ve entertained and inspired and will continue to do so. Thank you.”
“A very special talent who I’ve adored since reading ‘UFO’ and ‘Mission: Impossible’ in TV Action as an eight-year-old,” said artist David Roach. “It’s a vast body of work that is as inspiring to me now as it was back then. It’s been a career that must stand as one of the longest and most consistently impressive in the history of the comics medium. I know none of us will ever tire of looking at John’s many great highlights. If it’s time to rest, it’s well deserved, at long last.”
“John maintained an extraordinary level of quality over decades – an amazing legacy,” noted artist Rian Hughes. “I first encountered him in Countdown, then Look-In and 2000AD. His work has always been there, a high water mark that has never looked dated or derivative. So many artists lose the spark, but not John. I don’t think it’s possible to find a badly drawn page in the entirety of his output.
“His colour use is astonishing (I especially like the bright side-lighting in Countdown), his layouts impeccable, his likenesses spot on, his linework effortless, his figure drawing dynamic, his layouts and composition elegant and graphic. A masterclass in how comics can be.
“My best to John, and thanks for all the enjoyment and inspiration he’s given me over the years.”
“It was never a competition but… John wins hands down,” feels writer and editor Tim Quinn, who worked with John on several comics. “Loved his work when I was a kid and it was a total joy to work with him on various projects including the [1980s] ‘Jane’ strip (despite Daily Mirror felt tip colouring!). Long life, John, and enjoy every day.”
“John M. Burns is, without a doubt, a legendary British comics creator,” the team at 2000AD note in a wonderful tribute to the artist. “His extensive body of work across the last six decades and more has brought so much joy, evoked so much admiration and respect from fans and his peers, with Burns very much an artist’s artist. He is someone whose work is instantly recognisable and someone who maintained the highest quality throughout that extraordinarily long career full of page after page of perfect comic art.”
If you want to show your appreciation of John, consider joining the Facebook group, and add your comments to a thread launched by moderator Colin Brown on Monday 2nd October (depending on your access point, you may need yo use a search within the group such as “John had to cut back on his workload”) and Colin will make sure this much appreciated artist sees them.
John M. Burns Art Book in the works
A book about John’s career is in progress, compiled and written by Paul Duncan, first announced in 2021. Running to some 500 pages, the book will contain only scans of original art, and Paul is still looking for examples of of John’s early comics work, especially from the 1950s through to the 1980s.
“I’m still seeking high resolution scans of original art for the book,” Paul told downthetubes. “I made two week-long trips to John’s studio, scanning many rarities and unpublished work, but he has very little of his early art.”
• If you can help with early art by John, please contact Paul Duncan at ArtOfJMB@gmail.com
Looking Back at John’s Career
As Paul Duncan has previously noted in a guide to his work for downthetubes, John M. Burns had no formal art training and started as an apprentice at the age of 16 at Link Studio, under Doris White. He worked diligently, and after four years, got his first major job illustrating the 1958 Champion the Wonder Horse Annual.
After returning from National Service in the RAF in 1961, John established himself as a reliable, and then much sought-after professional artist on “Wulf the Briton” and “Kelpie the Boy Wizard” in black and white, and “Wrath of the Gods” and “Great Expectations” in colour, appearing in boy, girl and children’s comics like Express Weekly, Boy’s World, Eagle, Diana, Wham, TV Century 21, and Robin.
In the 1970s, John reached some sort of high point with the full-colour SF masterwork “Countdown” in the comic of the same name. He filled shadows with colours instead of black, which became a trademark of sorts.
“In 1970 we had just got our first colour television,” he told Paul. “If you look at it, it doesn’t have black shadows. They are usually colour, so it seemed like a good idea to use that. I sometimes reversed it by painting half a face and leaving the shadow white. It makes the job more interesting, otherwise it gets boring banging the same stuff out every week.”
John continued experimenting throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s on TV-related strips like “UFO” and “Mission: Impossible” in TV Action, “The Tomorrow People”, “Space: 1999”, “The Bionic Woman”, “How the West was Won”, “Smuggler”, “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”, and “Magnum P.I.”, in Look-In, and then “The Tripods” in BEEB. “That was where the money was,” he notes. “You adapt and do it. It was also a chance to do some colour. There were no other comics in Britain with good quality colour printing, and the whole comics industry in Britain has been declining since the early seventies, so you grab what you can.”
As well as some advertising and spot illustration work. John carved out a parallel career drawing newspaper strips. His many credits include “The Seekers”, a newspaper strip that ran for six years, from 1966-1972, the “Danielle” strip in the Evening News, launched in 1973, “George & Lynne”, “Eartha”, “Jane”, “Lilly” and “Girl Chat”.
Since 1991, John worked increasingly for 2000AD, bringing his unique vision to “Judge Dredd”, “Nikolai Dante”, “The Bendatti Vendetta”, “Sinister Dexter” and, most recently, “The Order”.
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“If you ask John about his work, he’ll say, rather self-depreciatingly, ‘It’s just a job,’ but the blood, sweat and tears he puts into his pages belie that simple statement,” Paul observed. “It’s there for everybody to see that he lives and breathes his art.”
• If you can help with early art by John, please contact Paul Duncan at ArtOfJMB@gmail.com
• Read an extensive guide to John M. Burns work by Paul Duncan here on downthetubes
• Check out the John M Burns Art Facebook Page
If you want to show your appreciation of John, consider joining the Facebook group, and add your comments to a thread launched by moderator Colin Brown on Monday 2nd October (depending on your access point, you may need yo use a search within the group such as “John had to cut back on his workload”) and Colin will make sure this much appreciated artist sees them
As a way to both recognise the artistic contribution of the man, to celebrate his achievements, and to mark the occasion of his retirement, the team at 2000AD say thank you to him for all the incredible work he’s produced through the years.
All art © respective creators/ publishers.
This article was updated on 10th October 2023 to add links to the 2000AD tribute to John
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: 2000AD, Art and Illustration, British Comics, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
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I hope he enjoys a well-deserved retirement.
Wishing Mr Burns a long, healthy and happy retirement. Incredible artist.