Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
I was born here in England then spent about 8 years in Canada before coming back to the UK in my teens.

How about your schooling? Had you gone under any art training?
No, not really. I left school and went to art school for a year before leaving to start my own illustration and comic book company in my early twenties. We published a handful of our own books as well as others by Alan Grant, Tony Luke and Glen Fabry.

How long have you been working professionally in comics?
I pencilled a few stories for British anthology 2000AD before going back to commercial illustration. After awhile I got restless working in that way and wanted to start tackling art in a more rewarding narrative way. I sent some samples off to David, he got me working almost immediatey and I haven't stopped since!. That was about 3 years ago now.(phew!)

What things -- both in art and otherwise -- have you worked on, besides comics?
As I said, I worked in illustration for a good few years and worked in film, magazines, TV, Videogames and for many advertising agencies. I've done storyboards, posters, packaging, animation, scripting, album covers,newspaper strips(London Times) and FMV direction for a huge variety of clients including Def Jam records, Face magazine, MTV, Nissan, Cinzno,Perrier, Adidas, Nike, and more videogame companies than I can list here but one of note is Edios for whom I designed the covers and advertising artwork for most of the Tomb Raider series'.


Talk about how you broke into the business --was it easy? Hard? Ups? Downs ? Any interesting anecdotes? When you held your first published work in your hands, how did you feel?
I knew I wanted to work in comics since i was about 10 or 11. After  I published my own stuff I started sending out subs to various companies and did so periodically for years, all the while working in illustration. I got many glowing letters, full of support especially from Bart Sears who was really encouraging but no projects came my way.Years later I was considering self publishing again when someone mentioned GHG and after showing David some samples and talking to him he really quickly told me what was working and what wasn't so I went back and did  more pages that were vastly improved thanks to David's input and that was that! I was working on layouts for a big name book then a couple of months later Battlestar Galactica! The feeling of that first issue in my mitts was a moment of pride at getting my foot in the door and knowing I was exactly where i wanted to be, doing exactly what i wanted to be doing.

How did you settle on the style(s) you're currently using?
As well as comics, i'm a huuuuge movie fan and I think most of my sense of storytelling probably unconsciously stems from that. I've spent hours looking at films by directors like David Fincher and  Ridley Scott, gleaning tips and cues trying to create a cinematic sensibility. Couple that with my admiration of guys like Katshiro Otomo, John Romita Jr, Jim Lee, Travis Charest and a whole clutch of guys coming up now and I guess it comes from there.

How did your parents take to the idea of working in comics?
My Dad's no longer with us but he was never anything short of hugely supportive and I wouldn't be here doing this now without his help, something for which I'll always be grateful.

 My mom thinks i'm a doctor...no not really, she's in equal parts extremely proud, supportive and bemused.

How would you describe your work space? Is it part of your home, or do you go "to the studio"?
 My office is about a 10 minutes drive from my apartment. I used to work from home but found all the creature comforts a massive distraction. The office is super tidy at the begining of every issue with drawing materials stacked next to the drawing board and a large cork board with all the ref  i'll need and previous issues pages pinned to it. By the end of the issue it's as tidy as time allowed that month. ...which is a nice way of saying it's a complete hellhole.

What job are you the proudest of?
Generally, it's the job i'm working on at the time but I guess it'd fair to say finishing on Galactica was a pretty big feat for me.
 I'd gone from having really very lttle industry experience to working on Galactica which at the time was a huuuge buzz show and the fan expectations were massive. The issue# 0 sold 175,000 copies and was reprinted in TV Guide which has a readership of something like 4 million!

Also, it was a 13 issue run. The one thing you don't know coming into the industry is the sheer number of man hours it takes to produce an issue, especially when you're green. I worked every single day of that run without a break or even a weekend off for over a 13 months.  That first year was a real baptism of fire but I came through it having learnt more than I would have in 3 years thanks to the great editorial team at Dynamite and working with Greg Pak ( whose gone on to be one of the biggest and the best writers out there.)

What are you currently drawing? Comments on that project?
I just finished a four issue Galactica series called Cylon War which was alot of fun. It's written by Eric Nylund and Joshua Ortega who have managed to squeeze in decades of drama and how the cylons came to be in just 4 issues. It's got a really great epic sweep to it and I loved working on it.
I'm about to start a new series in a couple of weeks...

What projects do you hope to work on in the future? One word...Batman. Miller's Dark Knight is what really fired me up as a teen to work in the industry. Personally, I think Gotham City is the most immersive sandbox in the industry and the one book I can think of I'd happily spend my whole career on.
Until that day, I'm drawn to the more realistic superhero books like Wolverine,Elektra, Black Widow,Daredevil etc.
Also, I'm currently devouring the Queen and Country books and would love a shot at working with Greg Rucka as i'm big fan of the spy genre and no-one rocks it like Rucka.

Where do you see yourself in five years? ten?
Hopefully, still working in comics. I've been really lucky working with some great writers so far ( Greg Pak, Simon Furman, Jimmy Palmiotti, Joshua Oretga and Eric Nylund)
Fingers crossed my luck holds and have as much fun doing for the next 10 years as I have the last 3!
 
What is the interest in comics where you live? Do friends and neighbors know you draw comics for a living? How do they react?
 People's interest is always one of curiosity but not many read them on a regular basis unfortunatley. Although, a few friends have started reading them avidly and i'm slowly working on the rest. They'll learn!

What's 1 thing you'll always find in your refrigerator?  
 The light's on...

What's your favorite food?
Coffee and cigarettes. Yum!!  (don't do it kids)
 

What are your favorite  --Movies? Music? TV? Any hobbies?
Between work and my girlfriend it doesn't leave much time for hobbies or TV ( which is fine as the only thing worth watching is the Wire and that's finished.Boo!).
 I'm a real cinema buff though and I get to listen to music all day long when i'm working, which is one of the perks of the job.

Have you ever thought of writing your own stories? Do you have any great, unsold projects in your files that nobody's gotten to see published?
Yep, I'm sure most everyone in the industy has though. I've self published before and scripted some videogame FMV and have a few unused scripts in a drawer. But yes, there's 2 or 3 ideas that i'll get round to that could be something really fun to do.Watch this space...

What's an average day in your life like?  Walk us through a typical day.
 I get up about 7;30, make breakfast, drive to work, make an obscenely large pot of coffee then get my head down to working  the days' page. Usually, i'll finish up about 8pm depending on the content. Then i'll do any paperwork or art redo's and head home. A working day is generally about 10 hours but you stay til it's done so you hit that deadline and 15 to 20 hour days do happen .  Eat your vegetables!

 
If you weren't a comic-book artist today, what would you be?
 Sending samples into David at Glasshouse to get me comicbook work so I could be one tomorrow.


Any other tidbits you'd like to share?
No, I'm not good at sharing. They're my tidbits. All mine!

LIST OF CREDITS
2000AD-- various
Battlestar Galactica #0 -12
Terminator2 #1-7
Painkiller Jane # 4-5
Battlestar Galactica-Cylon War #1-4
Terminator 2 -Revolutions #1-5 (covers only)