It is with great sadness that we received the news of the tragic death of one of UK comics’ most important creators and artists, Brett Ewins.
Best known for his work on Judge Dredd, Anderson Psi-Division, ABC Warriors, Rogue Trooper, and his own co-creation, Bad Company, art droid, Brett had been an integral part of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, virtually from it’s inception.
The mid-late eighties were an especially busy time for the Ewins art droid, creating projects outside his spiritual home at 2000AD with long-time collaborator, script droid, Peter Milligan, starting on Strange Days anthology comic, in 1984-85, following up in ‘85-86, with Johnny Nemo: a noir-ish future private investigator, with an eye for the ladies, and a knack for snappy one-liners, both for Eclipse Comics.
Ewins, together with friend and fellow 2000AD art droid, Steve Dillon, went on to found ’90s pop culture phenomenon, Deadline, home to iconic female rebel, Tank Girl, in 1989, where his massive workload, and constant deadline demands eventually took their toll (perhaps reflected in the title of the new magazine..).
Something had to give - as well as drawing Bad Company II, for the weekly Prog, and publishing a monthly magazine, Brett had drawn one-off Hellblazer & Swamp Thing stories, then embarked on a six-issue mini-series, Skreemer, with Milligan and Dillon,for DC Comics.
So,in 1991, an overworked, exhausted Brett had what was referred to as a ‘nervous breakdown’, Deadline's popularity had soared and the stress of completing his numerous projects had finally caught up with him. He withdrew from the comics' industry entirely, apart from a brief Bad Company spin-off, Kano, for 2000AD in 1993.
Out of the public eye, Brett planned to recover with an anthology title based on work from friends in the industry like Peter Milligan, Alan Grant and Alan McKenzie, as well as friends like musician Michael White.
This volume was finished with the story, “Machine”, drawing on first-hand experiences involving his breakdown. He worked on the stories from 1995 to 2003 and were eventually published in 2004 by Cyberosia.
Brett has also had his painted work displayed in exhibitions, inspiring and collaborating with, street artists, particularly the Mutoid Waste Company and The IFC Crew.
Brett & Jamie Hewlett (Gorillaz), in the Deadline offices, London, 1988.
Early Judge Dredd full-colour interior page
Rogue Trooper - Major Magnum - StarScan, Prog 315 (7May’83)
Judge Dredd - ‘Flying Dutchman' - cover art, Prog 459 (1Mar’86).
Psi-Judge Cass Anderson - ‘Zip It, Creep!' - cover art, Prog 472 (31May’86).
Psi-Judge Cass Anderson - ‘Hands Up!' - cover art, Prog 475 (21Jun’86).
Judge Dredd - ‘Lights Out!' - cover art, Prog 484 (23Aug’86).
Bad Company - ‘Malcom, Ex?' - cover art, Prog 506 (24Jan’87).
2000AD Annual 1991 - cover art - Character Montage (1Sep’90)
Rare, one-off Judge Dredd - StarScan - Prog 960 (6Oct’95).
To find out more about Brett & his work, look out for The Art Of Brett Ewins
R.I.P. Brett, We’ll Never Forget You. x
