Sean Phillips

Phillips grew up in the U.K. fascinated by American comics, particularly those published by Marvel Comics. As he got older, his influences included Jim Baikie, Simon Bisley, Jamie Hewlett, Duncan Fegredo, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave McKean, and Jaime Hernandez.Thomas, Ian. [https://www.tcj.com/we-get-to-do-whatever-we-want-an-interview-with-sean-phillips/ “We Get to Do Whatever We Want!”: An Interview with Sean Phillips,"] The Comics Journal (Jan. 26, 2022).

Phillips began his career in 1980 in British girls' comic magazines such as Bunty, Judy and Nikki while still at school. After graduating art college (Lowestoft Polytechnic) in 1988 he started working with John Smith on New Statesmen and Straitgate, as well as Pat Mills on Third World War, both at Crisis.

Phillips was part of the late-1980s British Invasion, getting work on Hellblazer before it became a Vertigo Comics title. Returning to the UK, he worked on Devlin Waugh for the Judge Dredd Megazine (May 2–15 1992 – Aug. 22–Sept. 4, 1992) and also provided the art on a number of series for 2000 AD, including Judge Dredd.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=August 2022}}

In 1990, he illustrated the cover for the Stereo MC's album Supernatural.

In May 1993 he became one of the early Vertigo Comics artists by illustrating (with assists from Paul Peart and Sean Harrison Scoffield) the entire 16-issue run of Kid Eternity (1993–1994). His later work with Vertigo included the covers for twenty-three of the twenty-five issues of the first The Invisibles series and also returning to Hellblazer (switching from artwork and covers to just covers after around twenty issues) between 1995 and 1998. He drew three issues of Shade, the Changing Man (1994), the one-shot Hell Eternal (1995), and the miniseries The Minx (1998–1999). Phillips penciled four issues of the final Invisibles series between 1999 and 2000, and produced covers for the Hellblazer Special: Bad Blood miniseries. In 1999, he inked Michael Lark's pencils on Scene of the Crime — written by Ed Brubaker, a writer Phillips would collaborate with a number of times over the following years. In 2001, Phillips and John Bolton illustrated a Vertigo three-issue miniseries called User, written by Devin Grayson. The series explores "sexual identity and online role-playing in the text-based MUDs of the nineties."{{cite web |url=https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/user-hc |title=User HC|publisher=Image Comics |date=17 May 2017 |access-date=11 August 2017 }} User was re-released as a hardcover by Image in 2017.

Phillips moved on to Wildstorm for a long run on WildC.A.T.s (issues #8–28, 2000–2001) with Joe Casey before teaming up Brubaker on Sleeper (2003–2005).

Phillips went over to Marvel Comics in 2005 where he co-created Criminal with Brubaker at the Marvel imprint Icon Comics.{{cite web |first=Jennifer M. |last=Contino |url=http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=363339#Post363339 |title=Sean Phillips: Breaking The Law With The Criminal |work=The Pulse |publisher=Comicon.com |date=8 August 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928222737/http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=363339#Post363339 |archive-date=28 September 2012 }}{{cite web |first=Dave |last=Richards |url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=12706 |title=CRIMES PAST: Phillips talks New "Criminal" #1 |publisher=Comic Book Resources |date=27 February 2008 }} He was also the main artist on the first two instalments of the Marvel Zombies series with Robert Kirkman.

Subsequent work includes Incognito, another series with Brubaker at Icon[http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090816-Incognito.html Ed Brubaker on Incognito], Newsarama, 16 September 2008 and a US reprint of 7 Psychopaths at Boom! Studios.{{cite web |first=David |last=Pepose |url=http://www.newsarama.com/comics/Phillips-7-psychopaths-100405.html |title=BOOM! Brings 7 PSYCHOPATHS to USA, Phillips Draws Tanks |publisher=Newsarama |date=5 April 2010 |access-date=1 May 2010 }}

Phillips provided the art for The Criterion Collection release of the 1961 noir film Blast of Silence, as well as the art for the Criterion release of the 1957 legal drama 12 Angry Men, based on a design by Eric Skillman.{{cite web |first=Zack |last=Smith |url=http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=153293 |title=Sean Phillips on the Blast of Silence DVD |publisher=Newsarama |date=11 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205052934/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=153293 |archive-date=5 December 2008 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.criterion.com/films/27871-12-angry-men |title=12 Angry Men |publisher=The Criterion Collection |date=2010 }}

On 9 April 2011, Phillips was one of 62 comics creators who appeared at the IGN stage at the Kapow! Comic Convention in London to set two Guinness World Records, the Fastest Production of a Comic Book, and Most Contributors to a Comic Book. With Guinness officials on hand to monitor their progress, writer Mark Millar began work at 9 a.m. scripting a 20-page black and white Superior comic book, with Phillips and the other artists — including Dave Gibbons, Frank Quitely, John Romita Jr., Jock,[http://comics.ign.com/articles/116/1161812p1.html "Kapow! '11: Comic History Rewritten On The IGN Stage"]. IGN. 14 April 2011 Doug Braithwaite, Ian Churchill, Olivier Coipel, Duncan Fegredo, Simon Furman, David Lafuente, John McCrea, and Liam Sharp[http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Guinness-World-Records-at-Kapow-Comic-Con/blog/3454984/7691.html "Guinness World Records at Kapow! Comic Con"]. Guinness World Records. 9 April 2011 — all drawing a panel each, appearing on stage throughout the day to work on the pencils, inks, and lettering, with regular Superior artist Leinil Yu creating the book's front cover. The book was completed in 11 hours, 19 minutes, and 38 seconds, and was published through Icon on 23 November 2011, with all royalties being donated to Yorkhill Children's Foundation.

In 2012, Phillips was one of several artists to illustrate a variant cover for Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead No. 100, which was released 11 July at San Diego Comic-Con.Logan, Michael (4 June 2012). [http://www.tvguide.com/News/Walking-Dead-Comic-1048486.aspx "Exclusive First Look: The Walking Dead Comic Hits 100"]. TV Guide.

Phillips and Ed Brubaker launched their Fatale series at Image Comics in January 2012. The series was initially announced as a twelve-issue maxi-series but was upgraded to an ongoing title in November 2012.{{cite web|url=http://comicsalliance.com/the-ed-brubaker-captain-america-exit-interview-marvel-fatale-image/ |title=The Ed Brubaker Captain America Exit Interview |first=David |last=Brothers |date=1 November 2012 |publisher=Comics Alliance |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910024001/http://comicsalliance.com/the-ed-brubaker-captain-america-exit-interview-marvel-fatale-image/ |archive-date=10 September 2013 |url-status=dead }} Jesse Schedeen of IGN stated that "You can't go wrong with a Brubaker/Phillips collaboration. Even so, Fatale is making a strong case for being the best of their projects."{{cite web |url= http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/16/fatale-7-review|title= Fatale No. 7 Review|first= Jesse|last= Schedeen|date= 15 August 2012|publisher= IGN|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120822020937/http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/16/fatale-7-review|archive-date=22 August 2012 |url-status= live|access-date= 13 November 2013}}

In October 2013, Phillips and Brubaker signed a five-year contract to produce comics exclusively for Image. Under the terms of the deal, Image will publish any comic they bring to them without having to pitch it to them first.{{cite web|url= http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/01/16/brubaker-talks-about-his-exclusive-deal-with-image-comics|title= Brubaker Talks About His Exclusive Deal with Image Comics|first= Joshua|author=Joshua Yehl|date= 16 January 2014|publisher=IGN}} In 2019, Brubaker and Phillips signed another five-year contract with Image to produce comics exclusively for that publisher. As Phillips explained, "[W]e get to do whatever we want! We don’t have to pitch projects to Image, we don’t have an editor or designer, we can make as many or few books as we want. We get to choose format, paper stock, and everything else to do with our books."

Phillips' son Jacob Phillips is also a professional comics creator, having worked as a colorist on his father's comics and branching out into illustrating his own series.{{cite web|author=Johnston, Rich|url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/jacob-phillips-that-texas-blood-chris-condon-image/|title=Jacob Phillips' First Ongoing Series as Artist, That Texas Blood With Chris Condon From Image in May, Previewed|publisher=Bleeding Cool|language=en|url-status=live|date=February 21, 2020|access-date=July 16, 2022|archivedate=March 5, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305081815/https://bleedingcool.com/comics/jacob-phillips-that-texas-blood-chris-condon-image/}}

Phillips is known for the different art styles he has employed over the years, from clean-line superhero work, to scratchy, noir-inspired black-and-line work, to painted comics.{{cite web|last=Keilly |first=Karl |url=https://www.cbr.com/cci-spotlight-on-sean-phillips/ |title=CCI: Spotlight On Sean Phillips |work=CBR |date=Aug 3, 2010|quote=Best-selling artist Sean Phillips sat down with long time friend, Hellboy artist Duncan Fegredo, and discussed his three decades in the comics industry and how it took 25 years to break into the mainstream.}}

• New Statesmen (with John Smith):
• "Downtime" (in Crisis, No. 5, 1988)
• "Holding the fist" (in Crisis, No. 6, 1988)
• "White Death" (in Crisis, #13–14, 1989)
• Third World War (with Pat Mills):
• "Symphony of splintered wood" (in Crisis #22–23, 1989)
• "Remembering Zion" (in Crisis No. 24, 1989)
• "Book of Babylon" (in Crisis No. 27, 1989)
• "The calling" (in Crisis No. 31, 1989)
• "The man with the child in his eyes" (in Crisis #33–34, 1989)
• Straitgate (with John Smith, in Crisis, 1990)
• Hellblazer (Vertigo):
• No. 31, 34–36 (with Jamie Delano, 1990)
• "Counting To Ten" (with John Smith, Hellblazer No. 51, 1992)
• "In Another Part of Hell" (with Jamie Delano, Hellblazer No. 84, 1994, collected in Rare Cuts, {{ISBN|1-4012-0240-3}})
• #84–88 (with Eddie Campbell, 1995)
• #89–100, 102–107, 109-114, 116-120 (with Paul Jenkins, 1994–1997)
• Danzig's Inferno (with John Smith, in 2000 AD #718–719, 1991)
• Strange Cases:
• "Feed Me" (with Warren Ellis, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 1) No. 7, 1991)
• "Magic" (with Ian Edginton, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 1) No. 8, 1991)
• Armitage (with Dave Stone):
• "Armitage" (in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 1) #9–14, 1991)
• "The Case of the Detonating Dowager" (in Judge Dredd Yearbook 1993, 1992)
• Devlin Waugh (with John Smith, tpb, Swimming in Blood, 224 pages, 2004, DC, {{ISBN|1-4012-0392-2}}, Rebellion, {{ISBN|1-904265-17-0}}):
• "Swimming in Blood" (in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) #1–9, 1992)
• "A Love like Blood" (illustrated text story, in Judge Dredd Mega-Special 1993, 1993)
• "Brief Encounter" (in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) No. 26, 1993)
• "Body and Soul" (illustrated text story, in Judge Dredd Yearbook 1994, 1993)
• Judge Dredd:
• "The Marshal" (with Garth Ennis, in 2000 AD #800–803, 1992)
• "The Hunting Party" (with John Wagner, in 2000 AD #1033, 1997)
• "A Death in the Family" (with John Wagner, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol.3) No. 45, 1998)
• Harmony (in Judge Dredd Yearbook, 1994)
• Vector 13:
• "Case Six: Marion" (with Dan Abnett, in 2000 AD No. 956, 1995)
• "Case Two: It's Good to Talk" (with Nick Abadzis, in 2000 AD #1025, 1997)
• Sinister Dexter: "Sucker Punch" (with Dan Abnett, in 2000 AD #1115, 1998)
• Downlode Tales: "Tough Tushy" (with Dan Abnett, in 2000 AD #1126, 1999)
• Scene of the Crime #2–4 (inks, with Ed Brubaker and pencils by Michael Lark, Vertigo, 1999, collected in A Little Piece of Goodnight, 2000, {{ISBN|1-56389-670-2}})
• WildC.A.T.s (with Joe Casey and Steve Dillon, Volume 2 #8–28, Wildstorm) collected as:
• Vicious Circles (collects #8–13, 144 pages, 2001, {{ISBN|1-56389-761-X}})
• Serial Boxes (collects #14–19, 144 pages, 2001, {{ISBN|1-56389-766-0}})
• Battery Park (collects #20–28, 224 pages, 2004, {{ISBN|1-4012-0035-4}})
• The Brotherhood #7–9 (with writer attributed as "X" and inks by Kent Williams, Marvel Comics, 2002)
• Sleeper (with Ed Brubaker, Wildstorm, two 12-issue limited series collected into four trade paperbacks):
• Out in the Cold (2003, {{ISBN|1-4012-0115-6}})
• All False Moves (2004, {{ISBN|1-4012-0288-8}})
• A Crooked Line (2005, {{ISBN|1-4012-0618-2}})
• The Long Way Home (2005, {{ISBN|1-4012-0627-1}})
• Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her (with Richard Morgan, 6-issue miniseries, Marvel, 2005–2006)
• Marvel Zombies (with Robert Kirkman, 5-issue limited series, Marvel Comics, 2006, tpb, 2006, {{ISBN|0-7851-2277-X}})
• Criminal (with Ed Brubaker, ongoing series, Icon, 2006-ongoing) collected as:
• Coward (2007, {{ISBN|0-7851-2439-X}})
• Lawless (2007, {{ISBN|0-7851-2816-6}})
• The Dead and the Dying (2008, {{ISBN|0-7851-3227-9}})
• Bad Night (2009, {{ISBN|0-7851-3228-7}})
• The Sinners (2010, {{ISBN|0-7851-3229-5}})
• 7 Psychopaths (with Fabien Vehlmann, Delcourt, 2007, 88 pages, Boom! Studios, December 2010, {{ISBN|1-60886-032-9}})
• Marvel Zombies 2 (with Robert Kirkman, 5-issue limited series, Marvel Comics, 2007–2008, hardcover, June 2008, {{ISBN|0-7851-2545-0}})
• Incognito (with Ed Brubaker, 6-issue limited series, Icon, 2008–2009, tpb, November 2009, {{ISBN|0-7851-3979-6}})
• Incognito: Bad Influences (with Ed Brubaker, 6-issue limited series, Icon, 2010–2011, tpb, 2011, {{ISBN|978-0-7851-5155-5}}
• Fatale (with Ed Brubaker, limited series, Image Comics, 2012-2014)
• The Fade Out (with Ed Brubaker, limited series, Image Comics, 2014-2015)
• Kill or Be Killed (with Ed Brubaker, Image Comics, 2016-2018)
• Pulp (with Ed Brubaker, Image Comics, 2020)
• Reckless (with Ed Brubaker, Image Comics, 2020-2022)
• Night Fever (with Ed Brubaker, Image Comics, 2023)
• Where the Body Was (with Ed Brubaker, Image Comics, 2024)
• Houses of the Unholy (with Ed Brubaker, Image Comics, 2024){{Cite web |last=Club |first=Comic Book |date=2023-12-06 |title=Ed Brubaker And Sean Phillips' Next Book, Houses Of The Unholy, Tackles The Satanic Panic |url=https://comicbookclublive.com/2023/12/06/ed-brubaker-sean-phillips-houses-of-the-unholy-satanic-panic-book/ |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=Comic Book Club |language=en-US}}

• 2017 nominated for Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed{{cite news|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/2017-eisner-award-nominations|title=Fantagraphics and Image Comics Lead Eisner Awards Nominations|publisher=Syfy Wire|language=en-US|url-status=dead|date=May 7, 2017|archivedate=October 8, 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008102723/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/2017-eisner-award-nominations}}

• 2016 Winner for The Fade Out (with Ed Brubaker){{cite web|author=Schedeen, Jesse|publisher=IGN|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/07/23/comic-con-2016-2016-eisner-award-winners-revealed|title=Comic-Con 2016: 2016 Eisner Award Winners Revealed|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=July 23, 2016|access-date=September 8, 2016|archivedate=April 17, 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417132626/http://www.multiversitycomics.com/news-columns/artist-alley-sean-phillips-and-the-dark-side-of-hollywood-in-the-fade-out-interview/}}

• 2018 Winner for My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies (with Ed Brubaker){{cite web|last1=McMillan |first1=Graeme|title=Eisner Awards: The Complete Winners List |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/2019-eisner-awards-complete-winners-list-1225835|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=July 20, 2019|access-date=August 17, 2022|archivedate=March 13, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313034048/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/2019-eisner-awards-complete-winners-list-1225835/}}

• 1993 nominated for the UK Comic Art Award for Best ArtistER. "International Miscellanea: 1993 UK Comic Art Awards," The Comics Journal #161 (August 1993), p. 40.
• 2006 Winner of the Spike TV Scream Award for Best Artist for Marvel Zombies{{cite web |url=https://movieweb.com/spike-tvs-scream-awards-2006-winners/ |title=Spike TV's Scream Awards 2006 Winners! |last=Jacobs |first=Evan |date=9 October 2006 |website=Movieweb |access-date=22 January 2021}}
• 2012 nominated for the Eagle Award for Favourite Artist: Fully Painted Artwork{{cite news|first=Steve |last=Morris |url=http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/05/25/the-final-eagle-awards-have-landed/ |title=The Final Eagle Awards have Landed |publisher=Comics Beat |date=May 25, 2012 |accessdate=May 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606071332/http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/05/25/the-final-eagle-awards-have-landed/ |archivedate=June 6, 2012 }}
• 2021 Nominated for the Dragon Award for Best Graphic Novel for Pulp (with Ed Brubaker and Jacob Phillips){{cite web |last1=Glyer |first1=Mike |title=2021 Dragon Awards Ballot |url=http://file770.com/2021-dragon-awards-ballot/ |website=File 770 |date=12 August 2021 |access-date=15 August 2021}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{official website|http://www.seanphillips.co.uk}}
• {{gcdb|type=credit|search=Sean+Phillips|title=Sean Phillips}}
• {{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=933|title=Sean Phillips}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20151105151336/http://www.comics-db.com/comics/search.cgi?query%3DSean%20Phillips%26bool%3Dand%26substring%3D1 Sean Phillips] at the Big Comic Book DataBase
• [http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=SEANP Sean Phillips] at Barney
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070313022727/http://marvel.com/catalog/?artist=Sean%20Phillips Sean Phillips] at Marvel.com
• [https://archive.today/20121209140935/surebeatsworking.blogspot.com/ Sean Phillips's blog] (archived)
• [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=12711 Studio Tours: Sean Phillips], Comic Book Resources, 27 February 2008

{{S-start}}

{{Succession box|title=Hellblazer artist|before=Steve Dillon|after=Warren Pleece|years=1994–1997}}

{{Succession box|title=WildC.A.T.s artist| before=Carlos Meglia|after=N/A| years=2000–2001}}

{{Succession box|title=Sleeper artist| before=N/A|after=N/A| years=2003–2005}}

{{Succession box|title=Criminal artist| before=N/A|after=N/A| years=2006–2007, 2008, 2009–2010, 2011, 2019–2020}}

{{Succession box|title=Fatale artist| before=N/A|after=N/A| years=2012–2014}}

{{Succession box|title=Kill or Be Killed artist| before=N/A|after=N/A| years=2016–2018}}

{{s-end}}

{{Marvel Zombies}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Sean}}

Category:1965 births

Category:British comics artists

Category:Eisner Award winners

Category:Living people