Simon Gane

British artist

Simon Gane
Born	U.K.
Nationality	British
Area(s)	Penciller, Artist
Notable works	The Vinyl Underground Ghost Tree
www.simongane.com

Simon Gane is a British artist from Bath known for his work in the comic book field.

Gane grew up influenced by the comics of Hergé and Jacques Tardi.^[1] He attended art school in the U.K.^[1] Later comics influences included Christophe Blain and Joann Sfar, as well as the minicomics of Tom Hart, David Lasky, and Adrian Tomine.^[1]

Gane's work was first published in his "self-produced punk fanzine, Arnie, and various minicomics before being collected in Punk Strips"^[2] (Slab-O-Concrete, 2000).

His first work published in the United States came in 2004 with Eureka Productions in Graphic Classics #9: Robert Louis Stevenson, and the kids' Godzilla comic, All Flee! (Top Shelf Productions). After illustrating the five-issue comic Paris, written by fellow Englishman Andi Watson and published by Slave Labor Graphics, Gane found a home with Vertigo Comics, first with The Vinyl Underground and then Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story and Northlanders. Gane described The Vinyl Underground as being "set in London and featur[ing] an ad-hoc group of self-appointed detectives who become embroiled in occult-tinged crimes with a strong supporting cast of mobsters and so on."^[3]

Gane is the official illustrator for the Burning Sky Brewery in East Sussex.

Art style

Gane's work on The Vinyl Underground was deliberately drawn "in a more realistic style" than his usual (self-described as "warped") work, a move which he felt "[had] a constructive effect on my drawing and story-telling."^[3]

Awards

2020 (nomination) Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team for Ghost Tree (IDW Publishing)

Bibliography

Comics

(with Darryl Cunningham) Meet John Dark (Slab-O-Concrete, 1998)
Punk Strips (Slab-O-Concrete, 2000)
(with Michael Slack) Graphic Classics #9: Robert Louis Stevenson: two-part interpretation of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Eureka Productions, 2004)
All Flee! (Top Shelf Productions, 2004)
(with writer Andi Watson) Paris, 5-issue limited series (Slave Labor Graphics, 2005–2006, tpb, 144 pages, August 2007, ISBN 1-59362-081-0)
(with writer Si Spencer and inkers Cameron Stewart and Ryan Kelly)^[1] The Vinyl Underground #1–12 (Vertigo Comics, December 2007 – November 2008) collected as:
- Watching the Detectives (collects #1–5, 128 pages, June 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1812-1)
- Pretty Dead Things (collects #6–12, 128 pages, December 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1977-2)
(with writer Alex Burrows) adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's "John Barrington Cowles," Graphic Classics: Free Comic Book Day #1 (Eureka Productions, 2008)
(with writer Mat Johnson) Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story (Vertigo, August 2010 ISBN 978-1401221607)^[4]
(with writer Brian Wood) Northlanders #37–39 (Vertigo, April–June 2011)
(with writer Rob Williams) Think of a City page 20 (Internet art project, 2014)
(with writer Eric Stephenson) They're Not Like Us (Image Comics, 2014-2017)
(with writer Bobby Curnow) Ghost Tree #1–4 (IDW Publishing, 2019–2020)^[5]

Children's books

(with Betty Hicks) Doubles Troubles (Macmillan Publishers, 2010)
(with Betty Hicks) Track Attack (Macmillan, 2014)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Spurgeon, Tom. "CR Holiday Interview #3: Simon Gane," Comics Reporter (December 17, 2007).
^ Gane entry, DC Talent Directory. Retrieved Nov. 10, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Blog@Newsarama Archived 2012-02-17 at the Wayback Machine: Andi Watson "Q&A: Simon Gane," July 20, 2007. Accessed August 7, 2008
^ "Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story," Publishers Weekly (Aug. 1, 2010).
^ Seven, John. "INDIE VIEW: 'Ghost Tree' brings the afterlife down to Earth: This tale of hauntings offers a thoughtful family drama about memories and regret," The Beat (Dec. 20, 2019).