Glenn Dakin

Career

While at college in Manchester Dakin was drawing Abe for his college magazine when he met Paul Gravett, who introduced him to the concept of self-publishing comics in zine form and distributing them via the mail and Gravett's Fast Fiction service. While initially dismissive, he soon became interested, corresponding with Eddie Campbell and Phil Elliott amongst others. Dakin has cited Tove Jansson's Moomin strip cartoons and novels as an influence for Abe and the optimistic melancholy present in his work.

Dakin had work published in pssst! in 1982, and when Gravett launched Escape Magazine Dakin became a regular contributor. He also had strips in the Australian anthology Fox Comics. By the late '80s he was publishing comics through the Harrier Comics' New Wave imprint including Paris, The Man of Plaster (with Steve Way) and the anthology Gag! He also co-edited, wrote and drew Sinister Romance with Woodrow Phoenix. Temptation, "which was visually inspired by George Herriman's Krazy Kat and Johnny Hart's B.C.," had a run in Escape, and found a home in Deadline magazine. It was later published as a collection by Penguin Books in 1991. Dakin collaborated with Phil Elliott on numerous strips including Mr Day and Mr Night, Greenhouse Warriors and The Man From Cancer.

Dakin was employed by Marvel UK for a period where he wrote the comics ClanDestine and The Real Ghostbusters amongst others.

His Abe strips were collected by Top Shelf Productions in 2001 under the title Abe: Wrong For All The Right Reasons. Temptation was reissued by Active Images in 2004. Both have introductions by Eddie Campbell.

Dakin currently writes children's books, develops and writes children's television shows for the BBC and has a regular strip, Robot Crusoe, in The Sunday Times.

Influence

Dakin has been cited by a number of American cartoonists, especially those connected to the publisher Highwater Books, as a major influence on their attitudes towards comics.

References

Notes

Sources

• Campbell, Eddie (2001) Alec: How To Be An Artist. Eddie Campbell Comics. .
• Creativemedia Management CV. Retrieved 12 Aug 2005
• Glenn Dakin at Lambiek's Comiclopedia

References

1. [[Tom Hart (cartoonist). Hart, Tom]] (2001). "The Scribbled Philosophy of Glenn Dakin," ''[[The Comics Journal]]'' #238: 71–87.
2. Higgins, Jez (2002). "There Is No Escape From The Deadline of Temptation" ''[[Borderline (magazine). Borderline]]'' #7: 32–37.