Baikie was born in Orkney on February 28, 1940. He served in the Royal Air Force from 1956 to 1963, and began drawing comics in 1966 for Fleetway’s Valentine magazine, drawing biographical strips about popular bands at the time (Baikie himself was a bass player, performing with various groups into the ’80s.) He drew licensed comics like Star Trek, Doctor Who and Thunderbirds for the pages of Look-in and TV21 & Joe 90, as well as many comic strips for girls’ magazines Valentine, Lady Penelope, and Jinty.
During the 1980s, Baikie co-created “Skizz,” an E.T.-inspired tale set in Birmingham with Moore for 2000 AD. Baikie was fond enough of the alien that he wrote and drew two sequels in the 1990s. He also branched out into American comics, co-creating “Electric Warrior” for DC Comics with Doug Moench in 1986, and penciling, inking and coloring the 1995 Dark Horse series “Star Wars: Empire’s End.” He was active into the early 2000s, co-creating Moore’s ‘First American’ in “Tomorrow Stories,” and contributing to Len Wein’s “The Victorian.”
Tributes have poured in to Baikie from many collaborators, colleagues and fans, including Al Ewing:
RIP Jim Baikie. I always enjoyed his art – New Statesmen in particular is full of wonderful moments.
— Al Ewing Writes Comics And Tells You About Them (@Al_Ewing) December 30, 2017
Artist David Roach told Down the Tubes, “As my frequent collaborator Alan Grant often said, the girls titles were particularly demanding, there was no hiding behind flashy layouts and glossy techniques, it was all about solid drawing, storytelling, observation and sensitivity. Jim quickly became one of the very best artists in the genre. These days it’s his stints on ‘2000 AD,’ Warrior, Look-In and ‘Star Trek’ which the fans are most likely to celebrate, understandably so, but I know he was very proud of his time drawing for girls. A great artist and a great chap. Here’s to you Jim.”
Baikie is survived by his wife Wendy, their five daughters Jacqueline, Jane, Vanessa, Caitrian and Ellen, as well as twelve grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.