Veteran British comics artist John M. Burns died in hospital on December 29, 2023. He was 85 years old. Best known for his work on 2000 AD titles like “Judge Dredd,” “The Order,” and “Nikolai Dante,” Burns worked in comics for six decades, and had only retired in October 2023, after only initially intending to cut back on his workload when he received medical advice suggesting as much. 2000 AD paid tribute to him shortly after his death, saying “The majority of his work in comics was fully-painted – and even through to his most recent artwork for the Prog, all his pages were delivered directly from his home in Cornwell to the 2000 AD office in poster tubes, rather than sent via PDF.”
Burns was born in Essex, East England, in 1938, and began his career apprenticing as a teenager on children’s comics. He made his professional debut in 1958 with “Champion the Wonder Horse Annual.” After carrying out National Service for the RAF in Singapore in 1961, he drew “Dan Dare” and “Kelpie the Boy Wizard” in “Eagle” magazine, “Wham!,” “Diana” and more, as well as newspaper strips like “Modesty Blaise.” During the 1970s and ’80s, he became a specialist on licensed comics with “Doctor Who,” “Mission Impossible,” “Space: 1999,” “The Bionic Woman,” “Buck Rogers,” and “Magnum P.I.”
He made his debut in “2000 AD” with Garth Ennis’s Judge Dredd story ‘Garbage Disposal’ in 1991, and from there went on to create other comics for the magazine, including various chapters of “Nikolai Dante,” Robbie Morrison and Simon Fraser’s swashbuckling 1997-2012 serial. He and Morrison reteamed on the gangster thriller “The Bendatti Vendetta,” a 2002-05 “Judge Dredd Megazine” segment that (unusually) had no sci-fi or fantasy elements at all. He worked with Dan Abnett several times, including during a 2013 “Sinister Dexter” run, and with writer Kek-W (aka Nigel Long) on the 2011 serial “Angel Zero,” as well as the historical epic “The Order,” which ran in “2000 AD” from 2014 to 2023.
Further work by Burns included adaptations of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre published by Classical Comics; the 2006 Marvel series “(Silver) Sable & Fortune”; and 1988’s “Spitting Image: The Giant Komic Book.” He drew comics for outside the English-speaking market, namely the daily German strip “Julia,” and the Dutch fantasy series “Zetari,” and less mainstream titles like two Penthouse Comix series in the mid-’90s. He also worked as a colorist on several titles, such as Marvel UK and Titan’s “Transformers” series. At the time of his retirement, he was working with author Paul Duncan on a book about his career.
Burns was survived by his wife Julia. He was honored during his life with a UK Comic Art Award Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, and the Eagle Awards’ 30th Anniversary Award for Outstanding Achievements in British Comics in 2007. 2000 AD stated when he died that he was “still leading the way as an artist. His legacy is obvious: his artwork inspired countless artists across multiple decades, and his final work – ‘Nightmare New York,’ with frequent collaborator Kek-W – will be published later this year in ‘2000 AD.’ Our most heartfelt condolences go out to all of John’s family and friends.” A memorial for Burns will be held on an episode of 2000 AD’s Thrill-Cast podcast, releasing March 18.
