Jack Lawrence (artist)

Jack Lawrence
Jack Lawrence drawing commissions during Free Comic Book Day celebrations at Dark Side Comics, UK.
Born	1975 Canterbury, Kent, England, UK
Nationality	British
Area(s)	Writer, Penciler, Inker, Colourist, Creator
jackademus.com

Career

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Perspective

Early Beginnings

Lawrence took a General Art and Design BTEC First Diploma at Canterbury Technical College, then went on to the KIAD at Canterbury to study for a BTEC National in the same subject. After becoming disenchanted with art education, he then worked "regular" jobs to train himself in the field he wanted to be in. In 2000, he became a character animator for the UK-based Web design company Lightmaker. He worked there for three years before becoming a freelance artist.

Lawrence came onto the comics scene with his own title, Darkham Vale, which he created, wrote, and drew, with the series running for ten issues.^[1]

He went on to find early success with Lions, Tigers and Bears, written by Mike Bullock and published by Image Comics. The four-issue series was a surprise hit that revolved around a young boy and his stuffed animal protectors.^[2]

Lawrence continued working on a wide variety of titles throughout his early career, including 2000 AD, Doctor Who Adventures, and several Marvel projects.

Tinpot Hobo

In 2012, Lawrence self-published an original science-fiction comic book, Tinpot Hobo. The series was available via convention appearances and the series' website.

Continued Success

From 2012 onwards, Lawrence worked on a number of high-profile titles. His work on DreamWorks Dragons, based on the popular How To Train Your Dragon franchise, Skylanders (IDW Publishing) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were met with critical acclaim.^[3]

Transformers

In 2016, Lawrence began working on a handful of Transformers (IDW Publishing) titles. As a lifelong Transformers fan, Lawrence had previously worked with author James Roberts, and Roberts's frequent collaborator Nick Roche, on projects for the Transmasters UK fan fiction group. The trio reunited for the critically acclaimed^[4] Transformers: Lost Light series in late 2016.

Transformers: Lost Light #1 debuted at number 176 on Diamond Comic Distributors best-selling comics ranking for December 2016, with 11,342 copies distributed, being the ninth best-selling comic of IDW Publishing in that month.

Lawrence continues to work on Transformers (IDW Publishing) titles, and is a regular guest^[5]^[6] at TFNation and TFCon, the largest UK and international Transformers fan conventions.

Sonic The Hedgehog

Continuing his work with IDW Publishing, Lawrence began working on Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Publishing) in early 2019.

Whilst initially providing main and alternate covers for various Sonic the Hedgehog titles, Lawrence ultimately ended up illustrating two highly-acclaimed^[7]^[8] mini-series; Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys and Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island.

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Bibliography

Early Work

Darkham Vale #1-10 (2003-2004), published by Autumn Press Comics
- Collected as Darkham Vale Vol. 1 (tpb, 150 pages, 2004, ISBN 978-1771352086)
- Collected as Darkham Vale Vol. 2 (tpb, 136 pages, 2004, ISBN 978-1905071012)
Darkham Vale: The Dracou Imperative One-Shot (2004), published by Autumn Press Comics
Go Go Gorilla - Cover (2004), published by Ape Entertainment
2000AD #1415 (2004), published by Rebellion Developments
- "Off-Ramp" story featuring Sinister Dexter.

The Hammer Kid #0 (2006), published by Astounding Studios
Lil' Hellions Day At The Zoo (2006), published by Silent Devil Productions
Young Bottoms in Love Anthology (2007), 'Terminator', initially a webcomic later published by Poison Press
Goblin Chronicles #1 - Cover (2008), published by Ape Entertainment
Doctor Who Adventures - 'How To Draw' feature (2008-2009), published by BBC Magazines
Judge Dredd Megazine #275, #279-283 (2009), published by Rebellion Developments
Catch Heroes - One-Shot (2010), published by Jungle Casterman
Tinpot Hobo #1-4 (2011-2014), published by Kothkrom Studios
Richie Rich #1-4 - Covers (2011), published by Ape Entertainment
Casper's Scare School #1-4 - Covers (2011), published by Ape Entertainment
Angry Birds Magazine #1-4 - Covers, interior illustrations (2014), published by Egmont UK