Dave Gibbons - Local hero

When the subject of fame cropped up during a panel discussion years ago I remember Dave Gibbons saying that whilst it's nice to be appreciated by the fans, true fame is being recognized by strangers whilst shopping in Tesco. (Or words to that effect, my apologies if I'm misremembering it Dave.)

In any event I'm sure that Dave has been recognized in public quite a few times since then, and will no doubt be recognized in Tesco now that his local paper The Herts Advertiser has interviewed him. "St Albans Comic Legend Dave Gibbons" talks at length in a fascinating article detailing his career. Unlike most local press features on comics the interviewer clearly understands and appreciates the subject and it makes for a great interview. Read it online at:

http://www.hertsad.co.uk/content/herts/news/story.aspx?brand=HADOnline&category=News&tBrand=HertsCambsOnline&tCategory=newslatestHAD&itemid=WEED15%20Apr%202010%2015%3A13%3A35%3A590

By the way, I thought I'd use one of Dave's early pieces at the top of this post. It's his first cover for 2000AD (Prog 9) back in 1977 (the issue that was on sale 33 years ago this week!). Whilst digging it out I also found Starburst No.1 , edited and published by Dez Skinn, which featured this long-forgotten one-off strip by Dave (below).Although Starbust issue one is dated January 1978 I suspect the strip is older than that, possibly a reprint from a fanzine perhaps? (UPDATE: Litterbug first appeared in Dez Skinn's fanzine Fantasy Advertiser No.52, March 1974. Thanks to Ewan for the info. Although it's a very nicely drawn strip Dave's work clearly improved in leaps and bounds in the three years between Litterbug and Harlem Heroes.)


Dave will be a guest at the UniComics Festival in St Albans next weekend, organised by the University of Hertfordshire. He will be holding two artist workshops at the city library on Saturday April 24 at 10.30am and 1.30pm, demonstrating such skills as character designs and page layouts. More info:
http://www.herts.ac.uk/events/UniComics-Festival.cfm