Simon Coleby

Let's see what you can see...

This article is in need of images.

The name or term "Simon" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Simon (disambiguation).

Simon Coleby (born March 1, 1967) is a British comic artist, and once bluntly told an interview for Judge Dredd Megazine that "if you look at it purely in terms of an hourly rate – and take into account all the work that goes into drawing comics – then you do have to be in this business because you love it."^[1] Luckily, he does!

He did a year-long foundation art course in college but his first break as being the poster and demo-tape artist for a "dreadful" (his words) heavy metal band he was in. In 1987, he was dragged to the UK Comic Art Convention by the group's singer; after seeing his art, Richard Starkings hired him for Marvel UK, starting with inking an Action Force cover.^[2] He worked on The Transformers in 1989 and 1990, first cover the cover of issue #222.

As well as drawing Transformers in 1989, he started freelancing for Fleetway on 2000 A.D.. He's still working on 2000 AD now, with strips including Low Life, Jaegir, and various Judge Dredd stories. Americans will know him from Wildstorm's The Authority, Victorian Undead, and Fringe, as well as Punisher 2099, Batman Eternal and Royals: Master of War.

In 2018, Coleby was reunited with Simon Furman on Rebellion's The Vigilant; while Furman remembered him, Coleby admitted he couldn't remember if they had worked together "but I'm sure we have collaborated; probably on Transformers, or something similar." ^[3]

He has 20 years of accumulated artwork in his office which presents a constant danger to his life.^[4]