The Short Version
Antony Johnston is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of comics, graphic novels, video games and books, with titles including Wasteland, Daredevil, Dead Space, Julius, and Frightening Curves. He has adapted books by bestselling novelist Anthony Horowitz, collaborated with comics legend Alan Moore, and reinvented Marvel's flagship character Wolverine for manga. His titles have been translated throughout the world and optioned for film. He lives and works in England.
For full details on Antony's work, see the Titles page.
The Long Version
Antony was born in Birmingham, England and raised in Redditch, a town just outside the city. One of his earliest memories is of his father reading a copy of British kid's comic THE BEANO to him when he was four years old. Antony, that is, not his father.
This first encounter with comics led to an unhealthily long obsession with the medium as Antony moved from THE BEANO and WHIZZER & CHIPS to SCREAM, BATTLE, the relaunched EAGLE and perhaps inevitably, 2000AD. These fostered an interest in fantasy and science fiction, and making up his own stories. In turn, this led to an adolescent interest in role-playing games such as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and Games Workshop's WARHAMMER games.
Not long into this period Antony discovered alcohol, girls and The Sisters Of Mercy, at which point the comics and role-playing games were thrown unceremoniously on the back seat. Everything in his wardrobe that wasn't black was just thrown. Plus ça change.
Later, a friend recommended he try out a new American comic called THE SANDMAN because one of the characters bore a strong resemblance to Patricia Morrison. Some time later, White Wolf's VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE was released. Antony succumbed to these heavy-handed hints from the cosmos, and was soon immersed once again in the nefarious worlds of comics and role-playing.
The next few years were filled with drugs, alcohol, sex, tattoos, piercings, heavy metal and sleeping on trains across Europe. Yes, they were thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks for asking.
By 1998, Antony was a graphic designer of some years' experience and had written several magazine articles on role-playing games, though the comics had once again been all but forgotten. He moved to the South-West of England to work as a magazine designer, and while there also wrote the martial arts supplement THE KESTRELS: BECOMING FIRE for XID Creative's PROVIDENCE role-playing game. (A second book, THE GREEN PEOPLE, was also written. However, XID were bought by a company which then collapsed before the book could be released.)
Antony soon realised that what really interested him about role-playing games was the worldbuilding and storytelling aspects. Frankly, all that rules malarky was a bit dull. Simultaneously, he read an advance copy of Titan Books' WRITERS ON COMICS SCRIPTWRITING and was reminded by the irreverent eloquence of some familiar British names just what it was he used to enjoy about comics.
In 1999, a mere 20 years after first deciding he wanted to write stories, Antony finally got round to it. He has made up for this slow start by being rather prolific.
Last updated November 2011.
