Garry Leach
Encyclopedia
Biography
Garry Leach studied Graphic Design at St. Martin's School of ArtCentral Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
. He was first noted for his early work for 2000 AD
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
, which was mainly on one-off stories featuring Dan Dare
Dan Dare
Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories, that is, the Venus and Red Moon stories, and a complete storyline for Operation Saturn...
and M.A.C.H. 1
M.A.C.H. 1
M.A.C.H. 1 was a comic strip that ran in the British science fiction comic 2000 AD. The strip was created by writer Pat Mills and illustrator Enio...
. He then became a fan-favourite for his work on the series The VCs.
In 1981 he joined Dez Skinn
Dez Skinn
Derek "Dez" Skinn is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books on comics. As head of Marvel Comics' operations in England in the late 1970s, Skinn reformatted existing titles, launched new ones, and acquired the BBC license for Doctor Who Weekly...
's company, Quality Communications
Quality Communications
Quality Communications is a British publishing company founded by Dez Skinn in 1982. Quality was initially formed to publish the award-winning monthly comics anthology Warrior. The company has been involved with comics in both the UK and the U.S., mainly with reprint material from Warrior and...
. where he workedd as art director and was the first artist on Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's revival of Marvelman
Marvelman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
in Warrior. His work on Marvelman proved highly popular but due to his slow pace of working, he left art duties to be replaced by Alan Davis
Alan Davis
Alan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail.-UK work:...
. For Davis' first few stories Leach worked as inker to allow Davis to settle into the strip.
Leach and Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
also created Warpsmith
Warpsmith
The Warpsmiths are fictional aliens in several science fiction comics by Alan Moore and Garry Leach.-Publication history:Created by Alan Moore when he was a teenager for a small publication by an arts lab in his native Northampton, England...
for Warrior together; Warpsmith featured in its own strip and eventually became a supporting character in Marvelman. With Dave Elliott, Leach set up Atomeka Press
Atomeka Press
Atomeka Press was a British publisher of comic books set up in 1988 by Dave Elliott and Garry Leach. Atomeka ceased publishing in 1997 and was then revived in 2004, but its future seems uncertain, as it has not published any new material since 2005.-History:...
in 1988. Their first title was the anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
title, A1, which included new Warpsmith material by Moore and Leach.
After Atomeka and A1 finished in the mid-1990s, Leach worked mainly in advertising, but returned to comics in the late 1990s as John McCrea
John McCrea
John McCrea is a comic book artist best known for his collaborations with writer Garth Ennis.-Career:...
's inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
on Hitman
Hitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
. He also drew the first issue of Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, who is well-known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and through his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
's series Global Frequency
Global Frequency
Global Frequency is an American comic book limited series published by Wildstorm Productions, created and written by Warren Ellis.It is a science fiction series set in the present day, consisting of single-issue, standalone stories. The series of twelve issues was published between October 2002 and...
, and designed many of that title's characters. He continues to contribute inking work to 2000AD, most recently on Future Shorts with Rufus Dayglo
Rufus Dayglo
Rufus Dayglo is a London-based comics artist working for 2000 AD and Titan Books in the United Kingdom, and IDW Publishing and Image Comics in the United States...
.
Leach has illustrated cards for the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
.
He has returned to publishing and restarted Atomeka Press
Atomeka Press
Atomeka Press was a British publisher of comic books set up in 1988 by Dave Elliott and Garry Leach. Atomeka ceased publishing in 1997 and was then revived in 2004, but its future seems uncertain, as it has not published any new material since 2005.-History:...
with Dave Elliott. A1 is being published again with a mix of old and new material, including new work by Leach. The A1 Sketchbook was released in late 2004, containing four Miracleman
Miracleman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
-related pin-ups (although the pin-ups were not explicitly said to be Miracleman
Miracleman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
for possible legal reasons). A variant of the sketchbook was produced, featuring a Miracleman
Miracleman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
front cover and Kid Miracleman
Miracleman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
back cover by Leach.
Awards
Awards he has won include:- 1983: "Favourite Single or Continued Story" Eagle Award (British Section), for Marvelman (Warrior #1-3 & 5-6), with Alan Moore
- 1999: "Best Single Issue/Single Story" Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
, for Hitman #34: "Of Thee I Sing", with Garth Ennis and John McCrea,