Jim McCarthy

Jim McCarthy
Nationality	British
Area(s)	Writer, Penciller, Artist, Inker, Colourist
Notable works	Bad Company Bix Barton
Notable collaborations	Brett Ewins Peter Milligan
Official website

Jim McCarthy is a British comics creator. He became well known for working on Bad Company in 2000 AD before going on to write a number of graphic novels based on musicians, as well as becoming a music journalist.

He is the brother of Brendan McCarthy.

Biography

Jim McCarthy studied art at Ealing College, leaving in 1975 and working as an artist in Europe for three years.

He started at 2000 AD in 1977 and 1978 on Tharg's Future Shocks, sharing art duties with Brett Ewins, a partnership that would continue on his return in 1986 for their long run on Bad Company with Peter Milligan. He would work solo with Milligan, again, on their occult detective series Bix Barton, and McCarthy would work steadily at 2000 AD throughout this period until 1996, briefly returning in 2001 and 2002 to draw more Future Shocks.

McCarthy would return to comics full-time in 2003 writing the first of a number of biographical graphic novels, including Godspeed: The Kurt Cobain Graphic, that was re-released in digest form in 2011, and Sex Pistols: The Graphic Novel. The NME reported that the former "had proved both controversial and commercially successful. Beaumont [the artist] received death threats from irate fans before Godspeed was even published".

He also writes about music, his first piece was about Jah Wobble whom he met when they were both in rehab, and he has since gone on to write a book on Latin rock.

McCarthy is currently based in Sussex.

Bibliography

Comics

• Tharg's Future Shocks:
  • "Robot Repairs" (with writer Robert Flynn and artist Brett Ewins, in 2000 AD #37-38, November 1977)
  • "Stasis" (with writer Charles Swift and artist Brett Ewins, in 2000 AD #54, March 1978)
  • "Casualty" (with Hilary Robinson, in 2000 AD #590, September 1988)
  • "Cultural Exchange" (with Hilary Robinson, in 2000 AD #593, September 1988)
  • "The Birthday" (with Frances Lynn, in 2000 AD #918, December 1994)
  • "Headhunter" (with Kek-W, in 2000 AD #1242, May 2001)
  • "His Master's Voice" (with Jamie Woolley, in 2000 AD #1310, September 2002)

• Bad Company (with writer Peter Milligan and artist Brett Ewins):
  • Goodbye, Krool World (Rebellion, 256 pages, February 2005, ISBN 1-904265-27-8) collects:
    • "Bad Company" (inks, in 2000 AD #500-519, 1986–1987)
    • "The Bewilderness" (in 2000 AD #548-557, 1987–1988)
    • "The Krool Heart" (in 2000 AD #576-585, 1988)
  • Judge Dredd Megazine vol. 4 #15 (September 2002) reprints:
    • "Young Men Marching" (in 2000AD Annual 1989, 1988)
    • "Ararat" (in 2000AD Annual 1990, 1989)
  • Kano (Rebellion, 96 pages, October 2007, ISBN 1-905437-46-3) collects:
    • "Kano" (in 2000 AD #828-837, 1993)
    • "Down Among the Dead Men" (in 2000AD Annual 2001, 2000)
    • "Bad Company 2002" (in 2000 AD Prog 2002 and #1273-1277, 2001–2002)

• Hellblazer #7 (with writer Jamie Delano and artist Brett Ewins, DC Comics, June 1988)
• "The Geek" (with Malachy Coney, in Crisis #22, July 1989)
• Zenith: "Mandala: Shadows & Reflections" (with Grant Morrison, in 2000AD Annual 1990, October 1989)

• Bix Barton (by Peter Milligan):
  • "Barton's Beasts" (in 2000 AD #663-668, 1990)
  • "The Indigestible Case of the Haunted Full English" (in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1990)
  • "The Disproportionate Man" (in 2000 AD Winter Special 1990)
  • "Carry On Barton" (in 2000 AD #723-728, 1991)
  • "Lovesick World" (in 2000 AD #737-741, 1991)
  • "Bloated Case of the Fatted Keef" (in 2000 AD #761-766, 1991)
  • "The Mouth Thief" (in 2000 AD Yearbook 1993, 1992)
  • "The Crying Scotsman" (in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1993)
  • "Nigel the Napoleon of East Finchley" (in 2000 AD #912-917, 1994)

• Animal Man #44 (inks, with writer Tom Veitch, and pencils by Brett Ewins, DC Comics, February 1992)
• Rogue Trooper (with Mark Millar, in 2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1992, June 1992)

• The Grudge-Father:
  • "The Grudgefather" (with Mark Millar, in 2000 AD #878-883, 1994)
  • "Skin Games" (with Kek-W, in 2000 AD #940-945, May–June 1995)

• Kid Cyborg (with Kek-W, in 2000 AD #972-979, December 1995 - February 1996)
• Godspeed: The Kurt Cobain Graphic (writer, with co-author Barnaby Legg and art by Flameboy, graphic novel, Omnibus Press, October 2003, 76 pages, ISBN 0-7119-9763-2, March 2011, 96 pages, ISBN 1-84938-699-4)
• Eminem: In My Skin (writer, with co-author Barnaby Legg and art by Flameboy, graphic novel, 96 pages, Omnibus Press, October 2004, ISBN 1-84449-488-8)
• Death Rap: Tupac Shakur - A Life (writer, with co-author Barnaby Legg and art by Flameboy, graphic novel, 96 pages, Omnibus Press, October 2005, ISBN 1-84449-727-5)
• Sex Pistols: The Graphic Novel (writer, with art by Steve Parkhouse, graphic novel, 96 pages, Omnibus Press, June 2008, ISBN 1-84609-508-5)
• Bob Marley: A Trenchtown Graphic Novel (forthcoming)
• Neverland: The Life and Death of Michael Jackson (forthcoming)

Books

• Voices of Latin Rock: The People and Events That Created This Sound (with co-author Ron Sansoe, 316 pages, Hal Leonard Corporation, June 2005, ISBN 0-634-08061-X)

References

• Jim McCarthy at the Grand Comics Database
• Jim McCarthy at the Comic Book DB
• Jim McCarthy at 2000 AD
• Jim McCarthy at Barney
• Bishop, David (2007). Thrill Power Overload. Rebellion. pp. 260. ISBN 1-905437-22-6. 

External links

• Official website
• Voices of Latin Rock.com