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RIP John Hicklenton: The Flying 2000AD Artist Dies At Digitas

by | 29th, March 2010

RIP John Hicklenton. A talented comic book artist, who worked on cult British comic 2000 AD, Hicklenton, had suffered from multiple sclerosis for 10 years. He died at the Swiss clinic Dignitas.

On getting MS:

“The doctor, a locum, just stared at her computer screen,” he told the Telegraph, “and never once looking at me, said: ‘You’ve got MS. You’ll be dead in 12 to 15 years.’ Just like that.”

On MS:

“Drawing is my walking now, I run with it, I fly with it. It’s keeping me alive. I have a thing with it. I can’t wait to get a piece of paper with a pen because it’s what I can control. I haven’t got MS when I’m looking at my pictures and I haven’t got it when I’m drawing them either. It gives me an ability to express that fear.’

On getting good at what you love:

Later, I was reading 2000AD (from about prog 4 or 5) at a recreation ground – it’s a very clear memory. I opened it up and, at the time, Flesh was in there and a Stegosaur or a Tyrannosaur was being dropped into a mincer. I literally just gave my mates my football, went home and just drew obsessively every day for 8 hours a day. I lived for it.

On taking the chance:

I was good friends at college with a girl called Hannah Smith and at the time I had no idea that her dad was Ron Smith. She’d seen that I’d done a little doodle of Dredd, because I’d done a lot of classes with her, and said “my dad draws that!” She told me who he was and I was already a massive fan by then. So it was near Christmas and, very calculatingly, I did her a fully painted Christmas card with an image of Judge Dredd that I’d spent about 6 weeks doing. After seeing that, he asked to meet me and told me he thought that “the card was really good and you obviously love Dredd”.

RIP

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Images: here, here and here



Posted: 29th, March 2010 | In: Celebrities Comment | TrackBack | Permalink