View source for Simon Fraser (comics)

{{short description|British comics artist and writer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| name          = Simon Fraser
| image         = 10.15.11SimonFraserByLuigiNovi1.jpg
| caption       = Fraser at the 2011 [[New York Comic Con]]
| birth_name    =
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| birth_place   =
| death_date    =
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| nationality   = British
| art           = y
| alias         =
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| notable works = {{ubl|''[[Nikolai Dante]]''|''[[Tales of the Night Watchman]]''|''[[Kingsman: The Red Diamond]]''}}
| awards        = 
| website       = http://www.simonfraser.net/
}}
'''Simon Fraser''' is a British [[comics artist and writer]] best known for his work on ''[[Nikolai Dante]]'', a series he created with writer [[Robbie Morrison]] in ''[[2000 AD (comic)|2000 AD]]'', ''[[Tales of the Night Watchman]]'' for So What? Press, and ''[[Kingsman: The Red Diamond]]'' for [[Image Comics]].

==Career==
Fraser's early work includes ''Lux and Alby Sign on and Save the Universe'', a 1993–1994 collaboration with novelist [[Martin Millar (writer)|Martin Millar]] co-published by [[Acme Press]] and [[Dark Horse Comics]]. Despite having little interest in [[football (soccer)|football]], he worked on ''[[Roy of the Rovers]]'', including drawing the character's final appearance in 1995. This led to [[David Bishop (writer)|David Bishop]]'s commissioning him to work on ''[[Shimura (comics)|Shimura]]'' in the ''[[Judge Dredd Megazine]]'', where he first collaborated with [[Robbie Morrison]].

The pair then created ''[[Nikolai Dante]]'', a swashbuckling adventure story set amid dynastic intrigue in a future [[Russia]], which debuted in ''2000 AD'' in 1997. Fraser was the main artist on the strip, occasionally rotating with other artists, until 2002; the primary artist since then has been [[John M. Burns]], although Fraser returned to the character in 2006 for the storyline "Sword of the Tsar". Also for ''2000 AD'', Fraser has drawn a number of ''[[Judge Dredd]]'' stories.

Returning to the ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' in 2003, he collaborated with writer [[Rob Williams (comics)|Rob Williams]] on ''Family'', a black and white series about a [[crime family]] with superhuman powers, which has recently been published as a collected edition. In 2005 he drew a four-part adaptation of [[Richard Matheson]]'s ''[[Hell House (Book)|Hell House]]'', scripted by [[Ian Edginton]] and published by [[IDW Publishing]].

Fraser produced art on ''The Adventures of Nikolai Dante'' for ''[[2000 AD (comic)|2000 AD]]'', and the self-penned ''Lilly MacKenzie and the Mines of Charybdis'' which was published online, a page per week (every Friday) as part of the online comics collective [[Act-i-vate]].<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=101126 Simon Frazer: Moving to the Web] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219230603/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=101126 |date=2007-02-19 }}, [[Newsarama]], February 12, 2007</ref>

In 2015, he started drawing covers for the horror comic, ''[[Tales of the Night Watchman]]'', published by So What? Press. From 2017 to 2018, he was the primary illustrator for the [[Kingsman (franchise)|''Kingsman'']] comic book sequel ''[[The Red Diamond]]'' for [[Image Comics]], written by Rob Williams. In 2018, he drew the sequential art for "The Ghost Train", about the elevated train involved in the infamous [[Malbone Street Wreck]] returning to terrorize the city on the centenary of the accident, which kicked off ''Tales of the Night Watchman's'' run as a newspaper strip in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York's]] ''Park Slope Reader.''<ref name="Park Slope Reader 3 July 2018">{{cite news | url=https://www.psreader.com/tales-of-the-night-watchman/ | title=Tales of the Night Watchman: The Ghost Train, pt 1 | work=Park Slope Reader | date=3 July 2018 | accessdate=26 May 2020 | author=English, Paul}}</ref><ref name="Park Slope Reader 26 July 2018">{{cite news | url=https://www.psreader.com/tales-of-the-night-watchman-2/ | title=Tales of the Night Watchman: The Ghost Train, pt 2 | work=Park Slope Reader | date=26 July 2018 | accessdate=26 May 2020 | author=English, Paul}}</ref><ref name="Park Slope Reader 24 October 2018">{{cite news | url=https://www.psreader.com/tales-of-the-night-watchman-3/ | title=Tales of the Night Watchman: The Ghost Train, pt 3 | work=Park Slope Reader | date=24 October 2018 | accessdate=26 May 2020 | author=English, Paul}}</ref><ref name="Park Slope Reader 12 February 2019">{{cite news | url=https://www.psreader.com/tales-of-the-night-watchman-4/ | title=Tales of the Night Watchman: The Ghost Train, pt 4 | work=Park Slope Reader | date=12 February 2019 | accessdate=26 May 2020 | author=English, Paul}}</ref> The story debuted in the paper's Spring 2018 edition, number 64. The strips were colored by Gary Caldwell, Simon Fraser's frequent collaborator.<ref name="Comics Beat 02 April 2018">{{cite news | url=http://www.comicsbeat.com/baristas-fighting-monsters-so-what-press/ | title="So What? Press" is serving up exciting things this April! | work=[[Comics Beat]] | date=2 April 2018 | accessdate=1 December 2018 | author=Fabbri, Megan}}</ref><ref name="Comics Beat 24 July 2018">{{cite news | url=http://www.comicsbeat.com/all-aboard-tales-of-the-night-watchman-ghost-train-part-2-is-now-published/ | title=All Aboard! Tales of the Night Watchman "The Ghost Train part 2" is now published! | work=[[Comics Beat]] | date=24 July 2018 | accessdate=1 December 2018 | author=Fabbri, Megan}}</ref><ref name="Comics Beat 9 November 2018">{{cite news | url=http://www.comicsbeat.com/the-ghost-train-is-leaving-the-station-next-stop-comic-arts-brooklyn-and-2019/ | title=The Ghost Train is leaving the station… next stop, Comic Arts Brooklyn and 2019! | work=[[Comics Beat]] | date=9 November 2018 | accessdate=1 December 2018 | author=Fabbri, Megan}}</ref>

==Accolades==
In 2018, Fraser received a [[Ringo Award]] nomination for best cover artist for his work on ''Tales of the Night Watchman'', ''Kingsman'', and ''The Consultant.''<ref name="Newsarama 25 June 2018">{{cite news | url=https://www.newsarama.com/40537-2018-ringo-awards-nominees.html | title=2018 RINGO AWARDS Nominees | work=[[Newsarama]] | date=25 June 2018 | accessdate=1 December 2018 | author=Newsarama staff}}</ref><ref name="Newsarama 1 October 2018">{{cite news | url=https://www.newsarama.com/42071-2018-ringo-awards-winners-full-list.html | title=2018 RINGO AWARDS Winners (Full List) | work=[[Newsarama]] | date=1 October 2018 | accessdate=1 December 2018 | author=Newsarama staff}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
[[File:2000AD1139.jpg|225px|thumb|right|''[[Nikolai Dante]]'' on the cover of ''[[2000 AD (comic)|2000 AD]]'', drawn by Simon Fraser. Copyright Rebellion A/S 2005.]]
*''Lux and Alby Sign On and Save the Universe''
*''[[Roy of the Rovers]]''
*''[[Shimura (comics)|Shimura]]'' (with [[Robbie Morrison]]):
** "The Transcendental Assassin" (in ''[[Judge Dredd Megazine]]'' vol. 2 #74, 1995)
** "Assassins" (with  Robert McCallum, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' vol. 2 #76-77, 1995)
** "Dragon Fire" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' vol. 3 #14-17, 1996)
** "Ronin Breed" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' vol. 3 #34, 1997)
*''[[Nikolai Dante]]'' (with Robbie Morrison):
** "Nikolai Dante" (in ''[[2000 AD (comics)|2000 AD]]'' #1035-1041, 1997)
** "The Romanov Dynasty" (in ''2000 AD'' #1042-1049, 1997)
** "The Gentleman Thief" (in ''2000 AD'' #1067-1070, 1997)
** "Moscow Duellists" (in ''2000 AD'' #1072-1075, 1997)
** "The Trouble with Arbatovs" (in ''2000 AD'' #1083, 1998)
** "Cruel Britannia" (in ''2000 AD'' #1084, 1998)
** "The Great Game" (in ''2000 AD'' #1101-1110, 1998)
** "The Moveable Feast" (in ''2000 AD'' #1128-1130, 1999)
** "The Cadre Infernale" (in ''2000 AD'' #1134-1137, 1999)
** "The Courtship of Jena Makarov " (in ''2000 AD'' #1161-1172, 1999)
** "Love and War" (in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2000, 1999)
** "Battleship Potemkin" (in ''2000 AD'' #1213-1220, 2000)
** "The Return of the Gentleman Thief" (in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2002 & #1273-1274, 2001–2002)
** "The Romanov Job" (in ''2000 AD'' #1280-1287, 2002)
** "Sword of the Tsar" (in ''2000 AD'' #1511-1517, 2006)
** "Hellfire" (in ''2000 AD'' #1526-1532, 2007)
::(This list is incomplete; you can help by adding to it)
*''[[Judge Dredd]]'':
** "Blood Cadets" (with [[John Wagner]], in ''2000 AD'' #1186-1188, 2000)
** "Something Over My Shoulder is Drooling " (with Robbie Morrison, in ''2000 AD'' #1226, 2001)
** "Zoom Time" (with John Wagner, in ''2000 AD'' #1311, 2002)
** "Club Sov" (with [[Gordon Rennie]], in ''2000 AD'' #1358, 2003)
** "Jumped" (with [[John Smith (comics writer)|John Smith]], in ''2000 AD'' #1491-1494, 2006)
** "In Control" (with art by [[Michael Carroll (Irish writer)|Michael Carroll]], in ''2000 AD'' #1717, January 2011)
* ''[[Family (comics)|Family]]'' (with [[Rob Williams (comics)|Rob Williams]], in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #201-207, 2003)
* ''[[Richard Matheson's Hell House]]'' (with [[Ian Edginton]], 4-issue mini-series, [[IDW Publishing]], 2004–2005, [[Trade paperback (comics)|tpb]], 200 pages, October 2008, {{ISBN|1-60010-263-8}})
* ''Lily MacKenzie and the Mines of Charybdis'' (script and art), in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #298–305, 2010
* ''[[Kingsman: The Red Diamond]]'' (with Rob Williams, 6-issue mini-series, [[Image Comics]], 2017–2018, [[Trade paperback (comics)|tbp]], 144 pages, April 2018, {{ISBN|1-53430-509-2}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{gcdb|type=credit|search=Simon+Fraser|title=Simon Fraser}}
* [http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=SIMONF Simon Fraser] at Barney <!-- 2000 AD online database moved to its own site -->

==External links==
{{commons category|Simon Fraser (comic artist)}}
* {{official website|http://www.simonfraser.net}}
* {{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=3680|title=Simon Fraser}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070625234358/http://simonfraser.livejournal.com/ Simon Fraser] at [[Livejournal]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120603064901/http://activatecomix.com/creators?id=6 Simon Fraser] at [[Act-i-vate]]

===Interviews===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050301071635/http://www.2000adreview.co.uk/features/fraserinterview.shtml 2002 interview with 2000ADReview]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051201092614/http://comicsnexus.insidepulse.com/articles/35448 2005 interview with The Nexus]
* [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2009/07/25/meet-the-scot-who-brings-the-biggest-comic-book-heroes-to-life-86908-21546567/ Meet the Scot who brings the biggest comic book heroes to life], ''[[Daily Record (Scotland)|The Daily Record]]'', July 25, 2009

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Simon}}
[[Category:British comics artists]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Scottish comics artists]]