Mike Collins
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For other persons of the same name, see Michael Collins.
Mike Collins is a Wales-based comic book artist and writer and has been working in comics since the mid-1980s. Born in West Bromwich in 1961, he moved to Wales in 1985 after an abortive stab at a career in the Law, in London. Tho training as a High Court Barrister, Mike decided that he enjoyed the fiction based life of comic book characters over the fiction based statements of clients.
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[edit] UK comics
In the mid to late 1980s, Mike wrote and drew strips for Marvel Comics United Kingdom division, amongst them; Spider-Man, Transformers, Doctor Who, and Zoids. He also worked on the celebrated UK weekly comic 2000 AD drawing Judge Dredd, Sláine and Rogue Trooper, as well as writing various Future Shocks.
[edit] US comics
He was hired in the 'Second Wave' of British artists lured to the United States in the late 1980s. Through the 1990s he worked primarily for DC Comics on their key titles - Batman, Superman, Flash, Teen Titans, Wonder Woman and the Justice League.
He also drew a series of licenced comics for the company, using various TSR/Dungeons and Dragons characters. A brief spell at Marvel saw Mike working on Uncanny X-Men (Key issue: #266, the first appearance of Gambit). He was back to DC though, to write and draw Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt, a revival of a 1960s Charlton Comics character.
Mike's primarily known for his work on TV and Movie tie-in comics- for both Marvel and DC he has written and drawn Star Trek comics. In the late 90s he drew a Babylon 5 mini-series, "In Valen's Name", written by series creator J. Michael Straczynski and Peter David. A departure from most tie-in productions in that it actually serves as series 'canon' being based on an unused 3rd season script.
[edit] Current work
Currently the artist (and sometime writer) on Panini Comics Doctor Who Magazine, Mike also writes and draws a strip for Weekly World News, as well as co-creating the series American Gothic with Ian Edginton for 2000 AD.
Outside of comics Mike paints covers to a monthly series of downloadable Star Trek novels - the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, and works as a storyboard artist for both animation and live-action TV and movies.
[edit] Unusual and unique work
He wrote and designed the first ever Welsh language graphic novel - Mabinogi in assosiation with Cartwyn Cymru in 2001, and is the first UK artist to produce a series of graphic novels for Norway with Gunnar Staalesen, featuring his celebrated private eye, Varg Veum.
He works a key illustrator for Welsh language school books using the comic strip medium, aimed at reluctant learners.
He supplied art for a number of cards in the Harry Potter Trading Card Game.
[edit] Trivia
When not working in comics, Mike fronts a tribute band: TomWaits4NoMan.
