Gerry Finley-Day

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Gerry Finley-Day was a hugely prolific British comic book writer from the 1960s to the 1980s. He is best known as the creator of Rogue Trooper but also worked on several other series which appeared in 2000 AD, including Harry Twenty on the High Rock, Invasion! (following on from the first episode by Pat Mills), M.A.C.H. 1, Ant Wars, The V.C.s and Fiends of the Eastern Front.

Finley-Day honed his writing skills on girls' comics, working alongside Pat Mills and John Wagner, later the creators of 2000AD.

Finley-Day's signature style was the hardbitten solo action hero, typically an embittered renegade male between 35 and 50 years old, that became a defining feature of 2000 AD (the UK's only best-selling comic). In common with many creators of the day, his stories often incorporated elements of contemporary popular movies or television programmes. Harry Twenty, for example, was an escape story set on a maximum-security prison orbiting the earth, and had clear echoes of The Prisoner TV series, starring Patrick McGoohan (according to Finley-Day, he used to joke with his fellow creators that if McGoohan appeared at the reception of the IPC building, he was not to be let upstairs).

Finley-Day disappeared from the UK comics scene in the mid 1980s, allegedly after editorial disagreements with the 2000AD management. Though he was severely under-appreciated during his time, many of his creations are now regarded as classic characters. Harry 20 on the High Rock was recently voted by readers of the 2000adreview fan site the best self-contained series to have appeared in 2000AD throughout its 28 year history, closely followed by Fiends of the Eastern Front. Finley-Day also wrote for 2000AD and the short-lived Action title under a number of pen-names.