Ted McKeever
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Ted McKeever is an award-winning American Comics artist.
McKeever first published work appeared in 1987, when he published the first 5 parts of his unfinished series Transit, establishing his trademark style. This was followed in 1987-1988 by his 12-part series Eddy Current. This "12-hour book" centers on an escapee from an asylum -- obsessed with the expoits of the superhero "The Amazing Broccoli," Eddy buys a mail-order battery-powered "Dynamic Fusion Suit" and sets out to save the world. The work is quintessential McKeever: darkly humorous, showing an "ordinary" person caught up in extra-ordinary events. Some of the characters in Eddy Current reappear in Metropol and other later works ,similarly from Transit. This series was nominated for the Eisner Awards for Best Single-Issue (#1), Best Black-and-White Series, Best New Series, and Best Artist (for McKeever) for 1988.
His 5-parter Plastic Forks (Epic 1990) explored the world of animal experimentation, albeit in a surreal and comical way.
Metropol (Epic 1991-1992) is an epic story of the fight between angels and demons, but set in a modern industrial landscape. An apocalyptic work in which non-entity Jasper Notochord becomes involved in a surreal fight between the forces of good and evil.
The Extremist, a 4-parter written by Peter Milligan (Vertigo 1993) tells the tale of a woman who discovers that her husband had a secret life, which she discovers upon his death. Her investigations lead her into a shocking world of extreme sex and violence.
Recently, McKeever has produced a number of works exploring alternative realities within the world of DC Superhero comics. With Randy & Jean-Marc Lofficier, he has produced an Elseworlds trilogy: Superman's Metropolis, Batman: Nosferatu and Wonder Woman: The Blue Amazon, all retellings of the DC mythos.
His artistic style is dark distorted and far less clean than many of his contemporaries. As well as Peter Milligan and Randy & Jean-Marc Lofficier, McKeever has collaborated with comics creators Dave Gibbons and writer and singer Lydia Lunch. His most recent work Enginehead (DC 2004) was written by Joe Kelly.
[edit] Bibliography
- Transit #1-5 (Vortex 1987-88 Unfinished)
- Eddy Current #1-12 (Mad Dog Graphics 1987-88)
- Grimjack #47 (First Comics 1988) (Eddy Current Back-up story)
- Fish Police vol. 2 #8 (Comico 1988) (4 page story: Riverfront Joe's)
- Clive Barker's Hellraiser #1 (Epic 1989) (18 page story: Dance Of The Fetus)
- Ted McKeever’s Plastic Forks #1-5 (Epic 1990)
- Metropol #1-12 (Epic 1991-92)
- Metropol A.D. #1-3 (Epic 1993)
- Eclipso #8-9 (DC 1993) (written by Keith Giffen, Robert Loren Fleming)
- The Extremist #1-4 (DC/Vertigo 1993) (written by Peter Milligan)
- Clive Barker's Night Breed # 24-25 (Epic 1993 (covers only)
- Showcase '93 #12 (DC 1993) (10 page story: The Creeper: A Cold Night In Hell written by Keith Giffen)
- Doom Patrol #75-79, 81-82, 84-87 (DC/Vertigo 1994-95) (written by Rachel Pollack)
- Industrial Gothic #1-5 (DC/Vertigo 1995)
- "Engines" in Legends of the Dark Knight #74-75 (DC 1996)
- Batman: Black & White #1 (DC 1997) (8 page story: Perpetual Mourning)
- Superman's Metropolis (DC 1997) (written by Randy & Jean-Marc Lofficier & Roy Thomas)
- Junk Culture #1-2 (DC 1997)
- Toxic Gumbo (DC 1998) (written by Lydia Lunch)
- Batman: Nosferatu (DC, Elseworlds, 1999) (written by Randy & Jean-Marc Lofficier)
- Faith #1-5 (DC/Vertigo 2000)
- Flinch #14 (DC/Vertigo 2000) (8 page story: Grave Wisdom)
- Vertigo Visions (Titan Books 2000)
- Spider-Man's Tangled Web #18 (Marvel 2002)
- Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #12-13 (Marvel 2002) (written by Brian Michael Bendis)
- Marvel Knights Double Shot #2 (Marvel 2002) (11 page story: Memories of Green)
- Wonder Woman: The Blue Amazon - Elseworlds (DC 2003) (written by Randy & Jean-Marc Lofficier)
- The Matrix Comics #1 (Burleyman 2003) (12 page story: "A Life Less Empty")
- The Matrix Comics #2 (Burleyman 2004) (16 page story: "The King of Never Return")
- Enginehead (DC 2004) (written by Joe Kelly)
- A1 Bojeffries Terror Tome #1 (Atomeka 2005) (5 page story: Eddy Current - prologue, 6 page story: Judgement)
- Little Book of Horror: War of the Worlds (IDW 2005) (written by Steve Niles)
- Doomed (IDW 2006) (15 page story: Cuts, written by F. Paul Wilson)
Covers work includes:
- Silent Hill: Dead/Alive #1-5 (IDW 2006) (variant covers only)
- Zombies! Feast #1-2 (IDW 2006) (variant covers only)