Angela Kincaid

[JayzusB.Christ]

I was just rereading the first Sláine story, and it struck me that it was a real shame she couldn't have stuck around the prog a bit longer.   I really liked her sole prog entry ever -  I mean, she created Sláine's look, and her version was the one that most artists stuck to.  I know it's easy to say what might have been, but maybe having such an influential female artist  in the prog for a longer period would have attracted more female creators over the years.  (Also, and I know it's not nearly as important as her talent, but I've just looked her up and she was an absolute stunner.  Of course, Uncle Pat cut quite the dash in his younger days too.)

[nxylas]

I've been saying this for ages. She did a couple of Third World War episodes in Crisis, but I think she's one of those artists, like Brian Bolland, whose work looks better in black & white.

[Dash Decent]

I still remember the time she came back using the alias Ken Niemand.  Pretty much an anagram, with the spare/needed letters forming the message "I can glam".

[Jim_Campbell]

I was just rereading the first Sláine story, and it struck me that it was a real shame she couldn't have stuck around the prog a bit longer.

IIRC, Angie Kincaid was primarily a book illustrator at the time and comics really weren't her forte, with the pages of that first episode getting sent back by the editorial team for revision/redrawing multiple times... to the extent that McMahon had completed many of his episodes before that first episode was judged ready for publication.

Obviously, for it to take months to get six pages to a point where they're publishable is unsustainable — economically for the artist, and logistically for editorial, who are feeding the ravenous content beast of a weekly anthology and need stuff to arrive ready for lettering/colouring with minimal intervention on their part.

(Plus, even back then, comics didn't pay that well and I'm sure that book illustration paid more money for less work.)

[JayzusB.Christ]

I totally get that, and fair play to her for going with the more financially rewarding path.  I paint and draw for a living, and I've tried drawing comics - I just can't do it.  It's insanely difficult and Angie Kincaid did a better job than I ever would.

[Jim_Campbell]

I paint and draw for a living, and I've tried drawing comics - I just can't do it.

It's murderously hard work — I've said (numerous times!) that drawing comics is probably the most labour-intensive way imaginable of trying to monetise artistic talent.

I've sort of enjoyed the tiny number of sequential pages I've drawn over the years... but I just find it takes so long. You have to design the characters, the costumes, the environments, you have to design the pages themselves so that they're both readable and serve the requirements of the script...

And that's all before you've actually drawn a single panel. Then you have to make sure all that stuff you designed is consistent across multiple pages. Figure out the lighting, camera angles, make the characters 'act'.

It's a frickin' miracle any one does it all, never mind for the money most comic gigs are offering!

[nxylas]

I think Pat said in Kiss My Axe that she wasn't used to the way comics worked, and the idea of having one of her panels completely redrawn in her style by Robin Smith was completely incomprehensible to her.

[Vector14]

Does anyone have any other examples of her art online? The only thing I've found is The Butterfly Children books. Interesting that it's co-created by Pat Mills and still in print to this day.

[AlexF]

Between Kiss My Axe and various Sláine collections intros, Pat has spilled an AWFUL lot of ink in prasie of that first episode of Sláine, the amount of effort Kincaid put into it, and how shabbily he feels she was treated by 2000AD at the time.

Anyway, totally agrfee it's an amazing one-off story and would have loved to see more.
Technically, she does have a second Slaine credit, as the author of the 'Killing Fields' sequence that came between Slaine the King and Horned God.

And yeah, would have been nice if more female artists had been attracted to / given a chance on the Prog back in the early days!

[JayzusB.Christ]

I'd forgotten The Killing Fields was her work! I thought it was excellent- capturing both the absolute savagery and epic scale of the story with only one caption. That image of Sláine's hand dripping blood is indelibly burnt into my memory.

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Between Kiss My Axe and various Sláine collections intros, Pat has spilled an AWFUL lot of ink in prasie of that first episode of Sláine, the amount of effort Kincaid put into it, and how shabbily he feels she was treated by 2000AD at the time.

Anyway, totally agrfee it's an amazing one-off story and would have loved to see more.
Technically, she does have a second Slaine credit, as the author of the 'Killing Fields' sequence that came between Slaine the King and Horned God.

And yeah, would have been nice if more female artists had been attracted to / given a chance on the Prog back in the early days!

I believe he mentioned that both Robin Low and Steve MacManus were sexist, misogynistic dinosaurs who claimed that her art wasn't up to standard (in other words, high quality) and that at the time, both upper Management and so-called "fans" (who were "busy" writing in to complain to Tharg about her art) had wanted her gone.

[M.I.K.]

I believe he mentioned that both Robin Low and Steve MacManus were sexist, misogynistic dinosaurs who claimed that her art wasn't up to standard (in other words, high quality) and that at the time, both upper Management and so-called "fans" (who were "busy" writing in to complain to Tharg about her art) had wanted her gone.

Steve McManus's side of the story on Mr. Bishop's blog here, (starting from the bit about Zarjaz monthly)...

http://viciousimagery.blogspot.com/2007/02/28-days-of-2000-ad-7-steve-macmanus-pt.html

[Funt Solo]

Given Mills' notorious temperament, it's useful to hear both sides of that story.

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

I believe he mentioned that both Robin Low and Steve MacManus were sexist, misogynistic dinosaurs who claimed that her art wasn't up to standard (in other words, high quality) and that at the time, both upper Management and so-called "fans" (who were "busy" writing in to complain to Tharg about her art) had wanted her gone.

Steve McManus's side of the story on Mr. Bishop's blog here, (starting from the bit about Zarjaz monthly)...

http://viciousimagery.blogspot.com/2007/02/28-days-of-2000-ad-7-steve-macmanus-pt.html

Yep, I remember reading about that in Kiss My Axe! I believe he mentioned that this incident was basically the start of his "issues" with the comic and its Management.

Given Mills' notorious temperament, it's useful to hear both sides of that story.

With all due respect, I wasn't taking Pat's side, just writing about what I remember reading about in Kiss My Axe!

[GordonR]

I believe he mentioned that both Robin Low and Steve MacManus were sexist, misogynistic dinosaurs

That's a harsh call on a long-term forum member. Particularly when he was probably about 12 at the time.

Are you sure you don't mean then 2000AD art editor Robin Smith?