Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer
Andy LanningAndy Lanning is a British comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett.-Career:Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker...
, and is known for his work on books for both
Marvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, and their UK imprint,
Marvel UKMarvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
, since the 1990s, including
2000 AD2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
. He has also contributed to
DC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
titles, and his
Warhammer FantasyWarhammer Fantasy is a fantasy setting, created by Games Workshop, which is used by many of the company's games. Some of the best-known games set in this world are: the table top wargame Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay pen-and-paper role-playing game, and the MMORPG...
and
Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
novels and graphic novels for
Games WorkshopGames Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
's
Black LibraryThe Black Library is a division of Games Workshop which is devoted to publishing novels and audiobooks set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes...
now run to several dozen titles and have sold over 1,150,000 copies as of May 2008. In 2009 he released his first original fiction novels through Angry Robot books.
Career
As one of the more prolific
2000 AD2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
writers, Abnett was responsible for the creation of one of the comic's better known, and longest-running, strips of the last decade,
Sinister DexterSinister Dexter is a long-running comic series in British comics anthology 2000 AD, created by Dan Abnett and David Millgate.Set in the near future, it features the exploits of gun sharks Finnigan "Finny" Sinister and Ramone "Ray" Dexter in the city of Downlode, sprawled across Central Europe...
. Other original stories include
Black Light,
Badlands,
AtavarAtavar is a 2000 AD comic strip, created by Dan Abnett and Richard Elson about the last human alive caught in a war between alien species.-Bibliography:...
,
Downlode TalesSinister Dexter is a long-running comic series in British comics anthology 2000 AD, created by Dan Abnett and David Millgate.Set in the near future, it features the exploits of gun sharks Finnigan "Finny" Sinister and Ramone "Ray" Dexter in the city of Downlode, sprawled across Central Europe...
,
Sancho Panzer,
Roadkill and
Wardog, based on the game of the same name. Abnett has also contributed to some of the comic's major ongoing series, including
Judge DreddJudge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
,
Durham RedDurham Red was originally created in 1987 as a female sidekick and lover for Johnny Alpha in the long-running British comicbook series Strontium Dog. She was a sexy bounty hunter with a mutation that gave her a vampiric lust for blood.-Publication history:...
and
Rogue TrooperRogue Trooper is a science fiction strip in the British comic 2000 AD, created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons. It follows the adventures of Rogue, a G.I. and his three comrades' search for the Traitor General...
.
His work for
MarvelMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
includes runs on
Death's Head 2Death's Head is a fictional comic book character, a robotic bounty hunter appearing in the books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Simon Furman and artist Geoff Senior for the company's Marvel UK imprint...
,
Battletide,
Knights of PendragonThe Knights of Pendragon was a superhero team published by the Marvel Comics imprint Marvel UK in a self-titled comic from 1990 to 1993, and in the anthology title Overkill. It was written by Dan Abnett and John Tomlinson with art by Gary Erskine...
(all of which he co-created),
The PunisherThe Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
,
War MachineWar Machine is a fictional character, a comic book superhero appearing in comic books set in the Marvel Comics universe. The character of James Rhodes first appeared in Iron Man #118 by David Michelinie, John Byrne and Bob Layton...
,
Annihilation: Nova and various
X-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
titles.
At
DCDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
he is probably best-known for his 2000 relaunch of
Legion of Super-HeroesThe Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
as the
limited seriesA limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
Legion LostLegion Lost is a superhero team published by DC Comics.It was originally published as a 12-issue comic book limited series starring the Legion of Super-Heroes...
and then the
ongoing seriesThe term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...
The Legion. His work for DC is usually co-written with
Andy LanningAndy Lanning is a British comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett.-Career:Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker...
and they are often referred to as DnA.
For
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
he co-wrote
Planet of the Apes: Blood Lines with
Ian EdgintonIan Edginton is a British comic book writer.He is one of the few British comic talents to follow the reverse trajectory to the one usually taken: becoming successful in American comics before returning to work for 2000 AD.-Biography:...
, as well a penning
Lords of Misrule and
HyperSonicIn aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that is highly supersonic. Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above...
.
He has written novels set in
Games WorkshopGames Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
's
Military science fictionMilitary science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
-themed
Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
universe. They include the
Gaunt's GhostsGaunt's Ghosts is a series of novels written by Dan Abnett. It is a military science fiction series set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe....
series, the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies, and more recently, as part of the
Horus HeresyIn the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Horus Heresy was a galaxy-spanning civil war that marked the end of the Great Crusade which took place in the 31st millennium. First described in the 1988 Games Workshop book Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness, it was used as the background for the...
series, the SF best-sellers
Horus Rising,
Legion and
Prospero Burns. He has also authored four comic strip series, later collected as graphic novels, for Games Workshop's
black LibraryThe Black Library is a division of Games Workshop which is devoted to publishing novels and audiobooks set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes...
imprint:
Damnation Crusade,
Lone Wolf,
Inquisitor Ascendant and
Titan.
Having written two
Doctor Who audio dramas –
The Harvest and
Nocturne – for
Big Finish'sBig Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
series, as well as
Torchwood: Everyone Says HelloEveryone Says Hello is a BBC Audiobooks original audiobook written by Dan Abnett and based on the British science fiction television, Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood...
for BBC Audio, Dan was also the author of two novels based on the BBC's revived science-fiction series:
The Story of MarthaThe Story of Martha is a BBC Books original novel written by Dan Abnett with David Roden, Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis, Robert Shearman and Simon Jowett and based on the long running science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones...
and
Torchwood: Border PrincesBorder Princes is a BBC Books original novel written by Dan Abnett and based on the British science fiction television, Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood. It features all the regular cast of the show.-Plot summary:October, 8:00 pm...
.
In 1994, he wrote a promotional comic to promote the opening of the
NemesisNemesis is Europe's first inverted roller coaster located at Alton Towers, England. The ride's concept was created by John Wardley. It is manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard and opened in 1994...
roller coasterThe roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
at
Alton TowersAlton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
.
2000s work
At
2000 AD2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
he finished the final book of
The V.C.sThe V.C.s was a future war series that appeared in the science fiction comic 2000 AD #140 - 178 . Written by Gerry Finley-Day, the first episode was drawn by Mike McMahon who designed the craft and the main characters. The main series artists were Cam Kennedy, Garry Leach and John Richardson...
and started
Black AtlanticBlack Atlantic is an original novel written by Simon Jowett and Peter J. Evans, and based on the long-running British science fiction comic strip Judge Dredd.-Synopsis:...
in the
Judge Dredd MegazineJudge Dredd: The Megazine is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in October 1990. It is a sister publication to 2000 AD. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Dredd's locale Mega-City One.-Content:...
, which was drawn by Steve Roberts (seen working on
Bec & KawlBec & Kawl is a 2000 AD comic story, created by Simon Spurrier and Steve Roberts who also cover all the writing and art duties...
) in black and white.
In 2008 Abnett and Lanning took over
The Authority as part of the
World's End"World's End" is a 2008-2009 comic book crossover storyline published by Wildstorm and taking place in the Wildstorm Universe. The event takes place in the issues of all of Wildstorm's Wildstorm Universe ongoing series.-Publication history:...
relaunch of the core
WildstormWildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
titles.
In addition, Abnett has done a lot of work on Marvel's "cosmic" characters. They expanded on their work in
Annihilation"Annihilation" was a 2006 crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics, highlighting several outer space-related characters in the Marvel Universe. The central miniseries was written by Keith Giffen, with editor Andy Schmidt.-Publication History:...
: Nova and
NovaNova is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Upon becoming a member of the galaxy's Nova Corps , the youth gained enhanced strength, flight, injury resistance, and a specialized uniform with life support.In May 2011, Nova placed 98th on IGN's Top 100 Comic...
, and piloted the next big event
Annihilation: ConquestAnnihilation: Conquest is a 2007-2008 Marvel Comics crossover storyline and the sequel to 2006's Annihilation. The series again focuses on Marvel's cosmic heroes defending the universe against the Phalanx, now led by Ultron...
. They said "we were approached by
Andy SchmidtPeter Andrewes Schmidt is a comic book editor and writer. He is best known for his work at Marvel and is now editing and writing at other companies.-Biography:...
, who edited the first 'Annihilation' event, and asked to pilot the next event, which Bill Rosemann is editing." They ended up writing the Prologue, the
Nova series crossover and the main
Annihilation: Conquest limited seriesA limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
. The characters then became the core of a new Guardians of the Galaxy.
In June 2008, that Abnett and Lanning had signed an exclusive deal with Marvel, which they hope will give them time to work on the "cosmic" characters they have been dealing with, as well as more earth-based ones. The contract allows them to finish existing commitments, so they will be able to finish their fifteen issue run on
The Authority. In addition Marvel has allowed the contract to include "a couple of exceptions that are not direct competition, for example, Dan's 2000AD work in the UK and his Games Workshop novels." The first major work to emerge after this deal will be
War of Kings"War of Kings" is a comic book crossover storyline written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, published by Marvel Comics, and set in Marvel's main shared universe. The six issue limited series was published between March and August, 2009....
, a crossover storyline, emerging from
Secret Invasion"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008....
, that pitches
Black BoltBlack Bolt is a fictional character that appears in publications by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #45 Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon) is a fictional character that appears in publications by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #45 Black...
(and the
InhumansThe Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This race appears in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics and exists in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe....
) against Gabriel Summers (and the Shi’ar Empire) but also draws in other teams and characters, including Nova, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the
StarjammersThe Starjammers are a fictional team of space pirates from the pages of the X-Men comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Starjammers first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #107 and were created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum...
. This then led straight into "
Realm of Kings"Realm of Kings" is a crossover comic book storyline published in 2010 by Marvel Comics. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, it is a follow-up to the 2009 storyline "War of Kings".-Publication history:...
" which deals with how the different groups deal with the fallout from the events in
War of Kings and this, in turn, was followed by
The Thanos ImperativeThe Thanos Imperative is a 6-issue comic book limited series published in 2010 by Marvel Comics. It was written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and was bookended by two one-shot comics, Ignition and Devastation...
. DnA have also written an
Iron ManIron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
/ThorThor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
limited series.
He and Lanning have also written
Fusion, a crossover series between Marvel and Top Cow.
He has also started
Insurrection, a series in
Judge Dredd Megazine that aims "to bring to the Dredd Universe something of the epic war-in-space scale of the stuff I write for Warhammer 40K."
Abnett wrote the screenplay for
Games WorkshopGames Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
and
Codex PicturesCodex Pictures Limited is a British film production company, registered to Fisher Partners Acre House, London . Codex Pictures is a private limited company founded in 2008....
's CGI film
UltramarinesUltramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie is a science fiction thriller CGI film set in Games Workshop's fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe and based around the Ultramarines Chapter of the Space Marines...
which was originally due for release on 29 November 2010. The actual release date of the movie was 13 December 2010.
Original fiction
On 19 March 2009, HarperCollins' science fiction, fantasy and horror imprint, Angry Robot, announced the acquisition of three original fiction titles by Abnett. The press release from Angry Robot announced:
External links
Interviews
- New DnA, Sequential Tart, December 2001
- 2004 interview with 2000ADReview
- Interview: Dan Abnett on The Real Ghostbusters, Proton Charging, 17 December 2005
- Dan Abnett talks Boom’s “Warhammer 40K” Comic, Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
, 11 September 2006
- Bringing The Warhammer Down: Dan Abnett on Warhammer 40K: The Damnation Crusade, Newsarama
Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
, 22 December 2006
- Droid Interrogations: An Exclusive interview with Dan Abnett, Thrillpower Thursday, Hypergeek, 31 July 2009
- Comic Geek Speak Podcast (December, 2009)
- Exclusive: interview with "Legion Lost" writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning!", Legione dei Super-Eroi. 26 July 2011