Eddie Campbell

Alec and other autobiographical work

Alec: The King Canute Crowd by Eddie Campbell

Campbell made his earliest attempts at autobiographical comics in the late 1970s with In the Days of the Ace Rock 'n' Roll Club^[2] (1978–1979). This evolved into Alec, with the character of Alec MacGarry standing in for the author. Campbell self-published these early comics in the amateur press association BAPA and then as short-run photocopied pamphlets in London in the early 1980s, selling them at conventions and comic marts and via Paul Gravett's "Fast Fiction" market stall. When Gravett founded Escape Magazine, Campbell was one of the artists featured.

In 1984 Escape published Alec, a slim collection of his semi-autobiographical stories. This was followed by two further collections, Love and Beerglasses (1985) and Doggie in the Window (1986).

In 1990 all three Alec volumes were collected, together with some unpublished material, as The Complete Alec by Eclipse Comics. In 2000 this material was republished as The King Canute Crowd.

Two further slim volumes, The Dead Muse (1990) and Little Italy (1991) appeared through Fantagraphics Books.

Graffiti Kitchen, which Campbell considers the highpoint of the series, was published by Tundra in 1993, and The Dance of Lifey Death followed in 1994 from Dark Horse Comics.

Campbell then followed up these works by self-publishing two larger works. Alec: How To Be An Artist (2000), a study of the art form and of Campbell's own artistic journey, and After The Snooter (2002), in which Campbell appears to have laid Alec McGarry to rest. Both works were originally serialised within his Bacchus series, but were reworked upon collection. The Fate of the Artist, in which Campbell's family and friends investigate his disappearance, undermining the image of himself he had presented in his previous autobiographical works, was published by First Second Books in 2006. Alec: How to Be an Artist was nominated for the Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work in 2000.

All the Alec stories, with the exception of The Fate of the Artist, were published in one volume, Alec: The Years Have Pants by Top Shelf Productions in 2009 ( ISBN 978-1-60309-025-4). this was followed in 2012 by the publication of The Lovely Horrible Stuff, a continuation of the autobiographical theme.

Bacchus

The success of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles led to a short-lived explosion of black and white independent comics in the mid-1980s. Campbell joined in, creating the series Deadface for small British publisher Harrier Comics, telling the story of Bacchus, god of wine and revelry, and the few other Greek mythological figures who have survived to the present day. Harrier published eight issues of Deadface and two issues of a companion comic, Bacchus. Campbell then began publishing short Bacchus stories in a number of anthologies, such as the British anthology Trident published by Trident Comics, and the American anthology Dark Horse Presents published by Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse reprinted the Harrier series as Immortality Isn't Forever in 1990 and a selection of the short stories as Doing the Islands With Bacchus in 1991. Campbell continued to produce Bacchus stories for Dark Horse until 1995 as a series of miniseries. The entire Bacchus saga is to be published in two 500-page volumes by Top Shelf Productions (Vol. 1 ISBN 978-1-60309-026-1, Vol. 2 ISBN 978-1-60309-027-8).^[3]

From Hell

Beginning in 1989 Campbell illustrated Alan Moore's ambitious Jack the Ripper graphic novel From Hell, serialised initially in Steve Bissette's horror anthology Taboo. Moore and Bissette chose Campbell as illustrator for his down-to-earth approach which gave the story a convincing realism and did not sensationalise the violence of the murders. After Taboo folded From Hell was published in instalments by Tundra and then Kitchen Sink Press, until the epilogue Dance of the Gull-catchers saw print in 1998.

Self-publishing

Under the influence of Dave Sim, Campbell founded Eddie Campbell Comics and began self-publishing in 1995, after the film rights to From Hell were optioned. The monthly series Bacchus reprinted and completed the story begun in Deadface, as well as carrying new and reprinted Alec stories. He went on to collect both Alec and Bacchus as a series of graphic novels. He also published the collected edition of From Hell, and comics adaptations of two of Alan Moore's performance art pieces, The Birth Caul and Snakes and Ladders.

After the cancellation of Bacchus, Campbell published two issues of Eddie Campbell's Egomania magazine, in which he began to serialise another work, The History of Humour. Facing an increasingly indifferent market for his work, and the collapse of his US distributor, Campbell ended his publishing imprint in 2003 after releasing the second issue of Egomania.

First Second and Top Shelf

After his self-publishing ceased, Campbell signed with First Second Books. As well as The Fate of the Artist, a continuation of the Alec series, First:Second published two other works by Campbell. June 2007 saw the publication of The Black Diamond Detective Agency, Campbell's adaptation of an as-yet unmade screenplay by C. Gaby Mitchell. Set in the closing months of 1899, it features the eponymous private detective agency investigating a conspiracy to blow up a train, and their prime suspect's efforts to find the truth.

In January 2008, First Second Books published Campbell's collaboration with Dan Best, The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard. The work follows the life of circus performers and historical figures as they wander in and out of history. It was enthusiastically received by critics with Ain't It Cool News saying "Something truly amazing and fun does indeed occur in this book."^[4]

Campbell's next works were for Top Shelf. 2009 saw the publication of the life sized omnibus Alec: The Years Have Pants. The book collected Campbell's Alec work to date with the exception of Fate of the Artist. the omnibus edition also included new material. In 2010 The Playwright, a collaboration with Daren White, was published. This reworked strips the pair had previously published in the Australian anthology Dee Vee, expanding the scope of the story-line and bringing it to conclusion.

In 2012 Top Shelf published The Lovely Horrible Stuff in collaboration with Knockabout Press, a continuation of Campbell's autobiographical works. Campbell has evolved his art style, using colour, collage and photo-shop to create art which The Guardian describe as having " a surreal, scruffy elegance".^[5][6]

iPad

A collection of the "Dapper John" stories originally created in the late 1970s, along with an original cover, a new interview and other features, was published as an iPad app in December 2011 by digital publisher Panel Nine. In 2012 Top Shelf released two collections of Campbell's Bacchus series.