Liam Sharp - Career

Career

Sharp made his debut in the 1980s for the famous science-fiction magazine 2000 AD after a year's apprenticeship with the legendary Don Lawrence, artist on the seminal Dutch comic Storm. His works included many Judge Dredd stories, the origin of Finn, ABC Warriors series and one of Tharg's Future Shocks. Sharp's fame increased markedly when he moved to Marvel UK, for which he drew the famous mini-series Death's Head II. Thereafter he began working mainly in the United States on books as diverse as X-Men, Hulk, Spider-Man, Venom, Man-Thing (for Marvel Comics), Superman, Batman for DC Comics, and Spawn: The Dark Ages for Todd McFarlane.

Sharp has also worked on more mature themed books for Verotik, doing GOTH, Jaguar God and Frank Frazetta's "The Death Dealer". He briefly worked on a strip originated by Stan Winston called 'Realm of the Claw'. Later he co-created the Wildstorm series The Possessed with writer Geoff Johns, and a strip for Heavy Metal magazine, entitled "A-crazy-A" featuring Playboy model Tiffany Taylor - for which he provided the art and script. Likewise for a short story in Vampirella magazine called "Winter Rose".

In 2004 Sharp set up his own publishing company, Mam Tor Publishing, with wife Christina McCormack to publish the artbook Sharpenings: the Art of Liam Sharp.

After the early success with this, Sharp saw a hole in the comic book market for alternative independent comics, and together with his wife Christina, designer Tom Muller and friend John Bamber set out to expand the company to start publishing more work. This saw the launch of the critically acclaimed and award -winning anthology, Mam Tor: Event Horizon. Event Horizon features art by Glenn Fabry, Brian Holguin, Ashley Wood, Simon Bisley, Alan Grant, Steve Niles, Emma Simcock-Tooth, Ali Powers, Kev Crossley, Lee Carter and Dave Kendall.

Sharp went on to illustrate the controversial and critically well-received DC Vertigo comic Testament written by Douglas Rushkoff, and the Countdown-related title, Lord Havok and The Extremists with writer Frank Tieri. He is now providing the art for the Wildstorm title based on the video game Gears of War.

Mam Tor and the advertising agency Mother produced a free sixteen page comic given away from with Time Out for which Sharp was the art director, as well s providing the art for a story in the first two issues as well as the cover for the first issue.

In September 2008 he signed an exclusive deal with DC.

Sharp has also written the novel God Killers.

Sharp is involved with a UK Midland-based art movement Beardism, certain elements of which are similar to Dadaism. The practitioners are required to wear beards, though this can be interpreted as symbolic. A recent exhibition was held in the Crompton Arms, a Derby public house and alternative art gallery, featuring the work of Sharp, Ali Pow3rs, Adam Dutton and Chris Tree.

On April 9, 2011 Sharp was one of 62 comics creators who appeared at the IGN stage at the Kapow! convention in London to set two Guinness World Records, the Fastest Production of a Comic Book, and Most Contributors to a Comic Book. With Guinness officials on hand to monitor their progress, writer Mark Millar began work at 9am scripting a 20-page black and white Superior comic book, with Sharp and the other artists appearing on stage throughout the day to work on the pencils, inks, and lettering, including Dave Gibbons, Frank Quitely, John Romita Jr., Jock, Doug Braithwaite, Ian Churchill, Duncan Fegredo, Simon Furman, David Lafuente, John McCrea, Sean Phillips and Liam Sharp, who all drew a panel each, with regular Superior artist Leinil Yu creating the book's front cover. The book was completed in 11 hours, 19 minutes, and 38 seconds, and was published through Icon on November 23, 2011, with all royalties being donated to Yorkhill Children's Foundation.