Dave at 5

I cannot remember when my love for comics first started but I know I was very young. I just seemed to devour every single issue I could get my hands on, especially the American titles like Marvel and DC. I would drink in every panel and be captivated by these larger than life characters running across rooftops, battling giant robots and defeating evil masterminds. I loved the action, the adventure and the bright colours. I even loved the smell and feel of the paper. The same applies for drawing comics.

I knew from a very young age that I would always want to draw comics. It started where I would copy the pictures and panels from issues, then I progressed to drawing my own superhero stories. In my teen years I started to take my interest seriously. I studied the styles and techniques of my favourite artists and practiced the art form but after a few years of being told that the medium of comics was dead and a waste of time by many of my art teachers I started to lose faith in my ability and in the future of the comic book industry.

The final nail in the coffin came when I was involved in a prank by other students that resulted in me seriously damaging my right eye. At this point I'd had enough. I finished my college year and then did not draw again for eight years. I sold all of my issues and gave up reading comics, after all "comics are for children", as my art teachers used to say and like an idiot I believed them.

Dave at 12

Dave at work

Later in my mid-twenties I happened to walk past a comic book shop, my curiosity got the better of me and I went inside. As I looked at the new titles I could not believe that the same heroes I loved in my youth were still in print and even more popular than they had ever been. I had turned my back on comics because of other people, given up on my ambition of becoming a comic book artist, letting the idiots talk me out of my dreams and now I was pissed off. So I started reading, buying and drawing comics again and I haven't stopped since.

Since going full time as a professional comic book artist in late 2006 I have worked for new comic book companies, CRUCIAL CRISIS COMICS and I am currently working for DARE COMICS drawing their premier title “THE HUNTER”. Also I have appeared on 2 seasons of the popular BBC childrens TV show “PRANK PATROL” helping the contestants design weird and wonderful creatures to scare their friends and family members.