David Bishop

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David Bishop is a freelance screenwriter and author. Born in New Zealand, he was a UK comics editor during the 1990s, running such titles as the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD, the latter between 1995 and the summer of 2000. More recently he has become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006.

Generally agreed to have been the man who began to reverse the steep decline in sales suffered by 2000AD and The Megazine in the early 1990's, Bishop was responsible for discovering many new British talents, including:

Cover to Swedish The Phantom # 8 (2003), which featured Bishop's story "The Pirate Queen". Art by Hans Lindahl. Published by Egmont.

• Andy Diggle
• Robbie Morrison
• Siku
• Frank Quitely
• Dean Ormston
• Chris Halls (comics pseudonym of Aphex Twin video director Chris Cunningham)
• Simon Fraser

He also, with collaborator Roger Langridge, contributed the insane asylum-set strip The Straitjacket Fits.

Since leaving 2000AD in the year 2000, Bishop has enjoyed a successful career as a freelance writer, working on novels of Doctor Who, Judge Dredd and Nikolai Dante, as well as The Phantom.

Paradoxically, despite his successes as a comics editor and as a writer of prose, Bishop has scripted comic strips considered some of the worst to appear in 2000AD or the Megazine, including The Spacegirls, a badly executed parody of the Spice Girls, Dead Men Walking, with art by Boo Cook, and the comics adaptation of A Life Less Ordinary, with art by Steve Yeowell.

His most recent effort - a Fiends of the Eastern Front series for the Megazine - has proven much more popular with readers.

Away from British comics, his work on The Phantom has won awards for the "Best Phantom story of the year" for Egmont on several occasions. Bishop is known for introducing several new important characters to the Phantom mythos, such as the pirate queen Kate Sommerset, which grew so popular with readers that Bishop was able to make her the main character of five stories.

In 2006, Bishop also signed on to participate in the writing of stories for American publisher Moonstone Books' two collections of Phantom short stories, called Phantom Prose Anthologies.

Bishop's history of 2000AD, in a series of articles under the banner name of Thrill Power Overload, is the most comprehensive currently available. A revised, expanded and updated version of Thrill Power Overload is being prepared for publication in 2007, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of 2000AD.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Comics

• The Straitjacket Fits (with Roger Langridge):
  • "The Straitjacket Fits" (in Judge Dredd Megazine #1.09-1.20, 1991-1992)
  • "The Final Fit" (in Judge Dredd Yearbook 1993 1992)

• Soul Sisters (with co-writer Dave Stone and artist Shaky Kane, in Judge Dredd Megazine vol.2 ##2-9 & 1993 Judge Dredd Yearbook, 1992)

• Strontium Dogs (pseudonymous rewrites, in 2000 AD ##993-999, 1996)

• Vector 13: "Case Ten: Case Closed?" (uncredited, with Simon Davis, in 2000 AD #1032, 1997)

• B.L.A.I.R. 1: "B.L.A.I.R. 1" (with co-writer Steve MacManus and artist Simon Davis, in 2000 AD #1034, 1997)

• Dan Dare: "Dan Dare 3000AD" (with co-writer Steve MacManus and artist Kev Walker, in 2000 AD #1034, 1997)

• Flesh: "Flesh 3000AD" (with co-writer Steve MacManus and artist Carl Critchlow, in 2000 AD #1034, 1997)

• Harlem Heroes: "Hike Harlem Heroes" (with co-writer Steve MacManus and artist Jason Brashill, in 2000 AD #1034, 1997)

• Invasion: "Invasion! 3000AD" (with co-writer Steve MacManus and artist Henry Flint, in 2000 AD #1034, 1997)

• The Spacegirls (development & uncredited co-writer, with Jason Brashill, in 2000 AD ##1062-1066, 1997)

• A Life Less Ordinary (uncredited, with Steve Yeowell, in 2000 AD ##1063-1070, 1997)

• Pulp Sci-Fi: "Water of Life" (as "James Stevens", with David Bircham, in 2000 AD #1098, 1998)

• Past Imperfect: "Nixon must die!" (as "James Stevens", with Neil Edwards, in 2000 AD #1315, 2002)

• Dead Men Walking (as "James Stevens", with Boo Cook, in 2000 AD ##1362-1370, 2003)

• The Phantom (Swedish Fantomen magazine #26/2001, ##15 & 22/2002, ##8, 16 & 26/2003, ##7, 12, 16, 23, 24 & 26/2004, ##1, 10, 13, 17 & 18/2005, ##7, 8 & 15/2006)

• Fiends of the Eastern Front: "Stalingrad" (with Colin MacNeil, in Judge Dredd Megazine 245-252, 2006)

[edit] Novels

• Judge Dredd:
  • The Savage Amusement (Virgin Books, August, 1993 ISBN 0-352-32874-6)
  • Cursed Earth Asylum (Virgin Books, December, 1993 ISBN 0-352-32893-2)
  • Silencer (Virgin Books, November, 1994 ISBN 0-352-32960-2)
  • Bad Moon Rising (Black Flame, June 2004 ISBN 1-84416-107-2)
  • Kingdom of the Blind (Black Flame, November 2004 ISBN 1-84416-133-1)

• Doctor Who:
  • Who Killed Kennedy (with "James Stevens", Virgin Books, April, 1996 ISBN 0-426-20467-0)
  • Amorality Tale (BBC Books, April 2002 ISBN 0-563-53850-3)
  • The Domino Effect (BBC Books, February 2003 ISBN 0-563-53869-4)
  • Empire of Death (BBC Books, March 2004 ISBN 0-563-48615-5)

• Nikolai Dante:
  • From Russia with Lust: The Nikolai Dante Omnibus (672 pages, March 2007, ISBN 1-84416-454-3) collects:
    • The Strangelove Gambit (January 2005, ISBN 1-84416-139-0)
    • Imperial Black (August 2005, ISBN 1-84416-180-3)
    • Honour Be Damned (March 2006, ISBN 1-84416-324-5)

• A Nightmare on Elm Street: Suffer the Children (Black Flame, May 2005 ISBN 1-84416-172-2)

• Fiends of the Eastern Front:
  • Fiends of the Eastern Front (672 pages, February 2007, ISBN 1-84416-455-1) collects:
    • Operation Vampyr (December 2005 ISBN 1-84416-274-5)
    • The Blood Red Army (April 2006,, ISBN 1-84416-325-3)
    • Twilight of the Dead (August 2006, ISBN 1-84416-384-9)
  • Fiends of the Rising Sun (July 2007, ISBN 1-84416-494-2)

[edit] Audio Dramas

• Sarah Jane Smith - Buried Secrets (2006, Big Finish Productions)
• Sarah Jane Smith - Snow Blind (2006, Big Finish Productions)
• Sarah Jane Smith - Fatal Consequences (2006, Big Finish Productions)
• Sarah Jane Smith - Dreamland (2006, Big Finish Productions)
• Sarah Jane Smith - Test of Nerve (2002, Big Finish Productions)
• Doctor Who - Unbound: Full Fathom Five (Big Finish Productions)
• Sapphire and Steel: All Fall Down (2005, Big Finish Productions)
• Judge Dredd - Wanted: Dredd or Alive (Big Finish Productions)
• Judge Dredd - War Crimes (Big Finish Productions)
• Judge Dredd - Death Trap! (Big Finish Productions)
• Judge Dredd - The Big Shot! (Big Finish Productions)
• Judge Dredd - Get Karter! (Big Finish Productions)

[edit] External links

• David Bishop's blog
• Thrill Power Overload! - Bishop's blog devoted to researching the official history of 2000AD.
• David Bishop at MySpace
• 2000AD profile
• 2004 interview with 2000ADReview
• Doctor Who and the Pirate Planet ebook by David Bishop
• Doctor Who: Who Killed Kennedy ebook by David Bishop