COMIC ARTISTS from United Kingdom

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary British Comic Artists of all time. This list of famous British Comic Artists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of British Comic Artists.

1. Alan Moore (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 59.89, Alan Moore is the most famous British Comic Artist.  His biography has been translated into 55 different languages on wikipedia.

Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The Ballad of Halo Jones, Swamp Thing, Batman: The Killing Joke, Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? and From Hell. He is widely recognised among his peers and critics as one of the best comic book writers in the English language. Moore has occasionally used such pseudonyms as Curt Vile, Jill de Ray, Brilburn Logue, and Translucia Baboon; also, reprints of some of his work have been credited to The Original Writer when Moore requested that his name be removed. Moore started writing for British underground and alternative fanzines in the late 1970s before achieving success publishing comic strips in such magazines as 2000 AD and Warrior. He was subsequently picked up by DC Comics as "the first comics writer living in Britain to do prominent work in America",: 7  where he worked on major characters such as Batman (Batman: The Killing Joke) and Superman ("Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"), substantially developed the character Swamp Thing, and penned original titles such as Watchmen. During that decade, Moore helped to bring about greater social respectability for comics in the United States and United Kingdom.: 11  He prefers the term "comic" to "graphic novel". In the late 1980s and early 1990s he left the comic industry mainstream and went independent for a while, working on experimental work such as the epic From Hell and the prose novel Voice of the Fire. He subsequently returned to the mainstream later in the 1990s, working for Image Comics, before developing America's Best Comics, an imprint through which he published works such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the occult-based Promethea. In 2016, he published Jerusalem: a 1,266-page experimental novel set in his hometown of Northampton, UK. Moore is an occultist, ceremonial magician, and anarchist, and has featured such themes in works including Promethea, From Hell, and V for Vendetta, as well as performing avant-garde spoken word occult "workings" with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD. Despite his objections, Moore's works have provided the basis for several Hollywood films, including From Hell (2001), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), V for Vendetta (2005), and Watchmen (2009). Moore has also been referenced in popular culture and has been recognised as an influence on a variety of literary and television figures including Neil Gaiman and Damon Lindelof. He has lived a significant portion of his life in Northampton, England, and he has said in various interviews that his stories draw heavily from his experiences living there.

2. Quentin Blake (b. 1932)

With an HPI of 51.14, Quentin Blake is the 2nd most famous British Comic Artist.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Sir Quentin Saxby Blake (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his lasting contribution as a children's illustrator he won the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. From 1999 to 2001, he was the inaugural British Children's Laureate. He is a patron of the Association of Illustrators.

3. David Lloyd (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 48.29, David Lloyd is the 3rd most famous British Comic Artist.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

David Lloyd (born 1950) is an English comics artist best known as the illustrator of the story V for Vendetta, written by Alan Moore, and the designer of its anarchist protagonist V and the modern Guy Fawkes/V mask, the latter going on to become a symbol of protest. Other books he has illustrated include Wasteland, Espers, Hellblazer, Global Frequency, The Territory, and licensed properties such as Aliens and James Bond. In 2012 Lloyd established Aces Weekly, an online comics anthology.

4. Raymond Briggs (1934 - 2022)

With an HPI of 45.95, Raymond Briggs is the 4th most famous British Comic Artist.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story The Snowman, a book without words whose cartoon adaptation is televised and whose musical adaptation is staged every Christmas. Briggs won the 1966 and 1973 Kate Greenaway Medals from the British Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject. For the 50th anniversary of the Medal (1955–2005), a panel named Father Christmas (1973) one of the top-ten winning works, which composed the ballot for a public election of the nation's favourite. For his contribution as a children's illustrator, Briggs was a runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1984. He was a patron of the Association of Illustrators.

5. Jamie Hewlett (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 45.75, Jamie Hewlett is the 5th most famous British Comic Artist.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Jamie Christopher Hewlett (born 3 April 1968) is a British comic book artist and illustrator. He is the co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl with Alan Martin and the virtual band Gorillaz, alongside Blur frontman Damon Albarn.

6. Dave Gibbons (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 44.26, Dave Gibbons is the 6th most famous British Comic Artist.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything". He was an artist for 2000 AD, for which he contributed a large body of work from its first issue in 1977.

7. John Byrne (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 42.40, John Byrne is the 7th most famous British Comic Artist.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

John Lindley Byrne (; born July 6, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and artist of superhero comics. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on many major superheroes; with noted work on Marvel Comics's X-Men and Fantastic Four. Byrne also facilitated the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics's Superman franchise with the limited series The Man of Steel, the first issue of which featured the comics' first variant cover. Coming into the comics profession as a penciller, inker, letterer, and writer on his earliest work, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, for story arcs including "Dark Phoenix Saga" and "Days of Future Past", and co-creating characters such as Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost, Sabretooth, Shadow King, and Rachel Summers. Byrne launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four, also serving as penciler and inker, and included She-Hulk onto the team while writing a solo series for The Thing. While working on X-Men, he created the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight, and later wrote and drew their own series. Moving to DC, Byrne established the modern origin for Superman in The Man of Steel before writing and drawing two monthly titles and various miniseries for the character. Byrne then returned to Marvel, introducing the Great Lakes Avengers, and wrote and drew the humorous fourth wall-breaking series The Sensational She-Hulk. Revisiting X-Men as a writer, Byrne co-created Bishop and Omega Red. Byrne was the writer and artist of the Wonder Woman series for three years, during which he created the second Wonder Girl, Cassie Sandsmark. During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited, and was one of the founders of the Legend imprint at Dark Horse Comics. He scripted the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced several Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing. In 2010, Byrne revived Next Men to conclude the series. Hailed as one of the most prolific and influential comic book artists ever, Byrne and his X-Men collaborator Chris Claremont were entered into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2015.

8. Garth Ennis (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 40.57, Garth Ennis is the 8th most famous British Comic Artist.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Garth Ennis (born 16 January 1970) is a Northern Irish-American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and The Boys with artist Darick Robertson. He has collaborated with artists such as Dillon and Glenn Fabry on Preacher, John McCrea on Hitman, Marc Silvestri on The Darkness, and Carlos Ezquerra on both Preacher and Hitman. His work has won him recognition in the comics industry, including nominations for the Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.

9. Mark Millar (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 39.34, Mark Millar is the 9th most famous British Comic Artist.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series The Authority, published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written extensively for Marvel Comics, including runs on The Ultimates, which has been called "the comic book of the decade" by Time magazine and described as a major inspiration for the 2012 film The Avengers by its co-story creator Zak Penn, X-Men, Fantastic Four and Avengers for Marvel's Ultimate imprint, as well as Marvel Knights Spider-Man and Wolverine. In 2006, Millar wrote the Civil War mini-series that served as the centrepiece for the eponymous company-wide crossover storyline and later inspired the Marvel Studios film Captain America: Civil War. The "Old Man Logan" storyline, published as part of Millar's run on Wolverine, served as the inspiration for the 2017 film Logan. Millar has written numerous creator-owned series which have been published under the unified Millarworld label, including Wanted with J. G. Jones, Kick-Ass with John Romita, Jr., Nemesis with Steve McNiven, Superior and Supercrooks with Leinil Francis Yu, The Secret Service with Dave Gibbons and Jupiter's Legacy with Frank Quitely. Some of these series have been adapted into live-action and animated series and feature films, such as Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Jupiter's Legacy and Super Crooks. In 2017, Millarworld was purchased by Netflix with the aim for Millar to continue developing original properties that would later be adapted by the studio into various formats. In addition to his work as a writer, Millar serves as an executive producer on all film and television adaptations of his comics. Between 2012 and 2016, he was employed by 20th Century Fox as a creative consultant for adaptations of Marvel properties. In 2013, Millar was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to film and literature.

10. Ronald Searle (1920 - 2011)

With an HPI of 39.30, Ronald Searle is the 10th most famous British Comic Artist.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Ronald William Fordham Searle (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's School and for his collaboration with Geoffrey Willans on the Molesworth series.