Society of Strip Illustration

The Society of Strip Illustration (SSI), later known as the Comics Creators Guild, was a British network for all those involved in any stage of the creative process of comics production. The SSI, which was co-founded in 1977 by Denis Gifford,[1] met monthly in London,[2] published a newsletter, and distributed annual awards for achievement in the field. Despite the organization's name, most members were comic book creators, as opposed to those of comic strips like those found in The Beano and The Dandy.

Society of Strip Illustration
AbbreviationSSI
Formation1977 (1977)
FoundersDenis Gifford
Dissolved2008
TypeComics creators organization
Legal statusDefunct
PurposeNetworking, presentation of annual awards for achievement in the comics field
Location
Region served
United Kingdom
Membership
UK comic book creators
Chairman
David Lloyd (c. 1982–1983)
Mark Buckingham (c. 1988)
Nicholas Vince (1992–1993)

SSI members included Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, John Bolton, Kevin O'Neill, Paul Neary,[3] Jim Baikie, Arthur Ranson,[4] Tony Weare,[5] Keith Watson, Alan Davis, Mark Farmer, Alan Grant, Bryan Talbot, David Lloyd, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, Mark Buckingham,[6] Nicholas Vince, and John Maybury. For a while, the SSI met at the Chelsea Sketch Club on London's Dilke Street.[7]

History

In November 1980, the SSI hosted a conference which resulted in the publication of Strips '80, an introduction to the Society and a directory of its members.

According to Brian Bolland, in the early 1980s, scouts from DC Comics came to SSI meetings to recruit British creators to work on DC titles,[8] leading to the so-called British Invasion.

In October 1982, the SSI sponsored a "Teach-In and Work-In" at the Westminster Comic Mart, with a number of creators from 2000 AD and Warrior talking about and presenting their work.[9] David Lloyd was chairman of the SSI, and editor of the newsletter,[10] at this time.[11] A later chairman was Mark Buckingham.[12]

The SSI became the Comics Creators Guild in 1992;[13] Nicholas Vince was secretary and then chairman of the Guild from 1992 to 1993.[14] The Guild's newsletter became known as Comics Forum; it was published quarterly from 1992 to 2004, and then annually until c. 2008.

The Guild appears to have dissolved some time after 2008.

Awards

The SSI distributed awards from 1977 until at least 1989; in 1988 the awards were renamed The Mekon Award (in honor of The Mekon of Mekonta, the arch-enemy of the British comic book hero Dan Dare).[13] When the SSI became the Comics Creators Guild in 1992, the award name was again changed, this time to the Comics Creators Guild Award.

1977
1978
1982
1983
1988
1989
1995

See also

References
  1. Gifford entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved Dec. 11, 2020.
  2. "INTERVIEW: Watchmen legend Dave Gibbons," Creative Bloq (Aug. 09, 2012).
  3. Skinn, Dez. "Early days of UK comics conventions and marts," DezSkinn.com. Retrieved Dec. 11, 2020.
  4. Ranson, Arthur. "RIP Jim Baikie," ArthurRanson.com (January 2018). Retrieved Dec. 11, 2020.
  5. "David Lloyd Interview (08.14)," The Comic Book Gazette (August 2014). Archived at Freewebs.com. Retrieved Dec. 11, 2020.
  6. Rappaport, Adrienne. "Bucking the Trend: Mark Buckingham," Sequential Tart (February 25, 2008).
  7. "Page 45’s Bryan Talbot Interview," Page 45 website (April 2007). Retrieved Dec. 11, 2020.
  8. Joe Pruett (ed.) ""The 1970s – The European Invasion," in The Art of Brian Bolland (Image Comics, 2006), ISBN 1-58240-603-0, p. 103.
  9. Comic Mart advertisement, The Comic Book Price Guide for Great Britain. Archived at My Little Underground blog.
  10. Parkin, Lance. "Realisic Weird Warrior," Magic Words: The Extraordinary Life of Alan Moore (Aurum Press, 2013), p. 75.
  11. Guests @BCF 2017!", Birmingham Comics Festival official website. Retrieved Dec. 11, 2020.
  12. Bentley, David. "Birmingham Comics Festival: UK artist Mark Buckingham and US writer Jonathan Maberry attending," Birmingham Mail (10 APR 2015).
  13. "Other American [sic] Awards," Comic Book Awards Almanac. Retrieved Dec. 11, 2020.
  14. "Past Guests," Cult Screenings UK Ltd. website. Retrieved Dec. 11, 2020.
  15. Mackay, James (September 4, 2004). "Arthur Ranson Interview". 2000 AD Review. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  16. Khoury, George. "The First Orkadian: Jim Baikie Talks About His Long Comics Career and Alan Moore," Comic Book Artist #25 (June 2003).
  17. Johnston, Rich. "After Twenty Years, Bryan Talbot Returns With 'The Legend of Luther Arkwright'," Bleeding Cool (August 21, 2019).
  18. Freeman, John. "Timelord Talbot!", DownTheTubes.net (29 July 2012).
  19. Freeman, John. "In Memoriam: Those We Have Lost in 2019 – Part Two," DownTheTubes.net (DECEMBER 30, 2019).
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