Phil Gascoine, a veteran of the British comics scene who worked on such american books as UNKNOWN SOLIDER, died this week after a short illness. This interview serves as a memorial and a place to post tributes:
Artist Phil Gascoine left school aged 15 and worked in an art studio until leaving to complete two years National Service.
As a freelancer, Phil drew for several girls’ comics for over 10 years, including such titles as DC Thomson’s Bunty and School Friend, and IPC’s much-admired Jinty. Among many other boys adventures strips, he’s well known for his work on Battle Action!, on The Sarge.
In addition to work for Marvel UK, Phil also drew strips for the US market, including The Unknown Soldier, The Punisher and various titles for DC Vertigo such as Shade The Changing Man.
We had a hard time finding much of Gascoine;s work on the web, but managed to find this Epic series he illustrated at last.
Thanks for the link. The tributes now include comments from Dave Gibbons, John Ridgway, Mike Collins, DC Thomson editors Bill Graham and George Low, and many others.
If you have memories of Phil please send via the contact e-mail on the web site.
Sadly, lack of credits in many comics prior to 1977 and the arrival of 2000AD mean many people who like his work never knew he drew it.
MY DAD WOULD BE SO CHUFFED THAT PEOPLE HAVE WROTE SUCH NICE THINGS ABOUT HIM ,
NO DOUBT HE HAS A BIG GRIN ON HIS FACE.
HE NEVER WANTED TO RETIRE AS HE HAS ENJOYED HIS WORK SO MUCH ,HIS LAST PAGE OF WORK IS STILL ON HIS DRAWING BOARD WAITING TO BE FINISHED.THANKS ONCE AGAIN FROM PHILS FAMILY FOR THE LOVELY TRIBUTE TO HIM. XXXXXX
I can’t remember ever meeting Phil, but as an editor at Marvel UK I knew him as an artist that was always there for you when he had time in his schedule and would never miss a deadline — or baulk at art corrections when Columbia Pictures cracked the whip on likenesses in GHOSTBUSTERS. When we were preparing the soon-to-be-aborted ZOIDS monthly title with Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell back in the Bayswater days of Marvel UK, we farmed out a couple of Grant’s last two or three weekly strips to other available artists, including Phil. The work he turned in was just beautiful, not as sleek and sexy as Yeowell’s but it had a texture and depth to it that made me wonder if we’d picked the right artist for the monthly after all.
Michele, my brother in law died of the same illness as Phil just a couple of years ago, so I know how hard this last few months must have been on you and the rest of Phil’s loved ones, and my thoughts and sympathy go out to you.
Rich!
We met Phil & Vera on a couple of their trips to the United States and were impressed with their down to earth humor and ability to make you feel like their friends after having just met them.We had a great time with them just last summer at a 50th wedding anniversary party for Ruth & Gonah Schreckengast,in California.Needless to say,we were shocked and saddened to hear of Phil’s passing….we will always remember him with a smile on our face for the sense of humor he always displayed.
He will be missed…patty,doug and billie
I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Phil while I was editing at Marvel US. I was the editor of the four-issue Dreadlands series pictured above. Several years later, I commissioned Phil to illustrate several Civil War pieces, all of which were stunning examples of his enormous talents. A friendly, gracious and supremely nice guy.
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