First Prog: 1862
Latest Prog: 2203 (on the cover) 2173 (interior)
First Meg: 348
Latest Meg: 423
Total appearances: 73 and counting
Creator credits:
Havn
Other art credits:
Judge Dredd
Sinister Dexter
Anderson, Psi Divison
Orlok: Agent of East Meg 1
A handful of one-offs and a 3riller
Proteus Vex
Notable character creations:
Harry Heston
The White Queen & the Red Prince
 |
| The red prince is a clone of one Orlok T. Assassin, so only technically a 'creation' Words (and co-creation) by Arthur Wyatt |
I think it’s fair to say Jake Lynch is a fan of Mike McMahon.
 |
| This isn't copying any one McMahon piece of work, it just embodies much of what makes McMahon a great artist. Beautiful composition; crowd scenes where each character is individual. Something about the inking style. The general sense of ordered chaos. |
But what I really
notice in Lynch's work is his figures being long and lanky, often appearing to have
to stoop to fit inside the panels. His Dredd in particularly has grown lankier
with each new story, as he leans into his own style. I love it.
 |
| Jake Lynch's Dredd is as tall and sinewy as the chin. Words by Arthur Wyatt |
 |
| Finding the funnest angles to illustrate Words by Arthur Wyatt |
To namecheck another 'Mick', it puts me in mind of this
arguably badly-drawn cover by Mick Austin, an artist I wouldn’t immediately
pull out as an influence but perhaps he is.
 |
| It's such an outrageous pose and framing that it MUST be high art, right? Or is it just not good? |
Also note Lynch's use of rather thick black lines for body outlines. Not Ezquerra thick, but not far off.
 |
| I really don't know about inking, but Lynch's style seems to combine neat, thick parts with thin, scratchy, almost messy parts. It brings loads of character. Words by Arthur Wyatt |
On Jake:
And here we have one
of the more recent and successful examples of the 2000AD megafan turned pro. I’ve
never read it, but I believe he was a key player (along with Stewart Perkins
aka WR Logan and Arthur Wyatt) in getting the fanzine Class of ’79 off the
ground, both as a writer and I assume as an artist. Some years later he
made the jump into the Prog and Meg as an artist on some one-off tales, which
are very much the work of a person learning their craft in the public eye.
 | ||
| Some lovely designs and imagination there, but the thick inking isn't doing it justice. Words by Eddie Robson |
 |
| Manic energy as befits a newcomer Words by Arthur Wyatt? |
 |
| Absolutely stunning layout and concept as realised by an artist who is not quite there yet. Great atmosphere all the same! Words by David Baillie |
The craft was honed a little on Sinister Dexter…
 |
| A mix here of lots of little lines but also lots of white space between the lines. A little Gibson-ish? Words by Dan Abnett |
 |
| The storytelling is there, but the punches aren't quite landing. Words by Dan Abnett |
…and improved on the slightly odd series that was Orlok: Agent of East Meg One.
 |
| That grey wash is making all the difference. Words by Arthur Wyatt |
 |
| This 'punch' definitely lands! Words by Arthur Wyatt |
If there’s a through-line, I guess it’s that Lynch was picked to work on action stories that have something of a real-world flavour. Sure, it’s all set in the future, and there’s sci-fi craziness thrown in, but both those series revolve around competent killers who use guns, knives and know-how to win.
In direct contrast, where Lynch has exploded into the 2000AD art canon is his work on Judge Dredd, specifically stories that push the ‘outlandish’ button. The cannibalistic ice queen who runs Mega City’s food supply unit is a standout in the Cube Root of Evil.
 |
| That dress and that hairstyle, it conveys so much! Words by Arthur Wyatt |
 |
| A classic Dredd pose that evokes, to me, the greatness of McMahon, Kennedy and Gibson -but with a pose that is Lynch all the way. |
(And in fact, the best bits of the Orlok stories were parts that pushed the future weirdness angle)
 |
| Who could be a better Euro-baddie than multiple clones of Words by Arthur Wyatt |
Somewhere on the way Lynch made a jump, in my head anyway, from a hopeful newbie into an artist who is now one of my favourites to see in any new Prog. I think it was on this 3riller ‘Repossession Orders’, which showed off his colour skills and saw him doing something different with his line style, deliberately giving this ghost story a ghostly feel.
 |
| Surprisingly evocative shower curtains there. Can't be easy to draw! Words by Eddie Robson |
 |
| A silhouette with a smile - never fails to chill! Words by Eddie Robson |
Potentially his finest hour has come very recently, outshining Henry Flint himself* both on Zombo (in the 2020 Sci-Fi Special), and on Flint's all-new kill-cube strip in the Action 2020 Special.
 |
| These repeated heads panels are always a treat, but Lynch is having so much fun with Zombo he gets bonus points. Words by Al Ewing. |
He’s even had the honour of developing and starting off an all-new series that Flint then took over: Havn.
 |
| The hero, you may recall, is a half-elf half-human who can morph her appearance. Context by Si Spencer |
Character design on full display, as is scene-setting both within a sci-fi domeworld, and out in the wilderness.
 |
| That's a a cracking Sienkiewicz Demon Bear homage right there. GORGEOUS. Context by Si Spencer |
It’ll be a great fit for him to tackle Flint's Proteus Vex very soon!
As a Dredd artist, Lynch has pretty much been crowned as one of the key players by Tharg, when he was tapped to illustrate the Paradigm Shift, part of Michael Carroll's efforts to explore the really early days of the Judge system - something I'd love to se more of!
 |
| More clever compositional choices on display. Gotta think of the whole page, not just each panel! Words by Michael Carroll |
But surely his signature work, for now at least, is the long-running Harry Heston series over in the Megazine. If anyone hasn’t been reading, this series is also the place where those two Orlok tales fall into place. That's rthe strip that introduced Euro-City crimelord the Red Queen, who is the big bad, along with young clone Orlok, who is now** a key player in the Heston stories. But really, it's about Harry Heston, the Jimpanzee (well, technically he's a gorilla but there's less wordplay available with the truth) - and indeed other denizens of Apetown. People have drawn intelligent, clothes-wearing apes before, within the pages of Dredd and in many other comics too. But Lynch has well stamped his mark as one of the best.
 |
| Those clothes just fit so well! Words by Arthur Wyatt |
 |
| See an army of ape workers build an awesome compound! And bonus points for drawing in every single plank of wood. Words by Arthur Wyatt |
In recent year, including on the Heston stroeis, Lynch's ink line seems to have thinned down noticeably - at least on some stories - and it kinda makes his work feel slicker. He's really become a top-flight talent.
 |
| Dynamic! Words by Alan Grant |
 |
| I do admire an artist who knows how to make a scene feel lived-in and detailed while actually being sparing with the linework. Words by Arthur Wyatt |
And talking of slick, I can't think of a better place to end than lookng at Lynch's confident run of covers. To namecheck yet another classic Dredd artist, he's the closest in Tharg's current crop to the design sensibilities of Jock. Big Dredd, with bold compositions.
 |
| I love how he's so imposing he has to stoop to fit inside his own magazine! |
More on Jake Lynch:
He's on Twitter
This isn’t really
about Jake, but it’s always worth remembering his pal and Heston co-creator
Stewart Perkins via this obit.
But this interview is about Jake (and his buddy Arthur Wyatt)
Of course he's been on Covers Uncovered
-he even has a Youtube clip
I’m also including a link to his page on Barney, (because for some reason the internal link in the Droid Zone is broken.)
Personal favourites:
Judge Dredd: Cube Root of Evil, The Relic, The Immigrant, Paradigm Shift, all the Harry Hestons
Tharg’s 3rillers: Repossession Orders
 |
| Every hero needs and arch-nemesis! Here's Serpico. Words by Arthur Wyatt |
*In doing so, following on from a neat tradition in which Flint managed to outperform 2000AD legends no lesser than King Carlos (on Helter Skelter), and Kev O’Neill (on Nemesis Book X).
**Spoiler alert! He was just offed in Meg 423. But, you know, clones. He'll be back...
...when you least expect him.
No comments:
Post a Comment