First Prog: (as colourist): 1127
(as writer): 1275
Final Prog: not bloody likely
First Meg: 3.73 (aka issue 176)
Final Meg: also not bloody likely
Total appearances: 686 and counting*
- including colouring credits on the covers as well as interior pages, and of course his writing.
Writer credits:
A selection of future
Shocks.
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| Blythe scripts and colours; Cam Kennedy draws |
Colouring credits:
An awful lot of Judge Dredd, and, lately, Dredd as well.
Thirteen (or is that
Thir13en?)
Pussyfoot 5
Red Fang
Vanguard
Snow/Tiger
Leatherjack
Detonator X
Ulysses Sweet
(greytones, and very well suited they are, too)
Black Shuck
A bunch of Nikolai
Dante, Sinister Dexter, Mercy Heights, Tor Cyan, VCs, 86ers, Damnation Station
and Grey Area and, of course, many Future Shocks.
-and 83 covers , too.
-and 83 covers , too.
Or, to put it another
way, various works by Steve Yeowell, Patrick Goddard, Paul Marshall, Andy Clarke and a host of Dredd
artists.
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| Art by Patrick Goddard |
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| Art by Andy Clarke |
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| Art by Paul Marshall |
Notable characteristics: clarity, warmth, and, I think, a predilection
for reds, blues and oranges. Also, I’ve just discovered from writing up his
list of credits, a lot of Space War comics. In my head he’s the definitive
colourist of laser beams.
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| Art by Colin McNeil; Words by Robbie Morrison Mood and lighitng all by Chris Blythe |
On Chris:
Alongside Tharg’s
design dept, colouring droid Chris Blythe has helped create a uniform look and
feel for the comic since his first appearance in Prog 1127. Not coincidentally,
this is also around the time that 2000AD began its current, decade-long Golden
Age of greatness. Also not coincidentally, I suspect, Blythe began working for
Tharg at a time when computer colouring technology, and no doubt colour
printing technology, had finally surmounted various hurdles that dogged
colourists, painters and readers alike during the 1990s. As a result, Blythe’s
work has always looked supremely professional, and never too showy.
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| Art by Trevor Hairsine; Words by John Tomlinson Dig how the colours show what things look like but also what the situation feels like. It's not rocket science, but worth celebrating when done properly! |
2000 AD went full
colour as long ago as Prog 650, before allowing black and white to come back in
for those strips that suited it**. For a long time, this could be quite a
haphazard affair, with artists having to learn how to paint and/or use digital
colouring tools while on the job. Not to mention scanners and printers having
to learn how to cope with it, too. The comic could alternate between being
garish and brown on the same double-page spread. Now, it may not be right to
credit Blythe beyond anyone else, but since he started, 2000AD’s palate has
settled down, and we’re guaranteed a Prog that looks, for want of a better
word, right. Certainly Blythe seemed to really know what he was doing right out
of the gate.
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| Art by Charlie Adlard; context by John Wagner |
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| Art by Paul Marshall; words by John Wagner It's a brain that emits narcotic green glowing stuff... Even with my feeble scanning skills, the glow really glows, don't it? |
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| Art by Steve Roberts; context by Dan Abnett Gunshots by Blythe |
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| Moody blues for a murder investigation Art by Charlie Adlard; Words by Gordon Rennie |
Clearly a fan of the
comic’s contents, Blythe’s one of the few creators with both art and writing credits to his name. If I’m being totally honest, I don’t remember the
specifics of any of the future shocks he has written. But I do have a copy of
his graphic novel, Angel Fire, and it’s a decent book that excels on tone and
atmosphere.
Like many great unsung
sporting heroes, Blythe is dependable, consistent and a real team player. So
let’s sing his praises!
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| Art by Henry Flint; context by John Wagner Best death by nuke ever! |
More on Chris
There used to be an interviw with the man himself on the 2000AD review website, sadly this site is now deactivated (I suppose it may be reactivated at some point? There's a link here.)
He's got an active Tumblr account, though, for lovely pics.
*As fate would have it, in the two years since I started gatehring data, Blythe's running total has now exceeded Alan McKenzie's. Since I'm only updating the totals when I upload each new entry, I fear mistakes like this are going to happen with increasing frequency...
**Sure, it saves time
and money, too, but most black and white strips seem to work better that way –
and some strips that were originally coloured might have been better left alone…
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