John M. Burns, 1938-2023

This past October, on medical advice, veteran comics artist John M. Burns announced his retirement.  Sadly, he didn’t get to enjoy his retirement for long, and died on 29 December 2023.

For a certain generation of comics fan, Burns was the look of Look-In magazine, a tv-orientated publication aimed at children. He drew a whole host of strips for them, all based on popular tv shows at the time, including The Tomorrow People, Space: 1999, and The Bionic Woman (seen here). With his excellent storytelling and innovative use of shadow, you could always spot a Burns page. Moreover, he was one of the first artists whose name British readers knew, as he signed all his pages. He was perfect as the artist for tv tie-ins, as his faces looked like those of the actors in the show, something not always achieved. This knack for accurate likenesses was extended to his media adaptations for Countdown, TV 21 and TV Action, among many others.

But Burns had a much broader portfolio than just Look-In. Commencing in 1961, he worked for most of the British comics series, both boys’ and girls’ titles.  His subject matter included retellings of classic novels, adventure stories, and humour series.

Despite reputedly never having cared much for science fiction, a great deal of his comics work was in the speculative/sf/fantasy genres; among his extensive credits were UFO, The Tripods, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and the delightfully silly Glory Knight, Time-Travel Courier. Much of his later career working for 2000 AD on Judge Dredd, Nikolai Dante, Sinister Dexter and The Order, among others. 

At the same time, he carved out a parallel career in the field of newspaper comics strips from 1966 onwards, including The Seekers, Danielle, Eartha, the opening run of risqué domestic sitcom George and Lynne, and a year’s stint on Modesty Blaise.

An authorised biography, bibliography and art book of Burns’ oeuvre is being prepared by Paul Duncan, this work having commenced before John’s demise and being done with his permission and cooperation.