Paul Neary, 1949-2024

Comic book artist, writer and editor, Paul Neary died on 10 February this year. He was 74.

Artwork that Neary produced for Eerie.

He was born in Bournemouth, UK, in December 1949. A passionate fan of comics, he turned professional in the early 1970s, initially working as an artist at Warren Publishing, where he drew for horror titles Eerie, Creepy, and Vampirella.

In 1979 he started working on Hulk Weekly for Marvel UK, which had just been drastically revamped by Dez Skinn. During this time he drew various strips for Marvel UK, including Hulk and Nick Fury, plus helping new artists such as Alan Davis, an illustrator with whom Neary had a long association. During the early 1980s he created Madman for Dez Skinn’s Warrior, before becoming a regular inker for Alan Davis’ work for DC Comics and then Marvel Comics. Neary inked Davis’ work in series such as Uncanny X-Men, Batman and the Outsiders, Excalibur, and Captain Britain. Their working partnership lasted until his death. He was also the regular illustrator of Captain America. 

Neary became editor-in-chief of Marvel UK from 1990-1993, helping launch a number of new titles in the US format. This began with Death’s Head II, and was followed by titles such as Hell’s Angel (changed to Dark Angel after a copyright battle with the Hells Angels), Warheads, Digitek, and Motormouth (later Motormouth and Killpower). Sales of the comics were initially high but over-expansion soon brought an end to Marvel UK’s original series.

Neary moved on from editorial roles after a few years at Marvel UK and returned to his roots as an artist, working on Ka-Zar the Savage and then Captain America for Marvel US. His later acclaimed career included inking over Bryan Hitch on The Authority, and then on The Ultimates, Marvel’s dark reboot of the Avengers.

A 1969 fanzine cover by Neary.

Despite his significant creative contributions, Neary is best remembered by his colleagues as a mentor and nurturer of talent, having been responsible for one of Alan Moore’s earliest assignments writing the acclaimed Captain Britain strip. In a heartfelt tribute to his long-time friend and collaborator, Alan Davis described Neary as, ‘A mentor, colleague and friend,’ before going on to say that he was, ‘an intensely private man who had no interest in fame or public acclaim. Paul loved the creative process and fostering that creativity in others.’ He is survived by his wife, comics author and editor Bernie Jaye.