Fans mourn the loss of revered comic book artist who lived in Sussex

Ian made his name with the iconic publication 2000AD, which has a cult following. He drew strips for Judge Dredd and created characters such as Halo Jones, working with legendary illustrator and writer Alan Moore.

He passed away on December 11, after losing his battle with cancer. His son Luke set up a Go Fund Me appeal to help pay for his father’s funeral costs and was overwhelmed when fans contributed to smash the £5,000 target within a matter of hours and stood at £8,555 at the time of writing.

Luke said: “He was a legend of the art world and dearly loved by his fans, but he loved his fans equally. The moment he decided to give up his fight was the moment he could no longer draw. He fought valiantly, and I was with him holding his hand right until his very last moments.

“He was an amazing father and I will always be proud of him. I will always consider myself blessed. He really was one of a kind, his generosity knew no bounds and he often gave so selflessly to others. Today the world shines a little less bright, not just for me, but for everyone his beautiful story has touched.

“My father was not a rich man at the end of his life and most of the money he had left will be going towards covering basic funeral costs, with a tiny bit set aside to help his friends and family.

“But I feel like my dad deserves something more special we are planning to have a custom tombstone as per his last wishes to be in the shape of his tool of choice a pencil and the quote "He left his mark" or "I drew stuff".

“I would like to give my dad a send off that he would be proud of.”

Born in 1946, Ian’s first work was on fanzines but by 1973 his art was appearing in Pocket Chiller Library, the Bionic Woman Annual, and in House of Hammer titles.

Fans paid tribute to Ian. Thomas Latham said: “He was truly one of a kind. He entertained, inspired and fired the imaginations of many. He will be missed.” Nina Bernhardt said: “Ian’s art is beautiful and inspirational.”

Francis Groves said: “Dredd, Robo Hunter and Halo Jones were hugely influential when I was growing up. Ian’s art is instantly recognisable and etched onto my mind.”

2000AD was first published by IPC in 1977 and is now published by Rebellion. The publisher put out a statement to say: Everyone at Rebellion is deeply saddened to hear of the death of artist Ian Gibson.

“A renowned writer and artist, with a career spanning half a century, he was responsible for the art on some of 2000 AD’s most distinctive and iconic stories, including ‘The Ballad of Halo Jones’ with Alan Moore and ‘Robo-Hunter’ with John Wagner and Alan Grant.

“His endlessly inventive imagination could craft whole worlds that seemed lived-in and real yet fantastical and wondrous – from the mean streets of Mega-City One and the robot world of Verdus to the planets on Halo Jones’ galaxy-spanning journey.

"After 2000 AD launched in 1977, Gibson contributed a string of work drawing the futuristic lawman, including episodes for the first Judge Dredd epic, ’Robot Wars’. It was his portrayal of robots inspiring Wagner to come up with a new series that would suit his talents – ‘Robo-Hunter’.

“In 1981, Gibson worked with rising star Alan Moore on the Tharg’s Future Shock story ‘Grawks Bearing Gifts’ and the pair would reunite a few years later for one of the landmark stories in 2000 AD history: ‘The Ballad of Halo Jones’.

“A powerfully feminist and forward-thinking serial about a young woman desperate to escape the claustrophobic and dangerous life on a floating housing estate, Gibson and Moore worked together closely to construct a futuristic and yet relatable world. As Halo left Earth and faced betrayal, danger, and heartbreak.”

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