Editing Eddie Campbell (section)

==Biography==
===''Alec'' and other autobiographical work===
[[File:Alec - the King Canute Crowd (front cover).jpg|thumb|right|200px|''Alec: The King Canute Crowd'' by Eddie Campbell]]
Campbell made his earliest attempts at [[autobiographical comics]] in the late 1970s with ''In the Days of the Ace Rock 'n' Roll Club''<ref>Campbell, Eddie. [http://eddiecampbell.blogspot.com/2011/12/nd-here-it-is-this-exists-only-as-app.html "And here it is! This exists only as an app!"], personal blog (11 December 2011): "In the Days of the Ace Rock'n'Roll Club was a book, or an ongoing series of 7-page stories which I drew between March 1978 and March 1979."</ref> (1978–1979). This evolved into ''Alec'', with the character of Alec MacGarry standing in for the author. Campbell self-published these early comics in the [[amateur press association]] ''[[British Amateur Press Association (comics fandom)|BAPA]]'' and then as short-run photocopied pamphlets in London in the early 1980s, selling them at conventions and comic marts and via [[Paul Gravett]]'s "''Fast Fiction''" market stall. When Gravett founded ''[[Escape Magazine]]'', Campbell was one of the artists featured.

In 1984 Escape published ''Alec'', a slim collection of his semi-autobiographical stories. This was followed by two further collections, ''Love and Beerglasses'' (1985) and ''Doggie in the Window'' (1986).

While in [[Australia]] (where he moved in 1986), Campbell published a number of comics with the new British publisher [[Harrier Comics]]. These included the [[One-shot (comics)|one-shots]] ''By The Time I Get To Wagga Wagga'' (1987), and ''Ace'' (1988), as well as his first ''[[Bacchus (comics)|Bacchus]]'' comics (see below). With [[Glenn Dakin]] and [[Phil Elliott]], he helped found Harrier's alternative-flavored New Wave imprint.<ref name=Yang />

In 1990 all three ''Alec'' volumes were collected, together with some unpublished material, as ''The Complete Alec'' by [[Acme Press]]/[[Eclipse Comics]].<ref name=Yang>Yang, Sam. "A Loaf of Bread, A Jug of Wine and Eddie Campbell," ''The Comics Journal'' #145 (Oct. 1991), p. 59, 78.</ref> The collection won the 1991 [[UK Comic Art Award]] for Best Graphic Novel Collection.<ref name=TCJ142>"British Awards Announced," ''The Comics Journal'' #142 (June 1991), p. 17.</ref> In 2000 this material was republished as ''The King Canute Crowd''.

Two further slim volumes, ''The Dead Muse'' (1990) and ''Little Italy'' (1991) appeared through [[Fantagraphics]] Books.

''Graffiti Kitchen'', which Campbell considers the highpoint of the series,{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} was published by [[Tundra Press|Tundra]] in 1993, and ''[[The Dance of Lifey Death]]'' followed in 1994 from [[Dark Horse Comics]].

Campbell then followed up these works by self-publishing two larger works.  ''Alec: How To Be An Artist'' (2000), a study of the art form and of Campbell's own artistic journey, and ''After The Snooter'' (2002), in which Campbell appears to have laid Alec McGarry to rest. Both works were originally serialised within his ''[[Bacchus (comics)|Bacchus]]'' series, but were reworked upon collection. ''The Fate of the Artist'', in which Campbell's family and friends investigate his disappearance, undermining the image of himself he had presented in his previous autobiographical works, was published by [[First Second Books]] in 2006. ''Alec: How to Be an Artist'' was nominated for the [[Harvey Award]] for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work in 2000.

In 2007 Campbell spent some time serving as a [[Courtroom sketch|court illustrator]] in Australia.<ref>Campbell, Eddie. [http://eddiecampbell.blogspot.com/2007_04_08_archive.html "Bastards I have drawn: (The Villains in my Home Town- part 4),"] personal blog (14 Apr. 2007).</ref>

All the ''Alec'' stories, with the exception of ''The Fate of the Artist'', were published in one volume, ''Alec: The Years Have Pants'' by Top Shelf Productions in 2009 ({{ISBN|978-1-60309-025-4}}). this was followed in 2012 by the publication of ''The Lovely Horrible Stuff'' (Top Shelf), a continuation of the autobiographical theme which playfully investigates our relationship with money.

===Bacchus===
{{Main|Bacchus (comics)}}
The success of [[Kevin Eastman]] and [[Peter Laird]]'s ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' led to a short-lived explosion of black and white independent comics in the mid-1980s. Campbell joined in, creating the series ''Deadface'' for Harrier Comics, telling the story of [[Dionysus|Bacchus]], god of wine and revelry, and the few other Greek mythological figures who have survived to the present day. Harrier published eight issues of ''Deadface'' and two issues of a companion comic, ''[[Bacchus (comics)|Bacchus]]''. Campbell then began publishing short Bacchus stories in a number of anthologies, such as the British anthology ''Trident'' published by [[Trident Comics]], and the American anthology ''Dark Horse Presents'' published by [[Dark Horse Comics]]. Dark Horse reprinted the Harrier series as ''Immortality Isn't Forever'' in 1990 and a selection of the short stories as ''Doing the Islands With Bacchus'' in 1991. Campbell continued to produce Bacchus stories for Dark Horse until 1995 as a series of miniseries. The entire Bacchus saga is to be published in two 500-page volumes by Top Shelf Productions (Vol. 1 {{ISBN|978-1-60309-026-1}}, Vol. 2 {{ISBN|978-1-60309-027-8}}).<ref>{{cite web |last=Campbell |first=Eddie |title=A Big Spread-1 |url=http://eddiecampbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/i-m-scanning-and-preparing-bacchus-for.html |publisher=Eddie Campbell (blog) |access-date=7 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103110958/http://eddiecampbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/i-m-scanning-and-preparing-bacchus-for.html |archive-date=3 November 2013 |date=15 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===''From Hell''===
{{Main|From Hell}}
Beginning in 1989, Campbell illustrated [[Alan Moore]]'s ambitious [[Jack the Ripper]] [[graphic novel]] ''[[From Hell]]'', serialised initially in [[Steve Bissette]]'s [[horror fiction|horror]] anthology ''Taboo''. Moore and Bissette chose Campbell as illustrator for his down-to-earth approach which gave the story a convincing realism and did not sensationalise the violence of the murders. After ''Taboo'' folded ''From Hell'' was published in instalments by Tundra and then [[Kitchen Sink Press]], until the epilogue ''Dance of the Gull-catchers'' saw print in 1998.

===Self-publishing===
Under the influence of [[Dave Sim]], Campbell founded '''Eddie Campbell Comics''' and began self-publishing in 1995, after the film rights to ''From Hell'' were optioned.{{fact|date=May 2023}} The monthly series ''Bacchus'' reprinted and completed the story begun in ''Deadface'', as well as carrying new and reprinted ''Alec'' stories. He went on to collect both ''Alec'' and ''Bacchus'' as a series of graphic novels. He also published the collected edition of ''From Hell'', and comics adaptations of two of Alan Moore's [[performance art]] pieces, ''The Birth Caul'' and ''Snakes and Ladders''.

After the cancellation of ''Bacchus'', Campbell published two issues of ''Eddie Campbell's Egomania'' magazine, in which he began to serialise another work, ''The History of Humour''. Facing an increasingly indifferent market for his work, and the collapse of his US distributor, Campbell ended his publishing imprint in 2003 after releasing the second issue of ''Egomania''.

===First Second and Top Shelf===
After his self-publishing ceased, Campbell signed with [[First Second Books]]. As well as ''The Fate of the Artist'', a continuation of the Alec series, First:Second published two other works by Campbell. June 2007 saw the publication of ''[[The Black Diamond Detective Agency]]'', Campbell's adaptation of an as-yet unmade screenplay by C. Gaby Mitchell. Set in the closing months of 1899, it features the eponymous private detective agency investigating a conspiracy to blow up a train, and their prime suspect's efforts to find the truth.

In January 2008, First Second Books published Campbell's collaboration with Dan Best, ''The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard''. The work follows the life of circus performers and historical figures as they wander in and out of history. It was enthusiastically received by critics with ''[[Ain't It Cool News]]'' saying "Something truly amazing and fun does indeed occur in this book."<ref>"Ambush Bug." [http://www.aintitcool.com/node/36654#12 "AICN COMICS CELEBRATES ITS 7TH BIRTHDAY BY DOING WHAT THEY DO BEST...REVIEWING MANY, MANY COMICS!"] ''Ain't It Cool News'' (7 May 2008) – review of ''The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard''.</ref>

Campbell's next works were for Top Shelf.  2009 saw the publication of the life sized omnibus ''Alec: The Years Have Pants''. The book collected Campbell's Alec work to date with the exception of ''Fate of the Artist''. the omnibus edition also included new material. In 2010 ''The Playwright'', a collaboration with Daren White, was published. This reworked strips the pair had previously published in the Australian anthology ''[[Dee Vee]]'', expanding the scope of the story-line and bringing it to conclusion.

In 2012 Top Shelf published ''The Lovely Horrible Stuff'' in collaboration with Knockabout Press, a continuation of Campbell's autobiographical works. Campbell has evolved his art style, using colour, collage and photo-shop to create art which ''[[The Guardian]]'' describe as having " a surreal, scruffy elegance".<ref>{{cite web |last=Mautner |first=Chris |title="The Only Thing That Matters is the Work on the Page": An Interview with Eddie Campbell |url=http://www.tcj.com/the-only-thing-that-matters-is-the-work-on-the-page-an-interview-with-eddie-campbell/ |publisher=The Comics Journal |access-date=7 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901163104/http://www.tcj.com/the-only-thing-that-matters-is-the-work-on-the-page-an-interview-with-eddie-campbell/ |archive-date=1 September 2012 |date=29 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Smart |first=James |title=The Lovely Horrible Stuff by Eddie Campbell – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jul/17/lovely-horrible-stuff-eddie-campbell-review |access-date=7 September 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=17 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720005229/http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jul/17/lovely-horrible-stuff-eddie-campbell-review |archive-date=20 July 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===iPad===
A collection of the "Dapper John" stories originally created in the late 1970s, along with an original cover, a new interview and other features, was published as an [[iPad]] app in December 2011 by digital publisher Panel Nine. In 2012 Top Shelf released two collections of ''Campbell's Bacchus'' series.