Andrew Diggle[1] is a British comic book writer and former editor of the weekly anthology series 2000 AD. He is best known for his work on Adam Strange and Green Arrow for DC Comics as well as his creator-owned series The Losers and a run on Hellblazer for DC's Vertigo imprint, and for his stints on Thunderbolts and Daredevil at Marvel. Other credits include Gamekeeper for Virgin Comics, written by Diggle on the basis of a concept created by Guy Ritchie, a three-year run on Robert Kirkman's Thief of Thieves at Image, several short arcs written for IDW Publishing's Doctor Who series and two James Bond mini-series for Dynamite.

Andy Diggle
Diggle at Special Edition NYC
Born (1971-02-22) February 22, 1971 (age 53)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Area(s)Writer, Editor
Notable works
The Losers
Hellblazer
Green Arrow: Year One
Thunderbolts
Daredevil
Shadowland
Awards"Favourite Comics Editor" Eagle Award (2000)
"Best New Talent" National Comics Award (2003)
www.andydiggle.com

Early life

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Diggle was born in London, England.[2] He became a regular reader of 2000 AD at the age of ten[3] and started reading American comics after picking up an issue of Swamp Thing written by Alan Moore.[4] Diggle graduated from De Montfort University with a degree in Media Studies, where he later returned to teach a part-time module on comics. For a few years, he worked as an administrator at University College London's Department of Town Planning while maintaining his own comics webzine.[5]

Career

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Diggle began his career in comics as an assistant editor on Judge Dredd Megazine in 1997 and, after brief stints as the editor of Megazine and Sonic the Comic, took over the editorial duties of 2000 AD in 2000.[6] Staying with the magazine for two years, Diggle has been credited (most frequently by David Bishop, who originally hired him for Judge Dredd Megazine) for spearheading a return to the "old school" values of 2000 AD.[7][3] In 2001, Diggle won the Eagle Award in the "Favourite Editor" category. Around the same time, he began contributing to 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine as a writer, creating Snow/Tiger with artist Andy Clarke[8] and the Judge Dredd spin-off Lenny Zero in the first of numerous collaborations with artist Jock,[9][10] and co-writing the crossover between Judge Dredd and the Aliens franchise with veteran 2000 AD creator John Wagner.[11] In 2002, Diggle left his editorial position to become a full-time writer.[2]

In 2003, Diggle entered the American comic book industry with a Hellblazer spin-off mini-series Lady Constantine for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. That same year, Diggle and Jock both signed an exclusive 2-year contract with DC[12] and launched the Eagle Award-winning and Eisner Award-nominated series The Losers that was later adapted into a feature film of the same name.[13] In 2004, Diggle wrote the first six issues of a relaunched Swamp Thing ongoing series at Vertigo and made his DC Universe debut with an 8-issue limited series Adam Strange, following up with a creator-owned series Silent Dragon, drawn by Leinil Francis Yu and published via DC's Wildstorm imprint.[14] In 2007, Diggle wrote the inaugural arc for Batman Confidential, an ongoing series set in the early years of Batman's crime-fighting career,[15] reteamed with Jock for Green Arrow: Year One, a mini-series updating the origin of Green Arrow,[16] and took over the writing duties of Vertigo's longest-running ongoing series Hellblazer.[17][18]

 
Diggle, third from left, on a Dynamite panel at the 2013 New York Comic Con. To Diggle's left are Dennis Calero and Matt Wagner.

Outside of DC, Diggle wrote Gamekeeper for Virgin Comics, based on a concept by Guy Ritchie,[19] and the webcomic prequel to the Bionic Commando video game after having been hired to script a playable test level during the game's development.[20]

In 2009, Diggle became the writer of Marvel's Thunderbolts,[21][22] seeing the titular team through the company-wide storyline "Dark Reign"[23] and a crossover with Deadpool.[24] As part of "Dark Reign", Diggle also penned the 5-issue miniseries featuring the villain character Bullseye in the guise of the Avenger Hawkeye.[25] In early 2009, Diggle signed an exclusive contract with Marvel and became the writer of Daredevil following the departure of Ed Brubaker.[26][27] Diggle's storyline, which began in the Dark Reign: The List—Daredevil one-shot and continued with issue #501 of Daredevil,[28][29] was initially planned to be told in the ongoing series, but Marvel offered to expand it into a small-scale crossover event for the company's "street-level" characters.[30][31] The crossover event, titled "Shadowland",[32] ran for three months, with Diggle writing the core 5-issue mini-series and co-writing the tie-in storyline in Daredevil with Antony Johnston.[33] Diggle followed up on "Shadowland" with a 4-issue epilogue mini-series Daredevil: Reborn,[30][31] drawn by Davide Gianfelice, with whom he subsequently reunited for the western mini-series Six Guns,[34][35] his last work for Marvel to date.

2010 saw the release of Diggle's first work in the graphic novel format, Rat Catcher, published as part of Vertigo's then-recently launched line of crime books.[36] The following year, he was hired to develop a Volkswagen Scirocco promotional campaign for the Chinese market.[35][37] In 2012, Diggle returned to British comics with the first fully creator-owned collaboration between himself and Jock, Snapshot,[38] originally serialized in Judge Dredd Megazine and subsequently reprinted for the American market,[39] and a new installment of Lenny Zero, illustrated by Ben Willsher.[40] That same year, he became the "series architect" for IDW Publishing's Doctor Who featuring the adventures of the Eleventh Doctor[41] and joined the "writer's room" of Robert Kirkman's Thief of Thieves series at Image.[42][43] Later in the year, Diggle and artist Tony Daniel were announced as the new creative team for The New 52 iteration of Action Comics following the departure of writer Grant Morrison and artist Rags Morales.[4][44] Discussing his plans for the series, Diggle stated that he wanted to put "action" back into Action Comics and bring the character of Superman closer to the "wholesome Christopher Reeve version" as opposed to the more aggressive, hot-headed version introduced during The New 52 initiative.[45][46] Diggle announced his exit from the title shortly thereafter, one month before the release of his first issue, citing "professional reasons", with Tony Daniel taking over the writing duties.[47]

In 2013, Diggle began writing for Dynamite, starting with the paranormal crime series Uncanny with artist Aaron Campbell.[48][49] Later in the year, Diggle announced his second creator-owned title at Dynamite, Control, to be drawn by Ben Oliver.[50][51] The series, described as a "hard-hitting crime comic", was eventually released in 2016 with Oliver-drawn covers and interior art by Andrea Mutti.[52] In addition to his creator-owned work, Diggle has also made several contributions to Dynamite's line of James Bond comics, starting with the 6-issue mini-series James Bond: Hammerhead, illustrated by Luca Casalanguida.[53] In 2018, Diggle penned a one-off tale for DC Comics' Green Lanterns series[54] and launched a new volume of Shadowman at Valiant.[55]

Personal life

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Diggle is married to Angela Cruickshank, with whom he co-wrote the crime mini-series Control.[50][51]

The character of John Diggle, created for The CW series Arrow and later introduced to comics,[56] was named after Andy Diggle in acknowledgement of the influence of Green Arrow: Year One on the TV series' tone and writing.[57]

Bibliography

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UK publishers

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Work as editor

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Work as writer

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  • Daily Star: "Robomania" (with Ron Smith, episodes #3732–3773 of the daily newspaper strip featuring Judge Dredd, published by Reach plc from March 7 to April 14, 1998)
  • Judge Dredd Megazine (anthology, Fleetway/Rebellion):
    • Lenny Zero (with Jock, in vol. 3 #68 and vol. 4 #1–2 + 14–15, 2000–2002) collected in Mega-City Undercover Volume 1 (tpb, 160 pages, 2008, ISBN 1-905437-52-8)
    • Snapshot (with Jock, in #322–330, 2012)
      • Image reprinted the serial for the American market as a 4-issue limited series titled Snapshot (2013)
      • The Image series was subsequently collected as Snapshot (tpb, 104 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-607-06842-7)
  • 2000 AD (anthology, Fleetway/Rebellion):

DC Comics

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Marvel Comics

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Dynamite Entertainment

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Other US publishers

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References

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  1. ^ Johnston, Rich (2009-11-20). "Antony Johnston To Co-Write Andy Diggle's Daredevil". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  2. ^ a b Diggle, Andy. "About Me". andydiggle.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Keily, Karl (July 25, 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Andy Diggle Celebrates 35 Years of "2000 AD"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on November 8, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Renaud, Jeffrey (October 10, 2012). "NYCC: Andy Diggle Turns Up the Heat in "Action Comics"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012.
  5. ^ Bishop, David (February 12, 2007). "28 Days of 2000 AD #12: Diggle Unleashed". Vicious Imagery. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021.
  6. ^ Bishop, David (February 13, 2007). "28 Days of 2000 AD #13: Diggle Talks Pt. 2". Vicious Imagery. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021.
  7. ^ Allen, Tom. "ANDY DIGGLE INTERVIEW - TRIPWIRE VOL 4 ISSUE 6". 2000AD Writers and Artists. Archived from the original on September 30, 2003.
  8. ^ Clements, Richmond (July 27, 2003). "Andy Diggle Q&A". 2000 AD Review. Archived from the original on August 26, 2003.
  9. ^ Bradley, David (March 2, 2008). "Interview: going underground in Mega-City One". SFX. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008.
  10. ^ Coleman, John (March 11, 2008). "Wizard Q&A: Andy Diggle & Jock". Wizard. Archived from the original on March 13, 2008.
  11. ^ Keily, Karl (October 30, 2014). "Diggle Revisits "Judge Dredd vs. Aliens: Incubus," Shares "Superman/Dredd" Pitch". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014.
  12. ^ Weiland, Jonah (July 9, 2003). "WRITER ANDY DIGGLE, ARTIST JOCK SIGN EXCLUSIVES WITH DC". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on July 21, 2003.
  13. ^ Sunu, Steve (April 26, 2010). "Andy Diggle & Jock on "The Losers"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 29, 2010.
  14. ^ Richards, Dave (February 18, 2005). "BREAKING THE SILENCE; ANDY DIGGLE TALKS SILENT DRAGON, THE LOSERS AND ADAM STRANGE". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 12, 2005.
  15. ^ Brady, Matt (June 7, 2006). "ANDY DIGGLE ON BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL'S OPENING ARC". Newsarama. Archived from the original on February 22, 2011.
  16. ^ Brady, Matt (October 17, 2006). "BACK TO THE FUTURE: DC ANNOUNCES FIVE YEAR ONE MINISERIES". Newsarama. Archived from the original on November 5, 2006.
  17. ^ Brady, Matt (October 18, 2006). "ANDY DIGGLE JOINS HELLBLAZER WITH #230". Newsarama. Archived from the original on November 5, 2006.
  18. ^ Arrant, Chris (September 5, 2008). "Catching Up With Andy Diggle". Newsarama. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008.
  19. ^ Boucher, Geoff (May 15, 2007). "Lock, stock and 'Gamekeeper'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007.
  20. ^ Ong Pang Kean, Benjamin (July 18, 2008). "Diggle: Bringing Bionic Commando to Webcomics". Newsarama. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008.
  21. ^ Ong Pang Kean, Benjamin (July 26, 2008). "SDCC '08 - Writer Andy Diggle Takes on the T-Bolts". Newsarama. Archived from the original on November 17, 2008.
  22. ^ Richards, Dave (July 27, 2008). "CCI: Diggle and Rosemann Talk "Thunderbolts"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008.
  23. ^ Rogers, Vaneta (December 17, 2008). "Andy Diggle: The Future of the Thunderbolts". Newsarama. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009.
  24. ^ Rogers, Vaneta (December 16, 2008). "Thunderbolts vs. Deadpool: FIGHT". Newsarama. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008.
  25. ^ Ekstrom, Steve (March 2, 2009). "What's in a Name? Andy Diggle on Dark Reign: Hawkeye". Newsarama. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
  26. ^ Phegley, Kiel (March 20, 2009). "EXCLUSIVE: Diggle on Daredevil". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2009.
  27. ^ Brady, Matt (March 24, 2009). "Moving into Hell's Kitchen: Andy Diggle Talks Daredevil". Newsarama. Archived from the original on March 28, 2009.
  28. ^ Brady, Matt (June 29, 2009). "The Devil He Knows: Andy Diggle on The List: DD and More". Newsarama. Archived from the original on July 2, 2009.
  29. ^ Mahadeo, Kevin (June 30, 2009). "Making the List: Andy Diggle". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2010.
  30. ^ a b Richards, Dave (December 17, 2010). "Diggle Dares Matt Murdock to be Reborn". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on December 19, 2010.
  31. ^ a b Ching, Albert (January 11, 2011). "After SHADOWLAND, Andy Diggle Debuts a DAREDEVIL: REBORN". Newsarama. Archived from the original on January 15, 2011.
  32. ^ Richards, Dave (September 1, 2010). "Diggle illuminates "Shadowland"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010.
  33. ^ Richards, Dave (April 17, 2010). "C2E2: Diggle Leads Daredevil into "Shadowland"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 20, 2010.
  34. ^ Richards, Dave (August 18, 2011). "Diggle Opens Fire With "Six Guns"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
  35. ^ a b Ching, Albert (December 30, 2011). "Andy Diggle Ends His Marvel Exclusive with SIX GUNS Blazing". Newsarama. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012.
  36. ^ Ching, Albert (February 25, 2011). "Andy Diggle Returns to Vertigo with OGN Debut RAT CATCHER". Newsarama. Archived from the original on March 1, 2011.
  37. ^ Arrant, Chris (December 7, 2012). "Conversing on Comics with Andy Diggle". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012.
  38. ^ Keily, Karl (March 28, 2012). "Diggle Says "Cheese" for "Snapshot"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015.
  39. ^ Fallavollita, JP (March 5, 2013). "Biff Bam Pop! Exclusive Interview: Writer Andy Diggle Takes A Snapshot". Biff Bam Pop!. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013.
  40. ^ Keily, Karl (August 1, 2012). "Diggle Puts Together "Lenny Zero: Zero's 7"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012.
  41. ^ Arrant, Chris (October 1, 2012). "Andy Diggle Boards the T.A.R.D.I.S. For All-New DOCTOR WHO". Newsarama. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012.
  42. ^ Dietsch, TJ (January 8, 2013). "Andy Diggle Cracks Into "Thief of Thieves"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015.
  43. ^ Dietsch, TJ (June 5, 2013). "COMMENTARY TRACK: Andy Diggle Cracks "Thief of Thieves" #14". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013.
  44. ^ Rogers, Vaneta (January 8, 2013). "ANDY DIGGLE To Sync 'Bright & Optimistic' ACTION with DCU". Newsarama. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013.
  45. ^ Renaud, Jeffrey (March 14, 2013). "Diggle, Lobdell, Pak & Snyder Celebrate Superman, Part I". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 17, 2013.
  46. ^ Renaud, Jeffrey (March 15, 2013). "Diggle, Lobdell, Pak & Snyder Celebrate Superman: Part II". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 17, 2013.
  47. ^ a b Doran, Michael (March 20, 2013). "ANDY DIGGLE 'Sadly' Tweets ACTION COMICS Exit". Newsarama. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013.
  48. ^ Renaud, Jeffrey (October 27, 2012). "Crime Pays for Andy Diggle at Dynamite". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012.
  49. ^ Phegley, Kiel (May 9, 2013). "Andy Diggle's "Uncanny" Crime Tale". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 24, 2013.
  50. ^ a b Siegel, Lucas (October 10, 2013). "NYCC Exclusive: Diggle & Cruickshank Take CONTROL of Dynamite in New Crime Drama". Newsarama. Archived from the original on October 10, 2013.
  51. ^ a b Wickline, Dan (October 10, 2013). "Andy Diggle, Angela Cruickshank and Ben Oliver Take Control At Dynamite". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on October 11, 2013.
  52. ^ Ching, Albert (March 18, 2016). "C2E2 EXCLUSIVE: Originally Announced in 2013, Andy Diggle's "Control" Set for June". CBR.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016.
  53. ^ Whitbrook, James (August 11, 2016). "How James Bond's New Comic Hammerhead Explores the Two Sides of 007". io9. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016.
  54. ^ MacNamee, Oliver (May 28, 2018). "50 Shades Of Green: Preview Green Lanterns Annual #1 From Diggle, Perkins And Troy". Comicon.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
  55. ^ Foxe, Steve (February 22, 2018). "Shadowman's Andy Diggle Plots an Epic Two-Year Journey into the Deadside". Paste Magazine. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020.
  56. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (October 3, 2013). "Arrow: John Diggle Makes His Comic Book Debut". IGN. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013.
  57. ^ Byrne, Craig (July 19, 2012). "Interview: Marc Guggenheim Unlocks The Secrets & Connections In Arrow". GreenArrowTV. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012.
  58. ^ Richards, Dave (October 9, 2010). "NYCC: Face A New Russian Front in "Astonishing Captain America"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 11, 2010.
  59. ^ Ching, Albert (October 9, 2010). "NYCC 2010: ASTONISHING CAPTAIN AMERICA Is An 'Army of One'". Newsarama. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010.
  60. ^ Arrant, Chris (August 29, 2013). "It's CAP vs. Russia vs. Aliens in DIGGLE's CAPTAIN AMERICA: LIVING LEGEND". Newsarama. Archived from the original on September 2, 2013.
  61. ^ Ching, Albert (October 2, 2013). "Andy Diggle Says "Captain America: Living Legend" is Worth the Wait". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on February 7, 2014.
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Preceded by Sonic the Comic editor
1999–2000
Succeeded by
Steve MacManus
Preceded by Judge Dredd Megazine editor
1999–2000
Succeeded by
David Bishop
Preceded by
David Bishop
2000 AD editor
2000–2002
Succeeded by
Preceded by Swamp Thing writer
2004
Succeeded by
Preceded by Hellblazer writer
2007–2008
Succeeded by
Preceded by Thunderbolts writer
2009
Succeeded by
Preceded by Daredevil writer
2009–2011
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Peter Milligan
Shadowman writer
2018–2019
Succeeded by