strips & hardball
strips & hardball
Rip-Off Press (1969-1971)
Austen began his career as an artist in the 1980s. Due to not knowing many comics fans he developed a habit of inking his own pencils. After working on Eclipse Comics titles such as Twisted Tales and Alien Worlds, his work came to the attention of Alan Moore, who selected him to take over from Alan Davis on Miracleman, recently added to the company’s portfolio.
He met Moore for the first time at the 1985 San Diego Comic Con, where he was also announced as the new artist on the title.
As the series initially reprinted material from the British anthology Warrior he worked on the main strip until Miracleman #6, cover dated February 1986. Austen’s run on the title was short-lived – after contributing a framing sequence to Miracleman #8 he left, something he blamed on Eclipse editor-in-chief Catherine Yronwode making an angry telephone call to his grandmother.
Austen also wrote and drew the semi-autobiographical black-and-white pornographic comic book series Strips for Rip Off Press) and the similarly-themed Hardball for Malibu Comics’ Aircel Comics label. Individual issue info is nearly non-existent.
