| Tom Paterson | |
| File:Andy Fanton.jpg | |
| Gender | Male |
| Born | 22 April 1954 |
| Job | Artist |
| Strips Drawn | Calamity James, The Numskulls, Minnie the Minx, Dennis the Menace, Fred's Bed (reprints and new strips), Bash Street Kids - Singled Out, Roger the Dodger, Billy Whizz (Beano annuals 2008 and 2010), Ivy the Terrible, Ball Boy, Little Larry |
Tom Paterson (born 22 April 1954) is a Scottish comic artist who drew characters for Fleetway in 1973–1990, and DC Thomsonfrom 1986-onwards. He lives in Leith, with three kids, and is a Hearts (Heart of Midlothian FC) supporter.
Taking stylistic inspiration from Leo Baxendale's work on The Bash Street Kids, Paterson's talent as a cartoonist was discovered at the age of sixteen by original Dandy editor Albert Barnes, who was impressed with the cartoon samples Paterson had sent to him.
Paterson's first work for The Beano was Calamity James, which first appeared in the comic in November 1986. In the late 1980s, he drew another new strip, Little Larry, although this proved comparatively short-lived. In the early 1990s he also drew Fred's Bed, a strip which would later be reprinted in The Beano, for The Beezer and Topper. In 1993, Paterson's Beano commitments extended to drawing The Numskulls, a strip which had previously appeared in The Beezer. He would draw The Numskulls until late 2000, shortly before he replaced Jim Petrie as Minnie the Minx artist in January 2001.
In 2006, he briefly drew Ball Boy, although this soon returned to previous artist Dave Eastbury. In early 2007, Paterson stopped drawing Calamity James for the weekly comic and took over Bash Street Kids - Singled Out from Mike Pearse. From April of the same year also started to occasionally draw cover star Dennis the Menace. The following year, he became artist for the second Dennis The Menace strip which now appeared at the back of the comic, with Minnie The Minx being taken over by Ken H. Harrison. He would draw Dennis regularly until the strip was revamped in 2009 (to coincide with the third series of the Dennis & Gnasher TV series). After this, he started to draw new episodes of Fred's Bed and would share art duties on this strip with David Sutherland until 2011. In addition to these contributions, he has also drawn Billy Whizz in the 2008 and 2010 Beano annuals.
One distinctive feature of Paterson's work is that his strips regularly feature a striped sock standing upright in one frame of the story.
External links[]
- Tom Paterson (Wikipedia)
- Official Site
- Fan site