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David Bishop (writer)

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David Bishop
BornNew Zealand
OccupationEditor, comic book writer, novelist
NationalityNew Zealander
Period1991–present
GenreComic book, science fiction
Website
viciousimagery.blogspot.com

David Bishop (born 27 September 1966), also known as D. V. Bishop, is a New Zealand comic book editor and writer of comics, novels and screenplays. He lives in the United Kingdom.

In the 1990s he edited the UK comics titles Judge Dredd Megazine (1991–2002)[1][2] and 2000 AD (1995–2000).[3] He has since become a prolific screenwriter and novelist, and has won awards for his Cesare Aldo mystery novels which are set in Renaissance Florence.

Biography

Bishop was born in Cambridge, New Zealand and grew up in Auckland. He studied journalism at Auckland Technical Institute (now Auckland University of Technology), and worked as a journalist for the New Zealand Herald. He emigrating to the UK in 1990.[4]

He completed an MA in Screenwriting at Scotland's Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland in 2007. He helped establish the university's MA Creative Writing programme in 2009, which he headed from 2017-2022. He remains a creative writing lecturer for the programme. He is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at England's Lancaster University, for which he wrote the historical thriller City of Vengeance (Pan Macmillan, 2021). His thesis examines the scarcity of LGBTQ+ sleuths in historical mystery fiction.[4]

In 2017, he was awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship by Creative Scotland and the Scottish Book Trust.[5]

In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link,[6] beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.

Comics

Bishop was sub-editor of the Judge Dredd Megazine and of Crisis,[7] before becoming the editor of the Megazine from 1991 to 2002. He became the editor of 2000 AD just before Christmas 1995, staying four and a half years before resigning to become a freelance writer in the summer of 2000.

Bishop was responsible for discovering many new British talents, including:

He also edited Judge Dredd – Lawman of the Future and, with collaborator Roger Langridge, contributed the insane asylum-set strip The Straitjacket Fits in the Megazine.

Since leaving 2000 AD in the year 2000, Bishop has enjoyed a successful career as a freelance writer, working on novels of Doctor Who[13] (including Who Killed Kennedy, a journalist's point-of-view on the early Third Doctor stories), Judge Dredd, Heroes[14] and Nikolai Dante, as well as comic strip adventures of The Phantom.[15]

The Spacegirls, a parody of the Spice Girls, is on the list of 2000 AD's 20 Worst Strips as chosen by fan rating on the official website.[16]

Away from British comics, his work on The Phantom has won awards for the "Best Phantom story of the year" for European comic publisher Egmont several times. Bishop introduced new characters to the Phantom mythos, such as the pirate queen Kate Sommerset, who grew so popular with readers that Bishop made her the main character of five stories.[citation needed]

In 2006, Bishop also signed on to participate in the writing of stories for American publisher Moonstone Books' two collections of Phantom short stories, called Phantom Prose Anthologies.[citation needed]

Bishop's history of 2000 AD, in a series of articles under the name Thrill Power Overload, was revised, expanded and updated in a book version published in 2007 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of 2000 AD. After that sold out, a paperback edition was issued in February 2009. An expanded edition with new material by Karl Stock was released in 2017.[17]

Scriptwriting

Bishop received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys,[18] and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.[19]

In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.[20]

In 2020 he won the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Dramatic Presentation for his audiobook, The Elysian Blade.

Historical fiction

Moving away from science fiction, in 2021 he released his first historical fiction novel under the name D. V. Bishop.[21] City of Vengeance, the first book in the Cesare Aldo mystery series, is set in Florence in the 1530s. He wrote the book as part of a PhD in Creative Writing at Lancaster University in England, His thesis examines the scarcity of LGBTQ+ sleuths in historical mystery fiction.[4] The novel won the 2022 New Zealand Booklovers Award for Best Adult Novel.[22] It was described by the judges as: "A stunning debut novel [which] seamlessly blends historical fiction with crime thriller... Storytelling centred on intrigue and betrayal doesn't come more polished and captivating than this."[23]

The second novel, The Darkest Sin, won the 2023 Crime Writers' Association Historical Dagger.[24]

The third novel, Ritual of Fire, won the 2024 Ngaio Marsh Award for best New Zealand crime novel.[25]

The fourth novel, A Divine Fury was a finalist for the 2024 McIlvanney Prize in Scotland. Pan Macmillan has announced it will publish the fifth Aldo novel, Carnival of Lies, in 2025.

Bibliography

Comics

Novels

As David Bishop

As D. V. Bishop

The Cesare Aldo mysteries:

  • City of Vengeance (416 pages, Pan MacMillan, February 2021, ISBN 978-1-52903-877-4)
  • The Darkest Sin (Pan MacMillan, 2023)
  • Ritual of Fire (Pan MacMillan, 2024)
  • A Divine Fury (Pan MacMillan, 2024)

Audio dramas

Non-fiction

Notes

  1. ^ Barber, Nicholas (15 July 1995). "I was a teenage Dredd head". The Independent.
  2. ^ Jarman, Colin M.; Acton, Peter (1 January 1995). Judge Dredd: The Mega-history. Lennard. ISBN 9781852911287.
  3. ^ Sims, Chris. "The Best Stories From 2000 Issues Of '2000 AD', By The Editors". Comics Alliance.
  4. ^ a b c "David Bishop". Read NZ Te Pou Muramura. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  5. ^ "David Bishop". Edinburgh Napier University. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  6. ^ Robinson, Anne; Briggs, Jon; Bishop, David (23 May 2008), Episode dated 23 May 2008, retrieved 8 April 2017
  7. ^ Crisis #54, editorial, January 1991
  8. ^ "Winning And Losing: An interview with Andy Diggle". ninthart.org. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  9. ^ Molcher, Michael (2 December 2015). 2000 AD: The Creator Interviews – Volume 05. 2000 AD Books. ISBN 9781849979870.
  10. ^ "Flashback February: Frank Quitely Part Two – TRIPWIRE". TRIPWIRE. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  11. ^ Molcher, Michael (18 November 2015). 2000 AD: The Creator Interviews – Volume 03. 2000 AD Books. ISBN 9781849979856.
  12. ^ "Robbie Morrison And Jim Murray, Stripped". Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Writing a Tie-In Novel". International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  14. ^ Robbins, Caryn (22 September 2015). "Official Tie-In Book Series Released for NBC's Heroes Reborn". Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  15. ^ "Best of the Year: David Bishop's picks – Forbidden Planet Blog". Forbidden Planet Blog. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  16. ^ "2000AD Online – thrill zone". Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
  17. ^ Miller, Andy (25 March 2017). "A genial green guide to 2000 AD". The Spectator.
  18. ^ "2007 Screenplay Contest Winners | PAGE International Screenwriting Awards: Screenplay Contests". pageawards.com. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  19. ^ "2009 Finalists | PAGE International Screenwriting Awards: Screenplay Contests". pageawards.com. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  20. ^ "David Bishop". IMDb. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  21. ^ "D. V. Bishop – Pan McMillan". Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  22. ^ "David Bishop". NZ Society of Authors. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  23. ^ "NZ Booklovers Awards 2022 Winners". NZ Booklovers. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  24. ^ "2023 Dagger Award Winners Announced". The Crime Writers’ Association. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  25. ^ "Ngaio Marsh winners announced". Kete. Retrieved 16 October 2024.

References

Preceded by Judge Dredd Megazine editor
1991–1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by 2000 AD editor
1996–2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Judge Dredd Megazine editor
1996–2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Judge Dredd Megazine editor
2000–2002 		Succeeded by
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