Jamie McKelvie is a British cartoonist and illustrator, known for his both work on books such as Phonogram, Young Avengers and The Wicked + The Divine, and his approach to comic character design.
Jamie McKelvie | |
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Area(s) | Cartoonist, Writer, Penciller, Inker, Letterer |
Notable works | The Wicked + The Divine Long Hot Summer Phonogram Young Avengers |
mckelvie |
Since 2003, McKelvie has collaborated with Kieron Gillen on a number of works. This started with a comic strip for PlayStation Official Magazine – UK, entitled Save Point, which ran for at least three years.[1] The Guardian highlighted that Gillen and McKelvie "met in 2003 at a convention where Gillen was selling his first photocopied comics".[2] Their first comic book together was Phonogram, a six-issue series in 2006, which was followed by two sequel series in 2008 and 2015 with Matt Wilson.[3][4] The three worked together on a relaunch of Young Avengers for Marvel in 2013,[5] and created the 45-issue series The Wicked + The Divine between 2014 and 2019.[6] In 2021, GamesRadar+ highlighted that the duo has "worked together on-and-off for the past 17 years" and that their Batman short story Batman: Black and White #5 was their "first major project together since the conclusion of The Wicked + The Divine in 2019".[7]
His first creator-owned series as both writer and artist, Suburban Glamour, was published in 2008, with Guy Major and Matthew Wilson as colourists. He has done various work for Marvel Comics, including a run on Defenders with Matt Fraction, and the X-Men: Season One graphic novel with Dennis Hopeless.
McKelvie's artwork also graces the covers of the Art Brut album Brilliant! Tragic! and the single "Lost Weekend",[8][9][10] and of two novels by writer Mur Lafferty.[11] He has illustrated prints and tour posters for the band Chvrches and his art was animated in their music video for the new version of "Bury It" (2016) featuring Hayley Williams.[12][13]
McKelvie has redesigned a number of characters' costumes, including the 2012 redesign of long-time character Carol Danvers, for a relaunch of the character as the new Captain Marvel,[14] and in late 2013, the design for Kamala Khan's outfit when she becomes Ms Marvel.[15] He has also made available his personal takes on Wonder Woman,[16] Iron Man[17] and Cyclops.[18]
McKelvie has said that he emphasises practicality when creating his Marvel designs, stating that he considers the "message a [..] character's design is putting across",[19] and specifically for Ms. Marvel, the design reflects "the Captain Marvel legacy, and also her story and her background".[20]