Brendan McCarthy

Brendan McCarthy is a British artist, writer, and designer whose distinctive, psychedelic-inflected style has left a mark on comics, film, and television. Born in 1953, he entered the comics scene in the late 1970s, quickly becoming a defining voice in British alternative and mainstream comics. He is best known for his work on *Judge Dredd* for *2000 AD*, where his wild, fluid linework and surreal color sense stood out, and for co-creating the surreal Vertigo series *Shade, the Changing Man* with writer Peter Milligan. McCarthy also wrote and drew the fever-dream *Spider-Man: Fever*, a trippy homage to Steve Ditko’s Doctor Strange. His signature style—a blend of dense, organic detail, bold color, and a touch of the grotesque—made him a sought-after collaborator. Beyond comics, he co-wrote the screenplay for *Mad Max: Fury Road*, bringing his visual imagination to cinema. He has worked on projects like *Strange Days* and *Dark Horse Presents*, and his brother is fellow comics artist Jim McCarthy. Later in life, he continued to produce personal work and exhibit his art. McCarthy’s contributions have earned him multiple awards, including an Academy Award nomination for *Fury Road*, cementing his legacy as a singular, influential figure in both comics and film.