Mike Carey

By Kellie Takanaka

Mike Carey was born in Liverpool in 1959 and attended Oxford University before becoming a teacher, a role in which he continued for fifteen years before becoming a full-time writer. His first comic, Aquarius, appeared in the 1980s under the Trident imprint, which had been developed by the distributor Neptune. His subsequent works in the 1990’s included comics for Malibu’s Rock-It Comics division, 2000 AD, and Caliber, the latter of which brought him to the attention of editor Alisa Kwitney at DC's Vertigo imprint.

Mike's work for Vertigo included the long running series Lucifer, a stint on the iconic Hellblazer, the recent Crossing Midnight, and several wonderful miniseries, including a nine issue adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel Neverwhere. He's also done extensive work for Marvel comics, as a writer for Ultimate Fantastic Four and X-Men, the latter of which earned him the nod as Keith Dallas' "Favourite Marvel Writer" of 2008 on Comics Bulletin. More recently, Mike has published a series of novels set in a millenarian London featuring the musical exorcist Felix Castor, and he has a screenplay, Frost Flowers, currently in development. He also co-authored a graphic novel, Confessions of a Blabbermouth, with his daughter Louise Carey, for DC's Minx imprint.

Mike's work in comics is noted for its consistent high quality, excellent dialogue, and respect for continuity and character history, no matter what universe he’s currently working in. Many of his works evidence a thoughtful approach to the complex concepts of established religion, personal identity and free will, most visible in Lucifer and his run on Hellblazer, and are also notable for their strong, compelling female characters – which can be a rarity in comics!

A resident of London, where he lives with his wife Lin, three children, and family cat, Tasha, Mike has been a regular guest at the London and Bristol Comic Expos, and was most recently a guest at the Leeds Sequential Art Festival in November 2008, where he taught a Masterclass in Comic Book Dialogue.