Ian Kennedy

• Born 1932-09-22 · Died 2022-02-05

Ian Kennedy was a British artist who worked initially for D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, then later for Amalgamated Press. Kennedy managed to get work in Amalgamated Press's Knockout via a local agent. In 1955 he began working for D. C. Thomson again, this time as a freelance artist. During the 1950s Kennedy mainly illustrated war comics such as Thriller Picture Library and Air Ace and his work appeared in a range of comics including Hotspur, Buster, and The Wizard. From the 1970s onward, Kennedy began to extend his range to science fiction comics, regularly producing work for IPC's 2000AD and Star Lord. He also worked for Battle Picture Weekly, Buddy, Blake's 7, Eagle (Dan Dare), M.A.S.K., Victor Summer Special, Wildcat and D. C. Thomson's pocket books (including Commando). Kennedy also produced many covers over the years for different comics and annuals, working mainly in acrylic paint. In the late 1980s and 1990s Kennedy began creating the covers for the annual RAF Leuchars Air Show's programmes. He went into semi-retirement in 1997, but still continued to draw covers and features for Commando until his death.