Woodrow Phoenix

Who is Woodrow Phoenix?

Woodrow Phoenix is a British comics artist, writer, editorial illustrator, graphic designer, font designer and author of children's books. He was a contributor to a number of British comics magazines including Escape, Blaaam! and Blast! and was part of the British small press comics scene in the 1980s.

Phoenix is known for two main solo creations, The Sumo Family and The Liberty Cat. The Sumo Family debuted in Escape magazine, and was serialised weekly in the Independent on Sunday newspaper in the UK, then monthly in both Manga Mania magazine, and German/Swiss Instant magazine. The Liberty Cat was published in Japan by Kodansha in Morning magazine.

Phoenix's critical essays on comics have appeared in catalogs for exhibitions at the ICA in London, and at the University of Sussex. Books he has authored include a children's book titled Count Milkula: A Tale of Milk and Monsters!; a cultural study Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World, an in-depth look at Japanese toy designs from the post-war era to present times, and their effect on the imaginations and Western markets along with their impact on trends in design and pop culture; "Rumble Strip", published in 2008 by Myriad Editions, is a nonfiction look at the difficult social issues arising from society’s dependence on the automobile, and has been reviewed in The Times as “an utterly original work of genius”.