TONY LUKE - PROFILE

Tony originally founded Renga in 1995 to develop characters and concepts created by himself and writer Alan Grant for the emerging new media markets of satellite TV and internet broadcasting. A trained stop-motion animator, Tony stepped sideways into comics during the industry's boom period of the mid-90's, bringing his manga and anime influences with him.

His first big break was the original version of Dominator, a bi-weekly black-and-white photomontage strip running in the pages of rock mag Metal Hammer, which detailed the exploits of an inter-dimensional masked demon-rocker battling otherworldly evil forces whilst trying to secure a record deal. Guest stars appearing in the strip included Ozzy Osbourne, Anthrax and Zodiac Mindwarp.

In 1990, the prolific 2000AD writer Alan Grant approached Tony to co-write a project with him for Marvel Comics' Japanese market: Psychonauts. Drawn by artist Motofumi Kobayashi, the series was the first manga story ever to be published simultaneously in Japan and the US. Whilst attending the 1991 San Diego Comics Convention, Tony was approached by Japanese publishing giant Kodansha to create a manga series for their million-selling Comic Afternoon title, which featured such influential series as Oh! My Goddess and Gunsmith Cats. With Alan on script duties, Tony illustrated the revamped adventures of Dominator in full colour, with top editor Hiro Morita (late of Akira) overseeing the project. Dominator's success generated t-shirts, posters and a very special crossover manga episode with Tsuyoshi, of the TV anime series Get A Grip! Tsuyoshi, whose own series appeared in Comic Afternoon's sister title, the weekly Comic Morning. Nearly 1.5 million readers read the ensuing clash in what was the world's first crossover between an established manga/anime chara and a UK-created comic character...

Tony took a rest from Dominator in 1995 to concentrate on scripts and art for 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine, and to draw the 12-episode Hellkatt for Manga Entertainment's Guyver monthly VHS/comic package. He also dived into the world of digital illustration, having been recommended the Apple Mac by industry luminary Buichi Terasawa (Takeru, Cobra).

As well as directing several music promos over the years for bands including Wolfsbane, Urusei Yatsura and The Hunters Club, Tony directed the stop-motion sequences for Archangel Thunderbird, a 30-minute pilot for the Sci-Fi Channel, in 1998. The show was released under the Renga banner and gained unexpectedly high viewing figures during its run; it was also the first time Tony was able to work with Doug Bradley, who remains an active co-creator and participant in Renga's productions. 'A T-Bird' also featured the kaiju designs of Yasushi Nirasawa, whom Tony had first met in 1996 whilst working at Kodansha.

The unforseen success of Archangel Thunderbird led Tony and Alan to consider revamping Dominator for a 3D animated movie in 2000, with the added impetus of huge price crashes in the computer software and hardware markets meaning that Renga (now re-christened as Renga Media Ltd.) would be able to produce the animation 'in-house', without interference from third-party production companies. A deal with the Sci-Fi Channel in 2001 enabled the production to go ahead, and the rest is history...

Tony and Renga Media have been profiled in a number of publications such as SFX, Imagine, Meltdown, Bizarre, Animerica and Kaleidoscope. TV exposure has included spots on the BBC (Jonathan Ross' Manga! special) and Channel 4 (Sick and Twisted), with Emma B presenting a longform profile in the mid-May edition of ITV movie show ScreenTime. Other coverage has appeared, of course, on the Sci-Fi Channel and on various internet sites.

Tony does occasionally manage to get some time off, and can usually be found working on his own musical scores and DJing at metal and alternative clubs. He continues to illustrate when time allows, and has exhibited at several galleries and exhibitions around the world. He has also lectured at the manga and anime seminars organised by the Japan Foundation in 2001.

Current work includes script work with Alan Grant for 2000AD comic, manga illustrations for an upcoming hardback, and movie work with Renegade Arts Entertainment, including the new Dominator animated productions with Alan Grant, Doug Bradley and Nirasawa-san.

Movies & Animation:

The Outsider (2008)

Dominator (2003)

A Brief History Of Hell (2004)

Heavy Metal vs. Dominator (2005)

Archangel Thunderbird (1998)

Nemesis the Warlock (1987)

Comics & Manga:

Dominator X script - SFX Magazine 2007

Gresham Blake: Time Tailor art - G Blake 2008

Judge Anderson "Half-life" script w/ A Grant - 2000AD 2005

Neverwhere - DC Vertigo - covers w/ Glenn Fabry 2005-2007

The Authority - Wildstorm - covers w/ Glenn Fabry

Dominator manga art - Comic Afternoon 1993-5

Sin 7 art - NBM Publishing 1998

Skintight Orbit art - NBM Publishing 1996

Psychonauts script w/ A Grant - Marvel Comics Japan 1990

Middenface McNulty script w/ A Grant - Judge Dredd Megazine 1991

Judge Anderson "Postcards From The Edge" art - 2000AD 1994

Judge Dredd "Raptaur" art - 2000AD 1995

Hellkatt art - NStudios 1996

Music Videos:

Cradle Of Filth "Carrion"

Necrosanct "Desolate"

Urusei Yatsura "Phasers On Stun"

Creaming Jesus "Lillies"

Hunters Club "Devil's Caress"

Wolfsbane "End Of The Century"

Synthetic "Country"

Digitalis "No Control"

Run Foxy Run "Shoes"

Shout Bamalam "Jeepster"

Force Fed "Patience"

Christian Death "Zero Sex"