Steve Parkhouse - was born and raised in postwar London, amidst chaos, poverty, and a singular lack of comics. This dire situation was remedied when some Scottish friends of his father began sending weekly relief packages of comics published by D.C. Thompson, the premier British publishers of the day.

Needless to say, they were devoured avidly until he discovered American comics on spinners in the gift shops of various holiday resorts. Steve then began to attempt his own comics style of drawing and writing, eventually being accepted on na graphic design course at his local polytechnic. There he met fellow aspirant Barry (Winsor) Smith and they began hatching a cunning plan. nIt was simple, they decided; we'll go to New York and get work at Marvel Comics.

What could possibly g wrong? Eighteen months later, at the age of eighteen and nineteen respectively, they were both working in the Marvel Bullpen in New York, getting the lie of the land and learning the trade from experts. Then U.S.

Immigration decided this nwas a bad plan, and asked them (not too politely) to get the hell out. Nothing's changed much, has it? So, after ducking and diving and hiding in various apartments all over the city, the adventurers voluntarily deported themselves back to Britain, with six months of working experience to fall back on.

With that qualification, Steve secured an editorial post in the Juveniles Department of IPC Magazines. There he met his future wife, Annie... was promoted to staff writer and his writing career began in earnest. The rest, as they say, is a total mystery.

Fifty odd years on, he is still practicing the craft of storytelling with the express intention of getting it right. He thinks that you should be the judge of his efforts. He would also like to thank Mike Richardson and everybody at Dark Horse for their continued support and all those dollars.

Special thanks go to Philip Simon, a scholar, a gentleman and a fine editor. nPETER HOGAN has been writing comics for over thirty years now. Notable items include Sandman spin-off stories for Vertigo, and Tom Strong and related titles for Alan Moore's America's Best Comics line. n nAfter these works, Hogan and artist Steve Parkhouse co-created Resident Alien for Dark Horse, which is now on its ninth miniseries and has been adapted into the acclaimed TV show of the same name. n nHe may well write more comics in the future.n