John Michael Burns (1938 - 29 December 2023; Essex, UK)
John M Burns' first work was as an illustrator for Junior Express and School Friend. During the 1960s, Burns worked on TV Century 21 and its sister magazines, including the Space Family Robinson series in Lady Penelope.

For a while he drew daily comics strips for newspapers The Daily Sketch, The Daily Mirror and The Sun, including The Seekers, Danielle and, for a period succeeding Enrique Romero during 1978-79, Modesty Blaise for The London Evening Standard.

He moved on to illustrate TV tie-in strips for now-defunct title Look-in, always scripted by Angus P. Allan. Burns was already well-known by the start of the 1980s. He also worked on the title story for Countdown. It was when he made the crossover to 2000 AD, along with fellow Look-in alumni Jim Baikie and Arthur Ranson, that his position in British comics was cemented.

Burns began by working on Judge Dredd, a strip to which he continues to contribute to this day. By his own admission (in a 2004 interview with David Bishop in the Judge Dredd Megazine), Burns does not enjoy drawing science fiction strips, and the look of Judge Dredd is one that he finds particularly unpleasant to draw: this is ironic, as his version has drawn much reader acclaim.

In 2007 Burns worked on the Nikolai Dante strip, and proved so successful that he is now considered the lead artist on the story. He also co-created (with Robbie Morrison) a contemporary adventure strip, The Bendatti Vendetta for the Megazine, this is unique for the title in having no science fiction or fantasy elements at all.

In 2008 he finished an adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, whose script was rendered by Amy Corzine, for UK publisher Classical Comics. Having previously worked on similar adaptations of Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore and, which is more, Wuthering Heights by Brontë's sister Emily, Burns was able to bring considerable experience to the project.