Classic cover artists: John Cooper

As an artist on One-eyed Jack, Dredger, M.A.C.H.1, a handful of early Judge Dredds and six years (1978 to 1984) on Battle favourite Johnny Red, John Cooper was a reliable go-to illustrator for action-oriented tough guys. He also created a number of striking cover designs that helped position the likes of Battle, Action and even later editions of Valiant (repurposed for a modern readership by editor John Wagner) as hard-boiled, streetwise comics that mirrored the new wave of cop and war dramas in film and on TV in the mid to late 1970s.