Si Spencer

Si Spencer (1961 – 16 February 2021) was a British comic book writer and TV dramatist and editor whose work appeared in British comics such as Crisis. He often collaborated with Dean Ormston and later moved to the American comics industry.

Biography
After starting in Crisis, he was signed up for the short-lived title Revolver, where two long series, 'Stickleback' and 'YoYo', were intended to run. The magazine folded before it saw print, however, and from 1993 to 1995 Spencer was a regular writer for the Judge Dredd Megazine and created characters such as Harke & Burr and The Creep as well as working on established characters (e.g. Judge Dredd). Spencer also edited comics and music magazine Deadline between 1991 and 1992.

In North America, his work has appeared primarily in series published by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint, such as Books of Magick: Life During Wartime.

Spencer has also written for television. After winning a 'New Voices' competition with the play Tracey and Lewis, he secured a position at the BBC as script editor on prime-time cop show City Central. He later worked as a staff writer for the BBC's EastEnders and ITV's The Bill in addition to being storyliner and series editor and contributing scripts to Grange Hill. He was credited as script editor on the 2009 Aardman pilot for CBBC show Men in Coats.

An issue #368 of Doctor Who Magazine from March 2006 revealed that he was to write an episode for the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood and that he would make an appearance at the 2006 Bristol Comic Expo to publicise it, though he was not among the writers of episodes for the first series. However, a 2010 book Torch, Wood & Peasants, which was credited to "Webley Wildfoot", details the story of a writer on a fictitious British SF series and contains a script that has several strong similarities to Torchwood.

His later work included The Vinyl Underground for Vertigo.

In October 2010, Vertigo published the first issue of a Hellblazer mini-series, Hellblazer: City of Demons.

Spencer also ran a Facebook page 'Script Doctor', providing advice and support for new writers.

In June 2014, Vertigo published the first issue of his creator-owned monthly eight issue limited series Bodies. A television adaptation of the comic by Netflix and Bondage Pictures premiered in October 2023.

In 2015, Self Made Hero published the one-shot graphic novel Klaxon in September. Two months later, Vertigo published the first issue of the six-part series Slash & Burn.

Spencer died from heart failure in February 2021.