Dan Abnett

Biography:

Dan Abnett was born on October 12, 1965, in Rochester, Kent. He studied English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, beginning in 1984 and graduating in 1987.

Abnett became one of the most prolific writers for 2000 AD, contributing both original works and installments to ongoing series. He created some of the magazine’s most popular and long-running stories, including Sinister Dexter, and developed several original series such as Black Light, Badlands, Atavar, Downlode Tales, Sancho Panzer, Roadkill, Wardog (based on the video game), Kingdom, and Brink. He also wrote for established titles like Judge Dredd, Durham Red, and Rogue Trooper.

In his work with Marvel Comics, Abnett co-created and wrote for titles including Guardians of the Galaxy, Death’s Head 2, Battletide, and Knights of Pendragon. He also worked on The Punisher, War Machine, Annihilation: Nova, several X-Men stories, and contributed to the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip.

At DC Comics, Abnett is best known for relaunching Legion of Super-Heroes in 2000 with Legion Lost and The Legion, most of which he co-wrote with Andy Lanning under the team name “DnA.” Together, they co-created the character Resurrection Man in 1997 with artist Jackson Guice. Abnett also collaborated with Dark Horse Comics on projects like Planet of the Apes: Blood Lines, Lords of Misrule, and HyperSonic.

Abnett’s relationship with Games Workshop’s Black Library began with First & Only, one of the publisher’s earliest novels. He went on to write extensively within the Warhammer 40,000 universe, creating the Gaunt’s Ghosts series, the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies, and multiple novels in The Horus Heresy series, including Horus Rising, Legion, Prospero Burns, Know No Fear, and The End and the Death (Volumes I–III). He also wrote several Warhammer 40K comic series compiled into graphic novels, such as Damnation Crusade, Lone Wolves, Inquisitor Ascendant, and Titan.

Beyond print, Abnett wrote audio dramas for Big Finish, including The Harvest and Nocturne for Doctor Who, and Everyone Says Hello and Border Princes for Torchwood. He also contributed to The Story of Martha, a Doctor Who anthology. In 1994, he scripted a promotional comic for the opening of the Nemesis roller coaster at Alton Towers.

Returning to 2000 AD, Abnett completed The V.C.s and launched Black Atlantic in Judge Dredd Megazine. In 2008, he and Lanning took over The Authority during Wildstorm’s “World’s End” relaunch. Their partnership with Marvel expanded to the publisher’s “cosmic” universe, where they developed the Annihilation: Nova and Nova series and led the Annihilation: Conquest event. This work directly led to the modern Guardians of the Galaxy team.

In 2008, Abnett and Lanning signed an exclusive deal with Marvel, allowing them to focus on “cosmic” and earth-based characters while completing existing projects like The Authority. Under this contract, they developed major crossover events including War of Kings, Realm of Kings, and The Thanos Imperative. The duo also worked on Iron Man/Thor and the Fusion crossover between Marvel and Top Cow.

Abnett introduced Insurrection in Judge Dredd Megazine, inspired by the large-scale war storytelling typical of his Warhammer 40K work, and later wrote the Ultramarines CGI film released by Games Workshop and Codex Pictures in 2010.

He concluded Insurrection and launched Lawless, while continuing to write Kingdom, Grey Area, and Brink for 2000 AD. For DC’s Rebirth initiative, he wrote Aquaman and Titans, co-authoring the crossover The Lazarus Contract with Christopher Priest and Benjamin Percy.

In 2009, Abnett signed with HarperCollins’ Angry Robot imprint for three original novels: Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero, set in an alternate Elizabethan future; and Embedded, a near-future war story that received a planned sequel (though only two of the three novels were released).

Since the mid-1980s, Dan Abnett has built a vast body of work across comics, novels, and screenwriting, making him one of the most versatile and productive writers in modern science fiction and fantasy.