Nick Roche

Trousers lie shattered in the background

Nick Roche (born September 5, 1979 ) is an Irish comic book artist and writer for IDW Publishing. He is awesome.

Nick Roche is a native of County Wexford, but currently resides in Dublin, Ireland. Having always been a massive Transformers fan, Roche's produced artwork for fan fiction and UK convention publications, gaining a healthy fanbase within the UK, but remaining almost entirely unknown outside of the tight-knit UK fandom.

He pitched his work to Dreamwave Productions but had no response, something he's glad about in hindsight; he notes "at the time, I'd have worked for free but it turns out everyone else at Dreamwave was doing that anyway". Nick finally got his break into Transformers when IDW Publishing acquired the Transformers license. A friend of Nick's by the name of Dave Hendrick sent IDW supremo Chris Ryall Nick's samples.

Twenty minutes later there was an email back from Chris.

Nick started on the "Chrischarger" art before being given Spotlights, then more Spotlights (and a Devastation fill-in) before being given the Maximum Dinobots mini-series. He's also penciled numerous covers for the different Transformers series, including a piece for the Target 2006 reprints featuring the original team of Wreckers, the covers for the Metrodome DVD sets of Super-God Masterforce and Victory, and a special comic and a piece of artwork packed with Madman Entertainment's Generation 1 DVD set. Nick has also worked on the new Transformers UK comic book (issue 2) and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic for Titan.

If that wasn't enough, Nick drew and wrote Spotlight: Kup, which also has the distinction of being the first issue in the IDW G1 continuity written by someone other than Simon Furman. He co-wrote and drew the incredibly well-received Last Stand of the Wreckers with James Roberts. And he also writes panto!

Shattered trousers are usually left in his wake.

Look: you can't comprehend the scale of trouser destruction that will occur. The current financial crisis? Pffah! There will be people wandering around this Christmas with next to no trouser coverage. And as for the potentially countless children who will lose their sight and sense of decency from flying pant-shards...well, it doesn't bear thinking about. No gusset is safe this Christmas.Nick on the imminent release of Maximum Dinobots #1

Fiction

IDW Generation 1 continuity

Nick was sitting at a signing table at Auto Assembly 2009 when Grimlock barged his way past Gregg Berger and Liam Shalloo, complaining about his absence from All Hail Megatron. All Hail Megatron issue #13 cover

Writing

• "Spotlight: Kup"
• All Hail Megatron #15 story 1: "Everything in Its Right Place"
• Last Stand of the Wreckers (co-written with James Roberts)
  • "Escape"
  • "In Word and Deed"
• "Spotlight: Megatron"

Comic book art

A lesser-known variation on the spelling of Nick's name.

IDW Publishing

• "Spotlight: Shockwave"
• "Spotlight: Hot Rod"
• "Spotlight: Kup"
• Beast Wars Sourcebook #1, #2 (select pages)
• Devastation #3
• "Spotlight: Hardhead"
• Maximum Dinobots
• All Hail Megatron #15 story 1: "Everything in Its Right Place"
• Last Stand of the Wreckers
  • "Dead Men's Boots"
  • "Escape"
  • "In Word and Deed"
• The Transformers #13
• The Transformers: Infestation
• "Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime"
• The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #1, #6
• "Spotlight: Megatron"

Madman Entertainment

• Transformers Generation 1 Complete Collection DVD set (pack-in comic book and Matrix of Leadership chamber artwork with Don Figueroa and Josh Burcham)

Titan Books

• Titan Transformers comic #2

DVD cover art

Metrodome

• Transformers Takara Collection Super-God Masterforce
• Transformers Takara Collection Victory

Convention appearances

• BotCon (2007)
• BotCon (2009)
• Auto Assembly (2009)
• Auto Assembly (2010)

Notes

What can brown do for you?

• Nick Roche's art style is instantly recognizable in a comic due to his semi-stylized lines. According to him, he just "makes the hands bigger and the pointy bits pointier", and he would like to draw with "Senior's energy, Wildman's expressiveness and Yaniger's chins!". He is also noted for being able to change his drawing style. He says he finds he does change it automatically depending on the story, such as upping the cartooniness for "Spotlight: Hot Rod" and toning it down for a story from Prowl's point of view.
• He has admitted to being "gay for Hot Rod".
• He is also the first Transformers celebrity to have interviewed another Transformers celebrity.
• At Auto Assembly 2010 it was discovered that Nick can do an uncanny David Kaye impression. Yesssssss.

Gallery

• 
  Hot Rod enjoys freefalling to a planet in "Spotlight: Hot Rod".
• 
  Buster Witwicky's never looked this cool before or since. Cover art for The Transformers: Generations issue #12.
• 
  Hardhead's got a hard head in "Spotlight: Hardhead".
• 
  Prowl is Springer's personal punching bag in All Hail Megatron #15

• Extended Nick Roche gallery

External links

• Nick Roche's blog