Look at the list of current talent that hails from across the pond: Warren Ellis, Bryan Hitch, Mark Millar, and, of course, Alan Moore just to name a select few. Not only have these creators established themselves as certified comic superstars, they continue to break new ground in terms of story and art.

With that in mind, it looks as though we may be bearing witness to another British talent that’s sure to turn heads — namely, Trev Hairsine, a 33-year-old resident of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. With a style that mixes the realism of Hitch, the grittiness of Leinil Francis Yu and the overall impact of John Cassaday, Hairsine clearly has the ingredients to become the next big thing in terms of comic art. Yet despite his obvious talents and current successes, Hairsine almost refuses to believe his own hype.

"Look what you’ve done now," laughs Hairsine. "My head’s inflated so much that I can’t get into the kitchen for my breakfast! I’ll starve! I’ll just be a giant head with this wasted, string-like body trailing out the back!”

"Seriously though, if I’m being placed in the same ballpark as those artists, that’s absolutely fine with me. Classify away! I have a large smile on my face!"

Hairsine first appeared on the scene in 1994, when he teamed up with writer Chris Standley on a six-issue story titled "Harmony" which appeared in Judge Dredd Megazine. Two years later, Hairsine would team up with writer Peter Hogan for seven issues of the 2000 A.D. staple, "Strontium Dogs," as well as sporadic runs of "Judge Dredd." Hairsine would go on to pencil 13 covers for the British anthology as well as 13 covers for the Megazine.

"As a kid, you always dream of one day drawing Judge Dredd, or in my case, Judge Dredd verses Judge Death, so having accomplished that in my first few years of working pro was very gratifying," explains Hairsine.

After taking a short break from 2000 A.D., Hairsine teamed up with writer Rob Williams (a budding superstar in his own right with a top-secret project at Marvel in the works) for three issues of Com.X Comics’ breakout series Cla$$war, which debuted in late 2001. While penciling Cla$$war, Hairsine’s skills came full circle as he wowed fans in both the U.K. and in the U.S. Cla$$war also proved to be a big seller for Com.X, as buzz began to build around this limited run series which featured the stunning art of a then-unknown British penciler.

With almost constant comparisons to Hitch’s art style, word on Hairsine’s skills spread quickly through the industry, finally making their way into the House of Ideas. Current Captain America editor Nick Lowe saw vast potential in Hairsine and offered up the daunting task of filling in Cassaday’s shoes on the series, to which Hairsine immediately accepted.

Hairsine’s run on Cap begins with December’s Captain America #7 (and ends with April’s issue #11), where he teams up with current writer John Ney Rieber on a storyarc titled "The Extremists." In it, Cap finds himself facing off against an ultra-Right Wing conservative named Redpath, who will go to any means necessary in order to create an America that lives up to the expectations of its founding fathers. Yet when his actions start to cross the line, it’s up to Cap to stop him, but will the Star-Spangled Avenger take down a fellow American?

Judging from preview art of Hairsine’s run, it’s clear that fans of the current Marvel Knights Captain America won’t be disappointed with the departure of Cassaday. Hairsine’s art has only gotten better with his run, and could quite possibly open up doors for future projects. While the ever-humble artist would most likely take future offers as a compliment of the highest order, he does have a wish list of characters he’d like to take on once his run on Cap comes to an end.

"I’d love to do either Superman or the Hulk, I reckon," says Hairsine. "The Hulk’s a superb, tragic, exciting and humorous character, and I’d like to draw those qualities in equal measure. To me, Superman’s the original and still the coolest character. I’d want to darken him up a touch and have him let rip. Hard, ‘don’t mess with me,’ Superman."

At the same time, Hairsine remains a comic fan at heart, and has plenty of admiration and respect for those artists who came before him.

"My favorite comic right now has to be Mark Millar’s The Ultimates," gushes Hairsine. "A disjointed, maladjusted set of characters with the ability to kick the crap out of anything. Given that, I’m also looking forward to [fellow 2000 A.D. alum] Robbie Morrison’s run on The Authority."

As Hairsine’s star continues to climb and his reputation as a modest superstar solidifies, he’s quick to reflect on why he enjoys what he does and why he looks forward to any work he might get in the future.

"Doing this helps remind me that I’m still enthusiastic about comics and storytelling and wonderful artwork," explains Hairsine. "It’s very easy to get bogged down with paying bills and deadlines and to forget why you’re doing this stuff in the first place. For me, it’s because I love it and I can’t stop."

And if Hairsine continues producing incredible art, he won’t be able to stop for a long time to come.

Check out The FDNY/NYPD Captain America Lithograph Here...

WRITER’S BIO: Mike Cotton is a staff writer for Wizard: The Comics Magazine. For more on Captain America and all the comic book news fit to print, check out Wizard on sale every month at comic book specialty shops and newsstands everywhere.