A look back at a short-lived Commando fan magazine edited by artist Peter Richardson, Frank Bellamy Eagle art, a Jack Kirby-related crowdfunder and the first UK Gerry Anderson’s UFO convention in a long time topped downthetubes most read stories this week…. Read More ›
Month: April 2017
In Praise of… Leo Baxendale
Leo Baxendale is a British cartoonist who should need no introduction to downthetubes readers. Not only was the creator of the classic Beano strips “Little Plum”, “Minnie the Minx”, “The Bash Street Kids” and “The Three Bears”, but he was… Read More ›
In Review: Marvel’s new Nick Fury is a positive tonic
Writer: James Robinson Penciler: ACO Inker: Hugo Petrus Colourist: Rachelle Rosenberg Letterer: Travis Lanham Publisher: Marvel Comics Release Date: 19th April 2017 The Book:The world is a dangerous place. And there’s danger in drawing attention to your plans. When S.H.I.E.L.D…. Read More ›
London’s Cartoon Museum seeks Comics Creators Project Volunteer
If you or someone you know might be interested in spending a couple of days a week for six months working at London’s fine Cartoon Museum, read on. You don’t need to be a comics ‘expert’ – but you do… Read More ›
Game Mania returns to Blackpool in May (with some added comics goodness)
This year’s Game Mania takes place at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens on 6th and 7th May 2017. A Gaming Event full of Retro Games, Virtual Reality, Kids Zone, Pinball, Arcades, Developers. Tournaments and Challenges – with prizes to be won, including… Read More ›
Killer Commandos Stalk Your Newsagent This Week – and there’s flying saucers on the loose, too!
DC Thomson’s Commando Issues 5011 – 5014, on sale now in all good newsagents and various digital platforms, deliver a hotpot of unique wartime adventures, ranging from World War Two Home Front detectives to grizzled Yankees in the Vietnamese… Read More ›
Mystery art has Frank Hampson fans a-flutter – but the actual artist remains a mystery
Browsing the Book Palace website last night, downthetubes contributor Richard Sheaf came across this painting, attributed to Dan Dare creator Frank Hampson. “… This is gorgeous painting, probably used for a magazine illustration or advertisement in the late 1950s,” notes… Read More ›
Star Wars: The Classic Newspaper Comic collections launched by IDW
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the first Star Wars film this May, IDW Publishing and the multi award-winning imprint, Library of American Comics have just released Volume One of Star Wars: The Classic Newspaper Comic which contains 575 sequential strips from its premiere… Read More ›
Comic creators, a bar – and a Music Festival in Liverpool? Sounds like a great combination!
Ace Liverpool-based comic creators Tom Ward (writer and creator of MERRICK: The Sensational Elephant Man, co-creator of Doc Dino) and Chris Welsh (creator of Wart and the horror anthology The Grime) are running a little tester comic event out of a bar at… Read More ›
Dredd in Rip-Roaring Action in latest 2000AD (Prog 2027)
Featuring a cracking cover by Matt Ferguson, 2000AD Prog 2027 is on sale now in all good comic shops and UK newsagents – and via various digital platforms. John McCrea‘s art on “Judge Dredd” is adrenaline-soaked brilliance and makes it… Read More ›
Sneak Preview: “Old Farts” by Sorina Vazelina
Written and Illustrated by Sorina Vazelina Full Colour – Published by Centrala Books Something is crawling in to my brain, something colourful and crazy. This is an anthology of work by Sorina Vazelina and published by Centrala books in the… Read More ›
Crowdfunding Spotlight – British Jack Kirby Documentary Project Launches
2017 marks the centennial of US comic book artist and writer Jack Kirby‘s birth – and British comics archivist Glenn Fleming has just launched a Kickstarter to back the release of a documentary about this key creator, based on interviews he… Read More ›
Collectormania seeks to boost comic creator presence for June’s event at NEC
Major British event organisers Showmasters are offering comic book creators and other artists, illustrators and self published writers the opportunity to share their talents in front of the thousands attending the event at the Birmingham NEC at the next Collectormania. Showmasters… Read More ›
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series episodes launch this week
Award-winning developer and publisher of digital entertainment, Telltale Games, along with Marvel Entertainment, has announced that the first of five Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series episodes is now available on PlayStation4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, Windows… Read More ›
Gareth Brookes brilliant “A Thousand Coloured Castles” gets Gosh launch on Thursday
Top British comics creator Gareth Brookes is hosting a launch party for his new graphic novel A Thousand Coloured Castles, published by Myriad Editions, at Gosh! Comics in London later this week – and everyone’s invited. This book is, simply, genius. Disturbing… Read More ›
Creating Comics: The Comic Industry and the Downside of Working from the Belly of the Whale
Our thanks to comics writer, inker, letterer, editor and publisher Ian Sharman today for kindly giving us permission to post his thoughts on working in the comics industry, addressing why creators seem loathe to challenge some of its working practices… So, let’s… Read More ›
Coming Soon: Dazzle Ships and the Art of Confusion
If you’re a fan of Commando comics, then you may want to check out Dazzle Ships: World War One and the Art of Confusion, out later this year. Yes, it’s nonfiction – but there is a comics connection. Written by… Read More ›
Frank Bellamy “Heros the Spartan” Art Goes Under the Hammer
A spread of “Heros the Spartan” art by Frank Bellamy published in Eagle in 1963 is currently being offered on the US auction site Heritage Auctions. The spread from the weekly comic appeared in Volume 14 (Issue 22, issue cover… Read More ›
Borderliners is a Real Treat for fans of The Prisoner and Phillip K. Dick
Manchester-based writer/artist Brian Gorman‘s second graphic novel, Borderliners: True Realities, was published by Invisible Six Ltd a few months ago. I’m ashamed to confess he handed me a copy last October, but it’s taken me this long to escape The… Read More ›
Philip Pullman’s The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship collection docks in June
Philip Pullman‘s The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship offers high-octane action and a deep twisting mystery combine in a visual feast of a time-travel tale of adventure on the high seas, due for release in June… Read More ›