As a little pick-me-up during the Coronavirus Pandemic, Bryan Talbot, working with web master James Robertson, has put together a downloadable version of all of the free comics published on his official site site over the years
Comic Creator Spotlight
Fairy Tales Retold for the Emergency Services, by Matthew Owen and Emmeline Pidgen
Grimm’s Fairy Tales retold, to teach people when best to call 999 or 111
Comic Creator Spotlight: Comic Artist Tony O’Donnell
downthetubes highlights the work of many comic creators, but after Orkney-based comic artist and illustrator Tony O’Donnell kindly sent us his report on the recent Jim Baikie exhibition at the Kirkwall Museum, he also sent us his current biography, which… Read More ›
Snapshot in Time: Brian Woodford and The Launch of Boys’ World, Part Two
A Short Introduction: Before his unexpected passing in 2016, author Roger Perry – a longtime contributor to this site and veteran of the British comics industry – sent downthetubes a number of articles which we planned to run, working back… Read More ›
Snapshot in Time: Brian Woodford and The Launch of Boys’ World, Part One
A Short Introduction: Before his unexpected passing in 2016, author Roger Perry – a longtime contributor to this site and veteran of the British comics industry – sent downthetubes a number of articles which we planned to run, working back… Read More ›
Mystery Artist Quest: A “Spellbound” Artist Identified
Author and artist David Roach is trying to identify the artists of a number of DC Thomson strips – and his renewed quest, highlighted on downthetubes, is already paying off thanks to social media, and an Argentinian artist’s connections with… Read More ›
Comic Creator Spotlight: “Skid Solo” artist John Vernon
As it’s a Formula 1 weekend, downthetubes contributor Richard Sheaf is marking the event on his Boys Adventure Comics Blog with a look back at an earlier era of motor-racing with this oddity – “The Champions” – a tie-in comic with Matchbox toys sponsorship of motor racing legend, John Surtees and Team Surtees, in the early 1970s, featuring art by “Skid Solo” artist John Vernon
Stranger than Fiction: When Comics tell only half a “True Story”
Growing up, like many of you, I’m sure you wondered just how “true” some of the “true stories” told in comics actually were. Sometimes, it seems, truth is far, far stranger than fiction… and sometimes, far from as “funny” as presented…
Comic Creator Spotlight: Roland Davies and “Come On, Steve!”
Here’s a few examples of the wonderful “Come on, Steve” strip, and a tribute to the strip’s creator, Roland Davies. Davies drew for the strip for both the Sunday Express and the Sunday Dispatch and I loved reading the stories… Read More ›
Life and work of Misty artist John Armstrong celebrated
A colour copy of John Armstrong’s cover for a fan-published special dedicated to girls comic Misty, published in 2006 by A new Facebook group dedicated to British girls comic artist John Armstrong has just gone public with the support of… Read More ›
Applied Comics hints at big plans for 2019
2018 was a busy year was a busy year for inventive Newcastle upon Tyne-based comics provocateurs Applied Comics Etc. – and its driving force, Lydia Wysocki, has been hinting of major things to come this year
Creator Spotlight: Peyo, Gifted Creator of The Smurfs
Pierre Culliford (known as Peyo) was born in Brussels in 1928. He was forced to work for a living from the age of 15, first as a projectionist in a cinema, followed by a stint in a cartoon studio. When the… Read More ›