Millar and McCrea Create A Blue Peter Superhero

By John Freeman on November 6, 2011

The creator of Kick-Ass and Wanted creating a comic strip for the BBC children’s programme Blue Peter?

As odd as it sounds writer Mark Millar visited the new Blue Peter studio in Manchester on 1 November along with STRIP Magazine artist John McCrea to talk about superhero comics and reveal the first page of a Blue Peter themed comic strip. Talking to presenter Barney Harwood, and with Blue Peter dog Barney dressed in a Superman style cape, the pair discussed superhero comics and introduced a one page comic strip written by Mark and illustrated by John.

The Curse Of Bad Peter shows Barney Harwood receive a summons via his Blue Peter badge which turns him into a superhero who has to battle Bad Peter at Manchester’s Arndale Centre. The strip is one page long with a second page ready for viewers to complete the story in any way they see fit.

And yes, both creators did receive a Blue Peter badge.

The Curse Of Bad Peter comic strip is available to download as a PDF from the Blue Peter website.

The episode of Blue Peter that Mark Millar and John McCrea appeared in is available for another week on the BBC iPlayer. They appear approximately 12 minutes into the programme.

The annual Blue Peter books used to run comic strips by Bleep and Booster creator Tim. There are more details of the comic strips in the Blue Peter books on Bear Alley.

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.