Barmy Comics from Barrow

By John Freeman on November 18, 2004

Comics creator Dave Hughes, who lives in Barrow, has just sent me a hilarious collection of his comic strip tales titled The Immeasurable adventures of Gorky Park. Dave’s strange, spikey cartoon work, akin to Rugrats on acid, tells the bizarre story of a Russian chess genius forced to flee to the UK after farting during a tournament.

The comic is crammed with both visual and word gags (right down to the indicia which claims any spelling mistakes are intentional and therefore ironic).

A rcommended read, available from Dave Hughes, price £3. Send cheques payable to Dave Hughes for £3 to Stonechat Productions, PO Box 148, Barrow-in-Furness LA14 3WX.

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.