(with thanks to Matthew Badham and Paul Cornell): British comics fan Mark Roberts has kicked off a promising new blog It Came from Darkmoor, dedicated to the mysteries of mighty Marvel UK (sadly absorbed by Panini in the early 1990s, and still no sign of a resurrection of Death’s Head).
Mark describes it as “a blog dedicated to the mostly forgotten, but ultimately worthwhile, British corner of the Marvel Universe. It titles, its characters, its fallen imprint and recent revivals. God knows they seem to eat into my brain so often, I may as well try to excorcise them in a constructive fashion!”
Early posts include a feature on the Frontiers character Immortalis from Nick Vince and Mark Buckingham, published under the “Frontiers” banner at the tail end of MUK’s existence; and of course, a piece on the best robot-turned cyborg in Marvel history, Death’s Head.
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.
Categories: British Comics