Artist Spotlight: SciFi Heroes of the 1970s

By John Freeman on August 24, 2009

What’s not to love about this labour of love by illustrator Dusty Abell we just found over on deviantart?

We don’t think Dusty’s missed out many of TV’s 1970s heroes, including those from British series such as Space: 1999.

“This thing has preoccupied so much of my free time I’m grateful to have finally finished it, although at the same time, it has been one of the funnest things I’ve ever done,” says Los Angeles-based artist Dusty, who first posted the illustration earlier this year..

“It’s all digital: the Eagle Transporter took the longest to draw and Richard Benjamin as Quark is probably the most obscure character.”

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.