Author Archives
News, reviews, interviews and features for print and on-line: Spaceship Away (since October 2005), Bear Alley (since February 2007), downthetubes (since June 2007), and Eagle Times (since October 2008). Plus DC Thomson's The Art Of Ian Kennedy, Titan’s Dan Dare and Johnny Red reprints, Ilex’s War Comics: A Graphic History and 500 Essential Graphic Novels, and Print Media’s The Iron Moon and Strip magazine.
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In Review: Darwin’s Diaries – Death of A Beast
Writer Sylvain Runberg returns from the future worlds of Orbital with Death Of A Beast, the second of the nineteen century set Darwin’s Diaries with art from Eduardo Ocana and colours by Tariq Bellaoui and which follows directly on from… Read More ›
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In Review: XIII – El Cascador
Who is XIII? Book 1 – Mr Alan Smith?Books 2 and 3 – Captain Steve Rowland?Book 4 – Corporal Ross Tanner?Book 5 – Agent Jason Fly?Books 6 and 7 – Writer John Fleming?Book 8 – Agent Jason McLane?Book 9 –… Read More ›
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Celtic Conventions: Hi-Ex and 2D Return In 2012
We missed out on mentioning Hi-Ex 2012 in our run-up to Christmas so let’s set the record straight now. The fourth Hi-Ex will be taking place on Saturday 31 March and Sunday 1 April on the banks of the river… Read More ›
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In Review: Yakari and the Coyote
Yakari is probably the most junior of Cinebook’s various series and features the adventures of a Red Indian boy who is able to talk to and understand animals in the time before the white men appeared on the plains. The… Read More ›
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Austerity Reviews of the Year
It is that time of the year when bloggers think of their favourite books, comics and magazines of the year. However since there can be a lot of overlap in what various people consider to be worth mentioning, and you… Read More ›
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In Review: Cinebook Recounts The Wright Brothers
Cinebook return to their historically factual series Cinebook Recounts with the story of the first manned flight of a powered aeroplane at Kitty Hawk in America in 1903 with The Wright Brothers, written by J P Lefevre-Garros and illustrated by… Read More ›
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In Review: Commando 4453 – Walk Or Die!
A German soldier carrying an injured British soldier on his back through the desert – painted by Ken Barr, this cover to the first ever issue of Commando has become something of an iconic British comics image since it was… Read More ›
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In Review: Iznogoud Rockets To Stardom
Jeremy Briggs checks out the latest English language Iznogoud collection from Cinebook
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In Review: Long John Silver – The Emerald Maze
Cinebook have reached the third in writer Xavier Dorison and artist Mathieu Lauffray’s Long John Silver series, The Emerald Maze, set some 20 years after the events of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Lady Vivian Hastings’ husband has found the… Read More ›
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In Review: Lucky Luke Vs The Pinkertons
Cinebook have been selective in their choices of Lucky Luke albums to translate into English, jumping around in the original French order and with Lucky Luke Versus The Pinkertons they have come completely up to date with their first English… Read More ›
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Dundee Comics Day 2011 – Other Voices
downthetubes has been reviewing the Dundee University comics events run by Dr Chris Murray for many years, long before they were labelled as the Dundee Comics Day, and those reviews were often the only independent record of those events. Indeed… Read More ›
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Photo Review: Dundee Comics Day 2011
“The Dundee Comics Day has been the highlight of my comics year so far and I look forward in anticipation to what Chris Murray and his team have in store for next year” was how I ended my review of… Read More ›
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In Review: The Boss
Mix the pupils of a single school year concept in something like Harry Potter plus the control of agents from a command centre from something like NCIS:Los Angeles with the child investigators of, say, Enid Blyton’s Five Find-Outers and Dog… Read More ›
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In Review: Lady S Volume 3 – Game Of Fools
Suzan Fitzroy, writer Jean Van Hamme and artist Philippe Aymond’s reluctant spy who is codenamed Lady S, returns in Game Of Fools, the third of her books from Cinebook, originally published in the French weekly comic Spirou before being complied… Read More ›
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Cam Kennedy’s Commandos
Scottish artist Cam Kennedy has had a long and distinguished career in comics having drawn British characters as well known as Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper while also covering Star Wars for Dark Horse and The Punisher for Marvel in… Read More ›
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In Review: Lucky Luke – The Daltons’ Escape
Cinebook reaches their thirtieth Lucky Luke book with the first English translation of The Dalton’s Escape written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Morris. Hearing that Lucky Luke is close to their jail, Joe Dalton convinces the three other Dalton’s… Read More ›
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Treating Comics Seriously – Six Questions for Dr Chris Murray
Dr Chris Murray is a lecturer and programme convenor in English for Dundee University’s School of Humanities with research interests in comics, film and popular culture. He has contributed articles to the academic International Journal of Comic Art, Gothic Studies,… Read More ›
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In Review: XIII – For Maria
Who is XIII? Book 1 – Mr Alan Smith? Books 2&3 – Captain Steve Rowland? Book 4 – Corporal Ross Tanner? Book 5 – Agent Jason Fly? Books 6 & 7 – Writer John Fleming? Book 8 – Agent Jason… Read More ›
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In Review: Super Animal Adventure Squad
The most junior of the third batch of DFC Library titles is Super Animal Adventure Squad written and illustrated by James Turner. Agent K (a cat), Agent Irwin (a pelican), Agent Rex (an iguana), Agent Beesley (a rather posh bee)… Read More ›