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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Photo Review: Hi-Ex 2 – From Inverness, With Love
by Jeremy Briggs Last year’s inaugural Hi-Ex comics convention, held on the first weekend in February, was besieged by snow leaving many guests and potential attendees unable to travel to Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The downthetubes review of the… Read More ›
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Hi-Ex in the Highlands This Weekend
Hi-Ex 2, currently Scotland’s only comics festival, will be “bigger and better” this weekend when it opens in Eden Court, Inverness, tomorrow. Organisers Richmond Clements and Vicky Stonebridge are determined to make Hi-Ex and annual event, even though bad weather… Read More ›
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One Month To Hi-Ex
With one month to go to the Hi-Ex comics convention in Inverness details of what will be happening over the course of the weekend are being released. One of the most popular events last year was the charity auction with… Read More ›
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Countdown To Hi-Ex
The first British comics convention of the year, Hi-Ex, will be taking place at the Eden Court in Inverness over Valentine’s weekend, 14 and 15 February. Guests this year will include 2000AD artists Mick McMahon and Colin MacNeil, Dan Dare… Read More ›
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Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag…
For most people living in the United Kingdom in the 1970s it was something that happened somewhere else, somewhere across the water, but growing up in Belfast in those now increasingly far off days there was no getting away from… Read More ›
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Photo Review: Edinburgh BookFest
by Jeremy Briggs The tent village of the Edinburgh International Book Festival springs up in the private Charlotte Square Gardens in the city centre each August. Over half a dozen theatre tents, a box office, two bookshops, a café and… Read More ›
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2000AD Extreme Edition: R.I.P.
2000AD’s reprint title is no more
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In Review: Dan Dare and The Birth Of Hi-Tech Britain
Dan Dare And The Birth Of Hi-Tech Britain is one of the exhibitions currently on at the Science Museum in London. Using the character of Dan Dare and the cutaway illustrations from Eagle comic, the museum relates the technological advances… Read More ›
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From Inverness, With Love: Hi-Ex 2009
After the success of Hi-Ex, the Highlands International Comics Expo in Inverness last February, the dates for the follow up convention have been announced. The 2009 Expo will take place on St Valentine’s weekend, Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 February… Read More ›
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Flying Officer John Cruickshank VC – The Victor
There was a time not that long ago when British boy’s comics celebrated the heroism of British and Commonwealth servicemen. As London celebrates the current British forces with the City Salute, Jeremy Briggs takes a look back at how… Read More ›
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In Review: Local Heroes Exhibition
Don’t miss this impressive exhibition
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Hi-Ex 2008: High Excitement In The Snow
The Inverness comic convention Hi-Ex really couldn’t have chosen a worse weekend weather-wise with heavy snow, high winds and sub-zero wind chill in the days leading up to it but, despite loosing some guests and dealers to the weather, it… Read More ›
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Hammer Horror Exhibition at Falkirk Wheel Visitor Centre
The Falkirk Wheel is a unique rotating boat lift which links the Union Canal, which ends in Edinburgh, with the Forth and Clyde Canal, which ends in Glasgow. It may not be the most obvious place to hold a exhibition… Read More ›
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Graphic Novels by Any Other Name?
Jeremy Briggs has kindly provided downthetubes with a smashing feature and checklist for DC Thomson’s Red Dagger title, a 64 page compilation title little known among comics fans which featured strips from Hornet, Hotspur, Warlord and others with many issues… Read More ›
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Red Dagger: Issue By Issue
The following check list for DC Thomson’s Red Dagger has been built up from many different sources, not all of which could be cross referenced for accuracy. If you can add any additional information, or can correct any mistakes, then… Read More ›
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Red Dagger: Graphic Novels by Any Other Name
Jeremy Briggs probes the mystery of DC Thomson’s little known title Red Dagger, and wonders why the company isn’t publishing something similar today… “Graphic Novel” is a much abused term. While it really should refer to a single one off… Read More ›
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Biff! Bam!! Crikey!!! Seeing New Worlds In Dundee
Scotland is currently in the middle of the Six Cities Design Festival and Dundee, the home of Beano and Dandy publishers DC Thomson, has been running comics related events as part of the festival. Jeremy Briggs reports… The Dundee Contemporary Arts… Read More ›
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In Review: See New Worlds
See New Worlds, A Journey Through Time To Discover The Future of Dundee was the free 24 page full colour comic which was created for the Six Cities Design Festival. The same size and paper type as the current Beano, 50,000… Read More ›
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In Review: Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot
Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot Published by Jonathan Cape in the UK and Dark Horse in the US The Book: Sunderland! Thirteen hundred years ago, it was the greatest centre of learning in the whole of Christendom and the… Read More ›
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Cam Kennedy on Kidnapped
Over on the Forbidden Planet International blog, Joe Gordon has delivered a full transcript of the recent Kidnapped event at the Scottish Book Trust where artist Cam Kennedy was talking with publisher Ron Grosset about Cam and Alan Grant’s adaptation… Read More ›