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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Words From Beyond: Old Interviews With Comics Creators
Interviews with comics creators are something that we have run here on downthetubes for many years and we are always thankful to the artists, writers, editors, and production team members for taking the time and effort to answer our questions…. Read More ›
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22 Pages From Scottish History at Paisley Museum
Scottish history is being reinterpreted in a range of comic styles in the 22 Pages: Scenes From Scottish History that is currently on at the Paisley Museum. The free exhibition was created by Magic Torch Comics and features 22 pieces… Read More ›
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Creators @ Edinburgh Comic Con 2016
The weekend of 2/3 April 2016 saw the Edinburgh Comic Con (ECC) return to the Scottish capital for its third year and for the first time to the largest hall at the impressive Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). This proved… Read More ›
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In Review: DTHRTL Issue 1
Silent comics – so difficult to review, yet the good ones can be so compelling that they deserve to be reviewed, and Bob Turner’s DTHRTL (that is Death Rattle to the non-text savvy amongst us) is definitely deserving of a review. Issue 1… Read More ›
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In Review: Stephenson’s Robot Issue 2
Accent UK’s steam-punk themed anthology Stephenson’s Robot returns for the second of seven issues. The main story of the titular robot set during the First World War is written by Dave West and illustrated by Indio!, the shorter Chronicles Of… Read More ›
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Whaam!: The Aeronautical Perspective
Roy Lichtenstein. The art world may love him but to comics fans he is a copyist, modifying others’ work and then passing it off as his own. From that perspective, his most infamous work is 1963’s ‘Whaam!’ based in the main… Read More ›
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Creators @ Dunfermline Comic Con 2016
The inaugural Dunfermline Comic Con, held in the Scottish town’s Glen Pavilion on Saturday 5 March 2016, proved to be something of a runaway success. With all its tickets sold out in advance, the event was well attended by the… Read More ›
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Photo Review: Dunfermline Comic Con 2016
The inaugural Dunfermline Comic Con was held on Saturday 5 March 2016 in the Glen Pavilion within the grounds of the picturesque Pittencrieff Park in the Scottish town’s centre. Organised by the town’s sole comic shop, Little Shop Of Heroes, the… Read More ›
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ECC @ EICC: Comic Creators in Edinburgh in April
Starting life under a different name in 2014, the Edinburgh Comic Con (ECC) established itself as a major two-day comics-centric ‘comic con’ in the Scottish capital last year when it sold out its Saturday tickets and came close to the… Read More ›
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True War: Real-Life Action, All In Pictures
We tend to think that in the United Kingdom the widening out of the presentation of comics to a more mature audience started in the 1980s, initially with Warrior and then the run of various titles such as Deadline and Crisis that followed… Read More ›
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Artist Spotlight: ILN Cutaway Artist G H Davis
One of the most challenging subjects for any artist must be the cutaway. Combining artistry with technical accuracy is a challenge that few take up and yet, when they do, the results can be remarkable. There are two main types of… Read More ›
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Three Weeks To The Inaugural Dunfermline Comic Con
The comic convention calendar has become very busy over the last few years with new events springing up all over the place and one of the newest is the Dunfermline Comic Con which is being held on Saturday 5 March… Read More ›
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Comics @ Aye Write! Glasgow’s Book Festival 2016
This year’s Glasgow Book Festival, Aye Write, will be taking place in the City’s Mitchell Library from 10 to 20 March. Claiming to be the third largest literary festival in the UK, presumably after the Edinburgh International Book Festival and… Read More ›
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Christmas Fun’n’Games From Tesco
Over on his Blimey comics history blog, Lew Stringer has been running his now traditional Christmas Comics feature showing the Christmas covers from the comics of yesteryear. We aren’t about to try to compete with Lew but did think that… Read More ›
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Artist Ian Kennedy Talks About His Return To 2000AD
To put it quite simply, Ian Kennedy is the most experienced British comic strip artist working today. Beginning his career as a staff artist at DC Thomson in Dundee in 1949, he went self-employed in 1954 for the simple expediency… Read More ›
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Creators @ Thought Bubble 2015: Part 2 – Small Press
The ninth annual Thought Bubble Festival took place in Leeds over the week of 9-15 November 2015, however it is the huge two-day comic convention over the weekend of 14-15 November that the vast majority of punters and creators think… Read More ›
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Creators @ Thought Bubble 2015 : Part 1 – Artists
The ninth annual Thought Bubble Festival took place in Leeds over the week of 9-15 November 2015, however it is the huge two day comic convention over the weekend of 14-15 November that the vast majority of punters and creators… Read More ›
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Accent UK Brings New Stephenson’s Robot And WesterNoir To Thought Bubble 2015
Independent publisher Accent UK will be launching issue 2 of their steam-punk comic Stephenson’s Robot at Thought Bubble in Leeds over this coming weekend, 14/15 November 2015, along with the latest issue of their supernatural western series, WesterNoir. In Stephenson’s Robot, written… Read More ›
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In Review: MULP – Sceptre Of The Sun Issue 2
The second issue of writer Matt Gibbs and artist Sara Dunkerton’s five issue MULP: Sceptre Of The Sun, now being published by Improper Books, is being launched at Thought Bubble 2015. This anthropomorphic adventure series set in the 1930s follows a… Read More ›
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52: Graeme Neil Reid’s Year In Time And Space
Just over a year ago artist Graeme Neil Reid, whose artwork has appeared in 2000AD, Judge Dredd Megazine, Radio Times, and The Dangerous Book Of Heroes, began to paint A6 watercolours of characters from Doctor Who. His intention was to… Read More ›