Author Archives
John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War" and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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.
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Strontium Dog by Carlos Ezquerra, World War One comics, rare Beanos and more in latest Compalcomics auction
The August – September catalogue for the latest Compalcomics auction is now live, offering 283 lots in the catalogue, including some great British items. The auction company’s June catalogue excelled with £5000 for The Dandy Monster Comic 1, £2550 for Number Two and a… Read More ›
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Pop Culture site Bigmouth reveals how Action, “Britain’s most brutal comic”, laid the real 1970s bare
Following up on our incorporation of Moose Harris’ Sevenpenny Nightmare features about 1970s comic Action into downthetubes, the pop and culture site Bigmouth has just published a great feature on the comic, placing the censored comic in context and interviewing… Read More ›
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Dave McKean’s “Black Dog” heads to Tate Britain
London’s Tate Britain will host a performance of Dave McKean‘s Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash in November, after the influential illustrator, comic artist, filmmaker and musician delivers another live performance of his incredible multimedia project as part of this year’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival. As Festival… Read More ›
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The 2000AD Thrill-Cast: Play Misty For Me…
Not only did Pat Mills create 2000AD, the acclaimed Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, but he was also responsible for Misty, the horror comic aimed at girls. Molch-R chats to Pat about the heyday of British comics, the challenges of producing a… Read More ›
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Out Today: Air Action aplenty in new Commando Comics!
Commando issues 4943 -49446 are on sale from today in all good newsagents (25th August 2016) from DC Thomson – and the emphasis this week is on all-out air action… and we certainly get that – with a U-Boat thrown… Read More ›
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Something For The Weekend (w/c 22nd August 2026): Judge Anderson Steps Out!
Behind a smashing Judge Anderson cover by Jon Davis-Hunt, 2000AD heads ever closer to Prog 2000, with a fine mix of great strips. Top of the list has to be the cracking conclusion to “Tharg’s 3rillers: Mindmine” by Rory Mcconville, Colin… Read More ›
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Creating Comics: An Interview with Doctor Who Comic Artist Russ Leach
Russ Leach lives in England and has had a long production career spanning multiple disciplines including publishing, illustration, video game art, retail design and online software development. With the release of the latest issue of Panini Comics Doctor Who Adventures, we… Read More ›
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Doctor Who Adventures Issue 18: Who Goes West(ern)!
The latest issue of Doctor Who Adventures, Issue 18, is out now from Panini Comics, featuring a quirky cowboy yarn written by former Doctor Who TV series script editor and novelist Andrew Cartmel, drawn by Russ Leach and coloured by… Read More ›
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TV-inspired comics in the spotlight in latest PREVIEWS, IDW’s new M.A.S.K. title in the spotlight
The September edition of Diamond Comic Distributors’ monthly PREVIEWS catalogue arrives in comic shops on 31st August and features comic books, graphic novels, toys, and other pop culture merchandise scheduled to go on sale beginning November 2016. TV-inspired comics are… Read More ›
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Hunt Emerson has Henry VIII and Noddy Holder all Stitched Up in Walsall!
Ace comic artist Hunt Emerson has been doing designs for a series of eleven “tapestries” (not actually tapestries, but stitch-based pieces) for Walsall Silver Threads, which will all be brought together today, Saturday 20th August 2016, at the New Art Gallery… Read More ›
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Greg Tocchini, Esad Ribić and many 2000AD creators head for NICE 2016
We’ve had the brilliant NICE International Comic Convention (back for its fifth year on 3-4th of September at the Bedford Corn Exchange) on our downthetubes calendar for a while now, but here’s a more obvious reminder of the event, world renowned among comics… Read More ›
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BBC Radio 4 Celebrates 70 years of Classics Illustrated
BBC Radio 4 has been celebrating 70 years of Classics Illustrated with a special programme about the comic, broadcast earlier today, and available now through iPlayer. Marking the 70th anniversary of the comic book Classics Illustrated, actor Bill Paterson explores… Read More ›
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Sevenpenny Pirates! Action comic web site content hijacked, for reasons unknown
A quick warning for all British comic fans: the once invaluable Action comic website sevenpennynightmare is back in operation – but the domain is no longer owned by its original creator and whoever now owns it has scraped parts of the… Read More ›
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Jeff Hawke creator Sydney Jordan illustrates new SF time travel collection
Shoreline of Infinity, the Scottish SF magazine, has announced their first book release under the Shoreline of Infinity Publications banner. The Elements of Time by Duncan Long, illustrated by the legendary Sydney Jordan, features classic time travel stories from the… Read More ›
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Something for the Weekend (w/c 15th August 2016): Doctor Who, Dream Gangs, Dredd and Mind Mines, Too!
I’ve heaped plenty of praise on the fast-developing PJ Maybe -focused “Judge Dredd: Ladykiller” story (by John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra and Annie Parkhouse) and “Scarlet Traces: Cold War” (by Ian Edginton, D’Israeli and Annie Parkhouse) in 2000AD in recent weeks in our weekly… Read More ›
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Steve MacManus, former 2000AD “Mighty One” Talks Unsolicited Submissions
Next month sees the release of The Mighty One from Rebellion, the story of editor Steve MacManus’ time as editor of 2000AD – and we’re really looking forward to reading it here at downthetubes and delighted he’s had time to write… Read More ›
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Oor Wullie creator’s house up for sale
Deadline News reports the house once owned by the creator of cartoon character, ‘Oor Wullie’, is on the market for just under £500,000. Hillbank House in Blairgowrie, Perthshire was home to Oor Wullie’s ‘father’, Robert Low, for over 30 years… Read More ›
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Graphic Short Story Prize 2016 Launches
Sharpen your pencils and wits and have a bash at entering this year’s 10th Anniversary Graphic Short Story Prize organised by The Observer, Jonathan Cape and Comica London and open to UK residents. Get working on your four-page comic and… Read More ›
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Alliigator Descartes latest Crucible Comic 3D Model Revealed
Here’s the latest Crucible comic-inspired 3D model, based on the comic characters co-created by myself and Smuzz and designed by Smuzz, who many downthetubes readers will know as SMS, one of the artists who drew “ABC Warriors” for 2000AD. Crucible started out in… Read More ›
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Crowdfunding Spotlight: Bust #3 by Dave Cook and Chris O’Toole
Creator Dave Cook dropped us a line about his latest Kickstarter appeal for Bust #3, in which a young girl holds the secret to curing a post apocalyptic world gone insane in this Mad Max-inspired comic. “Bust 3: A Sackcloth… Read More ›