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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Sapphire & Steel Art Competition Winners – and a New Competition For Our Readers!
Earlier in the year we announced a challenge for downthetubes readers to come up with their interpretation of 1970s spooky ITV show Sapphire & Steeel, after it was revealed that Luther creator and Doctor Who script writer Neil Cross is, hopefully, to re-make the show. Sadly, we didn’t get… Read More ›
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“Dandridge” Goes Digital First in new 2000AD collection
2000AD has announced its latest digital-first release – the paranormal action comedy, Dandridge, collecting the adventures of Spartacus Dandridge, the comic’s best-dressed ghostfinder and the world’s first ‘spookpunk’ action hero, for the first time. It is the next digital-first… Read More ›
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‘Banned’ Judge Dredd episodes mocking McDonalds, Burger King and more to be reprinted for first time
For the very first time since their first publication in 2000AD, the ‘banned’ episodes of Judge Dredd from the late 1970s are to be reprinted as Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Uncensored. Published in the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic in 1978,… Read More ›
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Praise for Madefire’s Digital Comics Debut on Apple TV
We previously reported on the inclusion of a TV-screen friendly version of the Madefire comics on the revamped Apple TV platform, and it’s getting a lot of love from Technology critics on its full debut. International computer giant Apple – the makers… Read More ›
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Landmark British Comics: Looking Back on TV21 Issue 200
Yesterday’s news that The Phoenix had reached its 200th issue has certainly gone down well among British comic fans, but the publisher’s carefully worded claim that it was the first “independently-published weekly” comic to reach that landmark since 1969 has… Read More ›
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Something For The Weekend: Jessica Martin’s DC Comics Debut! (US Comics On Sale 28th October 2015)
Here’s this week’s run down of new comics on sale in comic shops across the UK, with the emphasis, as ever, on titles that are the work of British creators and published by British publishers, and my, aren’t we spoilt… Read More ›
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Phoenix Comic Reaches Issue 200, Heads For WH Smiths This Week
Weekly British children’s comic The Phoenix is celebrating its 200th issue this week by becoming the first independent weekly comic in the UK to reach this milestone since 1969 – and will now be on sale in selected WH Smiths stores across… Read More ›
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Thought Bubble Festival reveals full 2015 line up
As we mentioned last week, Thought Bubble, the UK’s largest annual comic art festival which is now in its ninth year, takes place in Leeds from 9 – 15 November 2015. Supported by Leeds Dock, Leeds Inspired and Travelling Man… Read More ›
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Sneak Peek: Beast Wagon #2
The second chapter of Beast Wagon, the British Comic Award nominated black comedy from writer Owen Michael Johnson (Raygun Roads, Reel Love) and artist John Pearson, with letters by Colin Bell (Curb Stomp, The Fiction, And Then Emily Was Gone) goes… Read More ›
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Origins of 2000AD’s Dan Dare Revealed in new Thrillcast with Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons
To celebrate the imminent release of Dan Dare: The 2000 AD Years Volume One, Michael Molcher talks to Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons about 2000AD‘s reboot of the British character, which began in the first Prog in 1977 in a new Thrillcast from… Read More ›
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Fright Night on Radio 4 with Nigel Kneale’s “Stone Tape” and more
This Saturday (31st October 2015), BBC Radio 4 is broadcasting new radio adaptations of Nigel Kneale’s The Stone Tape and Koji Suzuki’s Ring as part of its Hallowe’en inspired “Fright Night“. Directed by top British filmmakers of his generation… Read More ›
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Awesome Comic Podcast Episode 17 Hallowe’en Special: Redshift Press
Vince Hunt, Dan Butcher and Tony Esmond are joined by the guys from Redshift Press this week for their latest and hugely-popular small press podcast. Chris Sides and Chris Travell are marking out a big old creepy cave in the… Read More ›
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Martin Eden’s acclaimed “O Men” Return!
After a six-year hiatus, O Men creator Martin Eden is bringing the series back to finally complete the story. The O Men – an epic superhero soap opera – began in 1997 and was one of the most prominent UK… Read More ›
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Online Classic UK Comic Zines Archive Repository Launched
After months of hard work scanning and contacting their original creators for permission to publish them online, David Hathaway-Price has launched his much-anticpated archive of British comics zines – a fascinating online repository of classic print fan magazines devoted to comics, spanning… Read More ›
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Haggarty and Brockbank’s “Mezolith” to get US publication, new adventure in works
Mezolith, the much-praised, award-winning graphic adventure created by performance storyteller Ben Haggarty and storyboard artist Adam Brockbank, first published in The DFC comic, is to get a US publication through Boom! Studios imprint Archaia – and Ben tells us this new edition… Read More ›
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Carlisle’s EdenCon Returns in April
Carlisle’s EdenCon returns for its second year on 23rd April 2016, raising money for cash4kids. Guests have yet to be announced (last year they included myself, Gary Erskine, Mal Earl and a very rare convention appearance by Steve and Annie Parkhouse) and but… Read More ›
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First Impressions: A Beginner’s Guide to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival
As a newbie to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) Norman Boyd wondered how he was supposed to tackle a big event like this. Some of you will think “what’s he on about?” but experience tells me Norman’s not the… Read More ›
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Something For The Weekend: Wild’s End Collected (US Comics On Sale 21st October 2015)
Here’s this week’s run down of new comics on sale in comic shops across the UK, with the emphasis, as ever, on titles that are the work of British creators and published by British publishers. If you missed the monthly… Read More ›
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Sneak Preview: Johnny Red #1 from Titan Comics
4th November sees the launch of the hotly anticipated Johnny Red series from legendary Preacher creator Garth Ennis and artist extraordinaire Keith Burns (The Boys, Castles in the Sky). The explosive new series features original adventures of the fighter ace… Read More ›
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Thought Bubble 2015 Programme Announced
The team behind Thought Bubble, the annual and hugely-popular comics festival held in Leeds, have lined up a terrific week of comics celebration, bringing some of the best creators in the world to the city. The programme for this year’s festival… Read More ›