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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Panel Borders: Bruce Mutard – from The Bunker to The Sacrifice
Continuing a month of shows about Australasian comics, Alex Fitch talks to Melbourne cartoonist Bruce Mutard about his career so far, from his first graphic novel The Bunker to experimental comics such as Alice in Nomansland, and working on a sequel to his… Read More ›
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Sapphire & Steel Competition: Nigel “Spleenal” Auchterlounie joins the fun
Recent news of a possible return to our screens of the spooky Sapphire & Steel prompted various comic artists to pipe up that they’d love to draw a new comic based on the show, so we’re challenging our readers to do… Read More ›
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Wart horror comic continues, last round of crowdfunding permitting…
Comic creators Chris Welsh and Ammar Al-Chalabi are closing fast on their modest Kickstarter to fund WART Book Three at the moment, so we thought we’d give him a deserved plug to hopefully help him gain full backing. In January, he successfully funded books One… Read More ›
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In Review: Panel Borders: Crowd-Funded Comics
A train journey to the Lakes afforded me the chance to listen to this terrific episode of the Resonance FM ’Panel Borders‘ podcast about the positives and negatives of crowd funding your comic projects. This show concluded a month… Read More ›
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John Ridgway Interviewed for Doctor Who Panel to Panel Podcast
Veteran comic artist John Ridgway, still drawing issues of Commando but perhaps best known for his work on 2000AD, Doctor Who Magazine and DC Comics Hellblazer, is the guest on the latest Doctor Who: Panel to Panel podcast. A true Doctor Who comics legend,… Read More ›
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Warren Ellis: “Read Comics. All comics. And then cut them open…”
Comic creator Warren Ellis – author of Trees, Injection, Ministry of Space and whose fanzines I bought back in the 1980s when we met at the Westminster Comic Mart days, publishes an entertaining weekly newsletter, Orbital Operations (subscribe here), covering all… Read More ›
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Remembered Reading: Dr Mel Gibson’s new study of Girls Comics released
Remembered Reading, a reader’s history exploring the forgotten genre of British girls’ comics by Dr Mel Gibson, has just been published by Leuven Univeristy Press. Girls’ comics were a major genre from the 1950s onwards in Britain. The most popular titles sold between… Read More ›
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Proposed New US Copyright Act threatens creator rights worldwide
(Updated 21st July, added comment by artist Tim Perkins): Proposed changes to US copyright law, effectively re-inventing the failed “Orphan Works” act put forward seven years ago, have come under attack from a huge number of artists and writers,… Read More ›
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New International Journal of Comic Art out now
The latest edition of the International Journal of Comic Art is out now, the premier academic journal devoted to all aspects of cartooning and comics. Edited by John Lent, the whopping 675 page tome features Visual Language: Neil Cohn… Read More ›
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Crucible: The Quest Episode 38 – Can Beloc Save the Day?
Will Beloc save the day? Or will fear consume him? (Or, rather, the Chrell…). Crucible is an ongoing creator-owned strip which started in STRIP: The Adventures Comics Magazine, created by myself and 2000AD artist Smuzz (perhaps best known for his work on ABC Warriors) and lettered by… Read More ›
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Lancaster Comics Day Returns in May 2016
The second Lancaster Comics Day, organised by The Friends of Lancaster Library, will take place on Sunday 8th May 2016. The first Lancaster Comics Day, organised by The Friends of Lancaster Library, took place last month and proved a tremendous success, raising £800 for the Library, which… Read More ›
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British Comic Shop Releases (15th July 2015) – Damocles, Ring of Roses and Captain Britain, too
Here’s this week’s (belated) list of comics on sale now in comic shops across the UK. As usual, our list highlights the work of British creators and publishers. Three Cinebook titles hit comic shops this week, including the latest Lucky Luke… Read More ›
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Last chance to vote in the David Gemmell Awards
Voting for the David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy closes tomorrow at midnight on Friday 17th July 2015. Now in their seventh year, the awards, open to readers’ votes, recognise and promote writers and artists in the fantasy field. The organisers… Read More ›
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Breaking Surface: An Interview with Jay Gunn, creator of “Surface Tension”
“Surface Tension” is Jay Gunn’s first foray into the world of comics and we’re delighted he was up to talk to downthetubes about it
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Mind Probes At The Ready! Presenters Revealed for Lakes International Comic Art Festival
The presenters selected to wield the mind probes at year’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival (Saturday 17th – Sunday 18th October 2015) have been announced, and include some top names in the world of British comics journalism and academia, including… Read More ›
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Greenwich “War Artists at Sea” exhibition includes work of Eagle’s “PC49” artist, John Worsley
Showcasing the very best of Royal Museums Greenwich’s collection of First and Second World War art, “War Artists at Sea” is a programme of displays in the Queen’s House includes visually arresting and moving portraits, battle scenes, and depictions of everyday life during conflict, which… Read More ›
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BBC4 celebrates Pop Art in August
This August, BBC Four leads a week-long celebration of Pop Art, with programmes across BBC Four, Radio and Online – and award-winning London-based comics artist and illustrator John Riordan has provided the promotional comic strip to mark the event. John, who likes… Read More ›
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“Alice in Cartoonland” exhibition opens at London’s Cartoon Museum
London’s Cartoon Museum‘s latest exhibition Alice in Cartoonland opens today, celebrating Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s many misadventures at the hands of cartoonists, caricaturists and satirists, animators and graphic artists through 150 years of parodies and pastiches, jibes, jokes and gags aimed… Read More ›
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Dan Abnett writing new Teen Titans “Convergence” follow up title
US publisher DC Comics has announced three new comics spinning out of their ‘Convergence’ event this summer – and one, Titans Hunt, is written by Dan Abnett, with art by Paulo Siqueira. “Sometimes you’re working on something exciting you can’t talk… Read More ›
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Know Your Enemy: Commando marks two 75th British military anniversaries
Here’s the intel on the new issues of DC Thomson’s long-running Commando (Issues 4827-4830) on sale tomorrow, 16th July 2015 in all good newsagents and via various digital platforms. Three of the four issues celebrate a couple of important British… Read More ›