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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“Holly Wood” debuts in The Beano Today
Today sees the debut of an all-new character in The Beano – wannabe star Holly Wood, the creation of Tommy Donbavand, with art by Steve Beckett. Lancashire-based author and actor Tommy Donbavand is the man who wrote popular 13-book Scream Street series… Read More ›
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Delia Derbyshire Day returns in January, celebrating an electronic music pioneer
Delia Derbyshire Day 2016, an exciting upcoming event in the Manchester cultural calendar has just been announced, taking place on Sunday 17th January. Delia Derbyshire Day 2016, taking place at the Manchester’s new international contemporary art, theatre, film and books venue HOME,… Read More ›
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Lakes Festival Auction hosted by Jonathan Ross raises £15,000 for future projects
Last week’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival Auction raised a staggering £15,000 towards next year’s Festival (14-16 October 2016) with the expert help of TV presenter, comics writer and expert Jonathan Ross and Kendal’s local MP Tim Farron. Organised by Peter Kessler and hosted… Read More ›
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Enter “Doc Dino” by Tom Ward and Chris Welsh – Opening Chests Near You Soon!
Tom Ward (Merrick: The Sensational Elephantman) and Chris Welsh (Wart – The Comic) have just launched a new Kickstarter for their buddy-comedy-medical-drama comic – Doc Dino. The project, which has some adult humour themes, is a 68-page graphic novel from… Read More ›
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Political Cartoon of the Year Awards Vote Closes on Tuesday
There’s still time to vote for Britain’s annual Political Cartoon of the Year Awards celebrating the UK’s National Newspaper cartoonists, hosted by London-based Ellwood Atfield Gallery. Voting closes on Tuesday 1st December and includes cartoons from a huge range of… Read More ›
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Disney showcases British fashion initiative for Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Designers to have created outfits for the charity auction includes Agi & Sam, Bobby Abley, Christopher Raeburn, Claire Barrow and J.W. Anderson.Disney and Lucasfilm have unveiled a British fashion initiative celebrating the imminent arrival of Star Wars: The Force Awakens…. Read More ›
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Public Lending Right set to increase next year after library loans ‘fall’
Comic creators and authors whose work is offered through libraries will be pleased to hear that Public Lending Right (PLR) will increase next year after The British Library Board proposed that the current 6.66 pence per loan should increase to… Read More ›
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ICv2: Steve Jackson Games Gets ‘Simon’s Cat’
Steve Jackson Games will release a card game based on YouTube sensation Simon’s Cat, the company announced last week. The 47 animated Simon’s Cat shorts have a cumulative 680 million views and have spawned books and other merchandise. Source: ICv2:… Read More ›
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“Seth’s Dominion” screening part of of London International Animation Festival Line Up
Nestling in the line up for this year’s London International Animation Festival is a screening of Seth’s Dominon, an award-winning film highlighting the work of one of the recent Lakes International Comic Art Festival’s top Canadian guests, Seth, presented by its director Luc… Read More ›
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Awesome Comic Podcast Thought Bubble Special
Get the sherbets out and It’s the Awesome Comic Podcast‘s first convention special folks! Vince Hunt and Tony Esmond discuss their time at Thought Bubble Festival 2015 (unfortunately Dan couldn’t make it), give shout outs to the lovely people they met… Read More ›
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Awesome Comics Podcast Episode 21: Comics Writer Sam Read
Who better to join the Awesome Comics Podcast crew for a chin wag than the writer of Exit Generation, Sam Read? Sam talks about how his brilliant SF action book came to be, his route into the world of making comics, the… Read More ›
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New comic launches at Malta Comic Con include Dinoswords and S.T.E.AM. – Island Under Siege
Next month’s Malta Comic Con will see a number of independent comic launches, including guest Tim Perkins Retro-Collection of The Dinoswords – collecting the 12 issues previously printed in the UK, 1990’s anthology comic, Triffik, stories by Tim and James Hill… Read More ›
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Official Billy Whizz Screenprint Released
Top screen printer John Patrick Reynolds has just released his latest official Beano screenprint. Billy Whizz, Starts Today. The image is taken from Issue 1139 of The Beano, Billy’s first appearance in May 1964. “I love it,” enthuses John…. Read More ›
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Something for the Weekend: US Comics On Sale from 25th November 2015 – Asterix Found in Comic Shops!
It’s a fairly quiet week for new comics with a British connection, but don’t panic, because the latest 2000AD has a creepy “Terror Tale” from David Baillie, beautifully drawn by Joshua George for you to enjoy – especially if you’re… Read More ›
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Lancaster University Appoints Tintin Scholar Benoit Peeters As UK’s First Professor Of Graphic Fiction And Comic Art
Lancaster University has appointed renowned French graphic novelist and critic Benoit Peeters as its Visiting Professor in Graphic Fiction and Comic Art, the first ever such appointment in the UK. The news was announced by Professor Simon Guy, Dean of the University’s Faculty of… Read More ›
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IDW’s Judge Dredd Resumes Next Month with “Mega City Zero”, Dan McDaid on art
Dan McDaid takes on the art duties on IDW’s new Judge Dredd series next month, in a new ongoing series written by Ulises Fariñas and Erick Freitas. After a bit of a break from their take on Dredd, the US publisher is really pushing out… Read More ›
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Something For The Weekend: US Comics On Sale from 18th November 2015 – Sound the Klaxon!
Our weekly list of British creator-skewed new comic releases kicks off with this week’s wraparound cover for 2000AD by Jake Lynch. Dredd at his finest! But the thrills don’t stop there, because we also get a new issue of Judge Dredd Megazine… Read More ›
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Rob Williams heads up 2000AD’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in Purgatory”
His name is Ichabod and he is a killer. But his death, for die he must, is only the beginning of his story… A bloody, romantic, supernatural meta-Western filtered through the language of Daniel Woodrell and the cinematic imagery of… Read More ›
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More For Malta Comic Con: Italian, British and Greek comic creators join the roster
Another wave of guests has been revealed for the seventh Malta Comic Con with the announcement by organisers Wicked Comics that creators Pasquale Qualano (Soulfire), Andreas Michaelides (Botch!), Christos Stamboulis (The Lords of Crimson Valley), Gianluca Maconi (Elfes) Luciano Regazzoni (Nathan Never), Grafimated Cartoon… Read More ›
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DC Thomson Bags Rights to “Twirlywoos”
DC Thomson has signed a deal with DHX Brands to publish a Twirlywoos next year, based on the hit CBeebies preschool show devised and produced by Ragdoll Productions’ Anne Wood, whose creator credits also include Rosie and Jim and Teletubbies, with… Read More ›