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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“Superman Lives” documentary to get European debut at MCM London Comic Con
It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s the European debut of The Death of ‘Superman Lives’; What Happened? a documentary about a planned Man of Steel film starring Nicholas Cage, directed by Tim Burton that was on the cards for a… Read More ›
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Second Terrahawks Audio Series in the works from Big Finish
Anderson Entertainment has announced a second new audio series of Terrahawks, Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr’s 1983 cult TV series, with a deal to produce a further eight brand new episodes with production company and publisher Big Finish Productions Ltd,… Read More ›
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Artist Matthew Dow Smith focus of new Doctor Who Panel to Panel Podcast
US comic writer and artist Matthew Dow Smith is the focus of Jeremy Bement’s latest Doctor Who: Panel to Panel podcast about his Doctor Who work at IDW. While perhaps best known for his Doctor Who work, Matthew, who has been… Read More ›
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Avengers: Age of Ultron Tops UK’s Box Office Charts
Disney’s Avengers: Age of Ultron has enjoyed the biggest UK debut of 2015 – and the sequel to Avengers Assemble, which was released in 2012, is also the eighth-biggest opening of all time. The films success in the UK has… Read More ›
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More British Comic Creators Wander Lakes-wards in October
As the Lakes International Comic Art Festival team get set to fly out to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival with one group of talented British creators, it’s also announced more UK guests for its upcoming October weekend (16th-18th October 2015). Joining an already impressive line… Read More ›
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Tonight’s Gotham on Channel 5: Everyone Has A Cobblepot
Expect plenty of sparks to fly tonight in “Everyone Has A Cobblepot”, as the imprisoned Fish Mooney makes promises to the institution’s chief doctor that earn her a promotion – but damage her reputation with the other prisoners. Meanwhile, Gordon… Read More ›
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Heckling Hitler: World War Two in Cartoons and Comics at the Cartoon Museum
It is difficult for those of us living in the 21st century to realise the impact of cartoon art 70 years ago. To a news-hungry public, anxious about world affairs facing possible invasion, the radio was a lifeline, but… Read More ›
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What Have Politicians Ever Done for Comic Creators?
Beyond the world of comics, Britain is in the grip of election fever – and some election issue have been the subject of a recent Judge Dredd Megazine story “People Like Us”, quite apart from politicians attracting the barbs of political cartoonists such… Read More ›
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Sidekick Books seek creators for ground-breaking Poetry Comics project
Sidekick Books – the award-winning publishers of collaborative books of poetry and illustration run by Kirsten Irving and Jon Stone – are publishing the UK’s first book of poetry comics, Over The Line, with support from Arts Council England, and want to publish new… Read More ›
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2000AD goes DRM-free for digital comic fans
You can now read 2000AD – in DRM-free digital – wherever you are! 2000AD is giving its readers DRM-free copies of graphic novels and comics, even if they buy them through the legendary comic’s iOS and Android apps. All digital purchases (both… Read More ›
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Sneak Peek: INJ Culbard’s adaptation of “The King in Yellow”, out next month
The King In Yellow, a new title by I.N.J. Culbard from SelfMadeHero launches on 28th May 2015 in all good bookshops and will with a launch party at Gosh! Comics in London – and we have a small sampling… Read More ›
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Titan Comics launches Sally of the Wasteland competition
If you fancy yourself as a post-apocalyptic art warrior, now is your chance to impress the creative team of Titan Comics title Sally of the Wasteland. To celebrate the hit collection of grind-house by Victor Gischler (X-Men, Punisher Max,… Read More ›
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Titan Comics releases “Rivers of London” Cover
Titan Comics has released the first cover of the first issue of its all-new Rivers of London comics, based on the best-selling novels by Ben Aaronovitch. The new comic was first revealed last October, and Titan has now confirmed it will… Read More ›
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DIY Cultures 2015 Back in May
DIY Cultures returns to London on Sunday 24th May 2015 – a day-long festival of zines, artist books, comics, artists-run spaces, talks, films, animation, video art, exhibition, workshops – the spirit of independence, autonomy and alternatives. Previous programmes of… Read More ›
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Doctor Who Comic Issue Three On Sale Now in the UK
The third giant-size issue of Titan Comics Doctor Who Comic is on sale now in all good newsagents, collecting a number of the US format Doctor Who stories available in comic shops. On the homeworld of vicious psychic parasites, the… Read More ›
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A Deadly Batch of Commandos Hits the Stands!
Here’s the run down on the latest issues of DC Thomson’s Commando (Issues 4803-4806), on sale now in all good newsagents and digital editions. Sorry for the delayed intel this week. This latest batch of war comics includes a… Read More ›
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In UK Cinemas Today: Avengers: Age of Ultron (3D)
When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and it is up to The Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans… Keep up with Marvel on: TWITTER: https://twitter.com/marvel FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/Marvel TUMBLR: http://marvelentertainment.tumblr.com INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/marvel GOOGLE+: https://plus.google.com/+marvel… Read More ›
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“To End All Wars” nominated for Eisner Award, many British creators also nominated
Comic-Con International announced the nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for 2015 this week – and a number of British comic creators, including Rob Davis, Neil Gaiman, Kieron Gillen, Grant Morrison and Sean Phillips are on the list. It’s also… Read More ›
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Coming Soon to UK Cinemas: Disney’s Tomorrowland
Cloaked in secrecy during its production, Disney’s Tomorrowland arrives in UK cinemas on 22nd May 2015 – and from the trailers so far, it looks absolutely stunning. From Disney comes two-time Oscar winner Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland, a riveting mystery adventure starring… Read More ›
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Broken Frontier launches exciting anthology Kickstarter featuring David Hine, Alison Sampson and many more
The team over at the fabulous Broken Frontier web site, along with over 40 incredibly talented creators, have just launched an ambitious Kickstarter campaign to raise $58,000 for a massive anthology featuring 27 stories, celebrating the unlimited storytelling possibilities of creator-owned comics. … Read More ›