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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The day Zoe Ball visited Marvel UK, and other stories…
Rare pictures of Marvel UK’s Death’s Head II mask – and a visit to the offices by Zoe Ball recalled
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Elephantmen web site revamped
Active Images, run by British creator Richard Starkings, have been busy this month. Not only do they have Elephantmen #54 on sale and are busy plugging the Tenth Anniversary Collection of Hip Flask: Unnatural Selection, but the company has also… Read More ›
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Leah Moore, Rhianna Pratchett talk Legends of Red Sonja comic
US publisher Dynamite has released a preview of interior pages for Legends of Red Sonja #1, a collaborative effort uniting Gail Simone with a star-studded and prestigious and international creative team including Marjorie M. Liu, Mercedes Lackey, Kelly Sue DeConnick,… Read More ›
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DJs take on demons in Titan Comics Tomorrowland Issue 3
Tomorrowland #3 from Titan Comics is on sale now in all good comic shops. Written by Paul Jenkins with art by Alti Firmansyah and Beny Maulana of Stellar Labs, the music-driven ride of your life continues, from Paul Jenkins, the… Read More ›
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Jumping Jets! It’s the latest Commandos
Commando issues 4639-4642 go on sale today (26th September) in all good newsagents and as digital editions, with another fine mix of action and adventure, as the RAF put their first jet fighter through its paces in a new story… Read More ›
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Doctor Who’s Sophie Aldred back at Orbital Comics this Saturday for extra signing
By now you’ve already heard all about London’s Orbital Comics amazing exhibition featuring previously unseen photographs of Sylvester McCoy’s beloved companion, Sophie Aldred aka ‘Ace’ … But if you haven’t, then you only have a few days left to get… Read More ›
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Art of Charlie Adlard book to launch at Lakes Festival
We’ve got word that Image Comics’ The Art of Charlie Adlard at will now get its official launch at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival and not in New York Comic Con as originally planned – another great reason to… Read More ›
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Thought Bubble Anthology 2013 set to raise money for Barnardo’s
Along with an incredible line up of guests, this year’s Thought Bubble Festival will also see the release of another special comics anthology, with all profits going to Barnardo’s, one of the largest children’s charities in the UK. The… Read More ›
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Thrud The Barbarian smashes up comic shops to get to shelves – again!
Carl Critchlow’s Thrud The Barbarian is back – and Titan Comics think they’ve got him. We all know that is a vain hope given what a dangerous clod this character is, don’t we readers? Since his first appearances in White… Read More ›
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Mach Goes Commando – fine artist inspired by comics he grew up with
Fresh from major book assaults on Hong Kong and New York, DC Thomson’s Commando books supply the ammunition for fine artist David Mach, who currently has an exhibition at the Lochgelly Centre in Lochgelly, Fife. The work featured is inspired… Read More ›
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SEQUENTIAL launches September sale with VerityFair
SEQUENTIAL – the literary graphic novel iPad app, is having a special promotion on Graphic Novels from Britain, as part of which they’re reducing the price of acclaimed graphic novel VerityFair by Terry Wiley from $9.99 to just 99 cents… Read More ›
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British Comic Awards shortlist announced
The British Comic Awards committee has announced the shortlist for this year’s Awards, a project now in its second year. The winners will be picked by a panel of judges including Graham Linehan and Lenny Henry. The awards are designed… Read More ›
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Crowdfunding success for ‘Project Overwatch’
The world of comic books is caught in an endless cycle of regurgitated ideas, so Con Artist Entertainment, the team behind Project: Overwatch project, argue the only real solution to this is to move away from the overused character and… Read More ›
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In Review: The Hartlepool Monkey
by Wilfrid Lupano and Jérémie Moreau Publisher: Knockabout Out: Now The Book: An English language edition of Wilfrid Lupano and Jérémie Moreau‘s Le Singe de Hartlepool, telling the story of the legendary Hartlepool monkey, allegedly hung by townsfolk fearing it was… Read More ›
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Exclusive: When Creation meets Publishing: why Gemini Force One went Kickstarter
Jamie Anderson, the son of Gerry Anderson, has released a light-hearted video that explains just why he and author MG Harris decided not to go the traditional route when it came to publishing Gemini Force One – and turned… Read More ›
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Gary James’ British Comic Database site launched
British comics archivist Gary James has launched his British Comics Database web site, a project running to some 6000 pages of data about British comics, from the ABBA comic and Action to Zoids and Zorro – and the release of… Read More ›
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Magic Words, a new Alan Moore biography from Aurum Press
With Alan Moore soon to reach 60 (in November), there’s undoubtedly going to be a lot of interest in one of Britain’s most innovative and ground-breaking comic creators over the next few weeks, from both mainstream media and the comics… Read More ›
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Revengers tragedy ‘Venezia’ continues its crowdfunded publishing path
Venezia is a comic book series created by British writer Wolf Beaumont which launched last year – and raising funds for the production of Issue 3, the latest stage in this crowdfunding-backed publishing project, launched earlier today. The series is… Read More ›
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Titan grabs rights for ‘Plants vs Zombies’ title
Titan Magazines has snagged the rights to Plants vs Zombies, a hugely popular mobile game, growing a list of titles that already inlcudes Adventure Time, Simpsons Comics, Totally…, Transformers Comic and more. The new title is juist one of several… Read More ›
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Forgotten Planet Kickstarter offers creative Rewards for aspiring Comic Creators
It seems that these days lots of comic creators are using crowdfunding to kickstart their projects, as larger publishers take less risks and back away from projects that are aimed at a niche market or buck the mainstream trends. Now,… Read More ›