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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Artist Nigel Dobbyn ‘invades’ Redcar!
Catch 2000AD, Sonic The Hedgehog and The Beano artist Nigel Dobbyn at the Invasion exhibition at Kirkleatham Museum near Redcar this Sunday and the next. Aside from hearing first-hand how comic strips are developed, you might even pick yourselves… Read More ›
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Zakk Ridley from Orang Utan Press set to stun
Those darn fine indie publishers Orang Utan Comics are offering something special for visitors to next month’s Thought Bubble comic art festival in Leeds – a limited edition convention exclusive copy of the totally stunning-looking The Intergalactic Adventures of Zakk… Read More ›
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My Singing Monsters magazine on way from Egmont UK
Big Blue Bubble, creators of the best-selling gaming app My Singing Monsters, have signed the master publishing house Egmont UK as its new strategic licensing partner. The agreement between Egmont and the Canadian video game creators will see the My… Read More ›
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Coming in 2014: Captain America – The Winter Soldier (UK Trailer)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier comes to the UK on 28th March 2014 and stars Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Robert Redford, Frank Grillo. The film is directed by Anthony… Read More ›
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Marvel rolls out new Thor, Captain America merchandise
Marvel Entertainment have announced the merchandising plans for upcoming blockbusters Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the former’s tie-ins to include toys such as the hilarious Thor Potato Head from Hasbro, collectables, apparel, accessories, stationery and… Read More ›
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Metal Horns and Red Wire Dreadlocks: The Rise of Death’s Head II
Or – Making it When you Least Expect it First posted on deviantart by Liam Sharp, the co-founder of the digital comics company Madefire has kindly given us permission to cross post his memories (with some editorial annotations) of Marvel… Read More ›
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Underwater terror stalks the new Commandos
Here’s the lowdown on this week’s Commando comic releases from DC Thomson on sale from today (Thursday 24th October)… Commando No 4647 – Dead Shot Story: Dominic Teague Art: Vila Cover: Janek Matysiak Preview: www.commandocomics.com/latest-issues/24th-october-2013-collection Young Jason Stringer was an… Read More ›
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In Review: Thunderbirds – The Comic Collection
Creators: Various, including artists Frank Bellamy, Frank Hampson, Eric Eden, John Cooper and Graham Bleathman Publisher: Egmont Classic Comics Out: Now The Book: Blast off on a thrilling adventure through Thunderbirds comic history! Discover the iconic comic strips that captured… Read More ›
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Titan’s “Arrow Comic” now on sale
Titan Magazines has launched an all-new Arrow Comic, based on the hit TV series that exploded on Sky1 last year. Coinciding with the second series launch in the UK, Arrow Comic hit stores last week, offering original stories written by… Read More ›
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Egmont UK launches All About Angry Birds magazine
The first issue of All About Angry Birds magazine goes on sale from Egmont UK tomorrow, both here and in Germany, Poland, Turkey and China. Targeting 6-9 year-old boys and girls, the magazine includes everything an Angry Birds fan could… Read More ›
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Grandville-inspired miniatures released by Ocelot Games
Grandville Miniatures are a range of 28mm scale figures from Ocelot Games based on Bryan Talbot‘s acclaimed Grandville graphic novels, featuring the intrepid Detective Inspector LeBrock and his loyal aide Detective Roderick Ratzi. Sculpted by top artists and cast in fine… Read More ›
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Death Sentence Issue 1 Sell Out success for Titan Comics
It’s a pandemic! Titan Comics tells us that the debut issue of Death Sentence by Jim Montynero and Mike Dowling has sold out at distributor level on its first day of release – and we gather this isn’t the only… Read More ›
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Call for Papers: Bad Signals – Collected Essays on the Work of Warren Ellis
Papers are invited for the first academic collection dedicated to the work of comics writer, novelist, and pop culture commentator Warren Ellis. Ellis’ renowned comics career stretches back to anthology comic Deadline, but he has also published two novels and… Read More ›
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Gatehouse and Windett launch “Kaci Bell Mysteries”
Ace creators John Gatehouse and Dave Windett have just launched a web strip, The Kaci Bell Mysteries, set in a Bluewater Cove, California – where life is never quite normal! When high school students turn into super-powered freaks and go on… Read More ›
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Lakes Comic Festival back next year
Buoyed by its undoubted success, the organisers of the first Lakes International Comic Art Festival have confirmed the event will return in October 2014, with some planning already being worked on for key threads to the event. Thousands of comics… Read More ›
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Numbercruncher ends with a bang!
The shock conclusion of the critically acclaimed temporal afterlife adventure Numbercruncher by Si Spurrier and PJ Holden is fast approaching with Issue 4 on sale in all good comic shops from Wednesday 23rd October. An epic battle of wits, wills… Read More ›
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Egmont scoops Sonic the Hedgehog publishing rights
Egmont UK will launch an All About Sonic the Hedgehog magazine next month and a range of books in May 2014, aimed at children 6-10 years olds, after securing publishing rights for SEGA’s top games character. The new title includes… Read More ›
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Lakes International Comic Art Festival kicks off in style
The weather is mixed but far from the howling storms some nay sayers feared when the Lakes International Comic Art Festival came up in conversations earlier in the year. And even despite some rain, the greeting to Kendal could not… Read More ›
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Who’s Coming to London Comic Con? Special Guest Round-Up
MCM London Comic Con, the biggest event of its kind in Europe, returns to ExCel London on 25-27th October. As well as hosting a galaxy of great sci-fi, movie, games, comics, anime and cosplay content, we’ve also got a brilliant… Read More ›
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From the DC Thomson archives: a tribute to Chick Checkley
Commando editor Calum Laird kindly sent us this tribute to the original editor of the war comic Chick Checkley, which he found in a 1971 edition of the DC Thomson staff magazine. The portrait of Chick above is by… Read More ›