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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Numbercruncher Issue 3: Beware The Divine Calculator!
Numbercruncher #3 by Si Spurrier and PJ Holden is on sale today in all good comic shops, from Titan Comics. Bastard Zane is hot on the Mathematician’s heels, as the reincarnating schemer dives back through time and lifetimes to be… Read More ›
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Dan Boultwood’s It Came #2 – Sneek Preview!
Tomorrow sees the release of Titan Comics It Came! Issue 2 from writer/artist Dan Boultwood – and we’ve got a sneek preview for you, right here! In Issue 2, The alien robot known as GRURK has been temporarily waylaid by… Read More ›
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SelfMadeHero secures award-winning political satire rights
SelfMadeHero has acquired the English translation rights to the Angoulême award-winning and best-selling French political satire, Quai d’Orsay, based on the life of former PM and Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, which will be published in English as Weapons of… Read More ›
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Tree Fu Tom Magazine launches this week
Immediate Media has launched Tree Fu Tom magazine, based on the popular CGI CBeebies programme of the same name. On the newsstand from tomorrow, 11th September 2013, the title, produced by the company’s award-winning youth and children’s editorial team, recognises… Read More ›
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Tate gets set to publish Paul Gravett’s ‘Comics Art’
The Tate Gallery will publish Comics Art, a new book on the comics form by Paul Gravett, designed by Peter Stanbury on 7th November. As well as running an amazing and regularly updated web site on comics, Paul, who has been… Read More ›
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Oor Wullie’s Bucket Band launches with Bay City Rollers track
Jings, crivvens and help ma boab! Oor Wullie’s bucket has been found, after it was stolen earlier this year – by cheeky Wullie look-a-like Jamie Webster. The Sunday Post, which publishes the Oor Wullie, strip, revealed the iconic Scottish comic… Read More ›
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Soaring Penguin to publish new Ellen Linder crime noir comic, Black Feather Falls
Soaring Penguin Press are to publish a new four issue crime noir comic series, The Black Feather Falls, from Ellen Lindner in the UK. Travel back to 1920s London and meet Tina Swift, who has just arrived in London from… Read More ›
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Think of a City storytelling project attracts Dave McKean, JH Williams III
The City is our story – but what is a city? That’s the question being posed by architect Alison Sampson and comics artist Ian MacEwan through Think of a City, a tumblr-based, mass storytelling project involving a huge range… Read More ›
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Jason Cobley’s Bulldog set to return in Paragon
30 years after creating the iconic small press character, comics writer and author Jason Cobley is bringing Captain Winston Bulldog back to print in the long-running indie anthology Paragon comic, the brainchild of artist Davey Candish. The tales of anthropomorphic… Read More ›
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Twelfth Doctor Who Art Challenge: The Winner Is…
These are my ‘finalists’ in the downthetubes Twelfth Doctor Art Challenge, after a lot of umming and ahhing confronted by such an amazing range of entries, including terrific ‘cartoon’ interpretations as well as the realistic. When you have a competition… Read More ›
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Artist Mike Collins joins toy designers for this year’s Roll Out event in Southampton
If you're a fan of Transformers, G.I. Joe, Action Force, Masters Of The Universe or She-Ra, Princess of Power, then you need to get yourself to Jury's Inn, Southampton on the 12th and 13th of October for this year's Roll… Read More ›
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Veteran Countdown artist Gerry Haylock featured in latest Andersonic
Issue 16 of the excellent Gerry Anderson-inspired zine Andersonic, with cover art by Rob Caswell, is now available via their website (and eBay for a short period in the Collectibles > SF > Thunderbirds section). The team have pulled off… Read More ›
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Overstreet Comic Art & Animation Guide Goes to Press
US publisher Gemstone reports the second book in the new Overstreet “How To” series is off to the printer. The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Comic & Animation Art, with a Silver Surfer #1 recreation cover by renowned painter Joe Jusko,… Read More ›
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Dennis Publishing breaks into children’s market with Berty Squiggles
Dennis Publishing, also publishers of Viz, have launched Berty Squiggles – a colouring and activity title – which represents Dennis’ first venture into the children’s market in the company’s 40-year history. Berty Squiggles, a new title aimed at children of… Read More ›
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Age of Glamour revisited in new Robert Stewart Sherriffs exhibition
A unique collection of glamorous 1920s and 1930s portraits will go on display for the first time at London’s Cartoon Museum from 11th September, featuring the work of caricaturist Robert Stewart Sherriffs. The exhibition features illustrations of actors Charlie Chaplin,… Read More ›
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“The Unwritten” graphic novel “Ship That Sunk Twice” sails to bookshops
The Unwritten original graphic novel by Mike Carey and Peter Gross, on sale 1st October in the UK, features a stunning cover by Yuko Shimizu and includes 31 pages of fully painted art by Al Davison, with additional art by… Read More ›
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Get Weirded – Here’s a new A1 (and more…)
Here’s the rundown on three Titan Comics titles on sale from today in all good comic shops! A1 #4 WEIRDING WILLOWS: There’s a dinosaur from Hollow Earth loose in the Weir and she’s eating Farmer McGregor’s sheep! Can Alice and… Read More ›
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Doctor Who Twelfth Doctor Art Challenge – there’s a winner here somewhere…
Our Doctor Who Twelfth Doctor Art Challenge competition has closed, and you can view all the entries here. We’ve been blown away by the range of entries, both realistic and caricature/cartoon featuring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, which include… Read More ›
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Young Cartoonists of the Year Competition launches
(via ProCartoonists.org): The Young Cartoonists of the Year Competition 2013, which is run by London’s Cartoon Museum and the British Cartoonists Association, has opened – and for the first time, they are accepting artwork that has been created digitally. Judges… Read More ›
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Gerry Anderson’s “Gemini Force” funding campaign launched
Jamie Anderson, the son of Gerry Anderson, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund Gemini Force One, a new science fiction series created by his father shortly before his death. Gemini Force One follows the story of a secret organisation… Read More ›