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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Coming Soon: Garth Ennis Presents – Battle Classics
Titan Books – publishers of the ten volume Charley’s War series – have announced the October release of Garth Ennis Presents – Battle Classics, a new collection of strips from Battle Picture Weekly. Titan previously released one collection of some… Read More ›
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Design an Original Beano Character competition
We met up with Julie Tait, the organiser of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, earlier this week, and among other things (like telling us about supporters of the Festival creating knitted comic charcaters to promote it, an amazing tie-in… Read More ›
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Cartoonists assemble in Herne Bay to celebrate the life of Dadaist Marcel DuChamp
Following Ralph Steadman’s lead, the cream of Britain’s cartoonists and illustrators will be in Herne Bay on Saturday 3rd August to celebrate the Marcel Duchamp Centenary Festival. Marcel Duchamp was a French-American painter, sculptor and writer whose work is associated… Read More ›
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Auto Assembly 2013 – pre-registration for Transformers event closing soon
If you haven’t already booked your tickets for Auto Assembly 2013 then time is running out fast. You now only have one week to pre-register for Europe’s Largest Transformers Convention online and then after that point you will only be… Read More ›
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I’m ready for my close-up: Reconstructing Nightbreed
Ahead of its tour of America, in a panel discussion recorded in Welwyn Garden City, actors Simon Bamford (who played Ohnaka) and Nick Vince (Kinski) – plus restoration producer Russell Cherrington and restoration editor Jimmy Johnson discuss the reconstruction of… Read More ›
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Which Way is the Frontline from Here?
A moving portrait of acclaimed wartime photojournalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington who was killed covering the Libyan conflict in 2011, Which Way is the Frontline from Here? is directed by friend, journalist and Restrepo co-director Sebastian Junger. The film… Read More ›
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Campaign gathers pace to make ‘Accident Man’ film
Inappropriate Films, a small, independent movie outfit that made the comedy series Bumjam and who are working on Selkie, described as “a creature feature with a difference,” have begun a Kickstarter campaign to bring Pat Mills and Tony Skinner’s Accident… Read More ›
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In Review: Numbercruncher #1
Writer: Si Spurrier Artist: PJ Holden Colourist: Jordie Bellaire Publisher: Titan Comics Out: Now The Comic: Dying young, a brilliant Mathematician discovers a way to cheat the terrifying Divine Calculator. He schemes to be endlessly reincarnated in the life of… Read More ›
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Marvel UK: Things That Might Have Been
The recently-announced news that Marvel was to bring back a number of Marvel UK characters in a new limited series, Revolutionary War, by Alan Cowsill and Andy Lanning next year prompted memories of some of the projects that were in… Read More ›
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Ant and Dec destroy Bash Street!
Blimey! It’s bad news for Bash Street School in The Beano‘s 75th Anniversary issue – those cheeky chappies Ant and Dec have demolished it! In the special edition, on sale today, Ant and Dec appear in both The Numskulls and… Read More ›
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Happy Birthday, Beano! 75 Years Young!
Today marks the release of the 75th anniversary issue of The Beano – the longest running comic in Britain (if not the world) – and celebrations large and small are happening around the country. The 75th anniversary issue is crammed… Read More ›
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Thought Bubble Festival 2013: The Countdown Begins
The countdown to this year’s Thought Bubble Festival in Leeds in November has begun! From 17th – 24th November, in association with Leeds International Film Festival, and Allied London, the largest celebration of comics and animation in the UK will… Read More ›
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Grant Morrison creates now web series for Graphic India
Grant Morrison and Indian animation company Graphic India have partnered to launch the original animated web series 18 Days on YouTube. Based on the Indian epic myths of the Mahabharata, 18 Days follows the course of the climactic… Read More ›
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David Beckham’s in The Beano!
David Beckham and Sir Alex Ferguson are among a number of celebrities that will appear in The Beano’s 75th anniversary issue, on sale this Wednesday (24th July). In the ‘Dennis the Menace and Gnasher and David Beckham!’ strip, David decides… Read More ›
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Nigel Parkinson on Dennis the Menace’s enduring success
The Daily Telegraph has interviewed artist Nigel Parkinson about drawing Dennis the Menace and the enduring popularity of the mischievous character as The Beano celebrates its 75th anniversary this week. You can view the video here (for some reason the… Read More ›
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Egmont launches Classic Comics archive site
Egmont has just launched a dedicated web site for its Classic Comics – a vast and cherished archive of retro comics housed in one of their London warehouses, that the company has been working on digitising since 2005. The Classic… Read More ›
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Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time – An Interview with Kev Hopgood
British comic creators are heavily involved in US publisher IDW’s Doctor Who at 50 celebrations for their ‘Prisoners of Time’ maxi series, which will feature every incarnation of the Doctor, as well as a long list of villains, some new,… Read More ›
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Marvel UK characters return en masse in new series
Marvel has announced the return of many Marvel UK characters in Revolutionary War, a new comic from Alan Cowsill and Andy Lanning, launching next year. The series will feature many characters first created back in 1992 in a line of… Read More ›
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Rough Cut Comics collects Jim Alexander’s Good Cop, Bad Cop
Rough Cut Comics will collect Jim Alexander’s GoodCopBadCop series into a prestige trade paperback for worldwide release at the end of the year. The Glasgow-based publisher will re-package the Marvel/DC writer’s off-beat Jekyll and Hyde revision of the Scottish crime… Read More ›
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Pat Mills “Accident Man” collected by Titan Comics, more new titles announced
Titan Comics has revealed another wave of titles by a host of stellar writers and artists at San Diego Comic Con 2013, including Pat Mills‘ Accident Man and strips drawn by Britain’s Paul McCaffrey – along with a new chapter… Read More ›