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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New Scientist launches digital SF magazine
Arc, a new magazine about the future has just been launched by the publishers of New Scientist. Edited by Simon Ings, author of acclaimed genre-spanning novels The Weight of Numbers and Dead Water, Arc explores the endless vistas opened up… Read More ›
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2000AD, STRIP and CLiNT nominated for Eagle Award
Which comic rocked your world last year? Which writers and artists really stood out from the crowd? The final round of voting is now underway for the 2012 edition of the Eagle Awards, so now’s the time to head on… Read More ›
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Neil Gaiman short story part of World Book Day app line-up
A short story by comic creator Neil Gaiman is among the work by several authors being offered as part of a free World Book Day App, available now from iTunes for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The App features six… Read More ›
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Warren Ellis film makers plan Image Comics documentary
Publishers Sequart and Respect Films, makers of films about comic creators such as Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis, have launched Kickstarter campaign to help fund their next documentary project charting the history of Image Comics. Image was originally founded in… Read More ›
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Lee Townsend joins Middle East Comic Con guest list
2000AD artist Lee Townsend is to be one of the first guests announced for the first Middle East Film and Comic Con (20th & 21st April 2012) at the Dubai International Marine Club. The event, first mooted last year, has… Read More ›
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Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From Scripting and Art Droid David Baillie
Name: David Baillie Currently working on: I’ve actually just this second finished a new script for 2000AD, which was as much fun as it always is. (I still occasionally pinch myself to check that the last few years haven’t just… Read More ›
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London Super Comic Convention: Pros and Cons
Alan Woollcombe reports on the first London Super Comic Convention, held at the Excel Centre this weekend, which had a guest line-up that included Stan Lee (seen above, meeting and greeting, video from BleedingCool), George Perez and other comic creators… Read More ›
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Blackfriars set to chill
The year is 793 AD. Savage, heathen armies from the north invade Northumberland, for today is the day of the viking, but the night… The night belongs to something else. Now available as a free PDF download, Blackfriars is a… Read More ›
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Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From comic creator and fan Malcolm Kirk
Name: Malcolm Kirk Blog or web site: http://malcolmkirk.blogspot.com Currently working on: I’ve just finished putting together issue ten of the Temple APA pdf, a free downloadable showcase of the work of amateur and professional creators who are active in the… Read More ›
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Happy Birthday, 2000AD!
Last month, I mailed out to pretty much every British comic creator in my address book, asking them for their 2000AD memories, for a series of ‘mini interviews’ for the downthetubes blog to mark the weekly comic’s 35th birthday this… Read More ›
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Panel Borders: Buying and celebrating comics
Concluding Panel Borders month of radio shows looking at non practitioners’ love of comics, Alex Fitch talks to auctioneer Lon Allen of Heritage Comics and Collectables in Texas, the company that last week began the auction of two thirds of… Read More ›
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Spaceship Away Themed Issues For 2012
Des Shaw, editor of the impressive Dan Dare A4 magazine Spaceship Away has been in touch to show us dummies of the covers of the three issues that are due in 2012. Dare fans looking at them will see that… Read More ›
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Warren Ellis re-opens ‘Three Panels Open’ Challenge
(with thanks to Matt Badham): Last year, top comic writer Warren Ellis did a thing for people who make comics called Three Panels Open. Literally, a three-panel comic. The only rules were that it had to be legible at a… Read More ›
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It’s Life Jimmy, But Not As We Know It
In 2008, the National Library Of Scotland in Edinburgh put on their Local Heroes exhibition which displayed some of the library’s collection of comics and graphic novels and, impressively, Cam Kennedy’s original artwork for the Waverley graphic novel Kidnapped. This… Read More ›
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Egmont’s new ‘Bin Weevils’ gets massive promotion
Egmont recently launched BinWeevils magazine, described by the publisher as the ultimate extension to the already successful online entertainment platform – and the second most visited website in the UK for children aged 7-13 and boasts a 91 per cent… Read More ›
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GOSH Comics host Tom Gauld ‘Goliath’ book launch
Tom Gauld is a firm favourite at GOSH Comics in London, so they’re properly chuffed to be hosting the launch of his new graphic novel Goliath, a stripped-down, reworking of the David and Goliath myth, published by Drawn & Quarterly…. Read More ›
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Renegade set to release ‘Tales of the Buddha’ collection
Renegade Arts Entertainment have announced that they will be publishing the first ever complete collection of Alan Grant, Jon Haward and Jamie Grant’s long-running humour strip Tales of The Buddha Before He Became Enlightened. Collecting the entire 66-page saga to… Read More ›
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Sneek Peek: Crucible Page 1, Part 4 – Work in Progress
So here’s another Work in Progress tease – Page 1 of CRUCIBLE Part 4. Just to show you how much thought Smuzz puts into his work, here are his Work in Progress notes… “Apologies for not making the MineMouth any… Read More ›
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Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From artist and fan Simon Wyatt
Name: Simon Wyatt Blog or web site: Strangely Drawn: http://simonwyatt.blogspot.com Currently working on: Alpha Gods with Ian Sharman for Orang Utan Comics, Phantom Lung & The Garden of Dead Liars with Cy Dethan and Volume 2 of my graphic novel… Read More ›