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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Morrison one of three authors to gain Queen’s Birthday honour
Congratulations to Grant Morrison, who has been awarded an MBE, recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List (pdf) “for services to film and literature”. The annual list was published this weekend and saw just three authors – crime writer Susan… Read More ›
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Skilleter releases ‘Sarah Jane’ charity print
Artist Andrew Skilleter has released Sarah Jane Tribute Charity Print, donating a set sum from each and every print sale to supporting the Macmillan (Cancer) Nurses, £2.50 on an A4 size print, and £5 on an A3 size print. The… Read More ›
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International Literature Festival launches comic competition
The 12th International Literature Festival Berlin (ILB) will take place between 4th – 16th September and 2012 and, as in the past years the organisation will present over 100 authors from all over the world in more than 200 events…. Read More ›
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Waiting a bit longer for Crucible…
Those of you who might be dipping into this blog for some tasty updates about our Crucible strip (you’re not just here for Daleks, are you?) will be disappointed to hear that you’ll have to wait to see the strip… Read More ›
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Panel Borders: Manchester strips
Continuing a month of shows about comic communities around the UK, Alex Fitch travels to Manchester to talk to four local creators on Sunday’s Panel Borders. Adam (Blood Blokes) Cadwell, John (Bad Machinery) Allison, Joe (Freak Leap) List and Chris… Read More ›
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Egmont kick off digital Classic Comics titles with ‘Roy of the Rovers’
Egmont has launched its new digital Classic Comics imprint with four iBooks collecting some classic Roy of the Rovers stories. Egmont says it will be distributing a broad programme of iBooks and e-comics, and with a huge amount of comics… Read More ›
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Caption readies for another great event
The annual small and indie press event Caption takes place 18th – 19th August 2012 in Oxford. Oxford’s annual small-press comics convention is a unique, friendly event that brings comics creators, manga artists, comic-book readers and professionals together to mingle… Read More ›
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Carlisle comic convention announced
(with thanks for the heads up of Dave West at AccentUK): Carlisle comic fans have banded together and are planning Carlisle MegaCon, a comics event aimed squarely at giving North West comic fans an event that will be easy to… Read More ›
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Random Art: Max Bertolini
Max Bertolini, one of the contributors to SciFi Art Now, has had a long, varied and successful career. The image I’ve featured here – ‘Megara,’ the cover for the January 2005 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction… Read More ›
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Cereal Geek 8 goes on sale
The latest issue of Cereal Geek, devoted to animated shows of the 1980s, is now available. Priced £6 in the UK, Issue Eight continues the theme from the previous issue, showcasing the many animated movies of the eighties; both series-based… Read More ›
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Cybermen limited edition book goes on sale (break out your gold)
Acclaimed illustrator Andrew Skilleter, perhaps best known for his Doctor Who art, is offering Cybermen fans the opportunity to buy a unique edition of the Cybermen book first published by Who Dares/Silver Fist in 1988 – a limited facsimile edition… Read More ›
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In Memoriam: Ray Bradbury
The following tribute to author Ray Bradbury has been posted on raybradbury.com, but I preface it with my own short thank you to a great novelist, whose work I much enjoyed as I grew up in the 1970s, his short… Read More ›
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As any Doctor Who fan knows…
Art by Smuzz. Our purpose is to amuse, simply to amuse… Nothing serious, nothing political….
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STRIP Magazine price drop for digital edition
The digital edition of STRIP Issue 5will include alternate content tothe print edition STRIP Magazine fans waiting for the arrival of the print edition of Print Media’s adventure anthology – victim to ongoing import issues – may be interested to… Read More ›
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Lancaster Game Designers win top award
Lancaster-based game designers Peter Cakebread and Ken Walton have won the award for Best Role-Playing Game at this year’s UK Games Expo in Birmingham, for their table-top steampunk role-playing game, Abney Park’s Airship Pirates. Based on the songs of Seattle-based… Read More ›
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Panel Borders: Brighton Comix
Continuing Panel Borders month of shows about comic book communities around the UK, Alex Fitch visits a meeting of Cartoon County in Brighton and chats to David Lloyd, Daniel Locke, Joe Decie, Steve Carroll, Nye Wright and Tim Pilcher about… Read More ›
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Dan Dare Radio Show – Missing Episode surfaces
Back in 2008, I posted a news story here titled “Dan Dare’s Holy Grail“, reporting on the continued hunt for episodes of the Dan Dare radio show broadcast by Radio Luxembourg in the 1950s. Aired on Radio Luxembourg between July… Read More ›
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Alternative Press Festival plans exhibtions and other lead-in events
Preparations are now in full swing for this year’s International Alternative Press Festival on 4th-5th August 2012 at the Conway Hall, London. The second International Alternative Press Festival will bring together UK and European small press comix, zines, book arts… Read More ›
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David Lloyd to launch weekly creator-owned digital comic
An all new sequential art magazine will soon be available exclusively through on-line subscription and was devised by David Lloyd, co-creator of V For Vendetta. It will be published as an 18-page weekly and form into seven issue volumes. There… Read More ›