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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Wanted: Your Mechanical Elephants
As part of their ‘First Fridays’ events, Marine Studios in Margate are putting together an exhibition that looks at comics, graphic novels and sequential art. Featuring work from a range of local and international artists and writers, live talk from… Read More ›
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Wishing you a very Merry Midwinter and a Happy New Year
I’ll be back posting in the New Year with more interviews from the Sci-Fi Art Now contributors but in the mean time, Oliver Wetter (aka Fantasio) just sent me this cheeky Christmas card you might enjoy! Check out more of… Read More ›
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Wishing you all the best of the season!
The cover of Rainbow, 15th December 1917. The downthetubes team would like to wish all our readers the very best of the season. If you’re travelling, take care out there and enjoy some down time with family and friends. Normal… Read More ›
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Commando evades blizzards, heads for newsagents
Here are the latest issues of DC Thomson’s Commando to fight their way through the snowdrifts to the newsagents’ shelves. Just in time for Christmas, too. If anyone is having difficulty getting copies in the seasonal weather, Commando editor Calum… Read More ›
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Eagle Times Sample Issues Now Available
Eagle Times, Britain’s longest running comics fanzine, is making sample issues available to purchase without the need to join the Eagle Society. While the magazine concentrates on the original 1950s and 1960s Eagle, the current issue includes features on the… Read More ›
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Detective Comics #27 flies for £28,200 in British comics auction
Multiple bidding in the room from their live internet feed and three transatlantic telephones led to some impressive results from the Dominic Winter/ Comic Book Auctions on Thursday night, including the headline sale of a copy of Detective Comics #27… Read More ›
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Creator-owned strip Numbercruncher launches in Megazine in New Year
A quick Friday plug for Numbercruncher which starts in the New Year in the Judge Dredd Megazine. Created by Si Spurrier and PJ Holden, it’s a creator owned series and we reckon that it deserves support since it is, for… Read More ›
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Glasgow’s Hope Street Studios looking for intern
Hope Street Studios in Glasgow are looking for any illustration students interested in a paid internship, who would mainly be doing comic book work but possible storyboarding and design. Top artist and Sci-Fi Art Now contributor Gary Erskine, who is… Read More ›
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Glasgow’s Hope Street Studios looking for intern
Hope Street Studios in Glasgow are looking for any illustration students interested in a paid internship, who would mainly be doing comic book work but possible storyboarding and design. Top artist Gary Erskine, who is heading up the hunt, tells… Read More ›
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Read Duncan Long’s Masque of the Red Death for free
Duncan Long has released his Christmas gift for his fans – a newly illustrated version of Edgar Allan Poe’s Masque of the Red Death (in PDF format). “A Poe story may seem an odd choice for Christmas,” he notes, “but… Read More ›
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Comics in education: SANE Journal launched
The first issue of the academic SANE journal: (which stands for Sequential Art narrative in Education) is out now, with its first issue focusing on “comics in the contact zone.” SANE publishes research- and practioner-based articles covering all intersections of… Read More ›
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Bande Dessinee Society seeking new members
Interested in bande dessinee? Then perhaps you should consider membership of the International Bande Dessinée Society and get hold of copies of the journal European Comic Art. The IBDS is a forum for scholarly exchange on all aspects of the… Read More ›
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Panel Borders: Derek the Sheep, the Mouse Guard and other Comical Animals
In a packed final show on radio show Panel Borders for 2010, Alex Fitch concludes his look at anthropomorphic comics, with a survey of recent titles for all ages – Gary Northfield’s ‘Derek the Sheep’ who appears in The Beano… Read More ›
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Indifference Engine released in time for Christmas
One of the upcoming titles from Markosia thrust into my eager paws over the past couple of months was The Indifference Engine, written by Cy Dethan (writer of Cancertown) with pencils by Robert Carey. It’s a great timeline-spanning four-part mini-series,… Read More ›
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The Really Heavy Greatcoat Review of the Year 2010
With everything else that we’re up to, Nick Miller and I don’t get the chance to do The Really Heavy Greatcoat comic very often. Its last regular appearance was in Comics International (we first devised the strip way back in… Read More ›
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Sci-Fi Artist Emma Alvarez stands up for Human Rights in new exhibtion
Some months ago, Sci-Fi Art Now contributor Emma Alvarez was asked if she wanted to take part in a travelling exhibition for the Human Rights in Alicante. The exhibition, “El Arte Con Los Derechos Humanos”, features 30 pieces of art… Read More ›
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Mirabilis graphic novel released as iPad app
Mirabilis: Year of Wonders, a graphic novel by Dave Morris and Leo Hartas first seen in The DFC comic launched in the App Store for iPad this week. Mirabilis is a fantasy adventure story for young adults which opens New… Read More ›
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Etherington Brothers join The Dandy – with dragons
Here’s the first official artwork from the Etherington Brothers brand new series, YORE!, which will be making its early 2011 debut very, very soon in The Dandy. This is just the latest of several strips the Etheringtons, creators of Malcolm… Read More ›
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Sci-Fi Art Now Creator Interview: Max Bertolini
Max Bertolini’s cover for Nathan Never #9 Max Bertolini is a self taught cartoonist, working in the comics business and illustration field. He’s the artist on the Italian comic Nathan Never, a 94 page, black and white comic, which means… Read More ›
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Artist Spotlight: Andrew Skilleter
I first worked with Andrew Skilleter when I was editing Doctor Who Magazine in the late 1980s and I admire his work tremendously. He’s a dab hand at both original and licensed art commissions, particularly Doctor Who (for which he’s… Read More ›