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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Merry Christmas: 4 Days To Go
Our run of Christmas covers continue as we countdown to Christmas Day. By far the oldest of our Christmas covers for this year, the girl’s comic School Friend wished their readers “A Very Happy Christmas” in December 1962 with this… Read More ›
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Merry Christmas: 5 Days To Go
Our run of Christmas covers continue as we countdown to Christmas Day. DC Thomson’s humour comics can always be relied on to do Christmas issues. Christmas 1984 brought these offerings from the digest sized Beano Comic Library. Pup Parade are… Read More ›
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Merry Christmas: 6 Days To Go
As the 25th of December rapidly bears down on us, each day for the next week downthetubes will be taking a look at a selection of comics and magazines from past Christmases.Speed and Power was Look and Learn’s sibling, using… Read More ›
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Strip! – Cartoons in Classrooms
In the last of this month’s shows looking at the use of comics in education, the Strip! radio show, broadcast on Resonance FM and now available as a podcast, have interviews with a variety of practitioners and tutors with an… Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: Mike Collins Draws New Who, Harker, Alternative Press News…
Some quick, short items today, as I’m immersed in some research for Titan and other things… • A slew of updates from ever busy comics artist Mike Collins, which are mostly Doctor Who related, including an original graphic novel for… Read More ›
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Simon Mackie: Positively Christmas
downthetubes gets a lot of eCards, and we put all the artist contributuons here on Flickr, because we can’t think of anywhere else to display them. But this year Simon Mackie has again outdone others with a whole Christmas-inspired comic… Read More ›
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Eagle Times Warms Up Winter (Volume 22 Number 4, Winter 2009)
The latest issue of Eagle Times (Volume 22 Number 4, Winter 2009) is now available from the Eagle Society, wrapped in this cheery winter scene that illustrated an article titled ‘He wants to be a Postman’ from the Christmas issue… Read More ›
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Fractal Friction springs from love of 2000AD
A number of long-time fans of 2000AD have banded together to launch Fractal Friction, an online collaborative storytelling venture, a story that starts when a man turns up for a job interview only for it to lead to something altogether… Read More ›
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Mirabalis Christmas Ghost Story is an Online Gem
We plugged the Mirabilis team’s free-to-download Year of Wonders PDF comic just yesterday, but we’re so knocked out by the Henry James-styled Christmas ghost story that we’re urging you all to head over and grab your own copy – described… Read More ›
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British Comic Creator Interviews on SciFiPulse
Longtime downthetubes readers know this site trades news items with the superb science fiction TV, film and genre site SciFiPulse, but what with recent holidays here in the tubes, we’ve missed some of their coverage of British comics. So here’s… Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: Death’s Head, Poot, Chattyman and a Christmas Competition
• Death’s Head is back! And not some Johnny-Come-Lately Death’s Head II or III, or even the bit-on-the-small-side Version I, the result of an encounter with the good Doctor and his TARDIS. No, Marvel’s new S.W.O.R.D. title features everyone’s favourite… Read More ›
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SciFi Art Now book gets green light
ILEX Books have given the green light to SciFi Art Now, a book project assembling outstanding examples of the very best in science fiction art, which is being edited by downthetubes webmaster John Freeman. John hopes plenty of illustrators from… Read More ›
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The Really Heavy Greatcoat Review of the Year 2009
Yes – a new Really Heavy Greatcoat! Longtime downthetubes readers will know the Greatcoat strip was the joint creation of myself and Nick Miller back in 1987 (more info here), but what with other work commitments and the assumed demise… Read More ›
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Road of Courage film in the works
A film adaptation of the life of Christ inspired by The Road of Courage, a strip that first appeared in Eagle in the 1960s, is apparently in production. Re-titled Jerusalem A.D., the project, based on the illustrations of Frank Hampson,… Read More ›
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Christmas Commandos!
Here’s the latest Commando intelligence, courtesy of DC Thomson. These titles went on sale today, 10 December… Commando 4251: Deadly Despatches Story by Norman Adams Art and cover by Keith Page At the end of the 19th Century our intrepid… Read More ›
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In Review: Misty Comic Special
What It Is: Not to be confused with the Egmont WH Smiths special released recently, this is an entirely new fan-produced title published by the official Misty web site, comprising all-new strips by a wide range of creators including 2000AD… Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: Marvel Fun, Arthur Ranson, IndieManga and Look and Learn
• Our thanks this week to the fab British Comic Art blog, for spotting Dan Dare, Mekon and Dalek on the cover of Fantastic Four 573; artist Alan Davis is of course a master of dropping in such characters into… Read More ›
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More V for Vendetta Art to Aid Cartoon Classroom on eBay
A second batch of David Lloyd V For Vendetta illustrations are now on eBay in support of the Cartoon Classroom project, which aims to serve libraries, schools, colleges and museums by directing them to creators who teach in these specialised… Read More ›
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2000AD Christmas Special on the Way
The yuletide season is upon us again, and Tharg the Mighty One is making sure all Earthlets have a very happy Christmas with another 100-page special. Prog 2010 goes on sale 16th December 2009, priced £4.20, and features a stunning… Read More ›
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Doctor Who: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Daleks
A daft video for the day, re-spotted by SF author Paul Macauley and re-tweeted by Matthew Badham…