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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Ray Harryhausen at Forbidden Planet in October
Ray Harryhausen and Tony Dalton will be signing An Animated Life at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Saturday 24th October between 1 – 2pm. The last great animator before the introduction of CGI, Ray’s… Read More ›
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Em joins The Sun
(with thanks to David Baillie for the tip): The cartoon strip Em, the creation of Swedish cartoonist Maria Smedstad, joins The Sun on Tuesday. “Yes, it’s true,” says Marie. “Em will be packing her little messily drawn bags and move… Read More ›
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Egmont Classic Comics: Misty
The latest of the quarterly title Egmont Classic Comics featuring IPC’s girls comic Misty is now available
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No More Poo in TOXIC
Egmont’s TOXIC have dropped his competition-winning Count Von Poo strip
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Tube Surfing: Hi-Ex, CD24, Classical Comics and Barefoot Zombies
• The Hi Ex elves may have been quiet but they tell us they’ve been busy behind the scenes rushing around the country banging on doors and jumping through hoops to get their next Highlands convention shipshape. “We’re working hard… Read More ›
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Prove You’re the Greatest Hitchhiker Fan Ever – in 42 Seconds…
And Another Thing by bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series, Eoin Colfer, is the sixth novel in the ever-more increasingly inaccurately named ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ trilogy. To celebrate the launch, publishers Penguin are searching for the biggest… Read More ›
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Friday WebFind: Ukraine’s Got Talent
(With thanks to Clare Walters): Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who creates sand drawings in front of audiences. Here she is performing on Ukraine’s Got Talent, recounting Germany conquering Ukraine in the second world war. It’s just stunning. Who… Read More ›
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Guardian’s Free Drawing Guide Out Tomorrow
Hot on the heels of what seems to have been a popular giveaway, judging by the scant number of copies in local newsagents, The Guardian is following up its week-long comics promotion with two guides for budding artists being given… Read More ›
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Grandville Tour Announced
Bryan Talbot has been in touch to give us the rundown of dates for his signing tour to promote his ace new graphic novel, Grandville (read our review here). GRANDVILLE UK TOUR 2009 Saturday 26th September 1pm – 2:30pm: Signing… Read More ›
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New British Comics #2 On Its Way
The second issue of indie anthology title New British Comics, featuring this spiffing cover by Nelson Evergreen, should be published in October. Contributors for the 84-page anthology, which will be published by Karol Wisniewski in both English and Polish, include… Read More ›
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Comics @ Wigtown Book Festival
Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway is Scotland’s National Book Town and advertises itself as “a book lover’s haven” with over a quarter of a million books in twenty book-related businesses. It is not surprising therefore that it has its own… Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: Beano, Broons, Bunty and Bombers
It is that time of year when next year’s calendars are hitting the stores and the one to look out for at the moment is the Beano Retro Comic Art Calendar. With the weekly Beano falling into line with the… Read More ›
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Prisoner Comic Preview Released
An eight-page preview comic of the new US series of The Prisoner is available to download from US production company AMC’s web site here. The Marvel custom comic features art by Brazilian artist Amilcar Pinna, with colouring by Chris Sotomayor,… Read More ›
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Solipsistic Pop Launched
Solipsistic Pop – an anthology that features the very best in alternative UK comics – has launched its website with a manifesto that states the intentions of a new wave of comic artists taking over the UK alternative scene. With… Read More ›
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Fanderson Forum Gets Online Makeover
The official fan club for Thunderbirds co-creator Gerry Anderson, Fanderson, officially launched its new online Forum to replace the club’s ageing Yahoo group yesterday (on the 10th anniversary of the day the earth was blown out of Earth’s orbit in… Read More ›
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ComICA Adds James Jean, McPherson to Line-Up
This year’s Comica festival in London, has announced the addition of North American superstar guests James Jean and Tara McPherson to its line up. Their appearances will be a free instore signing on Thursday 12th November at Comica partner and… Read More ›
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Visiting Artist Expelled from UK
While the artist mentioned in the report below isn’t from the world of comics, the actions taken against her – which have been widely condemned in the past couple of weeks – could affect any comics creator visiting the UK… Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: In Memoriam, Guardian Giveaways and Art for Sale
• downthetubes regrets to report the passing of illustrator and comic colourist Ian Mckie last Monday, aged 58. Bryan Talbot reports his heart stopped during what’s been described as a “horrific” asthma attack. The twin brother of Angus McKie, Ian… Read More ›
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In Review: Milk by Stref
Reviewed by David Hailwood Milk is a brand new anthology from Insomnia Publications, containing the works of Stref. It consists of darkly humoured horror and sci-fi oddities, three panel strip cartoons, abstract art, and a whole host of ‘bonus features’…. Read More ›
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In Review: Strange Times
Reviewed by David Hailwood The Plot: A group of misfits are thrust together by forces beyond their control, and charged with the task of averting the destruction of mankind. The Review: Strange Times collects the popular web comics of Dave… Read More ›