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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Small Press Idol Launched
US Comics fans have launched Small Press Idol via Facebook, an event not tied to the USA if you’re interested in getting involved. “It’s International, this is an internet event,” says organiser Ian Shires, “not tied to a physical location.”… Read More ›
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2D or not 2D?
A quick reminder that 2D, the Northern Ireland Comics Festival, returns from 4th – 6th June this year in Derry / Londonderry, featuring some of the most creative comic talent around. The Festival will take place between The Verbal Arts… Read More ›
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Texeira Painting Commission List Opens
Mark Texeira has long been one of the best to bring fine art painting to the sequential art world, book covers, galleries and more. Now, it’s just been announced, with the last of his painting commissions out the door, that… Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: 27 February 2009
• Taking place this weekend in Scotland is D-Con, at Dundee Student Union. Looks like a manga and anime-oriented event judging from the line-up, which is perhaps why we’ve only just got to hear about it. Special Guests include Naniiebim,… Read More ›
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Star Trek Magazine Collected
Titan Magazines has digitized early issues of its first ongoing licensed title Star Trek Magazine, making them available for the first time on CD-ROM. The issues, all edited by John Freeman, contain the first 24 issues of Star Trek Monthly… Read More ›
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Watching the Watchmen at Borders
Borders UK has teamed up with Titan Books to bring fans two chances to meet Watchmen artist and co-creator Dave Gibbons, with an in-store signing at Borders Islington on 12th March from 7.30pm and another at Borders Glasgow on 14th… Read More ›
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Talking Up Tabella
There’s a sense of fun to the output of new British publisher Tabella (www.tabella.co.uk), which was was set up last year by husband and wife Kevin and Julia Quinn. By fun, I don’t mean their range is humorous, although some,… Read More ›
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Kez and Luke Collected
Recently arrived at the downthetubes lair is a copy of The Adventures of Kez and Luke by TOXIC Comic sub-editor Luke Paton, a collection of strips published first published online. The drawings comprise simple stick figures throughout but there’s some… Read More ›
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Marvel Europe Collection Released
Out now from Marvel US is Marvel Europe, a collection of strips by some of Europe’s top creators from native European Marvel titles such as Panini’s Spectacular Spider-Man. The trade comes with a cover by Staz Johnson and James Offredi…. Read More ›
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Bellamy, Noble Art Up for Auction
Rare wartime Beanos and The Dandys and artwork by Frank Bellamy, Don Harley, Ken Reid, Mike Noble and Dudley Watkins form just part of the British section of the latest auction from London-based Comic Book Auctions. While best known for… Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: 25 February 2008
• Comics artist Doug Noble, whose past works include work for Marvel, Live Static and The Silent Choir and who was recently interviewed by fellow creator Sean Azzopardi, is about to launch a new longform strip called Complex. “Hopefully some… Read More ›
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Who Watches the Watchmen? – A Veidt Music Network (VMN) Special – 1983
Perhaps the best Watchmen viral clip yet — an 80’s MTV parody! The film makers have really gone to town in recreating media from the Watchmen Universe. And there’s more… if you haven’t seen the Tales from the Black Freighter… Read More ›
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Paul Grist’s Big Cosmic Comic
(with thanks to “The Cap): Paul Grist, whose other credits include the fabulous Jack Staff comic, has begun to run his Big Cosmic Comic, subtitled “The Continuing Adventures of the Eternal Warrior”, as a blog. The strip is a homage,… Read More ›
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Knights of Pendragon Collection Planned
Panini UK has confirmed a collection of the first nine issues of Marvel UK’s highly-acclaimed orginal Knights of Pendragon series, created by Dan Abnett, John Tomlinson and Gary Erskine, is in development, for publication later in 2009. Knights of Pendragon,… Read More ›
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Captain Britain: New Collection On Sale Soon
After many unforeseen and arduous delays, Panini UK’s third collection of Captain Britain stories, The Lion and the Spider, is finally at the printers and should be out and in the shops in about six weeks time. The collection, reprints… Read More ›
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Century 21 Cover Revealed
Details of the first two Reynolds & Hearn “Century 21” titles
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Paper X Needs You
Illustrator Sandy Christie is putting together another Paper X collection, following up on the success of the first which was sold at the first Glasgow International Artists Book Fair. Paper X is a new zine experiment where anyone can submit…. Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: 20 February 2009
• Ben Templesmith has donated some art from IDW’s Doctor Who – The Whispering Gallery book to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund which they are currently auctioning off on eBay. The aution ends later today (Feb-20-09 15:00:00 PST) so… Read More ›
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Ronald Searle Tribute Find
For those of you unfamiliar, Ronald Searle was an accomplished British cartoonist whose credits included Punch, but he’s better known as the man who created the girls of St. Trinians and anarchic 1950s schoolboy Nigel Molesworth. The Ronald Searle Tribute… Read More ›