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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Campbell at ComICA 2009
Mark it in your calendar: Eddie Campbell is the first confirmed international guest for the Comica Festival ‘09. Over from Australia, Eddie will be in conversation with a special guest on Saturday 7th November, 7pm to 9.00pm in the Nash… Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: The Dark, Fat Man, Milk and Mirabilis
• Here’s the trailer for Chris Lynch’s new cyberpunk/superhero comic The Dark, which is being published by Markosia (see news story on the downthetubes mobile blog). Written by Chris and with art by Rick Lundeen, it will be released later… Read More ›
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Rainbow Orchid Unfurls at Foyles
Comic creator Garen Ewing was mixing with other British artists and writers at top London bookshop Foyles on Monday night to celebrate the launch of the first volume of his three-part adventure story, Rainbow Orchid. An original, award-winning 1920’s mystery… Read More ›
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Harker #6 Debuts, Collected Edition Delayed
Harker #6 from indie creators Roger Gibson and Vincent Danks has just been released and available from the comic’s online store now. The issue includes the news that the first collected edition of this intriguing fantasy detective series was supposed… Read More ›
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ScotchComp Launched: Win a Limited Edition Dragon Print
The Scottish Comics Creators blog Scotchblog, which features work by artists such as Jon Hodgson, Graeme Neil Reid, Gary Erskine and others, has a new competition for all followers of their humble site. Each month there will be a fantastic… Read More ›
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It’s Fantastic: Johnny Future Flies in from the Sixties
Never before reprinted, Bear Alley Books have just announced they are to reprint the complete adventures of Johnny Future, a stunning British superhero strip which first appeared in 1960s comic Fantastic. The stories, featuring art by Luis Bermejo, will be… Read More ›
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2000AD Covers Uncovered
Being a huge 2000AD fan and collector of its artwork, Pete Wells gets a thrill from seeing covers and artwork for the comic in their original state. Back in early July, he announced he’d decided to write a blog where… Read More ›
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The Sun Still Besmirching Ron Smith
UPDATE, 5th August 2009: We’re pleased to report that since this story was first published, The Sun appears to have removed the offending story referred to from its web site (see news story). We have left this report live for… Read More ›
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Panel Borders: The Art of Kevin O’Neill
Concluding Sci-Fi comics month on the podcast Panel Borders, Alex Fitch talks to artist Kevin O’Neill about his work with writer Pat Mills, from his early days working on Nemesis the Warlock and A.B.C. Warriors for 2000AD to the hero… Read More ›
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GI Joe UK – First issue Details
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Tube Surfing: Harker, Comic Book Signings, Manwha UK and a Creators Union
• Brilliant news! The much-praised indie title written by Roger Gibson and drawn by Vincent Danks, Harker – described by one reader as a detective series with an X-Files/Avengers twist, which doesn’t do it justice – is now available in… Read More ›
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Redeye 2.1: Buy It, Read It and Plug It
The latest iteration of Redeye magazine is simply brilliant
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Tube Surfing: Apple Comic Reader Rumours, Alternative Press and Excalibur
• We’re now just days away from the opening of London’s Alternative Press Festival will have officially begun. Jimi Gherkin reports that he’s seen the first copy of Publish You, the APF Book which includes a huge range of comic… Read More ›
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The Adventures of Tank Boy
Based on an interview conducted last year, we’re delighted to present an interview by Matthew Badham with London-based comic book artist and British comics aficionado Rufus Dayglo, whose credits include animation, work for IDW Comics in the US and 2000AD… Read More ›
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GI Joe UK Issue 1: Sneak Peek!
Here’s a peek at the cover to Issue One of Panini UK’s G .I. Joe comic, out in mid August. The issue’s comic strip is written by Ferg Handley, with pencils by John Royle, inks by Lee Townsend and colour… Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: Billy the Cat, Cradlegrave and Cla$$ War for iPhone
• Over on his brilliant site Bronze Age of Blogs, Pete Doree has posted a short article on DC Thomson’s much-loved teen hero Billy the Cat, prompting artist Sean Phillips to respond with this fab drawing of William Grange in… Read More ›
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Fanderson’s FAB (Magazine, That Is…)
FAB 63, the latest issue of the Gerry Anderson Fanderson club, now in the post to all Fanderson members, is a bit of Thunderbirds special and includes some not-to-be-missed comics attractions, including the finale of an epic Fireball XL5 strip… Read More ›
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First Look at new Prisoner Mini Series
Various websites, including Forces of Geek has posted a news story featuring a preview of the new ITV/AMC version of The Prisoner. The footage offers an intriguing first look at the upcoming six-part mini-series remake of the original 1960s series,… Read More ›
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Marvelman – Copyright Marvel Comics
British superhero character Marvelman is a character that had become mired in a legal quagmire for years, his modern re-telling and reinvention by Alan Moore and others forcing a name change to Miracle Man thanks to Marvel legal concerns. It… Read More ›
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Hell’s Gate Springs from Dublin!
The recession may be bad news for most, but it has its silver lining. Case in point: it’s given Dublin-based comic creator Alan Nolan the chance to publish At Hell’s Gate, the kind of thing he’s always wanted to do… Read More ›