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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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 ›
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Markosia Dances out The Dark
British indie publisher Markosia Enterprises have teamed up with Chris Lynch (Monkeys with Machineguns, Photonic Graffiti) and Rick Lundeen (100 Covers, Epoch) to publish The Dark — a four-issue, cyberpunk-styled comic series. With nods toward the novels of authors such… Read More ›
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Bear-Shaped Comics Collection Launched!
Richy K. Chandler, the creative force behind UK indie title Tempo Lush comics, has been wanting to put out a collection of his Tempo Lush Mini Comic range since the first one featuring Lucy the Octopus was released to the… Read More ›
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Birmingham Comic Show Wins Lottery Grant
In a major coup for the organisers – perhaps signifying comics are indeed becoming more mainstream once more – the annual British International Comic Show has been awarded a £6,000 Arts Council grant to help further their work in bringing… Read More ›
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Insomnia Joins "Buskers" Project
Popquiz, hotshots: What do Mos Def, Kevin Spacey, former Blur front man Damon Albarn, musician Ian Brown, comic writer and publisher Sean Michael Wilson and Japanese cartoonist and illustrator Michiru Morikawa have in common with Insomnia Publications? Answer: the fledgling… Read More ›
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Meet and Greet Dave Gibbons Competition
Podcast website Geek Syndicate have just launched a competition to offer a Watchmen fan the chance to win an exclusive Meet and Greet with original Watchmen illustrator, Dave Gibbons. The winner will have their favourite character drawn by Dave Gibbons…. Read More ›
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British Dragon Joins Marvel Advisors
Cypriot-born British businessman Theo Paphitis – one of the judges on BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den – has joined Marvel Comics International Advisory Board. Comprised of business leaders from key international growth markets, the Advisory Board works with Marvel executives to… Read More ›
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Rainey’s Book of Lists Collected At last
Ace British comic creator Paul B Rainey has just been in touch to say that he’s finally put together a collection of his critically-acclaimed Book of Lists comic strips in trade paper back form. Suicidal birds, edible guitars, licky dogs,… Read More ›
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Starblazer from the Command Deck
DC Thomson editor Bill McLoughlin has kindly given downthetubes his account of the rise and fall of DC Thomson’s 1980s SF digest title Starblazer, which has recently spawned its own Role Playing Game (see our review). Revealing the origins of… Read More ›
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Engines of Enchantment at Cartoon Museum
London’s Cartoon Museum is to host an exhibition dedicated to the work of eccentric genius Rowland Emett this summer. Described in TIME Magazine as “a nostalgic-romantic artist-humorist social commentator-engineer,” this exhibition brings together, for the first time in Britain, the… Read More ›
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Tube Surfing: Comic Cutbacks, San Diego Schedules, Dinsoaurs and Weird Fishes…
• Filming has started on the new series of Doctor Who that will see Matt Smith will take on the eponymous role. Matt is seen here in costume, side by side with Scottish actress Karen Gillan who plays new companion… Read More ›
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2009 Graphic Short Story Competition Launched
UK Sunday newspaper The Observer has just launched this year’s Graphic Short Story competition, part of the activities of the ComiICA Festival. The winner of last year’s Graphic Short Story prize, Julian Hanshaw, is about to publish a book, so… Read More ›
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Graeme Neil Reid: Walking on the Moon
Here’s the latest contribution to our marking of the 40th Anniversary of the first Moon Landing: “Walking on the Moon” by Graeme Neil Reid
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Ian Rankin’s Comics Debut
International bestselling crime writer and recipient of an OBE for his services to literature, acclaimed Scottish author Ian Rankin makes his comics debut with the tense and twisting tale inspired by reality TV, Dark Entries – on sale from Titan… Read More ›
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Nick Abadzis: Apollo Remembered
Here’s a fab image from Nick Abadzis he’s sent us for our Moon Landing Comics Celebration album