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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Oz Comes to the UK
(Updated 20/3/08): The top-rated mini series Tin Man, inspired by The Wizard of Oz and screened on SciFi Channel US last year, will air in May on the UK SciFi Channel. As we reported last year, the fantasy adventure, produced… Read More ›
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Captain Britain’s new book
(with thanks to Matthew Badham): Marvel releases the first issue of Captain Britain and MI:13, a new book starring Captain Britain in May, written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Leonard Kirk. Captain Britain and MI:13 is a new ongoing… Read More ›
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Philip Pullman joins new weekly British comic, The DFC
Britain will see the launch of a brand new comic in May, which will include a weekly strip by award-winning author Philip Pullman. The DFC, the new weekly comic for boys and girls is the brainchild of David Fickling, publisher… Read More ›
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Digital Artists Handbook
folly – the digital arts agency and charity based in England’s NorthWest – recently launched an important new project, the Digital Artists’ Handbook, backed by Arts Council England, which might be a useful resource for comics creators. The Handbook is… Read More ›
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Tennant and Tate’s tet-a-tet
(via the official BBC Doctor Who site): Catherine Tate is to interview David Tennant in the first of a new series of BBC Radio 4’s Chain Reaction. The lighthearted show’s format is a form of ‘interview tag’, with each edition’s… Read More ›
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Al Davison’s new project
(via the Forbidden Planet International blog): Comics artist Al Davison, perhaps best known for his critically-acclaimed graphic novel The Spiral Cage (incredibly, the Active Images edition is not available through amazon.co.uk), is busy with a new project about Dwarfism. “I… Read More ›
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Norbert le Mouton
(via Blimey! It’s Another Blog About Comics): Gary Northfield’s popular Beano (and first creator owned) strip Derek the Sheep has been collected into a 64-page softback book for the French market. Published by Actes-Sud-l’An 2, the full colour Norbert le… Read More ›
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Hi-Ex Lives On
One of the organisers of the Hi-Ex comics convention in Inverness, Vicky Stonebridge, will be returning to Hi-Ex’s Eden Court venue on Sunday 25 May 2008 to host two workshops on How to Draw Manga. The two sessions will be… Read More ›
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Book and Magazine Collector 292
The latest issue of Book and Magazine Collector, number 292 dated March 2008, has two comics related articles by the writing duo of David Ashford and Norman Wright. In the latest of the Great British Comic Artists series they cover… Read More ›
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Who’s in London
(with thanks to Matthew Badham): Doctor Who comes to London, and not just in a specially created event for EastEnders, either. The Doctor Who Exhibition, Earls Court, London opens to the public Easter 2008. The exhibition will be situated in… Read More ›
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BBC Angouleme Comics Festival Report 2008
BBC reporter Hugh Schofield has filed a report on this year’s Angouleme Festival on the BBC web site as part of coverage by Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent news programme, still reeling, it would seem, from arriving in the… Read More ›
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Solar Wind lives on
(with thanks to Paul Scott): The legend that was UK indie title Solar Wind (now buried in a shallow grave on the equally unmissable www.omnivistascope.com) lives on. Warlock Holmes, the photo-comic detective wizard extrordinaire featured in the award-winning title has… Read More ›
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Jeff Hawke Competition Winners
The winners of our Jeff Hawke: Overlord, competition (courtesy of Titan Books) were William Birtles, Colin Campbell, Antonio Fraga, Elizabeth Smith and Steve Tanner. Congratulations to the winners and better luck next time to the losers, even those who didn’t… Read More ›
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Vote for Journeyman!
(with thanks to the Save Journeyman blog): SciFi.com is conducting a poll on their SciFi Wire page asking which show you want to see returned to the air now that the WGA strike is over. Head over now and vote… Read More ›
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More Carol Day Online, Appeal for Art
The Carol Day website devoted to the long-running Daily Mail newspaper strip has just been updated with some great new material, including two complete stories, including the last one completed by series creator David Wright. Also on offer is new… Read More ›
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Go Weightless!
How cool is this – the chance to experience zero gravity in the only way possible without going to space. Commercial, weightless flights will be offered this weekend at Moffett Field, California, under the terms of an agreement between NASA… Read More ›
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12 Hour Shift Released
Three years in the making, London-based cartoonist Sean Azzopardi’s Twelve Hour Shift is now on sale, offering an incisive take on the sharp contrast between the creative job you want and the bill-paying job you can get. Running to over… Read More ›
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Kickback, the mobile version
David Lloyd has produced a special mobile comics-styled preview of his highly praised crime thriller Kickback, available to read on your mobile via wap.rokcomics.com. The trailer comprises a special four-part preview for the book, first published in France by Editions… Read More ›
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Joe Abercrombie Signing, London
Lancaster-born fantasy author Joe Abercrombie will be signing his new book, Last Argument of Kings, at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, on Thursday 20th March 6-7pm Abercrombie is a freelance film editor, who after several knock-backs from… Read More ›
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Alan Moore endorses UK small press
When Alan Moore made an incredibly rare appearance in at London’s Gosh comic store recently, he not only promoted his own new work but gave ringing endorsement to the UK small press efforts in general — and, in particular, London… Read More ›