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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Thunderbirds Night on BBC4
It’s official – BBC4 has gone scifi mad this week. As we reported back in October, BBC4 are having a “Thunderbirds are Go!” night tomorrow (Wednesday 2nd), followed on Thursday by a tribute to Voyage to the Bottom of the… Read More ›
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Patrick Stewart Supports Classical Comics’ Macbeth
Acclaimed Shakespeare actor and Star Trek star Patrick Stewart has applauded Classical Comics’ pioneering work
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New Halloween Comic
February sees the release of a new comic based on the successful Halloween movie franchise. The comic will be called Halloween: Nightdance. The first Halloween movie, directed by John Carpenter, was released in 1978 and the ninth movie, a remake… Read More ›
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Alan Grant Speaks
Judge Dredd writer Alan Grant will be presenting a lecture called Writing Tomorrow Yesterday: How Fiction Became Reality in Edinburgh on 29th January as part of the Edinburgh Lectures. Alan Grant first entered the comics industry in 1967 when he… Read More ›
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Berg to remake Dune
MTV reports that The Kingdom director Peter Berg is set to direct a new big-screen version of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel Dune. Berg said that the film would have been his next project, but the US writers’ strike is preventing… Read More ›
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Lost Girls reach the UK
Warning: Potential readers are warned of the “adult nature” of this book before following any links below. Lost Girls, Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s controversial take on the adult lives of Alice (from Alice in Wonderland), Wendy (from Peter Pan)… Read More ›
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Fontsy That…
The lettering style of Lancashire’s finest comic book artist and graphic novelist Bryan Talbot is finally at your beck and call thanks to the good graces of those awfully nice chaps at Comicraft, the US fonts company run by former… Read More ›
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Who ratings triumph
With the BBC dominating the ratings on Christmas Day, Doctor Who managed its best ratings since 1979 with the festive episode Voyage of the Damned, no doubt helped by the guest appearance of actress-singer Kylie Minogue, playing waitress Astrid on-board… Read More ›
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The New 12 Days of Christmas…
Beano artist and writer Kev F. Sutherland penned the following sketch from the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, recorded live at the Canal Cafe Theatre, London. Warning: some swearing…
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Happy Christmas from the Really Heavy Greatcoat
This Really Heavy Greatcoat strip pays tribute to Bob Dylan’s classic “Subterranean Homesick Blues” – script and art by Nick Miller
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(W)HO! (W)HO! (W)HO! It’s Christmas!
The Down The Tubes crack reporting team debate potential plotlines for the Doctor Who Christmas special. Last year I sat on (not behind) a sofa on Christmas Day and watched the Doctor Who special with my five year old nephew…. Read More ›
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Merrie Chrissmusz
Charley’s War back page pin-up from Battle dated 27 December 1986. Today, as in 1916, British soldiers are fighting in foreign lands. We wish them a Merry Christmas and a safe return to their families in 2008.
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Red Dwarf returns to the (smaller) screen
A new Red Dwarf Christmas special will be screened this Christmas — on your mobile. Fans of sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf can already relive the series by watching exclusively created ‘mobisodes’ of the show on their mobile phone thanks… Read More ›
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Dan Dare Times Two, Exhibition in Southport
(with thanks to Stuart Roberts): Local Southport paper Champion reports the town, once home to his creator, Frank Hampson, can now boast two Dan Dare statues. Two busts are currently being stored at Atkinson Art Gallery in Lord Street. A… Read More ›
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Dead Zone, 4400 Cancelled
Ausiello reports that the USA Network has cancelled The Dead Zone and The 4400, bothof which have aired their last episodes. 4400 creator and Executive Producer Scott Peters confirmed the cancellation on a message posted on the official 4400 Web… Read More ›
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More on those Dan Dare sales figures…
Earlier today, I posted news of Dan Dare #1’s strong sales in the UK and a round up of just some of the reviews I found about the title (which have apparently astonished some Dan Dare fans who didn’t like… Read More ›
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In Space No One Can Hear You Build…
If the Forbidden Lego book hasn’t sparked your imagination for something to do with the kids’ Lego once they have become bored with it after Christmas, maybe this website will give you a few ideas. Lego Sci-Fi has Lego representations… Read More ›
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Dan Dare UK Sales Success, Review Round Up
** Warning! Potential spoilers in the comments on this post!** UK sales of the first issue of Virgin’s new Dan Dare have made the title one of the most requested and most difficult to find in the run up to… Read More ›
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My Wife Left Me…
Before the sublime Doctor Who: Blink, before the gory Jekyll, before his two consecutive Hugo awards for new Doctor Who episodes, before even the four seasons of Coupling, Steven Moffat wrote two seasons of a little gem of a sitcom… Read More ›
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In Review: Cosmogenesis
Just released by Clown Press and available via amazon.co.uk, Waterstones and other good bookshops is Adam Grose and Tony Suleri’s epic Cosmogenesis, a fully revised and updated version of the sprawling, magnificent space epic these two British creators have been… Read More ›