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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New Eagle Times
(with thanks to Richard Sheaf): The latest issue of Eagle Times, the quarterly journal of the Eagle Society (the Society is dedicated to the memory of Britain’s national picture strip Weekly – Eagle) has just been published. Volume 20, issue… Read More ›
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Moffatt on Tin Tin
(with thanks to Jeremy Briggs) The Hollywood Reporter and Empire Magazine reports that Steven Moffat, acclaimed writer on Doctor Who and Jekyll, is to write the trilogy of Tintin films being overseen by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. The directors… Read More ›
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Book Palace British Sale – and Mart News
(with thanks to Richard Sheaf): The Book Palace has finally started listing some of theirextensive stock of British comics and annual online. The next “ABC” show will be on Sunday 7th October from noon, in London. It’s the best comics… Read More ›
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Spaceship Away #13 counting down
Issue 13 of ace Dan Dare magazine Spaceship Away — a stunning A4 sized full colour glossy magazine published three times a year — is due for release at the end of October, but a teaser image of the cover… Read More ›
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Miss Moneypenny Dead
We were sorry to hear the news that actress Lois Maxwell died at the weekend. Best known as the actress who starred as M’s long-suffering secretary Miss Moneypenny in fourteen James Bond movies, she appeared in over 50 films (her… Read More ›
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Virgin Comics’ Dan Dare – More News
A few more images have started to surface regarding the upcoming Dan Dare comic from Virgin. This one, taken from the Virgin website, shows the variant cover to Issue #1 by artist Greg Horn, best known for his work on… Read More ›
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Classic Hammer Films on DVD
15 October 2007 sees the long awaited UK release of The Brides of Dracula and The Evil of Frankenstein on DVD, courtesy of Showbox Entertainment. The Brides of Dracula is Peter Cushing’s second outing as Van Helsing and David Peel’s… Read More ›
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George Bush Speaks his Mind
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Moore-Reppion: Radio Stars
This afternoon (Thursday, 27 September, 2007, 5.00pm BST) London and Web radio station Resonance FM will be broadcasting a telephone interview with Albion and Wild Girl writers Leah Moore and John Reppion. Leah Moore (daughter of Alan) and her husband… Read More ›
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Knight Rider returns
Variety has reported that US broadcaster NBC is bringing back Knight Rider, the show created by Glen Larson starring David Hasselhoff that was such a success for them between 1982 and 1986. Taking a leaf from the recent Transformers movie, expect… Read More ›
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Halo: Holy Combat
With all the media attention for the launch of Halo 3 a spoof cover of a Halo game, which seems to have kicked off around the ‘net in 2004 with the launch of Halo 2, has re-surfaced. Promotional copy appearing… Read More ›
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Doctor Who – Damned (or Cursed) To Reprint Forever?
Neorama has put up new art for the first of IDW’s American Doctor Who comics and it shows that, once again, the early Doctor Who Weekly strips drawn by Dave Gibbons are going to be reprinted. The first of these,… Read More ›
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Luminous Spooks!
There’s nostalgia and then there’s nostalgia. For some of us older types, it’s the 1966 World Cup, “Love Cats” by the Cure and TV21. For the owner of the web site linked here, it’s Luminous Spooks. I’d never heard of… Read More ›
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Story of 2000AD on Radio 4
With BBC4 taken over by comics this month on TV, BBC Radio 4 is getting in on the act, too. The radio station will be broadcasting Futureshock! The Story of 2000AD this Saturday (22 September) at 10.30am, narrated by Phil… Read More ›
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Talk Like a Pirate Day is here
Arrr me mateys! It is that time o’ the year again, the day that comes but once a year … Aye, today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. The official web site offers the following advice on the basics… Read More ›
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In Review : The War Libraries
To give it its full title The Fleetway Picture Library Index Volume 1: The War Libraries makes this reference book sound very grand, perhaps a little foreboding and even rather dry. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Compiled… Read More ›
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In Memoriam: Phil Frank
downthetubes is sorry to report the death of San Francisco cartoonist Phil Frank, whose cartoons graced the pages ofthe city’s The Chronicle and other newspapers for more than 30 years. He was 64. Paying tribute to Phil, The Chronicle reports… Read More ›
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Creator Interview: The Mysterious Mr George Low…
This month sees a major change at DC Thomson with the retirement of long-serving but, perhaps, little-known editor of Commando George Low, who joined the company from school in 1963 and has worked on the digest title ever since. downthetubes caught up… Read More ›
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Pauline Murray penetrates Mauretania celebrations
Legendary singer Pauline Murray of Pentration will read a chapter from Humfrey Jordan’s ‘Mauretania: Landfalls and Departures of Twenty-Five Years‘ to open the RMS Mauretania Maiden Voyage Centenary Exhibition in Newcastle. The exhibit features paintings and comic art by Stuckist… Read More ›
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Sweatdrop Studios releases ‘Rising Stars of Manga’ podcast.
This month’s Sweatdrop podcast, published by UK manga publisher Sweatdrop Studios, is a special event, as each of the four presenters were previously winners of Tokyopop’s “Rising Stars of Manga” competition. The creators talk about how they prepared and planned… Read More ›