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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Some things just aren’t right…
Case in point: Bratz dolls. I can’t believe I’m alone in thinking they’re deeply disturbing in terms of look (quite frankly, they give me the heebie jeebies), and now Worth 1000’s running a competition to turn the world into them…. Read More ›
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Comics International sells out
Just had an e-mail from Comics International editor Mike Conroy who tells me demand for its first issue of the new-look mag has been phenomenal and retailers around the UK are reporting a virtual sell out within the first four… Read More ›
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Super Lawyer Required?
Talk about complex. Stan Lee Media, which the legendary Stan Lee no longer has any involvement with, is suing Marvel for a stonking $5 billion — claiming rights to titles including Spider-Man. Stan Lee Media was orginally co-founded by Lee,… Read More ›
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Racing Rockets!
Anyone interested in getting costumes based on comics characters might be interested in this interview with designer Ruby Rocket, who has developed a deserved web-wide reputation for her creations based on the likes of Marvel’s Black Cat etc. Ruby has,… Read More ›
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This week’s great Internet find…
I just found this on the Internet thing: a ‘lost’ Marvel UK Warheads strip, Loose Cannons, by Dan (Sinister Dexter) Abnett and Mark (Durham Red) Harrison Edited by Jacqui Papp, the project – guest starring Death’s Head II and Dark… Read More ›
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Rebellion Buying Spree
Hot on the heels of their purchase of comics-to-ipod publisher Clickwheel comes news that 2000AD owner Rebellion Studios has acquired Ignition’s Banbury development studio, formerly known as Awesome Developments and perhaps best known for developing the PSP puzzle game Archer… Read More ›
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Thrud #5 – The Beer Necessities
Writer-artist-genius Carl Critchlow has just sent me a copy of Thrud the Barbarian #5: The Bear Necessities, the continuing four-colour adventures of the very stupid fantasy warrior he first created for fanzines which went on to become one of the… Read More ›
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Modern Tales adopts CBR
The Modern Tales suite of websites, which publishes the work of webcomics creators such as the brilliant Roger “Fred the Clown” Langridge has just announced it’s to offer select longform comics in the downloadable CBR format. This is a pretty… Read More ›
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Sean Blair reveals Commando secrets
Commando Picture Library writer Sean Blair has just provided downthetubes with a terrific piece on his experiences writing Commando. Special thanks to Sean for taking time out to write the piece, which includes some useful tips on writing Commando. Also… Read More ›
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Naughty Artists at Work
Hmm, I seem to have passed to the dark side this week with all these US comic comments, but it seems I’m not the only one being naughty. As several fans have spotted, Ms Marvel clearly does have the sexiest… Read More ›
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Gorilla Sex?
Gorillas may have been responsible for the introduction of pubic lice in humans, according to a new study. Evolutionary biologist David Reed of the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville USA has traced the genetic structure of lice and… Read More ›
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Shatner versus Wheaton
Somehow, no matter how immersed in a show you become when editing or being part of the production of its official Magazine, some aspects of that show’s history slip you by. Case in point: Wil Wheaton‘s apparently revived beration of… Read More ›
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Captain America
I think Adam Rogers over on Wired‘s Blog Network neatly sums up my similar feelings (aside from how the character has best been handled in the past) on recent developments Hey, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m… Read More ›
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20 years of cartoon craziness celebrated
Angry aliens, terrified police and bemused party goers. Yes, it’s the 20th Anniversary Really Heavy Greatcoat – three pages of mothball-inspired mayhem! Artist Nick Miller has pulled out all the stops to mark this momentous date for the strip and… Read More ›
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Are Games really Killing Comics?
2000AD artist Ian Gibson’s renewed claim that computer games are killing comics, comments reported in the BBC’s feature on the comics’ 30th anniversary, have been savaged up by some games press web sites such as Games Radar and Addict3D, the… Read More ›
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Jack Lord is Kirk!
With all the excitement over the announcement that there will be a new Star Trek film, casting discussions can begin in earnest. But what about the casting of the original Star Trek series this film will apparently reboot, with new… Read More ›
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Steve Jobs Reinvents… Iran
Since I’m clearly in a silly mood, here’s one of my occasional pastiches of Apple’s Steve Jobs at work re-designing the world, etc.
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Fun while shopping
Okay, nothing to do with comics, but this e-mail joke tickled me, cited as evidence of what can happen if a wife or girlfriend drags her husband or boyfriend along shopping. Sadly, the letter below, allegedly sent by Tesco’s Head… Read More ›
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Greatcoat restored on Wikipedia
I’m delighted to report that The Really Heavy Greatcoat entry on Wikipedia has been restored. While there was apparently no consensus on the debate about its inclusion (now closed), Wikipedia’s editors ruled in favour of restoration on the grounds that,… Read More ›
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Greatcoat Support Grows…
(I amended this entry as the debate has now closed) Some of the great folks over at Forbidden Planet International have just pitched in to the debate over Wikipedia about the proposed deletion of an entry about my cartoon strip,… Read More ›