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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Making the most of classic War Comics
Carroll and Graf (the same publishing house of critically acclaimed The Mammoth Book of Best New Manga) releases The Mammoth Book of Best War Comics this month and the news has been picked up by several sites, including Releases de… Read More ›
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Wallace and Gromit web site revamped
Cynopsis reports that Aardman Animations has tapped the ROO Group, an online video solutions company, to re-launch its Wallace and Gromit website (www.wallaceandgromit.com) with increased video functionality. Wallace and Gromit content, including a series of short films and clips from… Read More ›
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Hold Your Dinosaurs!
Although we now know T-Rex might have actually caught up with that landrover in Jurassic Park (it could certainly have iutrun most of the England football team based on last night’s performance), we don’t know any more about the next… Read More ›
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Strange Embrace #3 Released
Strange Embrace #3 (the third issue in an eight-issue series) by British artist and writer David Hine is now on sale in specialist comic shops. These days, Hine, who writes a regular column for comics news site Broken Frontier, is… Read More ›
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Dalek Empire: The Fearless
Big Finish has just released an awesome CGI trailer to promote Dalek Empire IV: The Fearless, a mini-series of four, full-cast audio dramas with each chapter released on single CD. Spanning four spin off series from Big Finish’s Doctor Who… Read More ›
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Keith Robson’s History Of Comics
It has been open since the end of June and will end on Sunday 2nd September, but if you are near Hartlepool in the next couple of weeks then it is worth paying a visit to the Museum Of Hartlepool… Read More ›
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Cubicle 7 licences DC Thomson’s Starblazer for ‘space roleplaying adventures’
Head into space with Starblazer (not literally…)
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The Unofficial HANDbook of the Marvel Universe!
Here’s a fun comics project from a real unsung talent. London-based comics fan and longtime frequenter of comics events Martin Hand has started a project on his livejournal to draw some of his favourite Marvel Comics characters, including the Absorbing… Read More ›
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Kids Comics Competition announced
The Birmingham International Comics Show (BICS) in partnership with Peters the Booksellers and TBK Magazine recently launched the National Comic Art Competition. Kids across the UK and beyond have been invited to tell a two page comic story about how… Read More ›
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Read Yourself Raw
Online comics ‘zine Read Yourself Raw has just had another update, which includes previews of new book, comic and manga releases for October 2007 and a new Essential Reading list. The site’s worth a visit for its huge links section… Read More ›
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Star Wars Exhibition extended
Star Wars – The Exhibition has today announced that due to overwhelming popular demand the run at County Hall, Westminster, London will be extended until 12 January 2008. Exhibition Coordinator Jonathan Sands said: “The Exhibition is proving so popular that… Read More ›
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Comics Artist Phil Gascoine: Tributes Pour In
Tributes to one of Britain’s unsung comic heroes, Phil Gascoine, who has died after a short illness, have poured into downtheubes after an online appeal. You can read them alongside a 2006 interview with Phil here, while over on Bear… Read More ›
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Reboot Competition
Here’s some news of a great competition (its deadline 26 August) for comic artists courtesy of Josh Roberts, who runs the terrific comics web site comicspace – if you want to track down your favourite comic creators, try here! Vancouver-based… Read More ›
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Celebrity Chef
First we had Fanny Craddock, next Delia Smith, then Nigella Lawson, and now we have Maw Broon! Courtesy of those nice people at Waverley Books, Maw Broon’s Cookbook is due to be released on an unsuspecting world in October, just… Read More ›
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CBBC LIne Up includes "Sarah Jane Adventures"
The BBC’s revamped CBBC launches its new programming season on 3 September 2007 with a slew of fantasy and drama shows including Adventure Rock, a new online game and play environment for children which allows children to inhabit a virtual… Read More ›
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Babylon 5: The Lost Tales – Region 2 release news
The previously-mentioned Region 2 release of Babylon 5: The Lost Tales, a straight-to-DVD B5 project has been scehduled for 3 September 2007, quickly followed on 10 September by the release of Supernatural Season Two. The Region 1 DVD was released… Read More ›
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In Memoriam: Phil Gascoine
I’m very sorry to report that artist Phil Gascoine has died after a short illness. For those of you who knew him the news comes as a terrible shock. He was once chairman of the Society of Strip Illustrators and always… Read More ›
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Escape from New York – Again
Goodness only knows why, but a remake of Escape from New York is in the works. Various trade papers are reporting that New Line Cinema is in final talks with Len (Live Free or Die Hard) Wiseman to direct its… Read More ›
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Painkiller pulled
The SCI FI Channel US has cancelled the action series Painkiller Jane, according to Hollywood Reporter, which stars starring Kristanna Loken. The show, based on the comic book heroine created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada for Event Comics in… Read More ›
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Online superhero drama for SciFI UK in works
Sci Fi channel UK has ordered a superhero-themed mockumentary drama – the first commission for its new broadband player Sci Fi Play. Legion of Fire stars Ron Moody, playing 80-something Cecil Roper, aka Flash Harry, who runs a Croydon-based superhero… Read More ›