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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London Calling – Part Three
Walk in the park, breakfast at the Honest Sausage in Regent’s Park, lunch at the Richaux in St Johns Wood, where they have their own brand of tea bags and the three men on the next table are discussing £100… Read More ›
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London Calling – Part Two
Explored Regent’s Park yesterday, blown away by the surrounding architecture and the sheer variety of wildlife, so many herons it’s amazing. Read an article in Daily Telegraph later suggesting grey squirrels may be responsible for predation on song birds eggs…. Read More ›
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London Calling May 2006 – Part One
Old entry added, Saturday 27 May 2006: Holiday weekend – various parties and a West End show, which is an unusual event for us. Journey ok on train to London. Marvelled as gran succeeded in marshaling five kids successfully from… Read More ›
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I think I’ll take the stairs
Inspired by the human cannonball of circus fame (or some super heroes, perhaps), US defence researchers have patented a device to fire police officers, fire-fighters or special forces to the top of a five-storey building, New Scientist reported earlier this… Read More ›
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Scary nuclear stuff
Ooh, this is cheery: a dynamic map showing Chernobyl fallout applied to your choice of UK nuclear power stations (you can change the wind direction too). I remember when Chernobyl went up and it raining buckets in Morecambe (as usual,… Read More ›
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Beaver and Steve
Ages ago, possibly even on this blog, I raved about Beaver and Steve, an online strip from the superbly talented James Turner (a fellow 20sixer, he of Erudite Baboon). Anyway, he’s only gone and had many of the strips collected… Read More ›
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The Doctor Sings
This is a labour of love: “The Doctor Sings” will I’m sure eventually fall foul of both Tom Baker and BT, but someone has taken advantage of Tom Baker’s use as the company’s voice of text messaging (well, until recently,… Read More ›
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Going Underground
This web site is occasionally visited by people seeking more information about London’s Tube, and leave disappointed, so I’m happy to report the ongoing success of a site that is actually about London Underground, written by friend, Mecca Ibrahim: http://london-underground.blogspot.com…. Read More ›
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Darfur is Dying Game Launched
US MTV Networks’ mtvU college TV network has launched Darfur is Dying, a Web-based game created by students at the University of Southern California. It rapidly brings home the hopelessness of Dargur’s refugees without outside help, offering users real world… Read More ›
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New technology may be changing the human brain
Thought-provoking article in The Guardian yesterday (and even more thought-provoking responses from readers) about expert warnings about the potential impact of digital communication on how people think and learn: is technology changing our brains? Could digital comics be warping out… Read More ›
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Secret Wars Re-enactment Society
Priceless tomfoolery at the expense of Marvel’s now ancient 12-part mini series…
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Battler Britton Returns!
Battler Britton is the next IPC character to see revival through DC Comics Wildstorm imprint, in a five-issue mini series from writer Garth Ennis, illustrated by Colin Wilson, with painted covers by Garry Leach. The first issue will go on… Read More ›
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Jeff Anderson Heads for the Riddler’s Fayre
British comics artist Jeff Anderson, whose work on the critically acclaimed Lion Graphic Bible earned him and writer Mike Maddox a prestigious Angouleme award in 2000, is busy at work on a new project — a five-part graphic novel from Highland Books…. Read More ›
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Striker Goes Down
(Updated 10/5/05):The UK’s weekly football comic Striker is to fold this week, on its 87th issue. Publisher Pete Nash broke the news in last week’s issue and in a letter to the title’s shareholders — many of them readers who… Read More ›
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Comics and Crumpets Column Three: British Comics characters revived – by DC
This feature first appeared on the now defunct Comic World News on 31st January 2005 BRITISH COMICS CHARACTERS REVIVED – BY DC This issue, I’ve got more information on two projects reviving some classic British comics — and am pleased… Read More ›
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Barmy Comics from Barrow
Comics creator Dave Hughes, who lives in Barrow, has just sent me a hilarious collection of his comic strip tales titled The Immeasurable adventures of Gorky Park. Dave’s strange, spikey cartoon work, akin to Rugrats on acid, tells the bizarre… Read More ›
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Is there something in the water?
So let me see if I have this right… — In the past few weeks in Lancaster, almost every councillor (except the Greens and some Skerton reps) have voted in support of a bypass route they’ve all consistently rejected in… Read More ›
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Star Trekking…
After the weirdness of getting RAF Magazine off the ground (so to speak), I’m now preparing to step back in time (for me, anyway) to edit Star Trek Magazine again. I was the launch editor on this way back in… Read More ›
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Yalikavak, Turkey 2004
Just back from our first ‘proper’ holiday in five years — Turkey again but this time it was Yalikavak on the Bodrum peninsula. Been to Cavus and Cappadocia in the past. We went with Manos, enduring the torture of… Read More ›
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London Visit
It’s hot, it’s sweaty and it’s taking over the country. What is it about the place that draws so many to it? You end up with black snot if you walk its streets. I don’t actually think it’s that more… Read More ›