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.
-
More War Toys from Starkings and Moritat
Elephantmen: War Toys #2 (or 3), from US publisher Active Images, goes on sale next week (27 February) in all sensible (and some insensible) comic shops. Written by former Marvel UK head honcho and First Tiger Richard Starkings (he who… Read More ›
-
Chat Show Horror?
No stranger to celebrity appearances, the fourth season finale of Doctor Who is to feature Paul O’Grady, according to The Sun. The TV presenter will play himself discussing “strange goings-on” during his chatshow as David Tennant’s Doctor departs on a… Read More ›
-
Mr T in GB (Books, that is)
Preceding the worldwide launch of their Mr. T graphic novel in summer 2008, British publisher Mohawk Media has announced that they are celebrating with a special Limited Advance Edition. With a total number of only 4,000 copies, Mr. T: Limited… Read More ›
-
Under the Eagle
Under the Eagle, a new play from author, script writer and former Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel has just begun a three week run at the White Bear Theatre, London. Directed by Conrad Blakemore, Andrew says the play is… Read More ›
-
Live-action Akira planned
Hollywood Reporter notes that anime and manga classic Akira is getting the live-action big-screen treatment courtesy of Leonardo DiCaprio and Warner Bros. A link to British comics is of course tenuous but Marvel UK did run the manga in the… Read More ›
-
Go Monkey Nuts!
Following up on our earlier post about the new DFC comic, just to note the Etherington Brothers Monkey Nuts comic makes its debut in The Guardian this coming Saturday (23rd February). “After a long(ish) period of enforced silence we are… Read More ›
-
Prestonpandemonium Returns
Just a quick reminder (since Jeremy Briggs posted the info a couple of weeks ago) that Prestonpandemonium III, the third comics and small press event in Prestonpans, Scotland, will take place on Saturday 31st May 2008 – 12.00– 3.00 p.m…. Read More ›
-
New Knight Rider set for full series
The Guardian reported earlier this week that NBC’s Knight Rider remake looks likely to earn a full series commission, after the 1980s show returned to US TV on Sunday night with almost 13 million viewers. The two-hour Knight Rider TV… Read More ›
-
Oz Comes to the UK
(Updated 20/3/08): The top-rated mini series Tin Man, inspired by The Wizard of Oz and screened on SciFi Channel US last year, will air in May on the UK SciFi Channel. As we reported last year, the fantasy adventure, produced… Read More ›
-
Captain Britain’s new book
(with thanks to Matthew Badham): Marvel releases the first issue of Captain Britain and MI:13, a new book starring Captain Britain in May, written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Leonard Kirk. Captain Britain and MI:13 is a new ongoing… Read More ›
-
Philip Pullman joins new weekly British comic, The DFC
Britain will see the launch of a brand new comic in May, which will include a weekly strip by award-winning author Philip Pullman. The DFC, the new weekly comic for boys and girls is the brainchild of David Fickling, publisher… Read More ›
-
Digital Artists Handbook
folly – the digital arts agency and charity based in England’s NorthWest – recently launched an important new project, the Digital Artists’ Handbook, backed by Arts Council England, which might be a useful resource for comics creators. The Handbook is… Read More ›
-
Tennant and Tate’s tet-a-tet
(via the official BBC Doctor Who site): Catherine Tate is to interview David Tennant in the first of a new series of BBC Radio 4’s Chain Reaction. The lighthearted show’s format is a form of ‘interview tag’, with each edition’s… Read More ›
-
Al Davison’s new project
(via the Forbidden Planet International blog): Comics artist Al Davison, perhaps best known for his critically-acclaimed graphic novel The Spiral Cage (incredibly, the Active Images edition is not available through amazon.co.uk), is busy with a new project about Dwarfism. “I… Read More ›
-
Norbert le Mouton
(via Blimey! It’s Another Blog About Comics): Gary Northfield’s popular Beano (and first creator owned) strip Derek the Sheep has been collected into a 64-page softback book for the French market. Published by Actes-Sud-l’An 2, the full colour Norbert le… Read More ›
-
Hi-Ex Lives On
One of the organisers of the Hi-Ex comics convention in Inverness, Vicky Stonebridge, will be returning to Hi-Ex’s Eden Court venue on Sunday 25 May 2008 to host two workshops on How to Draw Manga. The two sessions will be… Read More ›
-
Book and Magazine Collector 292
The latest issue of Book and Magazine Collector, number 292 dated March 2008, has two comics related articles by the writing duo of David Ashford and Norman Wright. In the latest of the Great British Comic Artists series they cover… Read More ›
-
Who’s in London
(with thanks to Matthew Badham): Doctor Who comes to London, and not just in a specially created event for EastEnders, either. The Doctor Who Exhibition, Earls Court, London opens to the public Easter 2008. The exhibition will be situated in… Read More ›
-
BBC Angouleme Comics Festival Report 2008
BBC reporter Hugh Schofield has filed a report on this year’s Angouleme Festival on the BBC web site as part of coverage by Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent news programme, still reeling, it would seem, from arriving in the… Read More ›