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.

  • Gene Colan gravely ill

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    American writer Clifford Meth has put out an urgent plea to help raise money for the family of one of America’s greatest comic artists Gene Colan, who is gravely ill. The funds are needed to cover medical expenses, as they… Read More ›

  • Comic Expo Reports Round Up

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    David Hailwood will be reporting on the Bristol Comic Expo specifically for downthetubes in due course, but in the meantime, here’s some links to just some of the reports on other comic sites: • Comic Book Resources has an article… Read More ›

  • Eagle Award Wnners Announced

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    The winners of the 2008 Eagle Awards have been announced, and with the results comes news that this year was a record-breaking one, with well over 12,000 voters participating. Continuing to expand their worldwide penetration, organisers say the 2008 awards… Read More ›

  • Cameron’s Crash Course Launches

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    The BBC has just published an 88-page full-colour online interactive comic called Crash Course drawn by top British comics artist Neill Cameron. Neill told downthetubes he spent “a good chunk of last year working on the comic for the BBC”… Read More ›

  • Spoof: Thunderbirds hit by spiralling fuel costs

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    Satirical British website NewsBiscuit has jumped on the Thunderbirds bandwagon that seems to be rolling rather rapidly right now, with an article claiming International Rescue, commonly known as Thunderbirds, has announced that they have been forced to limit their world-saving… Read More ›

  • 2008 Eagle Annual – Cutaways

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    (With thanks to Will Grenham): Last September, Orion published the rather confusingly titled Eagle Annual: The Best of the 1950s Comic, which reprinted pages from the first decade of the weekly Eagle comic. It was a nice nostalgic book, but… Read More ›

  • Slaine Slayed?

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    Last year, we reported how anti road campaigners in Eire had borrowed Pat Mills 2000AD character Slaine to promote protest over the building of the M3, much to Pat’s delight at the time. Sadly, it seems not even barbarian warriors… Read More ›

  • Brains Works Best When Hydrated!

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    (with thanks to Jeremy Briggs): Hot on the heels of the Specsavers Thunderbirds-inspired ad for their Reaction glasses comes a new commercial from mineral water company Drench using a dancing Brains to promote their product. Brains dances his way through… Read More ›

  • Nebulous Returns

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    The SF comedy series Nebulous returns to BBC Radio 4 at 11 pm on Thursday 15 May for the first in a new series of six episodes. Set in 2099, the comedy series involves the Key Environmental Non-Judgemental Taskforce (KENT)… Read More ›

  • BBC’s Comedy Map Of Britain – Newcastle

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    The BBC2 programme The Comedy Map of Britain turned its attention to the North East of England for the third programme of the second series. Having previously been to the impressive century old headquarters of D C Thomson in Dundee… Read More ›

  • Red Cross Charity Comic Launched

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    Floods Charity Comic

    Available now from lulu.com is a downloadable book, Flood, created to raise funds for the Red Cross. Initiated by Adam R. Grose, publisher of Clown Press, and with the help of John Freeman, a wide selection of writers and artists… Read More ›

  • Comic Art Now Goes On Sale

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    On sale now in a good book shop near you — or, very possibly, on stalls at this weekend’s Comic Expo in Bristol — is the much anticipated Comic Art Now from industry veteran Dez Skinn, a 200-page “comic art… Read More ›

  • Dan Dare Exhibition Reviews

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    Several newspapers and web sites have reported on the new Dan Dare and the Birth of Hi Tech Britain exhibition at the Science Museum in London. • The Guardian has posted a gallery of images from the strip and images… Read More ›

  • New Moon Queen Adventure on ROK Comics

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    Everyone loves superhero the Moon Queen – but she’s blissfully unaware of it! Her best friend is the Bee – the only one who doesn’t seem to want something from her. MQ’s real name is Agnes Bale, she can fly… Read More ›

  • ROK buys Jalipo Media

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    ROK Entertainment Group Inc., the global mobile entertainment group and owners of ROK Comics (which is run by downthetubes’ John Freeman), has announced that it has acquired 100 per cent of the issued and to be issued share capital of… Read More ›

  • Remembering Heroes

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    There was a time not that long ago when British boy’s comics celebrated the heroism of British and Commonwealth servicemen. As London celebrates the current British forces with the City Salute, Jeremy Briggs takes a look back at how British… Read More ›

  • In Review: The Wolfmen

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    Review by David Hailwood Another fine offering from Accent UK, publishers of Robots, The Wolfmen successfully merges the crime and horror genre. This time, we get a stand alone comic written by Dave West and drawn by Andy Bloor set… Read More ›

  • Return of the Cat

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    British comics artist ‘Israeli reports via his blog that local stray Lucky the Half Face Cat has resurfaced post winter near his London home. “He’s survived another winter,” says ‘Israeli, whose recent strips include various strips for 2000AD and contributions… Read More ›

  • Eisner Awards Voting Opens

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    The online voting facility for this year’s Eisner Awards are now open and you can vote online for your favourites from the nominees, which are listed in full on the Will Eisner Awards web site. British creators nominated include Nick… Read More ›

  • Studio Space Signings

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    Marking the launch of Image Comics’ exciting Studio Space book, the publishers have lined up four signings/ events throughout the UK starting in May. Written by the creators of Tripwire magazine – Joel Meadows and Gary Marshall – Studio Space… Read More ›