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 manga from Harrison Davies?

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    I bumped into artist Paul Harrison Davies yesterday, looking a bit knackered from the recent happy birth of his daughter but still bubbling at reaction to his fab strip in Constable and Robinson’s recently-published Mammoth Book of Best New Manga,… Read More ›

  • Hollywoodland

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    Heading for UK cinemas 24 November is Hollywoodland, which centres on the mysterious death of George Reeve, the man who played Superman. The trailer looks slick (but as others have pointed out, does it give too much away?) Ben Affleck,… Read More ›

  • Special

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    Okay, this one passed me by. I need to read more dreamwatch (unashamed plug). There’s a new film bearing down on us called Special, centring on Les Franken (played by Michael Rapaport), who leads a painfully unremarkable life as a… Read More ›

  • The Host

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    Anyone who’s feeling intrigued by the new monster movie The Host might find the official Korean web site interesting (www.thehost.co.kr). Entertaining use of Flash… make sure you allow pop-ups on the site.

  • Cat Tracking into parallel dimensions

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    It’s a well known fact that many SF and comics writers own cats. Don’t ask me why, it’s just one of those weird rules of the universe. Of course many freelancers work from home, but even they must sometimes wonder… Read More ›

  • Is The Eagle a British icon?

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    Having just received a “Media Advisory” from icons.org.uk celebrating Guy Fawkes’ nomination as a national British icon, I thought I’d check to see who else was up for this “celebration of British culture”, backed by Culture Online, part of the… Read More ›

  • More from Moores

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    Read Yourself Raw reports that Alan Moore discusses the new League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen book The Black Dossier at Wizard www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/002034679.cfm Talking of Moores, folk may enjoy Leah Moore’s scathing review of their hotel accommodation in Lancaster, posted on Virtual-Lancaster…. Read More ›

  • Astrapets

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    I’ll put something up on the main site later, but just received two fab books from artist Bambos Georgiou, the first of his Astrapets collection. Aimed at all ages, both The Great Space Chase and Dangerous Games are great fun:… Read More ›

  • Lancaster Comics Festival – Thanks

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    I’d just like to thank all the small press creators — Redeye, Omnivistascope, Futurequake, the Comic Creators Guild, Soaring Penguin and many others — and professional comics creators – including Bryan Talbot, John Ridgway (pictured), Leah Moore, John Reppion, Adrian… Read More ›

  • All set for the festival…

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    Lancaster’s Ashton Memorial will be filled with comics fans tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to the event. Local artist Ant Mercer has done a top job of PRing the thing, so I hope all his hard work pays off in… Read More ›

  • Pingu for Number One!

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    While I was working at Marvel UK, Paul Neary once foolishly confessed admiration for the animation Pingu. Once the laughter had died away he made me watch the show with a view to a potential pitch for a comic and… Read More ›

  • Mistaken Identity

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    Working on the virtual-lancaster.net web site as now only sometimes I do, just occasionally we get information from people in one of America’s Lancasters rather than Lancaster, England. Case in point is a very courteous note we had from the… Read More ›

  • Eagle Flies Again 14

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    Eagle Flies Again Issue 14

    All being well, printers permitting, Eagle Flies Again #14 is on course to be on sale at this weekend’s Lancaster Comics Festival. Wrapped in a smashing Scream!-inspired cover by Graeme Neil Reid, the 36-page final issue includes an all-time British… Read More ›

  • Dog Years

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    Ever wonder what your dog is thinking? Get an insider’s view with this film at www.atomfilms.com/af/content/dog_years. Very droll and one for anyone who’s ever owned or known a dog. Official site: www.dogyears.co.uk

  • Spectacularly un-Spectrish

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    At my age, you’d have thought I’d have learnt not to be fooled by a gorgeous comic cover only to find the contents of said comic don’t live up expectations. But having only recently been blessed with the return to… Read More ›

  • Collected Curios

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    For those of you who’ve ever been to a comics convention, or who have thought about going, this is surely for you both: www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.html – currently exposing the dark underbelly of fandom… in spades!

  • Blogging from space

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    This has nothing to do with comics but definitely worth a mention — in terms of potential bragging this one pretty much tops several list. Blogging from space. Private space tourist Anousheh Ansari – a Star Trek fan, by the… Read More ›

  • Adam Phillips “Bitey Castle” is truly stunning

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    Art from Bitey Castle by Adam Phillips

    I’ve just been sent this link to some truly stunning Flash animation, created by former Disney animator Adam Phillips: www.biteycastle.com (obviously, you need Flash to view) There’s some scary stuff here — part of a wider project this Australian creator… Read More ›

  • Delano’s Outlaw Nation collected

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    Outlaw Nation #6 - Cover

    Releases do Neorama reports that Jamie Delano‘s complete Outlaw Nation, which the British author describes as “my shot at a big, sprawling ‘American Adventure Story’”, first published by Vertigo in 2001 and 2002, will be published in November, in a… Read More ›

  • News read by Monkeys!

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    ROK Media - Monkey News

    The mobile “Monkey News” product I’ve been working on (although not as much as the rest of the team) — the news read by monkeys — has finally been launched. Designed for mobile phones, the service features animated news readers,… Read More ›