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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Web Comix Thing returns in March
The UK Web & Mini Comix Thing 2008 will be happening on 22 March 2008. The show, dedicated to small and independent comics press, is already looking pretty crowded and the organisers advise that if you’re a potential exhibitor then… Read More ›
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Doonesburyland
On Thursday morning this week (10th Jan) Radio 4 (11:30am-noon) will be broadcasting Doonesburyland. Joe Queenan conducts a rare interview with Gary Trudeau, creator of the Doonesbury cartoon strip and in many ways the most high profile chronicler of the… Read More ›
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John Dares
The fab comics blog Bear Alley reports that veteran Brit comic artist John Ridgeway is working on a new Dan Dare story for the semi-professional magazine Spaceship Away. According to Bear Alley the strip will… …take Dan back to Terra… Read More ›
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Play Misty for Me
(news via Charles Ellis): Thanks to Egmont, copyright owner of popular 1970s girls comic Misty, you now have the opportunity to vote for your favourite Misty story to be printed again in full again online on the Misty comic… Read More ›
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Farewell to Flashman creator
George MacDonald Fraser, author of the hugely entertaining Flashman novels, and is credited for the screenstory and screenplay on the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy, has died aged 82. The Daily Mail, The Times and other papers report Fraser, whose… Read More ›
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Star Trek Meets Monty Python
Two universes collide… and the results are spectacular. First published back in July 2006 I believe, but no idea who did it. Admissions of guilt welcomed!
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Dare versus Dredd
No, not a new comic from Virgin (although I’m sure it’s been considered somewhere): this is the result of my first test opf google.com/trends, which offers a snapshot of web searches, comparing the number of search results for specific terms…. Read More ›
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How to make yourself really popular in Starbucks
Sometimes technology people come up with ideas that sound great on paper but in real life – and in the case of this bright idea from Apple, especially in queue-conscious Britain – they’re likely to cause a riot. Last month,… Read More ›
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Dan Dare on CD
The first Dan Dare story, Voyage to Venus is to be released on CD on 1 May 2008 by Orion Audiobooks. The Orion website claim this is “The first Dan Dare story to be created especially for audio.” Well, it’s… Read More ›
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Thunderbirds Night on BBC4
It’s official – BBC4 has gone scifi mad this week. As we reported back in October, BBC4 are having a “Thunderbirds are Go!” night tomorrow (Wednesday 2nd), followed on Thursday by a tribute to Voyage to the Bottom of the… Read More ›
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Patrick Stewart Supports Classical Comics’ Macbeth
Acclaimed Shakespeare actor and Star Trek star Patrick Stewart has applauded Classical Comics’ pioneering work
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New Halloween Comic
February sees the release of a new comic based on the successful Halloween movie franchise. The comic will be called Halloween: Nightdance. The first Halloween movie, directed by John Carpenter, was released in 1978 and the ninth movie, a remake… Read More ›
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Alan Grant Speaks
Judge Dredd writer Alan Grant will be presenting a lecture called Writing Tomorrow Yesterday: How Fiction Became Reality in Edinburgh on 29th January as part of the Edinburgh Lectures. Alan Grant first entered the comics industry in 1967 when he… Read More ›
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Berg to remake Dune
MTV reports that The Kingdom director Peter Berg is set to direct a new big-screen version of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel Dune. Berg said that the film would have been his next project, but the US writers’ strike is preventing… Read More ›
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Lost Girls reach the UK
Warning: Potential readers are warned of the “adult nature” of this book before following any links below. Lost Girls, Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s controversial take on the adult lives of Alice (from Alice in Wonderland), Wendy (from Peter Pan)… Read More ›
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Fontsy That…
The lettering style of Lancashire’s finest comic book artist and graphic novelist Bryan Talbot is finally at your beck and call thanks to the good graces of those awfully nice chaps at Comicraft, the US fonts company run by former… Read More ›
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Who ratings triumph
With the BBC dominating the ratings on Christmas Day, Doctor Who managed its best ratings since 1979 with the festive episode Voyage of the Damned, no doubt helped by the guest appearance of actress-singer Kylie Minogue, playing waitress Astrid on-board… Read More ›
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The New 12 Days of Christmas…
Beano artist and writer Kev F. Sutherland penned the following sketch from the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, recorded live at the Canal Cafe Theatre, London. Warning: some swearing…
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Happy Christmas from the Really Heavy Greatcoat
This Really Heavy Greatcoat strip pays tribute to Bob Dylan’s classic “Subterranean Homesick Blues” – script and art by Nick Miller
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(W)HO! (W)HO! (W)HO! It’s Christmas!
The Down The Tubes crack reporting team debate potential plotlines for the Doctor Who Christmas special. Last year I sat on (not behind) a sofa on Christmas Day and watched the Doctor Who special with my five year old nephew…. Read More ›