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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John Cooper’s Rugby World Cup strip
For the Rugby World Cup final (yes, yes , I know it was a couple of weeks ago but I’m a bit behind) the Guardian newspaper produced a 12 page special full of the usual talikng heads, talking, as it… Read More ›
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In Memoriam: Manny Curtis, Cartoonist and War Veteran
David Lloyd marks the passing of a groundbreaking comic creator
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Comica rounds off with British creator events
Comica in London is coming to a close – with 5 and 6th November evenings polishing off this year’s festival at the ICA in The Mall. On Saturday, Nick Abadzis launches his Laika graphic novel about the world’s first living… Read More ›
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What Editors Really Think
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been having an email discussion with a few creators about the Joy of Pitching — that dark art of trying to sell a script to an editor. For some years now, downtheubes has… Read More ›
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Cosmogenesis Trailers Released
Ramping up its publicity for a 550 page collection of Adam Grose and Tony Suleri‘s epic SF comic Cosmogenesis: The Chronicles of Quongo, Clown Press have just released several video trailers for the book via YouTube. The book — a… Read More ›
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More cuts to kids TV
Disturbing news from the BBC. SaveKidsTV reports CBBC is being required to make 5 per cent cuts over the next five years — a drop from an annual spend of £108 million now to £98 million in 2012. As a… Read More ›
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More Sound of Drowning released
Comic creator Paul O’Connell, creator of cult comic book The Sound of Drowning, has a brand new issue (#10! double figures! ) out now. “It’s a non-linear comic book inspired by those kids ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ stories,” he says,… Read More ›
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Ian Gibson Column: Mobile Phones and Dan Dare
Ian Gibson goes mobile. Comics, that is…
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The Flying Friar arrives
Thursday 1st November is All Saints Day in the UK. What better date to choose for The Flying Friar to return to print, now in full colour, from Markosia? Created by British gossip columnist Rich Johnston and German illustrator Thomas… Read More ›
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Hippo Fairy Tale in the works
Active Images, the innovative US comics company run by former Marvel UK talent Richard Starkings, has begun promoting an unusual fairy tale – starring hippopotamus hero, Hip Flask. Captain Stoneheart and the Truth Fairy Hardcover by Ben 10 creator Joe… Read More ›
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‘Boring’ writer becomes bestseller
Actor, director and cult guru, Kevin Smith now has another accolade to add to his name, as astonishing sales of his new book My Boring-Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith (out now from Titan Books) have made… Read More ›
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Murky Depths
A quick plug now for Murky Depths, a quarterly anthology of top quality speculative fiction, including comics, with sprinklings of horror and fantasy that push the boundaries of science fiction. The first issue was released a couple of months ago… Read More ›
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ComicSpace and Webcomics Nation announce merger
ComicSpace community creator Josh Roberts and WebComics Nation creator Joey Manley have announced the merger of various properties into a single corporate entity. When the dust settles, ComicSpace, Webcomics Nation, TalkAboutComics and OnlineComics.net will be rolled up into one big… Read More ›
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Spaced goes Stateside
UK TV trade magazine Broadcast reports US broadcaster Fox has ordered a pilot of a US version of Nick Pegg’s Spaced, which revolves around a young man and woman who pose as a couple in order to rent a cheap… Read More ›
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Titan gets The Spirit
Adding yet another official, in-depth companion to its catalogue, Titan Books has announced it acquired worldwide rights to a deluxe making-of book for the Lionsgate and Odd Lot Entertainment production of Will Eisner’s The Spirit, due to be released in… Read More ›
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Complete Peanuts
I came across another comics gem in one of our two local Waterstones this weekend, just on sale in the UK — Charles Schultz Peanuts are being collected chronologically in some classy but reasonably priced hardback editions. These really nice… Read More ›
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Mad World
Just occasionally, all the hard work the team do here at downthetubes gets some welcome praise from our many readers that encourages us all to keep plugging away at the site. Several indie comic creators have kindly written in recently,… Read More ›
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Joe Colquhoun Article In B&MC 288
Book and Magazine Collector issue 288 continues David Ashford and Norman Wright’s Great British Comic Artists series with a twelve page article on Joe Colquhoun, consisting of ten pages of mainly colour illustrations backed up with a two page Price… Read More ›
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Local Papers victims of Spanner PR stunt
downthetubes has learnt that our story posted yesterday about a missing Dick Spanner puppet is pure hokum contrived by the PR company promoting the release of the new DVD – and many local papers across the country have been victims… Read More ›
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Where’s Clive?
(Note: the “missing puppet” story that inspired our reporter Jeremy Briggs’ research below was quickly revealed as a PR hoax, see follow up, but we have kept this item live for information purposes) Gerry Anderson fans have a new game… Read More ›