Steve Holland at Bear Alley Books has just the next title from the independent publisher will be a reprint of the 1979 series “Arena”, published by DC Thomson.
Originally serialised in The Crunch, created by Dave Taylor (not to be confused with the British artist of the same name) and Quique Alcatena, reveals how the 21st century world is run by a small elite and criticism is met by revoking the citizenship of adversaries of the state and sending them to the Arena where they are forced to compete in gladiatorial games with high-tech weaponry in battles to the death. (Which doesn’t sound too far-fetched given the state of the world, to be honest).
A journalist tried for writing seditious material is sentenced to fight in the Arena. Will Mark Sabor survive? Or will he find ways to rebel against the cruel tyranny of corporations who control this violent world?
Along with work for The Crunch, Dave Taylor wrote for Bullet, Starblazer, Hotspur, Victor and other DC Thomson titles. “I’m hoping that he’ll share some memories of his writing career for the book’s introduction,” says Steve.
A self-taught Argentinian artist who acknowledges his work is influenced by creators such as Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane, Jack Kirby, Lucho Olivera and Barry Windsor Smith, among others, Quique Alcatena, now perhaps best known for his work on US comics such as Batman, Conan the Barbarian and The Fantastic Four, began his career as an assistant to Chiche Medrano at Ediciones Record in the 1970s, before securing work at DC Thomson in the UK. He started work on US comics in the late 1980s, but has created many strips for Argentinian titles such as the children’s magazine Anteojito magazine.
• Arena should be available from September. More info: www.bearalley.blogspot.co.uk
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “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.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Collections, downthetubes Comics News, Featured News
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