The sudden passing of the inspiring comics creator Alan Mitchell, perhaps best known for co-writing “Third World War” with Pat Mills for Crisis, aged just 55, came as a tremendous shock to both family and friends. Although we met only a couple of… Read More ›
Creating Comics
Articles on creating comics, how tos, reference information and more
Celebrating the British Small Press: 60 Great Small Comic Press (Part One)
When Marvel UK shrunk its original strip output in the mid-1990s, not being a 2000AD reader, comics creator Andy Luke had nowhere to go. He came to find that the small press, often photocopied works, were a core part of… Read More ›
Eagle Daze: The Life and Times of Leonard James Matthews – Part Twelve
Leonard Matthews, General Managing Editor of Fleetway and the Eagle Group of Comics, was a Creative Visionary… but that, Roger Perry argues in his extensive biography of the man which continues here on downthetubes, is only due to him having… Read More ›
Leam Comic Con Backs Small Press Day With Special Competition and Prizes
Leamington’s award-winning comic convention – Leam Comic Con – is offering independent comic creators the chance to raise their profile and win a table at their 2017 event, and promotional support. Launching on Small Press Day 2016 this coming weekend (9th… Read More ›
A Massive Awesome Comics Podcast Catch Up!
What with holidays and a mass of other stuff (yes, the work that pays the bills), I’ve gotten behind on coverage of what’s been on the small press-devoted Awesome Comics Podcast, although I did congratulate Vince Hunt, Dan Butcher and Tony… Read More ›
Doctor Who artist Rachael Smith launches new Patreon campaign
Rachael Smith, artist behind The Rabbit, Artificial Flowers and the humour comics in Titan Comics’ Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor comic series, has just launched a Patreon campaign which will hopefully enable her to continue with her webcomic, Bess. Hebden Bridge-based Rachael’s debut graphic novel House… Read More ›
Talking Art and Comics To Lancashire!
For those of you who missed it, you can still tune into my interview about comics on BBC Radio Lancashire, recorded yesterday at Lancaster’s Robert Gillow public house, taken over for most of the day to promote local Lancaster voices,… Read More ›
Crowdfunding Spotlight: “Red Range” by Joe R. Lansdale & Sam Glanzman
If you haven’t already, then please do check out Drew Ford‘s to get the positively stunning Western comic Red Range by Joe R. Lansdale (By Bizarre Hands) and by Sam Glanzman (A Sailor’s Story) back into print. Combining an unusual… Read More ›
In Review: The Moniaive Comic Festival 2016
Most comic conventions measure their success by either footfall, social media reach or economic success. Well, I am here to report that the Moniaive Comic Festival takes a different route to measuring success. The aim of Sue Grant and her… Read More ›
VATMOSS Tax Problems will continue for indie comic creators, in or out of the EU
Anyone remember the VATMOSS debacle which is still costing small business time and money – including comic creators selling digital editions? The debacle that put some small electronic publishers out of business? We reported on it here last year –… Read More ›
Tiger Crab Studios launches “Nevera Tales” Kickstarter, a new British comic book
Tiger Crab Studios has just launched a Kickstarter for Nevera Tales – described as The Shawshank Redemption meets Interview with a Vampire, a fantasy horror tale of mutual survival, written by the undead – although, actually, it’s a script by Daniel… Read More ›
Eagle Daze: The Life and Times of Leonard James Matthews – Part Eleven
Leonard Matthews, General Managing Editor of Fleetway and the Eagle Group of Comics, was a Creative Visionary… but that, Roger Perry argues in his extensive biography of the man which continues here on downthetubes, is only due to him having… Read More ›
Writer Maureen Hartley reveals the Inside Story on Writing for DC Thomson’s Girls’ Comics
Over on the brilliant Girls Comics of Yesterday site, dedicated to girls comics published by DC Thomson, Maureen Hartley has written a fascinating piece about her experiences writing picture stories and working for the company. She first started writing picture script… Read More ›
Comic Creator Spotlight: The Life and Work of Alberto Breccia – Part One by Ron Tiner
He’s perhaps best known to British comic fans for his work through the Bardon Press Features office in Barcelona for Fleetway Edtions in the 1960s, first on Super Detective Picture Library Number 172 “Passport to Peril” (an adaptation of the novel, Assignment Helene by Edward… Read More ›
Awesome Comics Podcast Episode 49 – Gareth A Hopkins and The Intercorstal
This week, the Awesome Comics Podcast gang are joined by Gareth A Hopkins, the creator of the abstract sequential comic book The Intercorstal. He talks about how the creation of this unique book came to be, the creators who have… Read More ›
Gordon Livingstone, I Presume – An Art Gallery
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”4″ gal_title=”Gordon Livingstone Art”] When I created my Comic Creator Spotlight for Gordon Livingstone, I had more pictures than I could shake a stick at and as a result, I have pictures that I did not use in the main… Read More ›
In Review: Drawing Breath/Argh! by Dicky Howett and Tim Quinn
By Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett Publisher: MIWK Publishing Out: Now The Book: Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett’s work will be known to comic readers everywhere, especially fans of Doctor Who – their strip “Doctor Who?” (also collected by MIWK, reviewed here) featured in Doctor… Read More ›
Awesome Comics Podcast Episode 48 – Dead Canary Comics
The minds behind Dead Canary Comics, Chris Baker and Matt Fitch, join the gang this week to talk about how they started in indie publishing, the impressive books they’ve released so far and the awesome books they’ve got coming up. There’s… Read More ›
Thank You, Doctor Who (Magazine) – You Kickstarted My Comics Career
Doctor Who Magazine, the longest running TV-tie in magazine in the world, as recognised by Guinness World Records, reaches its 500th issue today, Thursday 26th May 2016… And I’m proud to have been one of its many editors. Back in… Read More ›
New 2000AD features debut of artist Steven Austin in Galaxy’s Greatest Comic
This week’s 2000AD – Prog 1982 , available from all good newsagents, comic shops, and on various digital platforms! – sees the debut of artist Steven Austin in the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, providing art for a “Time Twister” tale -“The Timeless… Read More ›