The annual Bristol Comic and Zine Fair returns to The Station on 4th October 2014, and the organisers have opended the dorrs to creators to apply for tables. The Fair, now in its fourth year and curated by Bear Pit Zines… Read More ›
Creating Comics
Articles on creating comics, how tos, reference information and more
Pat Mills: Great War was world’s first sci-fi war
BBC Scotland has a new, short interview with Charley’s War co-creator Pat Mills on their web site this morning, in which he offers an insight into writing the strip… and why he believes how mechanised warfare – machine guns, zeppelins and planes – made World War… Read More ›
Panel Borders investigates Private Eye
Continuing a month of shows looking at comic strips and controversy on Britain’s only regular comics radio show Panel Borders, guest presenter Tom Sutcliffe talks to Nick Newman (author of Private Eye: A Cartoon History) and magazine editor Ian Hislop about memorable… Read More ›
MancsterCon back in August
The MancsterCon Independent Sequential Art Convention returns to Manchester in August, following a successful three day event last year filled with screenings, talks and workshops, cosplay catwalks and a host of local comic artists. Taking place from 8th –… Read More ›
Writers & Artists Present: Getting Published: Which Route Do I Take?
There’s a conference on self-publishing in London in July that, while focusing on the written word, might be of interest to any comic creator who is releasing their own work direct. Writers & Artists Present: Getting Published: Which Route Do… Read More ›
Art Hero: An interview with Daniel Clifford
I’ve been talking to Daniel Clifford about his work and his collaborations and fascinating sounding workshops, and I’m sharing the resulting interview here and the ace Forbidden International blog. Born in South Shields in 1986, writer and educator Daniel Clifford, who has… Read More ›
Taking the Widdershins route: An interview with web comic creator Kate Ashwin
Regular readers of downthetubes will recall that earlier this week we plugged an upcoming Laydeez do Comics event in Leeds, which prompted me to follow the links to the creator sites, just to check they were correct more than… Read More ›
Titan teams with Lakes Festival for new comics Talent Search
Titan Comics has just announced it is teaming-up with the Lakes International Comics Art Festival to launch a competition for unpublished comics creations. The competition goes live today (Thursday 1st May) and is an exciting opportunity for fledgling comic creators to submit completed… Read More ›
Behind the Scenes: Creating Sally Heathcote: Suffragette
Out this week from publisher Jonathan Cape is is Sally Heathcote: Suffragette, marvellous historical graphic novel created by Mary and Bryan Talbot and Kate Charlesworth which I enthused about in our early review here. Sally Heathcote: Suffragette is a… Read More ›
Eddie Campbell joins Lakes International Comic Art Festival Line-Up
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival has just announced that the award-winning comic creator Eddie Campbell has joined the event’s line-up of guests, as one of the “extra” names for the weekend-long event in October that will be revealed across the next few months…. Read More ›
Graphic Brighton celebrates the town’s many comic links
Graphic Brighton, which takes place on Saturday 24th May, will celebrate the comic community in Brighton with talks, one to one surgeries, Q and A’s, interactive presentations and hands-on workshops. Guests include local creators Hannah Berry, Paul Collicutt, Lawrence Elwick, John Higgins,… Read More ›
Leeds Laydeez Do Comics offer “Yorkshire Showcase” with Widdershins creator Kate Ashwin and more
The Leeds group of the international Laydeez Do Comics project are hosting a special showcase of comic creators on Monday 19th May, as part of the Yorkshire Festival 2014, the first ever Arts and Cultural Festival in the lead up the… Read More ›
Happy Birthday, Overkill!
Overkill was a Marvel UK anthology published during the 1990s which ran for 52 issues, deliberately designed as a Marvel equivalent to 2000AD. Initially edited by myself, it was also edited by Alan Cowsill. The magazine was part of Editorial Director… Read More ›
Call for Papers: special Digital Comics issue of “Networking Knowledge” planned
A Call for Papers has just been announced for Digital Comics, a special-themed issue of Networking Knowledge, the journal of the MeCCSAPostGraduate Network. MeCCSA is the subject association that represents all who teach or research in Higher Education in media, communications and cultural studies,… Read More ›
Panel Borders: The Worldwide Comix of Jeffrey Lewis
Continuing a month of shows on the British comics radio show Panel Borders looking at the connections between comic books and music culture, guest presenter Conor O’Grady talks to American underground cartoonist Jeffrey Lewis about his comics such as Fuff and… Read More ›
Arvon announces Graphic Novel Writing with Bryan Talbot and Leah Moore
The Arvon Foundation has just announced it will be running a residential creative writing course, Graphic Novel Writing with Bryan Talbot and Leah Moore, at the end of July (28th July – 2nd August). Running at The Hurst in Shropshire, the… Read More ›
Luke Pearson, Isabel Greenberg and SelfMadeHero nominated for Will Eisner Awards
The nominations for this year’s Will Eisner Awards have just been announced. The awards will be given out in a gala ceremony on Friday, 25th July during Comic-Con International: San Diego. The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to… Read More ›
Panel Borders tackles the GHOSTS creative team as London exhibition looms
Continuing a month of radio shows about the depiction of musicians and music culture in comic books, this week’s episode of Britain’s Panel Borders coincides with our yearly look at the work of young graphic novelists whip will also be… Read More ›
Alan Grant and Tony Luke reunited for top secret ‘Project X’
Word has reached us of an exciting new ‘Project X’, from the minds of UK creators Alan Grant (Judge Dredd, Judge Anderson, Batman et al), Tony Luke (Dominator, Hellkatt, 2000AD), Yasushi Nirasawa (Phantom Core, Godzilla, Guillotina) and Les Garner… Read More ›
Amazon buys Comixology, what now for independent comic creators?
I’ve just seen the news that Amazon.com is acquiring comiXology, the US company that developed a cloud-based digital comics platform. In a statement, David Naggar, Amazon’s VP, content acquisition and independent publishing said “Amazon and comiXology share a passion for reinventing… Read More ›