China Now, the UK’s largest ever festival of Chinese culture, has announced the first ever major exhibition in Britain to explore Manhua – the powerful narrative art form of comics and graphic novels in China – and will include the… Read More ›
downthetubes News
British comic and creator news, book news, media news. If it’s news, it’s here.
Doctor Who Experiment
Purely for research purposes of course, given that ROK Comics, which I edit, has a comic creator too, I had a go at using the BBC’s Doctor Who Comic Maker. Have to say I wasn’t 100 per cent impressed: the… Read More ›
The Flash Gordon story retold
Comics International editor Mike Conroy is one of many contributors to a Flash Gordon documentary being screened on the the UK Sci-Fi Channel tonight (Monday 25 February) at 8.00pm. Scheduled to air ahead of the series pilot, the programme provides… Read More ›
Aye Write!
The third Aye Write! Book Festival takes place in Glasgow’s Mitchell Library from 7 to 15 March 2008. Included this year in the programme are talks by Scottish science fiction authors Iain M Banks and Ken MacLeod who will be… Read More ›
In Memoriam: Comic Artist and Colourist Steve Whitaker
British artist and colourist Steve Whitaker is, I am deeply sorry to report, no longer with us. Steve died on Thursday after becoming unwell on the way to his doctor’s. The loss has left family, friends and the comics fans… Read More ›
Iron Legion Reprinted Again!
The Iron Legion, perhaps the most reprinted Doctor Who strip ever, is to be collected again, this time as a collection of several strips currently being published as a monthly comic by Idea & Design Works (IDW) for the US… Read More ›
Star Trek Online and Streaming
In a major expanison of its online offerings, classic episodes from the US network CBS archive, including Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, are being made available online on CBS.com and across the 300 websites that make up the network’s… Read More ›
More War Toys from Starkings and Moritat
Elephantmen: War Toys #2 (or 3), from US publisher Active Images, goes on sale next week (27 February) in all sensible (and some insensible) comic shops. Written by former Marvel UK head honcho and First Tiger Richard Starkings (he who… Read More ›
Chat Show Horror?
No stranger to celebrity appearances, the fourth season finale of Doctor Who is to feature Paul O’Grady, according to The Sun. The TV presenter will play himself discussing “strange goings-on” during his chatshow as David Tennant’s Doctor departs on a… Read More ›
Under the Eagle
Under the Eagle, a new play from author, script writer and former Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel has just begun a three week run at the White Bear Theatre, London. Directed by Conrad Blakemore, Andrew says the play is… Read More ›
Live-action Akira planned
Hollywood Reporter notes that anime and manga classic Akira is getting the live-action big-screen treatment courtesy of Leonardo DiCaprio and Warner Bros. A link to British comics is of course tenuous but Marvel UK did run the manga in the… Read More ›
Go Monkey Nuts!
Following up on our earlier post about the new DFC comic, just to note the Etherington Brothers Monkey Nuts comic makes its debut in The Guardian this coming Saturday (23rd February). “After a long(ish) period of enforced silence we are… Read More ›
Prestonpandemonium Returns
Just a quick reminder (since Jeremy Briggs posted the info a couple of weeks ago) that Prestonpandemonium III, the third comics and small press event in Prestonpans, Scotland, will take place on Saturday 31st May 2008 – 12.00– 3.00 p.m…. Read More ›
Doctor Who, Torchwood, top iplayer faves
In an announcement that may renew calls for the BBC to contribute to increasing Internet infrastructure in the UK, the corporation has announced the number of programmes downloaded or streamed on demand via BBC iPlayer has already reached 17 million,… Read More ›
New Knight Rider set for full series
The Guardian reported earlier this week that NBC’s Knight Rider remake looks likely to earn a full series commission, after the 1980s show returned to US TV on Sunday night with almost 13 million viewers. The two-hour Knight Rider TV… Read More ›
Oz Comes to the UK
(Updated 20/3/08): The top-rated mini series Tin Man, inspired by The Wizard of Oz and screened on SciFi Channel US last year, will air in May on the UK SciFi Channel. As we reported last year, the fantasy adventure, produced… Read More ›
Captain Britain’s new book
(with thanks to Matthew Badham): Marvel releases the first issue of Captain Britain and MI:13, a new book starring Captain Britain in May, written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Leonard Kirk. Captain Britain and MI:13 is a new ongoing… Read More ›
Philip Pullman joins new weekly British comic, The DFC
Britain will see the launch of a brand new comic in May, which will include a weekly strip by award-winning author Philip Pullman. The DFC, the new weekly comic for boys and girls is the brainchild of David Fickling, publisher… Read More ›
Tennant and Tate’s tet-a-tet
(via the official BBC Doctor Who site): Catherine Tate is to interview David Tennant in the first of a new series of BBC Radio 4’s Chain Reaction. The lighthearted show’s format is a form of ‘interview tag’, with each edition’s… Read More ›
Book and Magazine Collector 292
The latest issue of Book and Magazine Collector, number 292 dated March 2008, has two comics related articles by the writing duo of David Ashford and Norman Wright. In the latest of the Great British Comic Artists series they cover… Read More ›