Tributes to comic creators, actors and others
Following the death of British comics artist Mike Western, reported earlier this week, we’ve published two new features on the main downthetubes site to celebrate his life and work. In Mike Western Remembered, Ian Wheeler pays tribute to the late,… Read More ›
For a little over five years, John Freeman and I produced Eagle Flies Again, a fanzine dedicated to British boy’s comics with a bias towards 1980s Eagle and other comics of that era. John and I were blessed to have… Read More ›
Sad news via Steve Holland’s Bear Alley: one of the giants of British comics, Mike Western, has laid down his pen for the last time. Mike, who suffered a heart attack in 2007 and was laid low by it for… Read More ›
Over on Bear Alley, Steve Holland has just paid tribute to writer and illustrator Terry Maloney, who died on 16 March 2008, aged 90. In the 1930s, Maloney joined the Communist Party and renounced his Catholic upbringing and the church… Read More ›
downthetubes is sad to report the death of writer and script editor Johnny Byrne. Byrne, born in Dublin in 1935, worked on many British television shows including Heartbeat, Tales of the Unexpected and the two BBC One vets series All… Read More ›
Brian Wilde, best known for his roles of Foggy in some 100 episodes of BBC comedy Last of the Summer Wine and Barrowclough in Porridge, but whose credits included several cult TV appearances, has died aged 80. Brian last appeared… Read More ›
It seems to be a really bad few weeks for the science fiction and comics medium, with yet another reminder that my generation is in “mortality country” (as Alan Moore describes it). Today comes the news of the passing of… Read More ›
Cartoonist Lew Stringer reports that Walt Howarth, the prolific artist of many British annual covers of the 1960s and 1970s has died, aged 80. This is Lancashire reports Walt, whose credits include work on Doctor Who, The Lone Ranger, Dempsey… Read More ›
Writer Mark Evanier has paid tribute to Rocketeer artist Dave Stevens, who died this week after a long battle with leukaemia. He was just 52. A tributes page has been added to the American artist’s official web site, and in… Read More ›
Over on Comics Down Under, Kevin Patrick recently paid tribute to Australian musician Smoky Dawson, who died last month but who was at one time famous enough to be the star of his own comic. “Even if you’re not a… Read More ›
Mourning the death of a gaming legend
A livejournal gommunity and a flickr group devoted to the late, already-much missed artist and colourist Steve Whitaker, who died last week (see related story), have now been launched. “If you were a pal or admirer of Steve and his… Read More ›
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 ›
I have just learnt that British artist and colourist Steve Whitaker is no longer with us. I don’t know many details except that he died on Thursday after becoming unwell, but at this point I just want to say how… Read More ›
downtheubes is sorry to report the death of ground-breaking American comic writer Steve Gerber, whose unique vision often confounded the mainstream publishers he worked for. The creator and co-creator of several characters including Howard the Duck and Omega the Unknown… Read More ›
Actor Barry Morse, best known for his role as Lt Philip Gerard in the classic drama The Fugitive but who also starred as knowledgeable Victor Bergman in the first season of Gerry Anderson’s live action series Space:1999, died earlier this… Read More ›
Nicky Saxx – possibly the only originated adventure strip still existing in a European newspaper – was cancelled earlier this month
I’m sorry to have to pass on the sad news of the death of Marion Van Der Voort. Marion, with her husband Richard, ran the At The Sign Of The Dragon bookshop in London for many years and regularly took… Read More ›
George MacDonald Fraser, author of the hugely entertaining Flashman novels, and is credited for the screenstory and screenplay on the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy, has died aged 82. The Daily Mail, The Times and other papers report Fraser, whose… Read More ›
(via the FPI blog and Dave Langford’s Ansible) The family of the writer Peter Haining, who died recently will be celebrating his on Thursday 6 December at noon at Colney Wood Burial Park, Watton Road, Colney, Norwich.“Family flowers only but… Read More ›