We were sorry to hear the news that actress Lois Maxwell died at the weekend. Best known as the actress who starred as M’s long-suffering secretary Miss Moneypenny in fourteen James Bond movies, she appeared in over 50 films (her… Read More ›
Obituaries
Tributes to comic creators, actors and others
In Memoriam: Phil Frank
downthetubes is sorry to report the death of San Francisco cartoonist Phil Frank, whose cartoons graced the pages ofthe city’s The Chronicle and other newspapers for more than 30 years. He was 64. Paying tribute to Phil, The Chronicle reports… Read More ›
Project: Rooftop to host ‘Wieringo Week’ tribute
In memory of Mike Wieringo, who passed away earlier this month, Project: Rooftop has announced an open call for redesigns of Bart Allen (Impulse/Kid Flash/The Flash), the character created in 1994 by Wieringo and Mark Waid. Submissions will be accepted… Read More ›
Comics Artist Phil Gascoine: Tributes Pour In
Tributes to one of Britain’s unsung comic heroes, Phil Gascoine, who has died after a short illness, have poured into downtheubes after an online appeal. You can read them alongside a 2006 interview with Phil here, while over on Bear… Read More ›
In Memoriam: Phil Gascoine
I’m very sorry to report that artist Phil Gascoine has died after a short illness. For those of you who knew him the news comes as a terrible shock. He was once chairman of the Society of Strip Illustrators and always… Read More ›
From The Land Beyond Beyond
What is the first thing you look for when you open that bumper Christmas edition of the Radio Times in December? As a long time fan of Ray Harryhausen’s brand of stop motion-films, I always look to see how many… Read More ›
State Course And Speed
It was with sadness that I hear that Peter Tuddenham has died at the age of 88. He will always be remembered in the British telefantasy community for the voices that he gave to the various computers in Blake’s 7:… Read More ›
Doug Marlette killed in car crash
The Pulitzer Prize-winning and sometimes controversial cartoonist Doug Marlette, who the Washington Post reports recently turned his incisive wit toward a budding career as a novelist, died on Tuesday 10 July in a car accident in Mississippi. Marlette, who was… Read More ›
James Reddington dies
I was very sad to hear of the death of British small press activist and Portent Comics activist James Reddington, who died last week aged, I’m told, just 28. I met him only a couple of times, but he came… Read More ›
McBride tribute in The Guardian
Following my news item on the sad death of illustrator Angus McBride recently, The Guardian published a full obituary to Angus yesterday 26 May, written by Steve Holland. In it, William Shepherd of Osprey, the Oxford-based publisher of military history… Read More ›
In Memoriam: Angus McBride
I’ve just heard that one of Britain’s best loved and one of the world’s most respected historical illustrators, Angus McBride, died on 15 May 2007 from a heart attack. He was 76. Angus McBride was one of the world’s most… Read More ›
In Memoriam: Brant Parker
God, people will be thinking I’m an incredibly morbid kind of bloke, which isn’t the case at all, but there’s been another death in the comics community. Just days after reporting the death of Italian artist Massimo Belardinelli (2000AD co-0creator… Read More ›
In Memoriam: 2000AD artist Massimo Belardinelli
A 2000AD legend has passed
Johnny "BC" Hart Dies
76-year-old Johnny Hart, award-winning creator of the popular B.C. comic series and co-creator of The Wizard of Id with Brant Parker, died this weekend. He apparently suffered a stroke while working at his drawing table at home in Nineveh, Broome… Read More ›
In Memoriam: Jim Cronin
I was very sorry to hear from my Mum last night that ape rescue campaigner Jim Cronin died this week. Jim was the co-founder of Dorset’s Monkey World with his wife Alison, an internationally renowned ape rescue centre I’ve visited… Read More ›
In Memoriam: Joe Gill
(Thanks to Shaqui): Joe Gill is probably not a name most of British comics fans will be familiar with, but Joe Gill was one of the most prolific US comic writers, mainly for Charlton, and contributed strips to their Space:1999… Read More ›
In Memoriam: Bryan Pearce
I was very sorry to hear about the passing of artist Bryan Pearce, who died 11 January. My late father was the vicar of St. Ives Parish Church in the 1970s and I recall meeting Bryan as a child on… Read More ›
Farewell to Fluff
He may not have been as influential as John Peel, but I was sorry to hear that DJ Alan Freeman (no relation) has died at 79. It was Freeman – and school friend Tony Corden – who introduced me to… Read More ›
In Memoriam: Eagle comic editor Derek Lord
Former comics editor Derek Lord died at 10.10am on Thursday 23rd September 2004, having been rushed into hospital for an emergency operation for a perforated bowel. He was 77 years old. I’d known Derek for about five years – from… Read More ›
In Memoriam: Comic Artist Art Wetherell
We’re sorry to report that talented artist Art Wetherell died on Christmas Day 2003, of a perforated stomach ulcer. He had many friends in the UK comic fraternity, and beyond, and will be much missed. Art’s credits include The Searchers… Read More ›