As a newbie to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) Norman Boyd wondered how he was supposed to tackle a big event like this. Some of you will think “what’s he on about?” but experience tells me Norman’s not the… Read More ›
Reviews
In Review: Leamington Comic Con 2015
Leamington Comic Convention on the 17th October was an absolute blast. Rumours were that there had been a massive amount of tickets sold and unlike rumours about my hair being made in China, these rumours turned out to be 100… Read More ›
In Review: Whispering Sands
Written by Chris Sides Art by Freja Steele Lettering and additional artwork by Chris Travell “Tell him to hold on…” The Book: Northern Phuket, Thailand. Local fisherman Chen enjoys a rare ocean excursion with his estranged son, Kai, off the… Read More ›
Wonderfully weird: John Robbins “A Hand of Fingers”
He has lettered hundreds of pages of comics by other creators, and for years plugged and reviewed Irish and British publications on defunct small press-centric website Bugpowder. Now, Dubliner John Robbins has released A Hand Of Fingers, a terrific anthology of… Read More ›
In Review: Kenya – Aberrations
Kenya – Aberrations is the third book in Cinebook’s translation of Leo (Luiz Eduardo de Oliveira) and Rodolphe’s (Rodolphe Daniel Jacquette) ongoing series of spies, extinct beasts and strange flying lights that is set in post war-Kenya. After reporting to London,… Read More ›
In Review: The Red Shoes And Other Tales by metaphrog
Today sees the official release of metaphrog’s latest hardback, The Red Shoes And Other Tales, by American publisher Papercutz. metaphrog, writer John Chalmers and artist Sandra Marrs, have adapted Hans Christian Anderson’s The Red Shoes and The Little Match Girl,… Read More ›
In Review: Yoko Tsuno – Message For Eternity
Roger Leloup’s Japanese electrical engineer Yoko Tsuno returns in the tenth of her books to be translated into English by Cinebook, Message For Eternity. Yoko Tsuno books tend to alternate between contemporary stories and more overtly science-fiction stories and, while… Read More ›
In Review – Kill Screen Issue 4: Code Red
Written by Mike Garley Art by Joshua Sherwell Letters by Mike Stock “Humanity has reached its Kill Screen. Now only the strongest will survive as computer errors transcend from the digital world into our own, destroying everything in their… Read More ›
In Review: Ro-Busters – The Complete Nuts and Bolts Volume 1
Ro-Busters: The Complete Nuts and Bolts Volume 1 Written by Pat Mills Art by Carlos Pino, Jose Luis Ferrer, Dave Gibbons, Ian Kennedy, Kevin O’Neill, Mike Dorey, Geoff Campion Available from books stores, Amazon and comic book stores on the… Read More ›
In Revew: Saltire Invasion Deluxe Edition
Writer: John Ferguson Artists: Claire Roe, Gary Welsh, Tone Julskjaer and Lauren Knight Letterer: Phillip Vaughan Publisher: Diamond Steel Comics Released: 27th August 2015 When Saltire: Invasion was first launched in 2013 and reviewed by downthetubes, Diamond Steel Comics… Read More ›
Want to be in the comics industry? Lifting the Lid on Comics Uncovered 2015
Birmingham had barely caught its breath from all the excitement of the International Comic Expo (read our review here) the day before when more comic enthusiasts and professionals descended on The Studio venue for Comics Uncovered 2015. Jon Laight reports… The sister event… Read More ›
Cool as ICE! A Review of the International Comic Expo, Birmingham, 2015
England’s second city was the location for the latest and possibly the coolest comic convention on the circuit and Jon Laight was there for downthetubes… The International Comic Expo is held in the centre of Birmingham and organised by Shane Chebsey,… Read More ›
In Review: Thunderbirds – The Vault
By Marcus Hearn Designed by Mike Jones Published by Virgin Books Out: 10th September 2015 The Book: On 30th September 1965, International Rescue successfully completed their first assignment, and the Tracy brothers imprinted themselves on a generation of captivated children. Thirty-two… Read More ›
In Review: Octobriana – The Underground History
By John A. Short Publisher: Kult Creations Format: 120 pages long. A signed, numbered, limited edition of 300. Colour/Black & white Price: £9.99 UK The Book: This lavishly illustrated book features the full story behind cult, underground, communist superheroine – Octobriana…. Read More ›
In Review: Over the Line, an introduction to comics poetry
Sidekick Books has just published Over The Line, an introduction to comics poetry edited by poet and comics editor Chrissy Williams and comics artist Tom Humberstone, a project that has earned high praise from the likes of Alan Moore, who described the project… Read More ›
Demoncon X – A Comic Convention Review
Demoncon X… no, no! It’s not a call back to all the video rentals we craved in the 1980s but actually a comic convention in Maidstone, Kent, now in its tenth incarnation. Run by the people from the Grinning Demon Comic Shop,… Read More ›
Safari Festival 2015 – An Old Bloke’s Review
The Safari Festival 2015 was billed as “a celebration of the new wave of alternative and art comics from the UK and beyond…. and for attendees to experience the best of the UK comics’ avant-garde”. Run by the team behind… Read More ›
In Review: JM Barrie’s Peter Pan adapted by Stref
JM Barrie’s Peter Pan is one of the best known and loved British children’s novels of the last century, so it comes as something of a surprise to discover that there has never been a graphic novel based directly on… Read More ›
In Review: Gabriel – The Devil is Everywhere
Written by Jim Alexander Art by David Hill Letters by Nate Pride Production by Jim Campbell Cover by David Hill Mature Content – from Planet Jimbot “A world where God and the Devil – angels and demons – are real…. Read More ›