What It Is: Not to be confused with the Egmont WH Smiths special released recently, this is an entirely new fan-produced title published by the official Misty web site, comprising all-new strips by a wide range of creators including 2000AD… Read More ›
Lucky Luke is the cowboy who can shoot faster than his own shadow and, in the French speaking world, is probably third in bande dessinees character popularity behind the behemoths of Tintin and Asterix with over 70 titles published –… Read More ›
The weekly comic magazine that is now known as Spirou began as Le Journal Du Spirou in April 1938 in the French speaking Belgian region of Wallonia and the character of Spirou has been in it since that first issue…. Read More ›
The weather gods seem to have it in for comics conventions. Hi-Ex is already infamous for its snow while this year, despite the rains that brought misery to Cumbria, Leeds was dry on the morning of Saturday 21 November but… Read More ›
Originally published in 1959 as SOS Météores, this was the eighth of the, to date, eighteen Blake and Mortimer albums. However as Cinebook have been jumping around in the original publication order this is actually their sixth Blake and Mortimer… Read More ›
The Book: Charts some of the cartoon (mis)adventures of Britain’s first and best-loved World War 2 pin-up – the scintillating, blue eyed, blonde-haired, clothes-phobic cartoon legend that is Lady Jane Gay. This collection features two full strips (no pun intended)… Read More ›
or, Don’t Mention the Launch Party! (I did once, but I think I got away with it) Matthew Badham reports on the British International Comic Show in Birmingham, attended by some 3200 artists, writers, publishers, dealers and fans. All pictures… Read More ›
From the futuristic Aldebaran via the contemporary Lady S to Biggles flying in World War II skies, downthetubes’ reviews of Cinebook graphic novels have been moving backwards through time and the theme continues with the Papyrus book, The Rameses’ Revenge…. Read More ›
We plugged The Rainbow Orchid enthusiastically after its Foyles launch (see news story), but David Hailwood has just sent us this review, so here’s another plug for the book! The Plot: The Rainbow Orchid is an ambitious blend of classic… Read More ›
by Bryan Talbot Publisher: Jonathan Cape Out: 15th October 2009 The Plot: Bryan Talbot’s most recent book, Alice in Sunderland, was hailed by The Guardian as one of the ten best graphic novels ever and acclaimed by critics all over… Read More ›
James Bigglesworth, popularly known as Biggles, is one of those fictional characters that has entered the British public consciousness whether or not they have read any of the novels or short stories written by Captain WE Johns. The first Biggles… Read More ›
If you are looking at the cover and thinking that Lady S could to be a story along the lines of Modesty Blaise then you are not far off the mark. Like Modesty, Suzan Fitzroy has a complicated, and not… Read More ›
Created by a Brazilian and originally published in French, Aldebaran was never going to be that traditional a story for British bande dessinee publisher Cinebook to translate into English for the first time. Set on the human colony world of… Read More ›
Picking up from where the international best-selling Erotic Comics: A Graphic History (Volume 1) left off, Ilex Press released Volume 2 by Tim Pilcher earlier this year, revealing how European, American and Asian artists have explored the possibility of the… Read More ›
by Charles Dickens Adapted by Jen Green Art: John Stokes Colourist: Jason Cardy The tale of Pip, Miss Havisham, and the spiteful Estella, retold with fresh enthusiasm… No, you haven’t been transported to an alternate dimension where downthetubes reviews literary… Read More ›
by Jeremy Briggs Last year’s inaugural Hi-Ex comics convention, held on the first weekend in February, was besieged by snow leaving many guests and potential attendees unable to travel to Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The downthetubes review of the… Read More ›
Back in 2004 British indie creator Dave Hughes, who hails from Barrow but in now based in Lancaster, self-published his first comic story, The Immeasurable Adventures of Gorky Park (see news story). Reaction was positive but sales were not what… Read More ›
by Jason WilsonPublished by Dealer Comics The Book: A 74-page graphic novel telling the story of an ordinary British couple – he works in IT, she works in Marks and Spencer – who, when on holiday in Spain, stumble across… Read More ›
I approached the How Manga Took Over The World exhibition at Manchester’s Urbis museum, writes Matt Badham, with some trepidation. I’m not a massive manga and anime fan and certainly don’t know my shonen from my shojo. However, perhaps because… Read More ›
— a fab day out seeing some great comics people, the chance to talk about ROK Comics, announce the winner of the $10,000 ROK Comics humour competition as judged by Beano editor Alan Digby and pick up some terrific indie… Read More ›