
Rebellion Publishing has released more details about Comic Book Punks, trailed on downthetubes back in February, Karl Stock’s fascinating group biography of the UK’s writers and artists who reinvented comic books, setting the stage for comics to conquer popular culture.
Based on years of interviews with a generation of leading writers, artists and editors, Comic Book Punks: How a Generation of Brits Reinvented Pop Culture examines and celebrates how comics grew from little-regarded kids’ magazines to global franchises.
Exploring the early careers of the likes of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison and more, Stock tells the story of the triumphs and disasters that rewrote the rulebook on what comics could be and who they should be for.
Karl, who lives in Scotland, has written “Tharg’s Future Shocks” for 2000AD, Dredd prose fiction for the Judge Dredd Megazine and strips including “Sniper Elite” and “Death Wish” for Rebellion titles such as Battle, The Vigilant and Cor! & Buster, as well as interviews and features about comics for the Judge Dredd Megazine, Tripwire, Comic Heroes and more. He was the co-author of the 40th anniversary edition of Thrill-Power Overload, 2000AD‘s official history.
“The creative revolution which occurred in British comics and spread across the Atlantic at the end of the 20th century had the same kind of pop cultural impact as Britain’s great record labels or city-based music scenes,” says Karl, “yet until now it hasn’t been recorded in-depth on the same terms as these other hugely influential movements.
“Writing this history of an era, a stack of great comics and a group of visionary creators which crackled with genre-redefining invention has been an honour and a great pleasure, and hopefully reading it’s as entertaining and revealing as the research process.”
World All Language Rights were acquired by Ben Smith, who commented: “Stock has written the definitive account of a generation of comic book creators that turned the entire medium on its head, as important for the graphic novel as the New Hollywood filmmakers of the 1960s and ’70s were for cinema.
“Stock’s meticulous research, breadth of reading and one-to-one interviews make this group biography unmissable. Peeling back the layers of influence, collaboration and inspiration that saw ever-lasting works of importance created, Stock also finds the lost and overlooked narratives that opened the doors to the escalating ambition of these artists and writers. As we have sadly lost too many creators from that era in recent years, the timing of this book couldn’t be more important in explaining and marking their legacy.”
• Comic Book Punks: How a Generation of Brits Reinvented Pop Culture (Amazon UK Affiliate Link) | Out 23rd November 2023 | ISBN: 978-1786186942
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Books, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News