Moochin’ About, a critically-acclaimed record label and publisher based in Arnside, Lancashire, has unleashed a new book by writer and artist duo Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett. Monster Marvel Memories, compiled by Iman Kakai-Lazell, will surely spark plenty of fond memories of their work on various titles for Marvel UK, including Doctor Who Magazine.
The mammoth book is available to order now and will be on sale at Blackpool Comic Con and Liverpool Comic Con next month.
Tim and Dicky met up in the 1970s and went on a rampage across the comic book world with a huge range of wacky strips and cartoons, poking fun at all manner of TV shows, films and more, in inimitable style.
Signing on with Marvel UK, they delivered a unique take on the famed Marvel Universe with strips involving all of the comic book giant’s greatest super-heroes. Monster Marvel Memories captures the best of their work with Marvel and other companies in the UK and US from the 1970s to the 1990s, and Tim tells us the book has become a bit of a monster itself, running to at least 178 pages.
Also featured are Quinn and Howett’s memories of those times, and plenty of photos and memorabilia from this heady time period, including a poem by Stan Lee on “How To Be a Super-Hero”.
As an added bonus, there’s a free comic book inside the book featuring Quinn & Howett’s take on Doctor Who’s Dalek World, plus early work by Tim by a host of other comic creators, including Charlie Adlard, best known for The Walking Dead, Martin Asbury (Garth), 2000AD’s John M. Burns, Marvel Comics legend Sal Buscema, Mario Capaldi (Transformers), Russ Leach (Draw the Marvel Way, Doctor Who), Steve Parkhouse (Doctor Who) and George Sears (Tim Tyme).
Launched in 2011 by Barrow producer and musician Jason Lee Lazell, Moochin’ About is best known as the critically acclaimed label has gained admiration from Cerys Matthews, Huey Morgan, Giles Peterson, Jamie Cullum, Stuart Marcone, Johnny Trunk, Robert Elms, and Iggy Pop.
Tim Quinn should need no introduction to British comic fans. A writer, editor and raconteur, he started his career as a Ringboy/clown at Blackpool Tower Circus, then leapt back in time to work on BBC TV’s The Good Old Days music hall series where he started writing scripts for top comedians.
It was a small jump into the world of comic books where he spent many happy years as scriptwriter, illustrator and editor on such noted titles as The Beano, The Dandy, Sparky, The Topper, Buster, Whoopee!, Bunty, Jackie, TV Comic, Doctor Who Magazine and Whizzer & Chips and served as an editor at Marvel UK on numerous titles before heading Stateside to work for the mighty Marvel Comics Group on the world famous Spider-Man, X-Men and the Incredible Hulk.
Tim has also worked as a writer for the Guardian newspaper, editor for United States’ oldest publication The Saturday Evening Post and producer for LWT’s The South Bank Show (amongst others, producing a show on the history of Marvel Comics). These days, he gives lectures on the humour and nostalgia of comics, runs a management company for recording artists, and conducts workshops on cartooning.
Dicky Howett pursued a lifelong love fascination for television technology by working for BBC Television in the film department·at Ealing Studios, as well as cartooning for Marvel UK and other companies for many years, working on titles as diverse as the Daily Mirror, Men Only and more. He’s broadcast his own short stories on local radio and has written many articles on media developments, including a book, Television Innovations: 50 Technological Developments, published back in 2006.
Although he retired from cartooning for cash over 20 years ago, Dicky is still busy, running Golden Age Television Recreations, a large classic camera prop store whose equipment has featured in shows such as Doctor Who: An Adventure in Space and Time, in which he made a cameo as a walk-on technician.
Iman Kakai-Lazell, Tim and Dicky’s co-conspirator in this new book, was born at Rasht, Iran, and came to London as a toddler with the ambition of getting into creating from an early age. With two degrees in arts she went off to New York for a few years to start her own adventure. Last year, she worked with Tim to publish Confessions of a Superhero, an art book offering a unique take on his life.
As well as the record label and publishing imprint, Moochin’ About also runs music events at the nearby Arnside Sailing Club, with musicians such a The Balkanics, Ian Prowse and Kirk Brandon heading to the venue later this year.
• You can order Monster Marvel Memories from the Moochin’ About Bandcamp store here
• Tim Quinn is online at mightyquinnmanagement.com
• Moochin About are online at www.moochinabout.com
• Read an interview with Tim and Dicky about this project on ComicScene
- About the Author
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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: Books, British Comics, British Comics - Collections, Comics, Doctor Who, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Television
Great article about a great team!