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Don’t Miss the ForbiddenPlanet42 virtual celebration this weekend… here’s some sneak peeks!

By John Freeman on August 26, 2020

With a nod to Douglas Adams‘ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Forbidden Planet are celebrating 42 years of pop-culture addiction this weekend – on Saturday 29th August – with a virtual event with an all-star cast of their oldest friends and customers.

This special online event will feature new and exclusive in-depth interviews conducted by Forbidden Planet’s Andrew Sumner with comic writers Chris Claremont, Garth Ennis, Mark Millar and Dan Slott, comic artists Dave Gibbons and Brian Bolland, actors Simon Pegg and William Shatner, musicians Alice Cooper, DMC, Gerard Way (who’s also a comics writer, too), film maker and comics writer (and more) Kevin Smith, authors Ben Aaronovitch, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, V.E. Schwab, TV celebrity, comics writer and avid comic collector Jonathan Ross – and audio drama guru Dirk Maggs.

As part of the Forbidden Planet 42 celebrations, this online extravaganza will also host a tribute to Forbidden Planet’s old friend – the late, great Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) in the shape of a rare, never-before-heard interview with Douglas, recently discovered in the Forbidden Planet vaults – conducted by another old pal, celebrated author Neil Gaiman.

• Drop in on the event at forbiddenplanet.com/promotion/fp42

Don’t forget the forbiddenplanet.com web site also hosts an archive, of sorts, via its Blog, of photographs of events featuring a host of comics and media stars, from Doctor Who actors and comic creators to authors and other media celebrities – posts that I’m sure will remind many downthetubes readers of signings they attended, be it at the original Denmark Street-based shop, old Cafe Munchen or the new Megastore

SNEAK PEEKS!

Here’s some great trailers for the FP42 event!

Here’s the one and only DMC performing his freestyle rap celebrating Forbidden Planet 42! Watch the whole glorious interview at forbiddenplanet.com/fp42 from Saturday 29th August 2020

Here’s Mark Millar (creator of Kick Ass, Kingsman and a whole load more) revealing how Alan Davis and Alan Moore’s Captain Britain introduced him to Forbidden Planet. Watch the whole interview at forbiddenplanet.com/fp42 from Saturday 29th August 2020

Here’s the one and only Jonathan Ross talking to Andrew Sumner about his long history of shopping at Forbidden Planet and why he wants to send them a bill! Watch the whole interview at forbiddenplanet.com/fp42 from Saturday 29th August 2020

Here’s one of Forbidden Planet’s favourite fantasy authors, V.E. Schwab (author of Vicious, Shades of Magic, Villains and the upcoming Extraordinary graphic novels from Titan Comics), talking to Laura Dodd and Andrew Sumner about her first Forbidden Planet experience as a grad student in the UK. Watch the whole interview at forbiddenplanet.com/fp42 from Saturday 29th August 2020

Here’s Marvel Comics/Spider-Man legend Dan Slott talking about his ex-pat London childhood spent at Forbidden Planet’s original Denmark Street store. Watch the whole interview at forbiddenplanet.com/fp42 from Saturday 29th August 2020

Here’s the legendary Kevin Smith talking about the legend of London’s Forbidden Planet store! Watch the whole epic interview at forbiddenplanet.com/fp42 from Saturday 29th August 2020

• Drop in on the event at forbiddenplanet.com/promotion/fp42

The forbiddenplanet.com web site also hosts an archive, of sorts, via its Blog, of photographs of events featuring a host of comics and media stars, from Doctor Who actors and comic creators to authors and other media celebrities – posts that I’m sure will remind many downthetubes readers of signings they attended, be it at the original Denmark Street-based shop, old Cafe Munchen or the new Megastore

John Freeman

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.