Pat Mills, the creator and first editor of 2000AD and co-creator of characters such as Slaine and A.B.C. Warriors, is to write an exclusive regular monthly column for the new magazine Comic Scene UK. His ‘Last Word’ column is expected to be as colourful, controversial and outspoken as his appearances in the recent 2000AD documentary FutureShock and his book Be Pure| Be Vigilant! Behave! – 2000AD and Judge Dredd: The Secret History.

“I’m passionate about British comics and their unique place in the world,” says Pat. “Unfortunately, their spirit can be diluted and devalued by trying to emulate the Americans, and by a certain bland, ‘make no waves’ thinking. I’m looking forward to shedding a little light on some dark corners of the industry, and suggesting some possible solutions in my new column: The Last Word!”

“We are very pleased that we have the Godfather of comics writing a regular column for ComicScene UK,” enthuses Tony Foster from ComicsFlix Publishing. “Pat has been a success across the world and created some of the greatest comic stories and characters.

“The ideas, advice and recommendations he will share in ComicScene UK will be worth the cover price alone. We look forward to him having the last word in every monthly
issue.”

The new ComicScene UK is a specialist full colour A4 monthly magazine with all the latest news and articles on classic comics, reprinted material, new titles and comic creators.  Published by ComicsFlix.org,  it will be a showcase for fans including the best in cosplay, UK fandom and stripzines now and from the last 50 years.

Upcoming features  in ComicScene UK ,from a wide range of great writers including some of the downthetubes team, will include Plus features on (take a deep breath, folks, the range is enormous!): Strontium Dog, DR and Quinch, Free Comic Day, 80 years of Beano, The Prisoner and Superman,, “Charley’s War”, “Bella at the Bar”, Slaine, “The Ballad of Halo Jones”, Rok of the Reds, 50 years of fandom and comic con, 40 years of Starlord, 40 years of Misty, 30 years of Tank Girl and Deadline, 30 years of Hellblazer, 20 years of the comic blog Down The Tubes, the new Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker, the return of Roy of the Rovers – plus all the latest news and gossip from the comic, small press, cosplay and related media industry from some of the best writers in the business!

There’s even a number of “versus” features – Judge Dredd versus Batman, Six Million Dollar Man versus Mach One, just for starters. Those will surely cause some social media flurries.

The first 48 plus page issue will be available from 1st May 2018, just prior to Free Comic Book Day, and then monthly from August.

The magazine will be available by mail order only and you can subscribe in advance now (and we gather quite a few have after our first item on this project). The limited print run‘ComicScene UK will give a percentage of its profits from the title to provide free kids comic workshops across the country.

• Each issue of Comic Book Scene will cost £8.50 (for Europe, America and Worldwide, please add £2 per copy on published prices) but you can subscribe today and 12 issues for the price of 11. Email comicsflix@gmail.com for details

• Or Subscribe to ComicScene UK for a 6 month subscription of £45 (saving £6)| You can get ComicScene UK for a 12 month subscription of £93.50 and you will get Issue One for free – 12 issues for the price of 11 | Further details comicsflix.org/subscribe-to-comicscene-uk | Read more about ComicsFlix on the online shop

• The ComicsFlix website is comicsflix.org and you can follow on Twitter @comicsflixukus, Facebook and Instagram

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.

Categories: British Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Magazines

Tags: Comic Scene UK, ComicsFlix Publishing, downthetubes News, Par=t Mills, Tony Foster