Ian Rankin and Alan Grant

By John Freeman on 5 June 2008

(with thanks to Matthew Badham): Author Ian Rankin returns to the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland later this month, but not, this time, to talk about Inspector Rebus.

Instead he will pose questions about Judge Dredd, Batman, The Terminator, and Robocop, all figures who have been animated by the extraordinary imagination of Alan Grant.

Nurtured at Dundee’s DC Thomson, Scotland’s capital of comics, Alan went on to write Judge Dredd and co-edit 2000AD, and in 2007 and 2008 wrote graphic adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Alan’s vivid fantasies have all too often become realities, and on the evening of Sunday 22 June he will talk to Ian about how he imagined tomorrow’s society yesterday. This session is being recorded by BBC Radio Scotland’s The Radio Cafe.

• Tickets are £12, £10 (Concessions) More details here

Another genre guests at the Festival this year is Charlie Higson, who wil be talking about Young James Bond and his new book Hurricane Gold.

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as 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.