A further occasional “bullet point” foray into comic news from around the globe, beyond the UK and US this week…
Netflix has renewed “One Piece” for a third season, the live pirate action TV series based on the manga of the same name, ahead of its second season run next year 2026. Ian Stokes is joining Joe Tracz as co-showrunner for the third season following the departure of Matt Owens.
Netflix announced during the annual ONE PIECE Day celebration in Tokyo that the epic pirate adventure has been given an early Season Three renewal. Production on the third season will begin in Cape Town, South Africa later this year, with Ian Stokes set to join Joe Tracz as co-showrunner, writer, and executive producer.
Be ready for a crowdfunder from US indie publisher Fairsquare Graphics, who sum up their mission with the tagline: “Stories From the Rest of Us.” Victim to the fallout from distributor Diamond Comics Distributors filing for bankruptcy (as are other publishers), they’re launching a Kickstarter on 14th August 2025 to rebuild rebuild their inventory and reprint titles like Noir is the New Black, A Boy Named Rose, Red Flower, and new titles, too. Sign up for notifications here
Talking of Kickstarters, a shout out for The77 Publishing’s collection of V: The BAAL CYCLE Continued (BOOK 1), the Sci-Fi, Horror, Fantasy epic from the pages of The77 created by Steve Bull and Ade Hughes, with additional art by Simon Bisley, Ian Stopforth and Steve Kane (plus, colours by Darren Stephens and Lettering by Annie Parkhouse).
If you’re fan of Simon Bisley, then you may just want to grab the hardcover edition, available in an exclusive V bundle included with all the books, limited editions and merchandise. Check out the Kickstarter here.
Talking of fundraising, we regularly offer items for sale from the downthetubes archive on eBay. Bidding on items (and, erm, buying them!) helps support our work, thank you. Just added: a copy of Supernaturals Preview comic published in 1987, with its free gift promotional card, the cover by Ian Kennedy. This is a 16-page preview edition of the short-lived comic, featuring a five-page introductory strip, a “humorous”Ghostlings” back-up and a few full-page photographs of the Tonka toys in all of their holographic glory. Plus, if you’re a racing fan, you may be interested in a copy of the Scalextric 1981 Catalogue, featuring a strip written by Dez Skinn (former publisher of Warrior), beautifully painted by Ian Kennedy.
Over on downthetubes associated Sequentially British group on Facebook (membership required), cartoonist and comic archivist Lew Stringer has been, rightly, singing the praises of Rebellions’ new collection of The Sludge, stories of Fleetway’s radiation-created monster of the 1960s that featured in the weekly comic, Lion. Available in hardback direct from the Treasury of British Comics web shop, and from bookshops, including AmazonUK (Affiliate Link), it’s on sale this week.
“Superb reproduction as we’ve come to expect from Rebellion’s books,” Lew (who you can find online here) notes, “and stories that were clearly told and well illustrated. Each episode is reproduced as it was, as a weekly serial, with the skillful fast-paced storytelling of the characters heading from one exciting cliffhanger to the next. Back then no one imagined these type of stories would be collected into graphic novels, but personally I much prefer this method of tightly written, jet propelled plots than the modern ‘decompressed’ storytelling where plots often meander and slow to a crawl.” We very much agree!
Talking of Facebook (yes, yes, yes we know all the cool kids are on Tik Tok), on the Mighty World of British Comics group, Myles Sullivan asks if people still buy comics from their local newsagent and, more importantly, does your local newsagent still sell comics? Sadly, ousted by changing buying habits and the better returns on off licence sales, long gone are the days you can rely on finding imported Marvel Comics just down your street.
But, but, there are plenty of comics within touching distance, right here online, and one we came across by chance is the fantastic The Wilder Shore by science fiction and fantasy writer JW Murray, with artist Steven Ingram.
The chilling story opens aboard a ferry crossing to the Isle of Bute – but the passengers and crew stuck on board when their journey is interrupted. This is glorious indie creeping horror, well worthy of your immediate attention, especially if you’re a fan of author John Wyndham, an acknowledged influence. Check it out here on The Wilder Shore dedicated webcomic page! Here’s a couple of teaser images to whet your appetite…
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FairSquare Graphics is dedicated to expanding the type of person who gets to create graphic novels in order to expand the type of person who reads them
• downthetubes British Comics Past: Super Naturals
• The Oink Blog: Super Naturals Guide
UK-based sci-fi/fantasy writer making books and comics. Check out his work below, or join his mailing list for a freebie…
Award-nominated a comics artist and illustrator from Scotland, publisjer at ThirdBear Press. The author and artist of the graphic novels Holly and Burn With Me, as well as the on-going series, MurMur
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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.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comic Previews, Comics, Digital Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, Television