Comic creators Alan Cowsill, Leigh Gallagher, Nigel Parkinson and Tim Quinn are guests of The Book Stop in St. Helens, Lancashire, this coming Saturday, 18th January 2025, for a Q&A and signing event.
No ticket needed. Just be careful if you step into their Manga area. There’s a portal to another dimension, and the team claim they lost three customers last week alone…





Alan Cowsill, whose novels include Punch Drunk Kisses and Zombie 18, has worked as a writer and editor for Marvel UK/Panini and Eaglemoss. He created the award-winning Classic Marvel Figurine Collection and DC Super Hero Collection for Eaglemoss Publications and his books include DC Comics: A Year by Year Visual Chronicle, The Spider-Man Chronicle, Marvel Avengers Character Encyclopedia, Colin the Goblin and the award-winning graphic novel World War One, published by Campfire. He was also one of the writers of Revolutionary War for Marvel.

Leigh Gallagher is a Liverpool-based comic artist, based in Liverpool, who’s worked on many projects for DC Comics, 2000AD, and was also the 2008 artist for the LEGO “Bionicle” comic. You’ll most often see his work in 2000AD, having drawn “Judge Dredd”, and co-created “Aquila” with writer Gordon Rennie, “Defoe” with writer Pat Mills, and “Kingmaker” with writer Ian Edginton – an alien invasion of a world filled with dragons, Dyrads, Orcs and magic!

Nigel Parkinson is best known for his work for BEANO, not only drawing strips such as “Dennis” but creating much of the title’s branding material, too. Across many years of being driven crazy by editorial whims, he’s worked for titles that up include Cor!!, The Dandy, Whizzer and Chips, Nutty, Radio Times, Liverpool Echo, Fast Forward, Thunderbirds The Comic, Stingray, Joe 90, Space Precinct, Beezer, Whoopee!, and organisations such as Bonnier Books, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Isle of Man Post Office, the National Trust, Royal Mail, Whipsnade Zoo, and many others.

Tim Quinn was born in Liverpool in 1953, the very same year “Beryl the Peril” first appeared in The Topper. Coincidence? We think not! Educated by Irish Christian Brothers whose prospectus boasted, “We will instill a fear of God into your child”, it was little wonder Tim chose a life in entertainment. Starting his career as a clown at Blackpool Tower Circus he then leapt back in time to work on BBC TV’s 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 titles as The Beano, The Dandy, Sparky, The Topper, Buster, Whoopee!, Bunty, Jackie, Doctor Who Magazine and Whizzer & Chips 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 America’s 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!). Today he is on a lecture tour of the UK discussing the humour and nostalgia of comics, runs a management company for recording artists, conducts workshops on cartooning and literacy, creates way too many charitable projects, and dreams of the day he will be bitten by a radioactive giraffe so that he can finally take over the universe.
The award-winning The Book Stop is an independent bookshop serving St Helens and surrounding boroughs. The bookshop is owned by the community and most importantly; exists for the benefit of the community. They host a coffee shop run by 2 Brothers Coffee, offering award-winning tea, coffee, and delicious cakes and we host a wide range of events, including adult and children’s reading groups, book clubs and author signings.
• Comic Creators Q&A and Signing with Alan Cowsill, Leigh Gallagher, Nigel Parkinson and Tim Quinn | 1.00pm Saturday 18th January 2025 The Book Stop, Bridge Street, St Helens, WA10 1NN | Web: thebookstop.org
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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.
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