This week’s Panel Borders, now available as a podcast, continues this month’s theme of shows about newspaper comics, with Alex Fitch talking to a couple of creators working on newspaper strips featuring popular British science-fiction characters. Richy K Chandler is… Read More ›
downthetubes News
In Review: Hurricane and Champion: the Companion Papers to Valiant
The Book: Top British comics archivist Steve Holland has re-launched his Bear Alley Books imprint with Hurricane and Champion: The Companion Papers to Valiant an all-new index to two classic British comics detailing the histories of both papers and reveals… Read More ›
Panel Borders chats with Audrey Niffenegger
Continuing podcast and radio show Panel Borders month of shows looking at newspaper comics, Alex Fitch talks to Chicago-based Audrey Niffenegger, fin artist and author of The Time Traveler’s Wife, about her graphic novella The Night Bookmobile which was serialised… Read More ›
Sneek Peek: New Dan Dare for Spaceship Away
We’re pleased to report that the next issue of the Dan Dare-inspired comics magazine Spaceship Away is on course to go to press very soon, featuring its regular thrice-yearly mix of comic strip and features. Now edited by Des Shaw,… Read More ›
Do Covers Count when it comes to Awards?
The UK cover for Zoo City –strong on design, light on itsSF content? With the 2011 Arthur C Clarke Award Shortlist just announced, I thought it might be interesting to see what kind of covers the nominated books have. While… Read More ›
Panel Borders: The Art of Karrie Fransman
Continuing podcast Panel Borders month of shows looking at newspaper comics, Alex Fitch talks to cartoonist Karrie Fransman about her work which has been serialised in The Guardian and The Times. Karrie started her comics career making self published autobiographical… Read More ›
A Comic Convention Returns to Glasgow
It has been some 15 years since Glasgow hosted a comics convention with the last of the GlasCACs, the Glasgow Comic Art Conventions. Since then, Scotland has had two Oxfam Comics Days in Edinburgh, three Hi-Exs in Inverness, four Dundee Comics Days as… Read More ›
Motton’s Memories: An Interview with one of Dan Dare’s early writers
Thanks to a chance discovery on the Internet, downthetubes is pleased to be able to present a rare interview with comics writer David Motton, whose career spanned three decades of British comics publishing, but is probably best known for his… Read More ›
Print Media to publish Dave Morris and Leo Hartas Mirabilis project
Print Media Productions has announced it will be publishing hardcover editions of Mirabilis: Year of Wonders — a huge graphic novel project by Dave Morris and Leo Hartas, also available on iPad and soon to debut on digital platforms Graphic.ly… Read More ›
Happy Fifth Birthday, Panel Borders!
We plugged the latest Panel Borders show earlier today, but presenter and producer Alex Fitch has just let us know that yesterday marked his 5th anniversary of making programmes for Resonance FM in London, so here’s a look back at… Read More ›
Panel Borders: Women of Caption
Concluding Women in Comics month on Panel Borders, Alex Fitch presents three interviews conducted at the small press comics convention Caption, held in Oxford last Summer. Selina Lock and Jeremy Day discuss the history of the convention, how it has… Read More ›
Garth returns to the Mirror
(Updated, 23/2/11): National newspaper The Mirror has announced it will be reprinting some of the best of Garth stories featuring the time-travelling British hero who featured on its pages for over 50 years, and whose creators included Frank Bellamy and… Read More ›
Crucible Design Work – Zingamy
Smuzz has just delivered some stunning colour guides for the main ‘Quest’ cast: I’ll post them here over the next few days or so. Here’s the first… © 2011 John Freeman and Smuzz
Investigating the dark comedy of comics – a call for papers
A call has gone out for papers investigating the dark humour of comics, which will be presented at a one day event, the Bath Spa University Postgraduate Symposium in May at Corsham Court, Wiltshire, whose guests will include both academics… Read More ›
‘Next Blog’ brings news of John Watkiss latest work
This is one of those ‘lucky finds’ on the Web, courtesy of Blogger’s ‘Next Blog’ button. In the past, these often used to throw up random spam sites, but it seems Google has been cataloguing their blogs, so clicking ‘Next… Read More ›
SciFi Art Now Creator Interview: Graeme Neil Reid
About two years ago, Graeme Neil Reid went full time as an illustrator after having produced work part time and in conjunction with his job in the marketing and advertising industries for over 15 years. “These days I spend every… Read More ›
Panel Borders: Trina Robbins’ Underground Comix
Starting a month of shows about female comic book creators, the Panel Borders radio show and podcast will present a talk recorded at ‘Laydeez do Comics’ in September 2010 this week. Edited and introduced by Alex Fitch, veteran ‘Underground Comix’… Read More ›
Panel Borders: Charlie Adlard and the Walking Dead
Concluding UK comic radio show Panel Borders month of shows looking at depictions of masculinity in America comics, Alex Fitch talks to British artist Charlie Adlard about his ongoing zombie comic The Walking Dead, recently turned into a TV series… Read More ›
In Review: It Was The War Of The Trenches by Jacques Tardi
Jacques Tardi’s graphic novel of the Great War, It Was The War Of The Trenches, is one of those books that is critically lauded appearing in ‘Best Of’ lists as well as reviews of the year and with its complete… Read More ›
Save our Forests: Follow Rupert to Retail
Nothing to do with the comic we’re working on, but here’s a smashing protest montage from Smuzz in support of England’s Save Our Forests campaign (http://saveourforests.co.uk) And now, back to that promo image for the strip…