Two classic Doctor Who comics strips are released as audio adaptations by Big Finish next month, starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Rhianne Starbuck as companion Sharon. Adapted from the comic strips by Pat Mills and John Wagner,… Read More ›
Marvel UK
Flashback Focus: Who Remembers Jerry Paris’ Bug Hunters?
By Lucas Williams For pre-teen computer game geek me of the early 1980s, artist Jerry Paris was simply the guy who did cool computer game magazine covers… but it would turn out he did great comics, too, and I was… Read More ›
Missing in Action: Heroquest at Marvel UK, and the RPG magazine that never happened
Looking back at Marvel UK’s one-off foray into the world of role-playing magazines
Upcoming Astons auction offers rare Pinocchio poster, Moonraker gun
Dudley-based auctioneers Astons have two sales of interest to downthetubes readers this month – a Toy and Railway Auction on Tuesday 15th January and an Entertainment & Memorabilia Auction including British and US comics, film posters, some James Bond film… Read More ›
Rare Mighty World of Marvel poster offered by Heritage Auctions
Currently in auction at Heritage Auctions is an original poster created for Marvel UK in 1972 – drawn by John Buscema (and, possibly, inked by Frank Giacoia).
Happy Birthday, Thomas & Friends – 30 Years Young!
The UK’s biggest specialist children’s publisher, Egmont Publishing, is celebrating the 30th birthday of Thomas & Friends magazine with licensing partner Mattel. The title is based on the popular railway stories by Reverend Wilbert Awdry (who I met as a youngster… Read More ›
Stan Lee Tribute Day announced for Liverpool next weekend
Liverpool’s retro gaming and video shop VideOdyssey has announced a Stan Lee Tribute Day next Saturday (24th November 2018) in aid of the Stan Lee Foundation. Paying homage to the Marvel legend who died earlier this week, expect an event… Read More ›
Marvel artist Dave Hunt’s autobiography, “An Artist’s Life”, now available
Back in January, we reported an autobiography of Marvel artist Dave Hunt, who provided art for numerous Marvel UK titles in the 1970s, was in the works from his friend Lee Benaka. Dave Hunt: An Artist’s Life, with a foreword… Read More ›
Marvel UK art mystery – who pencilled this “Dracula Lives” cover back in 1975?
[Updated 31st October 2018] This cover for Marvel UK’s Dracula Lives #29, published in 1975, has some comic creators wondering who actually drew it. Selling for just over $400 on Heritage Auctions this past weekend, the site doesn’t list the… Read More ›
Who Remembers Marvel UK’s Shadow Riders? An unpublished story revealed
Back in the early 1990s, just before Marvel UK went a bit crazy with multiple US titles with the word “Death” in them, artist and writer Brian Williamson and I co-created Shadow Riders, who eventually were drawn by Ross Dearsley… Read More ›
Judging a Comic by its Cover: Some Early Favourites
More than anything else, comics sell on their covers, but which ones stick most in your mind in your years of collecting? For me, there are plenty, but here are just a few that caught my attention at an early… Read More ›
When Alan Moore wrote football comics…a look back at Marvel UK’s “Not the World Cup: The Official Souvenir Brochure”
downthetubes contributor and comics archivist Richard Sheaf has shared plenty of strange British comic one shots and short-lived titles over on his brilliant Boys Adventure Blog, and while his recent coverage of Gilbert’s Fridge intrigued, I think it’s more than… Read More ›
Marvel UK Comics That Never Were: Rourke versus Wolverine, versus… Monark Starstalker?
Here’s an item from my archives that should interest some Marvel UK fans – Liam Sharp’s fax of our creator-owned heroine, Rourke, created for STRIP, alongside Marvel US heroes Monark Starstalker and Wolverine. I’ve written about this a little before,… Read More ›
Doctor Who “star lot” auction also features great film and comic gems
We previously reported on the upcoming Aston’s Auctioneers Film, Music and Comic Book auction on 3rd May 2018, focusing on the annotated “An Unearthly Child” script originally owned by William Hartnell, something of a “star lot”. But there are more… Read More ›
In Review: Combat Colin #2 by Lew Stringer
By Lew Stringer Self Published Available from Lew’s web shop, direct from Lew at appearances and a limited number of comic shops The Book: The second in a six-issue mini-series reprinting Lew Stringer’s “Combat Colin” strips from the 1980s and… Read More ›
Remembering Robert Sutherland: An Appreciation by Jenny O’Connor
Former Marvel UK staff and the present team at Redan Publishing were all saddened by the news of the death of Robert Sutherland, whose passing was announced last week. Here, Redan’s Editorial Director Jenny O’Connor, who knew Robert for almost… Read More ›
In Memoriam: Comics and Children’s Magazines Publisher Robert Sutherland
I was very sorry to hear of the passing of Robert Sutherland, who was Managing Director of Marvel UK between 1980 and 1990, and CEO of Redan Publishing for 27 years. Shrewsbury-based Redan fast became the UK’s leading publisher of… Read More ›
“The Chronicles of Genghis Grimtoad”, with art by Angus McBride – an early version of the much-loved fantasy tale
Charting not one, but two incarnations of Alan Grant and John Wagner’s The Chronicles of Genghis Grimtoad…
More early Marvel UK art goes under the hammer at Heritage Auctions, alongside iconic US Amazing Spider-Man cover
Following up on our report on how some art created for British comics helped Heritage Auctions profits soar in 2017, a number of early Marvel UK published pieces go under the hammer next month as part of their upcoming auction… Read More ›
British comics art helps boost Heritage Auction sales record, first European auction date revealed
Numerous records set by Heritage Auctions‘ Comics & Comic Art category in 2017 include total sales of $44.3 million (almost £32 million) – the highest ever in the 16-year history of the category and a new standard for the second… Read More ›