A quick round up of short news items we think you’ll be interested in. Don’t forget I also plug a lot of British comic happenings as they come in on Twitter as well as here…
• In case you’ve been living under a rock, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is out in UK cinemas now, and seems to be going down a storm with fans and comic creators.
• There’s another Doctor Who Comics signing at Forbidden Planet London today from 3.00pm (Saturday 2nd August 2014) with Rob Williams, Al Ewing and Des Taylor – check out the details here on the Forbidden Planet web site
• Happy birthday to digital publisher SEQUENTIAL, who have just celebrated their first birthday. To celebrate, they’re running a competition to win $500 worth of graphic novels. Draw on Sunday.
• Artist Marc Jackson (creator of “Man from Space”) tells us he has his first strip in this week’s Beano – “Lenny the Lettuce”! “Basically, they commissioned nine four-panel strips back at Easter this year after I submitted this character and a few others,” he told us. “They liked Lenny as he was a fun and daft character and when I created him, I was going for a character that would connect with fans of SpongeBob and that type of character.
“The gags are simple and goofy set ups and I’m really proud to part of the Beano, it’s a real dream come true. Hopefully the readers will enjoy and they’ll want more!”
• Knockabout Comics reports that In God We Trust, Winshluss’s version of Bible stories will now be out in November. They’ve published a sneak peek at a page of his gorgeous art on Twitter
• i09 has published a terrific article by Lauren Davis offering really useful advice about what to expect – and what not to – when starting a web comic: The Biggest Mistakes People Make When Starting a Web Comic. Don’t expect instant results and be in it for the long haul, basically – it might take as long as two to three years to build an audience.
• The Beatles Story #4 has just been now added to the ROK Comics Beatles Story app for iPad and iPhone, re-presenting the fantastic strip by Angus Allan and Arthur Ranson, first published in the weekly comic, Look-In. The strip is a rarity in 1970s British mainstream comics – it’s owned by its creators. Check out The Beatles Story on iTunes
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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.
Categories: British Comics, Comic Creator Spotlight, Creating Comics, Digital Comics, Doctor Who, Featured News, Tube Surfing