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Wonderfully weird: John Robbins “A Hand of Fingers”

By John Freeman on October 14, 2015

He has lettered hundreds of pages of comics by other creators, and for years plugged and reviewed Irish and British publications on defunct small press-centric website Bugpowder. Now, Dubliner John Robbins has released A Hand Of Fingers, a terrific anthology of his own work, which collects material from a diverse array of publications that include Rhizome Magazine, The Echo Newspaper and Ink Brick (A Journal of Comics Poetry).

“All The Way” by John Robbins

In A Hand Of Fingers there are troubles with children, and children with troubles. There are persons absent and things present — and floundering folk compelled to act. To wit: a desperate dad with a toddler-sized cooler drives towards a miracle; a grieving student responds to an email sent by her dead boyfriend; a haunted boy seeks the approval of his late father.

“Swallow Me Hole” by John Robbins

“Winter Boots” by John Robbins

John kindly provided a review copy of this book and as you can see from the small selection of work here, it’s wonderfully weird, terrifically drawn stuff, some homage, some entirely, uniquely memorable. Well worth a look.

• A Hand of Fingers is available as a digital download and a print-on-demand paperback. Order a copy form John Robbins’ Author Spotlight page on Lulu: www.lulu.com/spotlight/johnrobbins

About the Author
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John Freeman

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.