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).
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.
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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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, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Reviews