You can’t flush this web comic away…

By John Freeman on July 19, 2011

Comic creator Gordon Robertson has just launchd a new web comic inspired by a very personal story.

Provocatively titled Arse Cancer, “it’s not just a catchy title,” says Gordon. “A year ago I was diagnosed with bowel cancer. I was lucky I caught it early and have beaten it and am back to full health.

“While I was ill, I tried to write about my experiences, at first planning a blog, but it never came out in the way I wanted it to,” he reveals. “There are some really moving and heartfelt blogs out there, stuff that will make your heart soar, and stuff that will make you cry like you never thought possible, all tributes to some incredibly brave people. I couldn’t write anything like that. It just wasn’t what I was going through.

“What I experienced leaned towards the bizarre, off the wall and was all slightly surreal. Writing a comic seemed like a natural way of expressing that.

With art from Newcastle-based artist Cuttlefish, ArseCancer is a comic (if not always an entirely reliable) journey through Gordon’s recollections and you can read it at: www.arsecancer.co.uk

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.