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3 days ago | 
downthetubes.net | downthetubes Guests |John Freeman
Review by Andrew PixleyThe fact that this superb volume has taken its author, Tony Hadoke, some 36 years to assemble – as he explains in his introduction – is probably a key reason as to why it is such a superb volume. The changes in technology in recent decades and the increased access to archival material via physical examination or electronic replication has allowed a massive shift in the way that television and film has been researched, studied and presented.
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1 week ago | 
downthetubes.net | downthetubes Guests |John Freeman
on • Publisher David McDonald looks back at 20 years of bringing classic British comics back into print through limited run books that are, today, regularly rapid sell outs…20 years ago, I released Doomlord, the Deathlords of Nox!I was long a fan of British comics and was frustrated by the lack of any collections of these, so green as I was, I set about publishing the first Hibernia collection- the aforementioned Doomlord.
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3 weeks ago | 
downthetubes.net | downthetubes Guests |Tyler James |John Freeman
By Tyler James, Publisher of ComixTribe, Creator of the ComixLaunch Comic Book Crowdfunding PlannerThe comics industry, like most, is living through a period of economic uncertainty. The cost of living is rising, major publishers are scaling back, and the recent bankruptcy of Diamond – the longtime backbone of comic book distribution – has shaken the direct market to its core. And yet, in the midst of all this instability, comics on Kickstarter are thriving.
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1 month ago | 
downthetubes.net | downthetubes Guests |John Freeman
on • David Leach, cartoonist writer, editor, kindly sent us a copy of his new autobiographical comic, David Leach Conquers the Universe #4, for review, But then we discovered Philip Boyce of the indispensable Oink! blog had already written one – and has kindly let us repost it here…How many times in your life have you heard someone start a sentence with, “They say…”? For example, “They say the best way to beat a cold is…”, or “They say it’s better to have loved and lost…” etc.
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1 month ago | 
downthetubes.net | downthetubes Guests |John Freeman
Commando cover artist Simon Pritchard pays tribute to an artist who was, and always will be, a British toy industry legend… Dave Barnacle, one of the great British artists of the 1970s and 1980s toy industry passed away in April. For any kid like myself who grew up in Blighty during the 1970s the wonderful box art featured on the Action Man range from Palitoy will be imprinted on their minds, very deeply so for me.
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1 month ago | 
downthetubes.net | downthetubes Guests |John Freeman
Ahead of her debut appearance at Portsmouth Comic Con this May, Chris Walsh interviews Portsmouth-born graphic designer and illustrator Sophie Cowdrey…Sophie, a graphic designer and artist based in South Wales, has been working in design across a wide range of exciting and varied projects for over six years, including working in the art department on TV and film productions, and providing freelance design services for a wide array of lovely clients.
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2 months ago | 
downthetubes.net | downthetubes Guests |John Freeman
Andrew Pixley reviews Escapades: An Exploration of Avengers Curiosities, curated by JZ Ferguson and Alan Hayes “Compare and contrast.” A mantra that I recall from GCSE English essays of decades back, a concept so familiar that one takes it for granted in life… and that makes it all too easy to forget how very, very effective it can be when deployed with superb examples, as in this book concerning the off-beat, stylish 1960s television series The Avengers with a dash of its similarly effective...
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Dec 27, 2024 | 
downthetubes.net | downthetubes Guests
Christopher Holliday, King’s College LondonA new Wallace and Gromit adventure, Vengeance Most Fowl (2024), premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day. It’s been nearly 20 years since the last feature film about Yorkshire’s favourite eccentric inventor and his above-intelligent pet dog, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). Aardman’s latest Christmas instalment marks the reappearance of Feathers McGraw, the mysterious and silent penguin villain from The Wrong Trousers (1993).
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Dec 19, 2024 | 
downthetubes.net | downthetubes Guests
A merry Phil Boyce curator of the brilliant OiNK! comic blog, checks out the annual BEANO Christmas Special…WARNING: MILD VILLAIN IDENTIFYING SPOILER AHEAD!As I write, the Christmas issue of BEANO (No. 4266) is out, however every year publisher DC Thomson also release a separate Christmas Special, in advance of the season. Printed on high quality paper and coming in at an impressive 68 pages, it’s almost like another BEANO Annual, which is also available.
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Nov 29, 2024 | 
downthetubes.net | downthetubes Guests |John Freeman
The fourth Strontium Dog volume published in Spanish by Dolmen Editorial is now available to order. Perro de Estroncio “La Solución Final” has been published primarily for the Spanish market and is a quality reprint of Rebellion’s The Final Solution, first collected back in April 2008. A short while ago, Dolmen were undecided as to which cover the fans would prefer for the volume and asked them via social media – an unusual but thoughtful decision.
