Tube Surfing: Wallace and Gromit, Insomnia on PSP, Free Digital Comics and Christmas Covers

• Titan Publishing's Wallace & Gromit digital comic has taken the iPhone by storm with over half a million downloads of its first free app - and the company is surely hoping to repeat the success with its release on the new PSP comics service. More on this story on the downthetubes Mobile Comics Blog

• Talking of digital comics, Insomnia Publications is one of a handful of UK comic publishers featuring on the launch offering for the PlayStation Network's Digital Comics service, which enables you to download the comics directly to your PSP over Wi-Fi or you use your PC to transfer the files. Although there's bound to be more coverage of both Marvel and Disney's offerings on the platform, this is a major coup for the independent publisher: titles on offer include Cancertown Burke and Hare, Cages and more. (Click here for a full list of titles on offer on the Insomnia blog).
The service is also being supported by IDW Publishing and iVerse Media, among others and over 550 comics were made available at launch with more to be added as the service develops.

• Forbidden Planet International reports that audio recordings from the Women in Comics conference, which took place a few weeks ago in Cambridge, are now available on the New Hall Art Collection site, including Sarah McIntyre, Asia Alfasi, Nicola Streeten and others, with more audio to follow in due course.

• Matthew Badham has re-posted an interview with comic creators Adam Cadwell (left, as visualised by cartoonist Marc Ellerby) and Jim Medway that disappeared into the ether when his previous blog bit the dust. Matthew sasy both Adam and Jim say a lot of interesting things about comics and art, and make some good observations about the Brit' small press scene, as well as offering their insight into the failure of The DFC and much more. Jim, it seems, by the way, has a phobia about comic shops, arguing many are "awful" (with some notable exceptions, such as Nottingham's Page 45. "You can’t expect anyone else to go into a shop with goblins on the window," he feels.

• Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited is to give away 1,000 free one-year subscriptions of its digital comics to enlisted US military personnel from Monday through 7th January. Air Force Times reports the offer is on a first come, first served basis. A year’s online subscription would normally cost $59.88, she said. Enlisted personnel who want to sign up for the free subscription can send an e-mail to marveldigitalpromo@sunbeltfs.com to receive a promotion code.

• And finally... as you've noticed, Jeremy Briggs is once again plunging us back into British comics history with various Christmas covers here on downthetubes - expect one post a day in the run up to the Big Day - and Lew Stringer is also offering his annual Christmas comics posting, which started with a Valiant and TV21 cover and will focus on just four comics in depth this year. It's a real treat to see Leo Baxendale’s ‘The Swots And The Blots’ once again. View all Lew's posts over on Blimey! It’s Another Blog About Comics.