Radio interviews with Al Davison, David Hine, Tom Humberstone and Tony Lee

Panel Borders: From small press to mainstream

In a panel discussion recorded at SCI-FI-LONDON, the London International festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film, guest presenter Matt Badham talks to comic creators David Hine, Al Davison, Tom Humberstone and Tony Lee about starting their careers in independent comics and how that influenced their style and choices when breaking into the 'mainstream' industry. (Edited by Alex Fitch)

• 8.30am, Monday 22nd April, repeated 3pm, Thursday 25th April, Resonance 104.4 FM / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast after first broadcast at panelborders.wordpress.com


• Last week's episode featuring interview with Louis Roskosch about The Adventures of Leeroy and Popo, and Matt Fitch and Mark Lewis about Frogman is available online now.

MCM and Eagle Awards Debut New Comics Talent Competition

For almost a decade the MCM London Comic Con has been a haven for comics, movies, games and anime – and now, together with the Eagle Awards and upcoming Universal Pictures blockbuster Snow White And The Huntsman, they’re looking to the next decade with a prestigious competition for new comic artists and writers.

Judged by Titan Publishing senior editor Steve White, bestselling writer Tony Lee and Eisner-winning artist Mark Buckingham, the ‘Huntsman's Challenge’ competition calls on comic creators to come up with a fully finished, coloured and lettered five page story with a plot relevant to a dark fantasy setting.

“In just a few years we've seen our small Artists Alley turn into a full scale Comic Village, with hundreds of comic creators now attending and exhibiting,” said MCM marketing director Bryan Cooney. “Many of today's best UK creators started with a table at our shows, growing as we have. We'd like to give that opportunity to the next generation of creative teams.”

Submissions will be accepted from 1-29th February 2012 and our judges will select two winners: one for best design and art, the other for best writing quality. Both creative teams will be nominated for a new Eagle Award, the MCM Expo Award For New Visionaries and have their story included in May’s MCM London Comic Con show programme, printed in conjunction with Snow White And The Huntsman from Universal Pictures, who will also provide a selection of prizes.

Both winners will also receive invites to the 2012 Eagle Awards ceremony and after-party on the Friday of the MCM London Comic Con, along with industry passes to the full London Comic Con weekend and signing slots in the show’s Comic Village.

"Winning an Eagle on your first time out is a story worth telling in its own right," Cooney commented. "Having tens of thousands of people read your story and having it in print alongside a movie like Snow White And The Huntsman is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

All accepted entries will receive audience invitations to the May 2012 Eagle Awards.

Competition Rules and How to Enter

Entries for the 'Huntsman's Challenge' will be accepted 1-29th February 2012. Entrants must submit a fully finished, coloured and lettered five page story as a 300 dpi jpg or pdf with a page dimension of 170mm (w) x 230mm (h). These entries must have a beginning, middle and end within these pages, with a story relevant to a dark fantasy setting. To find out how to enter the contest, visit www.eagleawards.co.uk

Panel of Industry Judges

STEVE WHITE: Senior Editor, Titan Publishing: An editor of many of Titan's top comics and graphic novels including the UK Transformers comic, Steve is also an artist, writer and colourist of over 20 years’ experience.

MARK BUCKINGHAM: Artist: A multiple Eisner winning artist of over twenty five years standing, Mark is best known for his work on Hellblazer, Miracleman, Doctor Who and his award winning run as the primary artist on Fables for DC/Vertigo.

TONY LEE: Writer: A #1 New York Times Best-selling Author, Tony has been a freelance writer for 25 years, and a comic writer for nine of those. Best known as author and ‘showrunner’ of the Doctor Who comic for IDW, Tony's creator-owned comic Hope Falls is currently being adapted into a movie by Future Films.

MCM Expo Award For New Visionaries Voting

When the two stories shortlisted for the MCM Expo Award For New Visionaries have been selected, members of the public will be able to read both and vote for their favourite by visiting either http://www.londoncomiccon.net/ or http://www.eagleawards.co.uk/

• To buy tickets for the MCM London Comic Con at Excel London on 26-28 May, please visit: https://www.mcmexpostore.com/store

Demoncon2 finalises line up with plenty of web comic creators

(With thanks to The Grinning Man, Maidstone): The line up for Demoncon2, taking place in Maidstone in November, is now pretty much finalised and includes comic creators such as Garen Ewing and Dan Boultwood on the guest list, along with many of them creators of web comics you might be following.

The guests that will be packing (and that probably is a fair description, we're told) into the Eden venue on the 6th November are as follows:

• Peter Anckorn (By the Book)
• Chris Bates (Travelling the Wolf Road)
• Dean Beattie
• Dan Boultwood (Hope Falls, The Gloom, Baker St Irregulars)
• Garen Ewing (The Rainbow Orchid)
• Phillip Jackson (Sequential Art, Little Victory, Travelling the Wolf Road)
• Marc Laming (The Rinse, American Century)
• Jack Lawrence (Darkham Vale, Lions Tigers & Bears, Tinpot Hobo)
• Tony Lee (Doctor Who, Starship Troopers, Hope Falls, The Gloom, Baker St Irregulars)
• Sonia Leong (Aya Takeo, Domo the Manga, Love Stuffing, Comic Book Tattoo)
• Morag Lewis (Looking for the Sun, Sun Fish Moon Fish, Ambient Rhythm)
• Chris Phillips (Candleman, The Moose, Travelling the Wolf Road)
• Ian Sharman (Hero 9 to 5, Hypergirl)
• Dave Stokes (Poster Artist for Demoncon2, Blackfriars Webcomic)
• David Wynne (Hypergirl, FTL, Particle Fiction)

Hopefully coming to their first Demoncon will be Cy Dethan (Slaughterman's Creed, Cancertown, Starship Troopers), Laurence Campbell (2000AD, Marvel Universe vs Wolverine, Punisher)

"Space is going to be a real issue even with the gaming presence from last time gone, but we’ll juggle something," say the organisers.

• DemonCon 2 is on 6th November 2011 at the Eden, Bank Street, Maidstone. For the latest info check out this area of local comic shop The Grinning Demon's web site

Tube Surfing: Midnight Openings, Shocking Twists and Some Ace New Comics

(Above: Sarah McIntyre doodling for charity.)

Time for another tube surf...

Richard Bruton of the Forbidden Planet International blog has posted a preview of Will Kirkby's magnificent looking Tuk Tuk comic. See it here.

Also at that blog, there's the third and final in a series of reports on the Birmingham Comicon, this time written by Michael Gee of Nostalgia and Comics.

Meanwhile, ace small press news-log Bugpowder makes us aware that Rob Jackson's Flying Leaf Creature is out.

According to the site, "Rob Jackson's trademark blend of absurdist, child-like whimsy, sweet-humoured tone and disarmingly naive cartooning (shades of Mr.Benn here) is present in this full-colour tabloid-format comic."

Cartoonist, illustrator and writer Sarah McIntyre provides a report and photos from the Klimb Children's Book Illustration Auction, which saw her and other artists doodling for charity.

Writer Tony Lee reports on the Orbital Comics Midnight Extravaganza, a midnight opening at that well-known London-based comics shop to celebrate the launch of DC's new line-wide reboot of its characters and titles.

Novelist, comics scriptwriter, beat activist, artist, agitator, DJ, sushi expert and sonic assassin Al Ewing writes about some of those rebooted DC comics over at the Travelling Man blog.

Ace artist D'Israeli reveals why he'll never be rich at his blog.

And finally, I'm really digging this new blog devoted to science fiction comic 2000 AD's Future Shocks.

Phoenix: a new British comic rises from the ashes of The DFC

A new British comic is in the offing, edited by former The DFC editor Ben Sharpe.

Contrary to earlier reports on Lew Stringer's blog, bleedingcool.com and elsewhere, Ben says The Phoenix is not a revival of The DFC, although its editorial team will include Will Fickling, who was heavily involved in that weekly subscription title.

"The Phoenix isn't affiliated to David Fickling Books or any other publisher," says Ben, who clearly enjoyed his time on The DFC, which gave him the chance, we gather, to look at wonderful artwork all day, and have vital conversations like 'how many nipples is it appropriate to show on strips about 30s-era crime-fighting dogs', 'do sheep really have the lung capacity to master the tuba' and 'does super-strength make a schoolgirl super-fast or actually a little bit ponderous'.

There's scant details of what format the title will take but it does seem that several DFC contributors will be involved, including Gary Northfield and Emma Vieceli.

They will be looking for submissions: Ben says he will post info on what they're particularly looking for as soon as the comic's main website goes live.

More news as we get it!

UPDATE 5 MARCH 2011: The Phoenix comic now has a website.

On a related note, three more books based strips from The DFC are due to be published in late 2011 from the David Fickling Library: Baggage from the Etherington Brothers; The Boss by John and Patrice Aggs; and Jame's Turner's marvellous Super Animal Adventure Squad.

• If you'd like to be on the early mailing list for The Phoneix, DM Ben Sharpe on Twitter

• Track news of The Phoenix comic on Twitter: http://twitter.com/search?q=thephoenixcomic

SFX Weekender line up includes comics guests Abnett, Mills, Talbot and Lee

This year's SFX Weekender, organised by SFX Magazine takes places next month at Pontins in Camber Sands, and the event promises to have plenty of things to interest comics fans as well as exclusive screenings, tons of prizes giveaways and guests.

There's also a competition being run at the moment to win tickets.

Highlights of the event include the SFX Awards 2011, hosted by top sci-fi author Robert Rankin. The famous SFX Blastermind Quiz, the Maskerade Ball and the SFX Imaginarium - the ultimate sci-fi stage show.

Top celebrity guests attending include legendary Discworld author Sir Terry Pratchett, Anthony Head (star of Buffy and Merlin), George Takei (Star Trek's Mr Sulu), Keeley Hawes (Ashes To Ashes) and Craig Charles (Red Dwarf's Dave Lister).

Comics guests include Pat Mills, Dan Abnett, Paul Cornell, Tony Lee, Glenn Fabry, Dez Skinn and Bryan Talbot.

The organisers have 50 sets of SFX Weekender passes to give away. To be in with a chance to win, simply answer this ridiculously easy question: what date is the SFX Weekender 2011 being held?

A) 26-27 February 2011
B) 18-19 February 2011
C) 4-5 February 2011

Email your answer (A,B or C... no really) and your name and contact telephone number (important!) to info@sfxweekender.com and quote the code SFXWSFL.


• The venue is Pontin's Holiday Park, Camber Sands, East Sussex and the weekend runs 4-5 February 2011

Author Peter F. Hamilton joins comic creators at London's MCM Expo

London MCM Expo organisers are delighted to announce that Peter F. Hamilton, one of the finest British sci-fi authors writing today, will be a special guest at the London’s biggest entertainment weekend held at Excel London later this month. Hamilton will be hosting a panel to discuss his work and answer audience questions, and he will also be signing books for his fans.

Hamilton’s latest novel, The Evolutionary Void, concludes the highly-acclaimed Void Trilogy that has unfolded in the top 10 bestselling earlier volumes, The Dreaming Void and The Temporal Void.

Noted for combining epic scale space opera with startling perspectives on tomorrow’s technological and cultural trends, Hamilton’s previous books include the Greg Mandel Series, the groundbreaking Night’s Dawn Trilogy series and the galaxy-spanning Commonwealth Saga, which is set in the same world as the Void Trilogy but thousands of years earlier.

Visitors to the London MCM Expo, which runs from 29-31st October, will be able to meet many more top writers and artists in the event's Comics Village. Comics guests set to attend this month’s show include Bernard Chang; Paul Cornell; Antony Johnston; Tony Lee; Jock and Andy Diggle. (For a full up-to-date list visit www.londonexpo.com/guests/artistswriters)

In addition, the prestigious Eagle Awards, the world’s longest running fan-voted comic book accolades – will be held on the evening of Friday 29th October.

• For more London MCM Expo information, visit: www.londonexpo.com

Tony Lee, Mark Buckingham and Richard Piers Rayner take on more TARDIS tales for IDW

A British creator line up that includes writer Tony Lee and artist Mark Buckingham will keep US Publisher IDW's Doctor Who comics afloat in the coming months.

While the Eleventh Doctor has already had several comic strip adventures in Britain's Doctor Who Adventures and Doctor Who Magazine, IDW Publishing's first title featuring all-new adventures of Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor, will not be released until January 2011 in a new ongoing series.

The new title comes as US screenings of Doctor Who on BBC America delivered record ratings for the channel, with episodes reaching  the top spot on the iTunes TV chart.

Doctor Who #1 is written by Tony Lee and will see  the Doctor and his new companions, Amy Pond and Rory Williams, battling holographic spam and 'friending' requests on a planet that's hours from destruction by an alien race.

Artist Andrew Currie brings this debut adventure to life, with the ever-busy Tommy Lee Edwards offering eye-catching covers on each issue. Eisner Award winning Fables superstar Mark Buckingham also offers an incentive cover for Issue 1, and will provide interior art on an upcoming issue, as well. Kelley Yates will also provide an incentive cover for Issue 1, featuring a die-cut gatefold image that allows fans to open the TARDIS and see the Doctor inside.

Joining IDW's Doctor Who comic book series for art duties is Richard Piers Rayner (who first drew Doctor Who in Evening's Empire for DWM, a strip that eventually appeared in a special edition due to deadline problems), who will tackle a run-in between The Doctor and Jack the Ripper in issues #2-4. Artists Matthew Dow Smith (Doctor Who, Starman) and Chris Samnee (Thor: The Mighty Avenger) will also be featured for special story arcs.

Storylines for the new book include holographic spam fighting Mad Max-esque mercenaries, Victorian Jack The Ripper suspense, penalty shoot-outs against Vikings and Cybernetic Space Pirate Dinosaurs. Said IDW's Doctor Who editor Denton J. Tipton: "There's going to be something for everyone in this story. For example, fans of the classic series should be on the look out for a classic Doctor Who villain!"

"I could tell you who they are, but I'd have to kill you," adds Lee. "Let's just say we've been given special dispensation to use them, and we have a killer story – in all senses of the word!"

• Doctor Who #1 ($3.99, 32 pages, full color) will be available in US stores in January. Technically the title is not available in the UK for licensing reasons but copies do reach some specialist stores. No UK publisher seems to have picked up distribution rights to IDW's Doctor Who collections.

Tube Surfing: Tony Lee on writing, Richard Starkings on Elephantmen and Pete Ashton on comics (what's not to like, you lucky, lucky people!?!)

Links, link, links.

Links, links, links.

Links, links, links, links...links, links, links (sung to the tune of Postman Pat):

Tony Lee shares his comics-writing process over at his blog...

'So recently on my Twitter page,' he writes, 'I spoke about blocking out comics, and in particular how I work. And, having spent a large amount of today scripting a chunk of pages that I spent much of last week getting ready, I thought I’d take the tweets that I put up a few days ago, re jig them about a little and put down in words just how I write a comic, blocking out pages and all.'

• There's still time to enter Thought Bubble's Northern Sequential Art Competition (the closing date is 9th October 2010):

'The theme of this year's competition is 'November in the North of England'. Your story can be told with text and illustrations or by imagery alone. It must be a new, complete story with six panels or more. The page must contain the story's title. Your story must be A3 in size so that if you win we can be sure the reproduction will be good quality for print. One entry per person.'

• Ooh, there's a Self-Publishers' Fair in Manchester on 3rd October 2010...

• I very much enjoyed this interview with writer, editor, publisher, letterer and karaoke singer Richard Starkings...

'If you’re a regular comics reader, your life has probably already been touched by Richard Starkings – his company, Comicraft, has provided lettering and graphic design for Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse, and Image (among others) on some of their most prominent titles, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Marvels, Astro City, Batman: Hush, and many more. However, Starkings is also very well known for his science fiction/noir/adventure series for Image Comics, Elephantmen! We were fortunate enough to be able to interview this very talented writer (and, full disclosure, one of our karaoke pals) and ask him about the future of Elephantmen.'

• Blogger, photographer, (ex) zinester, DIY culture enthusiast, social media specialist, comics fan and all-round 'man about the Internet' Pete Ashton has been talking about small press comics. Here's a video of his presentation on the emergence of the British Small Press Comics scene in the early 1980s.

Anyway, that's all for now, folks. Ta ta until my next Tube Surf...

Tube Surfing: Drinking, Drawing... and other stuff too!

• If you're in the area this Sunday, you could do worse than pop along to Manchester Comic Collective's (MCC) monthly Drink 'n' Draw. It kicks off at 4pm and is usually lots of fun (although I haven't made it down for a fair few months). From the MCC blog:

'[It's a] casual get together of people who like to draw and also drink. Anyone is welcome... Free entry, materials and snacks provided and 10% off at the bar.'

(This monthly event is usually held at Sandbar, but you better check their official site in case the venue has changed.)




The Shoot from Tony Lee on Vimeo


• The Shoot, a short film written by comics writer Tony Lee (Doctor Who, 2000AD, The Gloom), is now online. He'd like feedback, so go watch it and then... well, feed back...

• Indie comics news site  Bugpowder has just done a handy little round-up of activity on the Irish comics scene. Worth a look...

• Can someone please give Dan McDaid the cash to realise this 'Sherlock Holmes meets the Doctor' commision as a full strip?

• And finally, the Blank Slate Books website appears to have had a makeover. (Or maybe I didn't notice and it all happened ages ago.)

Doctor Who: Silver Scream from Al Davison, Tony Lee, collected

Al Davison and Tony Lee with the new Doctor Who collection at this year's MCM Expo. Photo: Jeremy Briggs

(via Al Davison): A quick reminder that the first collection of IDW's Doctor Who ongoing series, written by Tony Lee, is out, featuring Al Davison's art on the Silver Scream arc (coloured by Lovern Kindzierski).

The second arc is drawn by Matthew Dow Smith and coloured by Charlie Kirchoff.

Unlike the regular comics, which are technically not available in the UK due to licensing restrictions, Doctor Who: Volume 1 - Fugitive appears to be available and on sale in comic stores and online.

Al also reports the IDW Doctor Who Annual 2010 will be out soon, and features a story written and drawn by him, along with contributions from Tony Lee, Matthew Dow Smith, Jonathan L Davis, Kelly Yates, Phil Elliot, Charlie Kirchoff, Neil Uyetake and Robbie Robbins.

Away from Doctor Who, the Trade Paperback edition of Al's Hokusai Demons, a full-colour collection of dream comics with a Japanese theme, is due out in August, introduced by Neil Gaiman.

DC Comics fourth House of Mystery collected Trade Paperback is also out now, written by Matthew Sturges and featuring a ten-page story drawn by Al, coloured by Lee Loughbridge and lettered by Todd Klein. Other creators in The Beauty of Decay include Bill Willingham, Luca Rossi, Mike Kaluta, Richard Corben and plenty more.


• Most of Al's work can be ordered directly from www.astralgypsy.com

• More about the Doctor Who Ongoing Series on the TARDIS Wikia

Tony Lee taks Zombies -- and Jane Austen!

British comics creator Tony Lee is a busy man: popping up at the Bristol Comic Expo last weekend, writing a number of projects, with more in the pipeline. 

This week, he found time to talk to Mike Braff at the Del Rey Internet Newsletter about his work on the new Pride and Prejudice and Zombies graphic novel, and Mike has very kindly given us permission to re-publish that quick chat here on downthetubes...

After penning the graphic novel adaptation of Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith's Victorian Zombie gorefest, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Tony Lee sat down with the DRIN to answer some questions about comics, adapting stories into the graphic novel format, and of course, PPZ!

Del Rey Internet Newsletter: Were you a fan of Jane Austen, zombies, and/or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies when you began this project?

TONY LEE: I was never a massive fan of Jane's work, but I was a fan of the latter -- and in fact had been discussing the book with a friend the evening before Del Rey contacted me to see if I was interested in pitching for the book. Suffice to say that when my editor emailed me, I told her I would kill as many of her enemies as she needed for the chance to do the project!

Del Rey Internet Newsletter: You've written creator-owned comics (Hope Falls and Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood) as well as adaptations (the Gatekeepers series, Horowitz Graphic Horror). What were the particular challenges of this adaptation?

TONY: The biggest problem of any adaptation is how to take the core story and reduce it to a graphic format without losing the core moments, the lines from the book that definitely need to be in the comic. With a book like this, effectively already an adaptation of sorts, not only do I have quotes from the first book to keep in the story, but also new ones and revised versions of the first ones to add into this one. In addition, with a book like this we have a large chunk of action scenes that need to take center stage but at the same time keep from detracting from the main story, of marriage and position in a war-torn society.

The second biggest problem is dialogue. A novel can have a monologue that takes an entire page, but to put that into a comic needs pruning, and as I said above, some times the words simply can't be cut. So you find yourself moving moments, scenes lengthened or even shortened to keep the story continuing along at a pace that doesn't seem disjointed, while at the same time ensuring that it's still the story that the reader remembers from the first time they read the book.

Del Rey Internet Newsletter: Now that you've finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, what are you working on right now that you're really excited about?

TONY: Lots of things! Firstly I'm currently writing the ongoing Doctor Who series for IDW Publishing and we're about to start working on the Eleventh Doctor stories. This is a big thing for me, as I grew up on this TV series and it's great to see America really embracing it. In addition to that my first young adult novel is currently being looked at by a couple of large UK publishing houses and I should hear about that (and any possible sequels) by the time Pride & Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel comes out, and I'm currently working on and pitching a graphic novel series of books on the Baker Street Irregulars, another childhood love, so I'm currently living the dream.

That and waiting by the telephone, waiting for the call to adapt Pride & Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn Of The Dreadfulls...


• Reprinted here with the full permission of Mike Braff at Del Rey Books

• More about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith; Adapted by Tony Lee; Illustrated by Cliff Richards on the Random House web site

Strip! for Savage Messiahs, Doctor Who and Al Davison...

Here's some info about the shows ace podcaster Alex Fitch is involved with that will be broadcast over the next 7 days:

On air: Strip! - Ctrl Alt Shift: Lightspeed Champion and Savage Messiah

Continuing 'British Mavericks' month on the Strip!, broadcast on ResonanceFM, Alex Fitch looks at the new charity anthology: "Ctrl Alt Shift unmasks corruption", a collection of short comic strips that mixes seasoned professionals with the work of small press artists and creators from other media who are less well known for working in comics. From the latter group, Alex is talking to Dev Hynes*, better known as the musician Lightspeed Champion, who has a sincere interest in comics that led to the creation of two strips in the anthology.

Alex also talks to the cover illustrator Laura Oldfield Ford, whose work can normally be found in fine art galleries in the fields of collage and traditional illustration, but also creates sequential art ‘zines under the name of Savage Messiah...

*(If you want to quibble, Dev was born in Texas but raised in Essex since the age of 2, so he's an honorary British Maverick)

Broadcasts: 5pm, Thursday 19th November, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast soon after transmission at www.panelborders.wordpress .com

We also missed out on reporting on some recent podcasts: of note to downthetubes fans is Panel Borders: Doctor Who and The Spiral Cage, continuing a month look long at ‘British Mavericks’ – interviews with artists whose work brings aspects of the avant-garde to mainstream comics.

In this podcast, Alex talks to artist Al Davison about his career so far, from early graphic novels based on autobiography such as The Spiral Cage and The Minotaur’s Tale which depict Al’s struggle with his identity as an artist with spina bifida to his most recent book Hokusai: Demons which explores Japanese erotic art and bestiaries based on the artist’s dreams; and also writer Tony Lee joins Alex and Al to discuss the latter’s collaboration with the artist on the American Doctor Who comic which depicts David Tennant’s alter-ego having adventures in 1920s Hollywood. Check it out over on www.resonancefm.com

Comics Events At the Edinburgh Book Festival

It is almost that time of the year again when the chaos of Festival hits Edinburgh. International, Film, Fringe, Television and the Tattoo as well as many other smaller festivals invade the city, but the one of most interest to comics readers is the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Last year the BookFest put on more comics related events than ever before which downthetubes reviewed here. These proved to be so successful that the Festival in 2009 has a similarly diverse selection of comic and graphic novel related events.

They begin on Saturday 15th August when former Dandy editor, DC Thomson archivist and author of The History Of The Beano, Morris Heggie, former Beano editor and current BeanoMAX editor Euan Kerr and Minnie The Minx artist Jim Petrie will take over the Studio Theatre to create a new Beano inspired character with the help of the children in the audience. Later that day My Diary writer and artist Mio Matsumoto will talk about her autobiographical graphic novel which charts her fight against cancer. Following her talk she will take a comics workshop aimed at at teenage audience.

Wednesday 19th August brings political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe to the RBS Main Theatre to talk about his his life and work. This is followed by Neil Gaiman who will talk about his books and his graphic novels.

The following day, academic Dr Mel Gibson will discuss the theme of Visual Literacy, Learning and Graphic Novels before Neil Gaiman returns in the evening this time with Scottish crime author Ian Rankine to discuss their work on graphic novels.

On Monday 24th August Dan Dare artist Gary Erskine returns to the Festival for a second year to give a workshop aimed at teenagers on creating comics, while the next day brings a Writing Workshop on Graphic Novels. The writer due to take this event remains to be announced but it is worth pointing out that Tony Lee will be talking about his new Robin Hood graphic novel later the same afternoon.

Wednesday 26th August brings Metaphrog duo, Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers, to the workshop tent for a workshop on creating a comic strip aimed at teenagers. Metaphrog have done many of these workshops in Scotland this year and last, but this is the first time that they have lead a workshop at the Book Festival.

Saturday 29th August bring Scottish writer Mark Millar to the RBS Corner Theatre to discuss his graphic novels which include Wanted and Kick-Ass, while the comics events conclude rather more sedately on Sunday 30 August with Manga Shakespeare artist Chie Kutsuwada (also known as Chi-Tan) taking a manga inspired workshop once again aimed at teenagers.

As with last year the Book Festival is once again providing a comics programme for a wide variety of tastes.

• Details of the Edinburgh Internal Book Festival as well as details of how to order tickets are available on their website. The Festival runs in Edinburgh's Charlotte Square Gardens from 15th to 31st August 2009.

In Review: Doctor Who - The Time Machination

Writer Tony Lee knows his Doctor Who - inside out, back to front, old and new, spin-offs and original.

It is ten years since Queen Victoria banished Sir Doctor Of Tardis and the Lady Rose from the Empire and the Torchwood Institute is now on the track of the Doctor. With the help of not-so-aspiring author Herbert George Wells, our time travelling hero attempts to save London as well as avoiding Torchwood and one of his earlier selves.

Indeed the sheer amount of continuity in this 22-page one-shot is dizzying. This is a Tenth Doctor story which is a sequel to a Fourth Doctor story, except it is set chronologically before it so it is really a prequel, but just to confuse matters further it is takes place after a Sixth Doctor story. Still with me? If you are a fan and I told you which Fourth Doctor story it was set after it would spoil the ending: if you aren't enough of a fan to get the clues dropped in as the plot develops then there is no point telling you which story it is anyway.

And yet the plot is only half the fun, the rest comes with Paul Grist's artwork. Be it the familiar -the Fourth Doctor, Sixth Doctor, Tenth Doctor, the TARDIS, Sonic Screwdriver and an old series companion - or the new such as Torchwood operatives armed with the Victorian equivalent of tasers complete with twin prongs, the artwork is just a delight to behold. Of course it isn't the first time that Grist has visited Torchwood, having both written and illustrated a Torchwood magazine comic strip that included a Victorian as well as the modern Torchwood team, but here he gets to add in David Tennant, Colin Baker and Tom Baker as well.

IDW Doctor Who comics are contractually only available in the USA and Canada, but they are readily available to the UK over the internet and it's common knowldege that most UK comic shops carry them as "grey imports". Even if you are not that interested in the on-going IDW series, this one off special is well worth the effort of hunting down.

• More Paul Grist artwork can be found at Paul Grist's Big Cosmic Comic. More details of the comic are on Tony Lee's website.

Tony Lee Podcast on SciFiPulse

Today's podcast from Ian Cullen's cult web site SciFiPulse.net features an exclusive interview with comic writer Tony Lee, who talks about his career and his latest graphic novel, Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Harker, which is being published by Markosia. The book features art by Peter-Davis Douglas and Neil Antwerpen.

“Last year, I was speaking with [Markosia publisher] Harry Markos, a small press British company that I've been involved with since the very early days," he explains. "They were one of the companies that did Starship Troopers and took on [my book] Hope Falls. I've done other bits and pieces for them over the years, and we were discussing doing something different.

“We wanted to do a hardback graphic novel, we wanted to do a coffee table graphic novel and they wanted to do something really nice that would look good. They couldn't work out what to do. So I suggested to them while in a meeting, 'Why don't you do a sequel to Dracula?'

“Because, obviously, Dracula is a public domain book, which I happened to have a sequel to at the time that I was playing around with," he continues. Which was Harker, [featuring] the characters from Dracula six months on, and they loved the idea.”

• You can hear more about Harker as well as Tony Lee's various Doctor Who books make a date with the SciFi Pulse Podcast which airs live on Friday 22 May at 11.00pm UK Time, 3.00pm PST, 5.00pm CT and 6.00pm EST. Follow the links on www.scifipulse.net

Expo "Live Blogging" and More Moore

(with thanks to Joe Gordon at FPI): SF fan and 2009 Hugo Nominee Cheryl Morgan who is really active at the science fiction and fantasy conventions but is braving more comics culture to go to Bristol, has set her blog up to do some liveblogging over the weekend from the show. Paul Cornell, Simon Gurr and Tony Lee should be supplying guest Tweets (from Twitter, in case you didn't know what that was) to it as well.

The 'live' bit should start at around 10.00am on Saturday but at the moment you can have fun dipping into it pre-Expo, as Tony has already confessed that he's managed to spill Jack Daniels over the trouser press in his room...

"Cheryls’s coming from more of an SF&F background, so if you’re going there and see her be nice," says Joe Gordon, "and if, like me, you can’t be there then it should be a way of checking in through Saturday and Sunday to see what’s happening."

Joe also tells us the third and final part of their mega interview with Alan Moore is up, where Alan took some questions from readers, including some cheeky young jackanapes called Jon Reppion. If you’ve not had time to read the first parts yet (and it is huge so it may be more weekend reading when you have time!) there are links to parts one and two included in the part three posting: http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=12846

Tube Surfing: 4 March 2009

• This is the 1500th Post to the downthetubes blog! Some sort of milestone. downthetubes itself has been going in varied forms since 1999. Special thanks to all our contributors, old and new!

• Erik Salholm has just posted a short interview with Kane and Jack Staff creator Paul Grist in which the creator talks more about his new comic, Eternal Warrior, which is now online. “Each story needs a different approach," he sasy of the styling to the new strip. "I think my ‘style’ is distinctive, without being the same regardless of the story. I'm trying to work my way through different story genres - humour, crime, superhero and now fantasy (for want of a better word) - eventually I'll find something I'm good at!”

• Tony Lee's MILF Magnet hit stores in America today. "It's out from Moonstone, and people who have read it think it's quite funny," he says, "But then they're not allowed out much, and when they're in their rooms they scream a lot. It's a story that Moonstone offered to me a couple of years ago with the line 'You might want to write this under a fake name' and has one of my favourite lines of dialogue ever in it..." Tony was interviewed last year by The Pulse about the project here.

• Belated birthday wishes to Ronald Searle, veteran British cartoonist and comics guy, who was 89 yesterday...

• Manga expert and former Titan Magazines co-worker Jonathan Clements reveals he is now avalable in podcast form, courtesy of the people from the Right Stuf, who interview him on their latest Anime Today show about anime, manga, and the difficulties of getting Chinese waiters to sing Help Me Rhonda.

• (with thanks to Eddie Campbell): Just found Larry Latham's fab web site Lovecraft is Missing, which not only features his eponymous, gorgeous comic that he both writes and draws, and has been running since last August but a host of other visual goodies, too. The colouring on the pages is by Eric Lee (who has his own web strip here) and Tony Johnson.

Hope Falls Trade in the Pipeline

Hope Falls, the five-part miniseries that AAM/Markosia released in 2007/2008 is, hopefully, to be released as a trade paperback, depending on trade orders through comic shops.

The title is an enigma. In many ways, it's known as the 'little train that could', beating all expectations and finishing 2008 as one of the few monthly creator owned books not from Image, Dark Horse or IDW that actually made it to the end of its run, gathering critical acclaim from fans, reviewers and even fellow professionals in the process.

Telling the story of Helen Gane, a small-town waitress who, twenty years after she is murdered and buried in a shallow grave returns to the town, seemingly alive and having not aged a day, Hope Falls weaves a tale of supernatural vengeance and of religious conspiracy.

Helen's reason for returning is simple - she's here to claim back a debt of vengeance on the three men who in their various ways allowed her to die that cold evening two decades ago - and the one man, McClusky, who performed the deed.

And some debts can only be paid in blood.

As the bodycount rises, you discover that not only is Helen a free-falling Angel, plummeting towards Hell, but that another Angel, Michael has arrived in the town of Hope Falls with an intent of stopping her bloodthirsty revenge - for there is a secret tied into her murder that runs back all the way to Jesus Christ, and Heaven won't allow her killer to die just yet.

As Helen learns the true reasons for her murder, Michael learns of an Angelic conspiracy in Heaven and McClusky calls in a Voodoo priest to save his soul. And Hope Falls as a town will never be the same again as every secret hidden for twenty years come together in an explosive conclusion. Will Helen be able to kill all of her personal demons - including a man beloved of God? And what happens when she tries? Will the killing change her - or stop her?

Created by writer Tony Lee (Doctor Who, Spider Man, The Prince Of Baghdad, 2000AD, Midnight Kiss) and artist Dan Boultwood (Dopple Ganger Chronicles, Phonogram: The Singles Club, The Prince Of Baghdad, The Gloom) and with stunning painted covers by Szymon Kudranski (Scatterbrain, Zombie Cop, 30 Days Of Night), Hope Falls is a tale that has been described as The Crow meets Twin Peaks, and writer Tony Lee has on many occasions named it as "The best book I have ever written."

For over a year now, fans of the book have asked Markosia when Hope Falls would be released as a trade, but due to the ever changing economy, the release date has always been tentative. Until now.

"This is a great year for Tony Lee," Harry Markos, publisher of AAM/Markosia explained. "With his announcement as the ongoing writer of Doctor Who for IDW and his upcoming Graphic Novel with us - Harker, Tony is going to exceed all expectations. And with Dan finally gaining credit with his Phonogram work and his stellar art in G.P Taylor's The Doppleganger Chronicles, we decided that no matter what, we had to find a way to release this book."

But the release has not been easy, as Diamond Distribution has altered the way that comics, especially from smaller publishers are submitted.

"We have to sell about 400 copies through Diamond to show that this is a book they want to work with," Harry explained. "Now this might not sound much, but with many people buying the book through places like Amazon, and with retailers only buying smaller publisher titles on demand, there's a very serious possibility that we might only sell below Diamond's cut off point, and we might find that for all this work, the book gets cancelled. So we need as many sales as possible, to ensure that this classic story gets out there.'

And Markosia are eager for all retailers and readers to see a taste of what they could be missing if they let Hope Falls pass them by.

"We're sending a free copy of one of the comics issues to every UK comic shop this month," Harry explained. 'Unfortunately we can't do this through Diamond US as well, but what we can do is provide a taster of the series - anyone who goes to our MyEBook site will find, online the entire first issue for free. No strings attached."

"If you're a fan of this series, we ask you to order this book from your local store - the code is MAR094036: HOPE FALLS TP - and tell your friends, your local store about it. Ask them to order an extra copy for the shelf. We even have a Facebook group created by Tony and Dan - go and join, and show your support."

One creator who has shown his support is Australian comics artist superstar Ben Templesmith who, after reading the comic while in London in 2008 agreed to write the introduction for the collected trade.

:Ben sent me an email saying 'Man, that was awesome.'" Tony Lee explained. "And he also said that Dan's artwork was stunning. And it is. Dan was nominated for an Eagle Award in 2008 because of this work, although confusions in the committee dropped him off - but he deserved to win for the work he's done here. It truly is big leagues."

"With an industry dominated by 'Big two event books', Hope Falls is a story that deserves to be read by more than just the people who managed to find the comic," finished Harry Markos. "And it will only get out there if the retailers know about it. So tell your retailers. Pass this to your comic news sites. Post this on your blogs, on your message forums. Let's make sure that somehow, Hope Falls gets the attention and acclaim that it deserves."

• Hope Falls: The Collected Edition (with introduction by Ben Templesmith) will be available in May 2009. It is in the current Previews under AAM/Markosia.
• For more information on Tony Lee visit www.tonylee.co.uk
• For more information on Dan Boultwood visit www.shedmanor.co.uk
• For more information on Szymon Kudranski visit www.szymonkudranski.com

Tube Surfing: 6 February 2009

• The Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Massacre compueterr game based on the popular 2000AD character will be launched across Europe on Friday 27th February 2009. Rogue Trooper, a genetically engineered super-soldier, represents Reef’s first foray onto the Nintendo Wii platform. The supporting website www.roguetrooper.com is now live and provides a truly in-depth introduction to the game.

• Comics writer Tony Lee is in New York along with many British creators, with the New York Comic Con taking place this weekend. Aside from reeling at the cost of using his iPhone, the run up to the event has been a mix of business and pleasure: expect more bulletins on this massive event through the weekend on his blog.

• Andy Diggle is another British creator in New York, with several signings lined up during the weelend, as is Grant Morrison, who is one of several Guests of Honour, and Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland, Dan Abnett, Dave Elliott, James Robinson and many others. Guest of Honour and Thor writer J. Michael Straczynski (who is not British, but freeely admits to being influenced by British TV shows) had to cancel his appearance due to his nomination for a BAFTA Award, so he's actually in London... Click here for more about JMS’s cancellation.

• Rufus Dayglo, is, as far as we know, not in New York, but is posting some fab new Tank Girl images on his blog.

• Frank Quitely, who is just one of many guests at next weekend’s HI-Ex 2 Comic Convention at Eden Court, Inverness, has just been interviewed by the Highland News, talking about his work on Electric Soup and The X-Men. "I’ve never been desperately into the whole superhero thing," he reveals. "It’s always been more about the quality of the story for me, so if people like Alan Moore or Grant were writing it, I would pick it up. But with the X Men, they wear these dayglo spandex jumpsuits with huge Xs on them. And I tried to argue with Grant that if I had superpowers, the last thing I would want would be to have to go out in a garish costume as well! But Grant said if he had superpowers, he’d want to wear an outrageous costume to show them off!” Read the inteview in full here

• The thought-provoking documentary about 2000AD artist Johnny Hicklenton, Here's Johnny, about his battle with multiple sclerosis, will air at 10.00pm on More4 on Thursday 17th February. As we reported early last year, previously renowned for his work in Judge Dredd and 2000AD, Johnny now lives in an increasing state of immobility and frustration. He escapes the confines of his front room by drawing, and through the expression of his brilliant, and sometimes troubled, imagination we learn about the disease that he is forced to co exist with. For Johnny, to draw is to live.