Comic comics columnist and author
Rich Johnston
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Born
| Richard Johnston
United Kingdom
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Area(s)
| Comics journalist, gossip columnist, comics writer
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Notable works
| Lying in the Gutters
Watchmensch
Bleeding Cool
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---|
Awards
| Shel Dorf Award, 2012
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Children
| 2
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Richard
"
Rich
"
Johnston
is a British
comics
creator, columnist,
[1]
and founder of the comics news site
Bleeding Cool
.
The Comics Journal
described Johnston as having claimed to be "the oldest extant comics news reporter on the Internet."
[2]
His past columns include "All The Rage" (for
Silver Bullet Comic Books
), and "Lying in the Gutters" (for
Comic Book Resources
).
Early life
[
edit
]
Johnston grew up in
Pontefract
,
West Yorkshire
. He subsequently moved to London.
[3]
Career
[
edit
]
Comics journalism/gossip
[
edit
]
Rich's Revelations
was originally a simple relisting of British magazine comics news.
[4]
Johnston began writing gossip on
USENET
newsgroups in 1994 as
Rich's Ramblings
.
[5]
He then took the column, around onto the burgeoning World Wide Web, with "Rich's Revelations" on the now-defunct Twist And Shout Comics website.
[6]
He later started the comics gossip column "All The Rage" for
Silver Bullet Comic Books
, later
Comics Bulletin
.
[7]
Johnston wrote the column "Lying in the Gutters" for
Comic Book Resources
,
[8]
posting rumours and gossip, with a
traffic light
icon imparting advisory caution as to the possible credibility of each rumour: a red light denoting the least likelihood of accuracy, a green light for the most credible reports, and a yellow light for those that fall somewhere in between.
Johnston's writing does not often impart sources. About that, Johnston said, "I often obfuscate sources to hide their identity?even deny that a story has sources on many occasions." Johnston sees himself as part of a tradition established by the "British tabloid press, one that seeks to entertain rather than inform."
[2]
Bleeding Cool
[
edit
]
On 27 March 2009, Johnston announced his launch of the website BleedingCool.com.
Bleeding Cool was nominated for the "Favourite Comics Related Website"
Eagle Award
in 2010
[9]
and 2011 and won in 2012. It was named as one of
PC Magazine
'
s top blogs of 2010.
[10]
and Technorati gave it a perfect 1000 score for influence in the comics category.
[11]
Johnston was awarded the
Shel Dorf Award
for Best Comics Blogger for his work on Bleeding Cool in 2012.
[12]
Comics creator
[
edit
]
Johnston has written a number of comics, mainly consisting of
one-shots
and
graphic novella
. The first consists of parodies, such as
Watchmensch
[13]
and
Civil Wardrobe
(alluding to
Marvel's
2006 story
Civil War
).
[14]
The second include his original work, both
creator-owned
and those based on
licensed properties
, like
Doctor Who: A Room With A Deja View
,
[15]
The Flying Friar
(based on the life of
Joseph of Cupertino
)
[16]
and
Chase Variant
which started life at
Mam Tor Publishing
's
Event Horizon
.
[17]
In 2007, he wrote the
IDW
trading card set
George W. Bush and the Weapons of Mass Distraction
.
[18]
[19]
He wrote and drew a number of pages for the
Popbitch
book and curated the
Harrods
Comic Timing exhibition of original comic book artwork.
[20]
In 2009, he had a story scheduled for the
Spearmint
anthology from
Image Comics
with
Sleaze Castle
writer-artist
Terry Wiley
.
[21]
He wrote a short story, "Rustlin Up Business," for the second volume of
Outlaw Territory
, published in February 2011.
He has also written
Kate and William: A Very Public Love Story
, a comic commemorating the
wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
, published by
Markosia
.
[22]
In 2012, he wrote a comic serialised in
Dark Horse Presents
entitled
The Many Murders of Miss Cranbourne
, with art from
Simon Rohrmuller
. He also wrote a series of parody comics for
Boom! Studios
, taking on Marvel Studios films, with
Iron Man
,
Thor
,
Captain America
, and
The Avengers
reinterpreted as "Iron Muslim", "Scienthorlogy," "Captain American Idol," and "The Avengefuls," respectively.
Johnston writes and draws weekly cartoons for the UK blogger
Paul Staines
, appearing each Monday and collected at
RichAndMark.com
.
[23]
Non-comics writing
[
edit
]
Johnston wrote briefly for newspapers like
The Guardian
[24]
and magazines like
PlayStation World
.
[25]
The now-closed publication
Punch Magazine
named him Young Writer of the Year Award in 2001.
[26]
His poster campaign for the
Churches Advertising Network
in December 2006 generated coverage,
[27]
including a leader in the Times Newspaper
[28]
and an appearance on BBC's
The One Show
.
He was an advertising
copywriter
until 2009.
[
citation needed
]
Media appearances
[
edit
]
Johnston contributed to the British
Channel 4
sketch show
Smack the Pony
as well as for
BBC Radio 4
's satirical sketch show
Week Ending
and the stage/TV show
The Sitcom Trials
.
He appeared as an interviewee in
After the Chalk Dust Settled
, a documentary included on the DVD release of
Steven Moffat
's sitcom
Chalk
.
[29]
He was a zombie extra in
Shaun of the Dead
and a congregation member in the movie
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
.
[30]
Parodies
[
edit
]
In 2006, he appeared as a character in the comic book
CSI: Dying in the Gutters
as a source of "inside joke" humour by featuring him as the victim in a murder mystery set at a comic book convention and using other notable real-world comics creators as suspects in the crime.
[31]
He also appeared as a character in the
Jodie Picoult
novel,
The Tenth Circle
[32]
and made a more major appearance in the
Leverage
novel
The Con Job
.
[33]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Johnston has two daughters.
[34]
[35]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Dirtbag
(Twist and Shout Comics, 1995)
[36]
- The X-Files
(Twist and Shout Comics, 1997)
[37]
- Rich Johnston's Holed Up
(
Avatar Pres
, 2004)
[38]
- The Flying Friar
(with Thomas Paul Nachlik,
Speakeasy Comics
, 2005)
[39]
- Civil Wardrobe
(with various artists, including
Darick Robertson
,
Ashley Wood
and
Frazer Irving
, Brain Scan Studios, 2006)
[40]
- Watchmensch
(with Simon Rohrmuller, Brian Scan Studios, 2009)
- Doctor Who: A Room With A Deja View
(with Eric J.,
IDW
, 2009)
- "A Trip into Space" (with Terry Wiley, in
This Is a Souvenir: The Songs of Spearmint & Shirley Lee
,
Image Comics
, 2009)
- Chase Variant
(with Saverio Tenuta and Edmund Bagwell, Image Comics, February 2010, forthcoming)
- Kate and William: A Very Public Love Story
(
Markosia
, April 2011,
ISBN
1-905692-45-5
) collects:
- The Many Murders of Miss Cranbourne
, with Simon Rohrmuller,
Dark Horse Presents
(
Dark Horse Comics
, 2012)
- The Avengefuls
(
Boom! Studios
, 2012)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Singer, Matt (14 March 2006).
"Pulp Friction"
.
The Village Voice
. New York City. Archived from
the original
on 15 March 2006
. Retrieved
27 January
2008
.
- ^
a
b
Dean, Michael (2005).
"Online Comics Journalism: Does It Exist? Part 3: Rich Johnston's Honest
Lying
"
.
The Comics Journal
(266): 21?23. Archived from
the original
on 5 May 2006.
- ^
Johnston, Rich (4 July 2013).
"Adi Granov: Man Of Ilkley, Yorkshire"
Archived
22 March 2014 at the
Wayback Machine
. Bleeding Cool.
- ^
Johnston, Rich
(2 December 1998).
"What is Ramblings 98?"
.
Rich's Ramblings '98
. Archived from
the original
on 2 December 1998
. Retrieved
14 May
2021
.
Ramblings 98 has had a number of forms. Originally a simple relisting of British magazine comics news, Rich's Revelations, it has been praised, condemned, exhalted and threatened with libel suits. This culminated in a series of targeted attacks that led to the author conducting a vote. The final tally was 104:5 in favour of the continuing of the column with an advisory label, written by Greg Morrow and a name change to Rich's Rumblings. But that was then.
- ^
"Lying in the Gutters"
.
Comic Book Resources
. 1 July 2002.
Archived
from the original on 16 June 2011.
- ^
Johnston, Rich
(10 October 1999).
"Rich's Ramblings 1999"
.
Twist and Shout Comics
. Archived from
the original
on 12 October 1999
. Retrieved
14 May
2021
.
Archives: Feb 1998 to Sep 1999 (Rich Johnston is an advertising copywriter, co-self publisher of Twist And Shout Comics, BBC comedy writer and comics columnist. He currently lives in South London, England.)
- ^
Johnston, Rich (31 July 2000).
"It Lives!"
.
All the Rage
.
Silver Bullet Comic Books
. Archived from
the original
on 23 July 2012
. Retrieved
12 November
2010
.
- ^
CBR's
Lying in the Gutters
Archives
Archived
12 April 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 18 January 2008
- ^
"2010 Eagle Awards nominations"
.
The Beat
. 24 May 2010. Archived from
the original
on 30 May 2010
. Retrieved
12 November
2010
.
- ^
Griffith, Eric (11 November 2010).
"Our Favorite Blogs: 2010"
.
PC Magazine
.
Archived
from the original on 13 March 2016
. Retrieved
12 November
2010
.
- ^
"Bleeding cool"
. 21 September 2011.
Archived
from the original on 27 December 2011
. Retrieved
2 April
2013
.
- ^
"Bleeding Cool Wins Shel Dorf Award For Best Comic Blogger (Other People Win Things Too) - Bleeding Cool News And Rumors"
.
bleedingcool.com
. 27 October 2012.
Archived
from the original on 3 February 2018
. Retrieved
25 April
2018
.
- ^
Ekstrom, Steve (5 March 2009).
"Who Skewers the Watchmen? Rich Johnston on Watchmensch"
.
Newsarama
.
Archived
from the original on 9 March 2009
. Retrieved
16 December
2009
.
- ^
Singh, Arune (14 August 2006).
"Rich Johnston Changes Minds In "Civil Wardrobe"
"
.
Comic Book Resources
. Archived from
the original
on 8 July 2011
. Retrieved
16 December
2009
.
- ^
Marshall, Rick (17 April 2009).
"EXCLUSIVE: 'Doctor Who: Room With A Deja View' Writer Rich Johnston Talks TARDIS And Time Lords"
.
Splash Page
. MTV. Archived from
the original
on 29 March 2010
. Retrieved
16 December
2009
.
- ^
Dowling, Tim
(3 December 2007).
"A saint with the powers of Superman"
.
The Guardian
. London.
Archived
from the original on 10 January 2016
. Retrieved
16 December
2009
.
- ^
Wigler, Josh (10 December 2009).
"Johnston Pursues His "Chase Variant"
"
.
Comic Book Resources
.
Archived
from the original on 15 December 2009
. Retrieved
16 December
2009
.
- ^
Weapons of Mass Distraction
Archived
21 May 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 27 January 2008
- ^
Maev Kennedy (21 June 2007).
"Report on George W Bush cards"
. London: Guardian
. Retrieved
8 December
2011
.
- ^
Harrods Comic Timing Exhibition 2008
Archived
20 October 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 17 October 2008
- ^
Image Comics Solicitations for January 2009
Archived
18 October 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 17 October 2008
- ^
Good, Oliver (16 January 2011).
"Wills'n'Kate: the comic book"
.
The Guardian
. London.
Archived
from the original on 10 January 2016
. Retrieved
17 January
2011
.
- ^
RichAndMark.com site
Archived
8 June 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 27 January 2008
- ^
The Guardian, Feb 28th, 2001
Archived
11 May 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
Accessed 27 January 2008
- ^
PlayStation World UK
Archived
9 July 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 27 January 2008
- ^
Sequential Tart interview, November 2002
Archived
4 April 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 27 January 2008
- ^
Google News Cache
. Accessed 27 January 2008
- ^
Times newspaper, September 15th 2006
. Accessed 27 January 2008
- ^
After the Chalk Dust Settled
, featurette on
Chalk
Series 1 DVD, ReplayDVD.co.uk, prod. and dir.
Craig Robins
- ^
Rich Johnston
at
IMDb
. Accessed 18 January 2008
- ^
IDW's Dying In the Gutters' site
Archived
4 August 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 27 January 2008
- ^
Film Ick
Archived
11 November 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 2 April 2013.
- ^
Bleeding Cool
Archived
18 February 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 2 April 2013.
- ^
Johnston, Rich (7 June 2005).
"Lying In The Gutters"
.
ComicBookResources.com
.
Archived
from the original on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
30 March
2016
.
- ^
Johnston, Rich (23 March 2019).
"Joyce Chin Admitted to Chicago Hospital With Arthur Adams, Not at C2E2"
.
Bleeding Cool
. Retrieved
23 March
2019
.
- ^
Official Dirtbag site
Archived
28 October 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 27 January 2008
- ^
Official X Flies site
Archived
28 October 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 27 January 2008
- ^
Official Holed Up site
Archived
20 February 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Official Flying Friar site"
. Flyingfriarcomic.com.
Archived
from the original on 6 January 2012
. Retrieved
8 December
2011
.
- ^
Civil Wardrobe download
Archived
6 March 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 27 January 2008
External links
[
edit
]