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Rich Johnston

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For other people with the same name, see Richard Johnston (disambiguation).

For the The Simpsons character, see Homer the Smithers.
Rich Johnston
Johnston at the 2007
New York Comic Con
BornRichard Johnston
United Kingdom
Area(s)Comics journalist, gossip columnist, comics writer
Notable works
Lying in the Gutters
Watchmensch
Bleeding Cool
AwardsShel Dorf Award, 2012
Children2

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

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Johnston grew up in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. He subsequently moved to London.[3]

Career

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Comics journalism/gossip

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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

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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

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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 Rohrmüller. 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

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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

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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]

He wrote and directed a series of radio advertisements for telecommunications company TalkTalk starring Mark Heap. [31]

Parodies

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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.[32] He also appeared as a character in the Jodie Picoult novel, The Tenth Circle[33] and made a more major appearance in the Leverage novel The Con Job.[34]

Personal life

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Johnston has two daughters.[35][36]

Bibliography

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  • Dirtbag (Twist and Shout Comics, 1995)[37]
  • The X-Files (Twist and Shout Comics, 1997)[38]
  • Rich Johnston's Holed Up (Avatar Pres, 2004)[39]
  • The Flying Friar (with Thomas Paul Nachlik, Speakeasy Comics, 2005)[40]
  • Civil Wardrobe (with various artists, including Darick Robertson, Ashley Wood and Frazer Irving, Brain Scan Studios, 2006)[41]
  • Watchmensch (with Simon Rohrmüller, 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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Johnston, Rich (4 July 2013). "Adi Granov: Man Of Ilkley, Yorkshire" Archived 22 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Bleeding Cool.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Lying in the Gutters". Comic Book Resources. 1 July 2002. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011.
  6. ^ 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.)
  7. ^ Johnston, Rich (31 July 2000). "It Lives!". [dead link]All the Rage. Silver Bullet Comic Books. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  8. ^ CBR's Lying in the Gutters Archives Archived 12 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 18 January 2008
  9. ^ "2010 Eagle Awards nominations". The Beat. 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  10. ^ Griffith, Eric (11 November 2010). "Our Favorite Blogs: 2010". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  11. ^ "Bleeding cool". 21 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Weapons of Mass Distraction Archived 21 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 27 January 2008
  19. ^ Maev Kennedy (21 June 2007). "Report on George W Bush cards". London: Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  20. ^ Harrods Comic Timing Exhibition 2008 Archived 20 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 17 October 2008
  21. ^ Image Comics Solicitations for January 2009 Archived 18 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 17 October 2008
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ RichAndMark.com site Archived 8 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 27 January 2008
  24. ^ The Guardian, Feb 28th, 2001 Archived 11 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 27 January 2008
  25. ^ PlayStation World UK Archived 9 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 27 January 2008
  26. ^ Sequential Tart interview, November 2002 Archived 4 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 27 January 2008
  27. ^ Google News Cache. Accessed 27 January 2008
  28. ^ Times newspaper, September 15th 2006[dead link]. Accessed 27 January 2008
  29. ^ After the Chalk Dust Settled, featurette on Chalk Series 1 DVD, ReplayDVD.co.uk, prod. and dir. Craig Robins
  30. ^ Rich Johnston at IMDb. Accessed 18 January 2008
  31. ^ Johnston, Rich (18 June 2024). "Terry's Story, a series of radio ads for TalkTalk, starring Mark Heap, written by Rich Johnston". YouTube.
  32. ^ IDW's Dying In the Gutters' site Archived 4 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 27 January 2008
  33. ^ Film Ick Archived 11 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 2 April 2013.
  34. ^ Bleeding Cool Archived 18 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 2 April 2013.
  35. ^ Johnston, Rich (7 June 2005). "Lying In The Gutters". ComicBookResources.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  36. ^ Johnston, Rich (23 March 2019). "Joyce Chin Admitted to Chicago Hospital With Arthur Adams, Not at C2E2". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  37. ^ Official Dirtbag site Archived 28 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 27 January 2008
  38. ^ Official X Flies site Archived 28 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 27 January 2008
  39. ^ Official Holed Up site Archived 20 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  40. ^ "Official Flying Friar site". Flyingfriarcomic.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  41. ^ Civil Wardrobe download Archived 6 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 27 January 2008
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