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Rich Johnston

Richard "Rich" Johnston is a British comics creator, columnist,[1] and founder of the comics news site Bleeding Cool.

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

Rich Johnston

Richard Johnston
United Kingdom

Comics journalist, gossip columnist, comics writer

Lying in the Gutters
Watchmensch
Bleeding Cool

Shel Dorf Award, 2012

2

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]

Personal life[edit]

Johnston has two daughters.[35][36]

(Twist and Shout Comics, 1995)[37]

Dirtbag

(Twist and Shout Comics, 1997)[38]

The X-Files

Rich Johnston's Holed Up (, 2004)[39]

Avatar Pres

The Flying Friar (with Thomas Paul Nachlik, , 2005)[40]

Speakeasy Comics

Civil Wardrobe (with various artists, including , Ashley Wood and Frazer Irving, Brain Scan Studios, 2006)[41]

Darick Robertson

(with Simon Rohrmüller, Brian Scan Studios, 2009)

Watchmensch

(with Eric J., IDW, 2009)

Doctor Who: A Room With A Deja View

"A Trip into Space" (with Terry Wiley, in , Image Comics, 2009)

This Is a Souvenir: The Songs of Spearmint & Shirley Lee

Chase Variant (with Saverio Tenuta and Edmund Bagwell, Image Comics, February 2010, forthcoming)

Kate and William: A Very Public Love Story

William Windsor

The Many Murders of Miss Cranbourne, with Simon Rohrmuller, (Dark Horse Comics, 2012)

Dark Horse Presents

The Avengefuls (, 2012)

Boom! Studios

at the Grand Comics Database

Rich Johnston

Bleeding Cool

Johnston's Comic Book Resources column.

Lying in the Gutters

at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)

Rich Johnston

Johnston's Dynamic Forces column (largely interviews).

Waiting For Tommy

Johnston's collection of non-commercial performance work.

RichAndMark.com

at IMDb

Rich Johnston

Darius, Julian (4 November 2002). . Sequart Research & Literacy Organization.

"Rich Johnston on Comics Gossip"

. 2000AD Review. 15 June 2005

"Rich Johnston"