Based in Hertfordshire, UK, I am a freelance Journalist, Author and Academic specialising in Film & Comics.
A lifelong devotee of both mediums, I place particular focus and enthusiasm on the Superhero genre in its various forms (particularly related to DC Comics), Film Music, the cinema of The New Hollywood, screen-based Science Fiction & Fantasy, Special Effects (practical and digital) and the work of Steven Spielberg.
A graduate of King Alfred’s College, Winchester (now Winchester University) in 1996 and The London School of Journalism in 1998, I began my media career the following year at Turner Broadcasting in London, where I was Editor of the UK website for Turner Classic Movies. Going freelance full-time in July 2001, I have contributed to a wide array of outlets – both print and online – in the last decade.
These include: VARIETY Weekly, Comic Heroes, The First Post (Online), The Daily Telegraph, The Times, SFX Magazine, SciFiNow Magazine, Judge Dredd The Megazine, BBC Online (Films, Music, Collective), Virgin.Net, Amazon.co.uk, Film Four.Com, Ink Magazine, Dreamwatch Magazine, Starlog Magazine, Hotdog Magazine, The Net Magazine, BBC Classical Music, TV Zone Magazine, Starburst Magazine, Popcorn.co.uk, SFX Online, Thisislondon.co.uk, Flicks Magazine, Comics International and Model/Collector’s Mart.
I currently write for EMPIRE Magazine, the UK’s most successful Film title, and Yahoo! Movies UK.
My first book was THE ROUGH GUIDE TO FILM NOIR, co-authored with Alexander Ballinger and published by ROUGH GUIDES/ PENGUIN (UK) in June 2007. My second book, THE ART OF PLANET 51, published by INSIGHT EDITIONS (US), was released in November 2009 with my latest, CARTOON CLASSICS: THE JETSONS also published by INSIGHT EDITIONS in 2011. As an editorial contributor, I have appeared in Film Review (Reynolds & Hearn), The International Film Guide (Button Press) and Soundtrack Nation (Cengage).
Recently, I was a contributing writer to Taschen’s highly-anticipated THE JAMES BOND ARCHIVES, published in October 2012 and my latest book is ANGRY BIRDS: HATCHING A UNIVERSE, the first book to detail the creation, development and phenomenal sucess of the best-selling video game franchise, published by Insight Editions in May 2013.
Since 2009, I have been a Visiting Lecturer to the University of Hertfordshire, where I am currently a Module Tutor/Lecturer in Critical & Contextual Studies in the subject areas of Digital Animation, Model Special Effect (MSFX) and Screen & Media Cultures for The School of Creative Arts, teaching across all three undergranduate year-groups (Levels 4-6). I also provide public-facing adult education work for UHArts, the university’s cultural body, also hosting Film-related events. I am also the co-founder of UHArts’ Comics & Graphic Novels Festival, “UniComics”, which debuted in April 2010. In 2012, my academic teaching work expanded to Kingston University London, where I lecture on the Film & TV MA program.
In May 2013, I received two nominations in the University of Hertfordshire’s Vice-Chancellor Awards: “Employee of The Year (Student Choice)” and “Tutor of The Year”.
Additionally, I have made appearances on television and radio as a specialist interviewee on Film and Comics for international media outlets as the BBC, Channel 4, Sky News, Press TV and MGM HD and regularly present Comics-related events for Herfordshire Library Service and am also involved in national events, notably EMPIRE’s BIG SCREEN festival in 2011. I can be occasionally heard on THE BLACK DOG PODCAST, hosted by my good friends (and fellow Geeks) Lee Medcalf and Darren Barnard, which can be found at Geek Planet Online.
