Comics & Steampunk Double Feature!

To make up for last weekend without an event for Accent UK Comics, we've two this!
 

Firstly, I'm delighted to return to Macc-Pow next Saturday, which I greatly enjoyed last year and is another fairly local one to me which is nice. This year's event is #3 and coincides with Macclesfield's bi-annual Barnaby Festival which I understand was the catalyst for organiser Marc Jackson to put on the first event in 2016. This year like #2 is free to attend and takes place in Macc's impressive Town Hall , which was a great venue for the comic workshops, artists and exhibitors, so I'll looking forward to this.

A nice offical event picture taken off me at last year's Macc-Pow!

Next up, the same weekend but on both days is the mysterious 'The Town That Never Was!' at Blists Hill, Ironbridge. This is a new steampunk 'wild west' themed event organised by those fine folks at The Ministry of Steampunk who are behind the mighty Asylum festival in Lincoln, the world's largest annual steampunk celebration!

The event had a highly enjoyable 'soft debut' at the same venue last year to test the waters (to which Gary & I and our better halves attended in civvies) and all were blown away by the response from steampunks, the public and the venue so a return was inevitable but necessitated a move from the previous July date to June which unfortunately for me clashed with Macc-Pow! (which itself had moved from July to match the Barnaby Festival dates), so the intrepid duo of 'Deputy' Dave West and 'Gunslinger' Gary Crutchley will be there both days, defending the fort until I join them on the Sunday - what could go wrong!

A splendid picture from last year's 'soft debut' event!

Wowed in Wythenshawe!

Just a couple of words about yesterday's first Wythenshawe Comic-Con which was fun, all the more so for catching up with various comic folks and being so local I could've (almost) have gone home for lunch - if they didn't have a 'green room' for guests that is!

 
It's always nice to be invited as a guest to shows and this seems to be happening a little more often these days so hopefully we're doing something right. Doubly pleased that  John & Wayne (of Wow! Comics and the fine chaps behind the event) had extended this invite to Matt Soffe who you will remember is best known to Accent UK readers as our 'go to' colourist on most of our titles and covers. It's fairly rare for Matt to attend conventions so it was a great excuse to catch up with him, discuss our current projects and for Matt to display and sell some of his own amazing genre-based artwork as part of our extended Accent UK 'family' - even if he doesn't like his picture being taken!

Matt at his Accent UK stand!

And speaking of our Accent UK 'family', both Matt and I were pleasantly surprised when 'Uncle' Gary Crutchley was able to pop in for a little time and help us out and discuss his own projects with Matt - watch this space!

Spot the hat!

There was a steady stream of folk at this reasonably priced inaugural event held at a central theatre venue which perfectly suited the show's needs, big clear hall, stage, bar and little side room etc. The venue staff and the Wow comics team seemed pretty pleased with how it all went and the crowd they attracted so hopefully there will be plans to repeat the fun next year?

Cartoon Col! (photo by John Webster)

Speaking of fun, I had the privilege of hosting the 'Children's Cartoon Corner' for a wee while on the afore mentioned stage where much to my relief the kids weren't really wanting a detailed masterclass but simply wanted the opportunity to draw some of their favourite comic characters (and some of their own!) with a wee bit of guidance, which allowed us to go a little 'off-piste' by rendering a ghost or two and my favourite improv of the afternoon....nessie!

Wow Comics' John Webster from the stage with the show floor behind.

There were several other attractions too including green screen photography, voice sfx, Jurassic Park gates (waiting for my pic!) and a very popular cosplay competition for children & adults, all of which helped entertain the folks who came to see what it was all about. Good too to see that comics were front and central at the show with Beano regulars Nigel Parkinson, Lew Stringer and comic artists Mike Collins and David Leach in attendance alongside ourselves and indie stalwarts GM Jordan (Markosia) and Dan Whitehead (Frankenstein Texas) and a couple of newer indie folks among the back issue comic attractions of Lucky Target comics as well as Wow! comics themselves and others.

John even kindly marshalled his comic guests together for a wee photo shoot of which this is the only version I have seen surface since taken by John himself from the stage, you can add your own captions, several already have.......!

Oh and the ever prompt Lew Stringer has already written his own wee report on his enjoyable blog here and checkout the show's facebook page for more pictures and updates here.

Splendid Day by the Seaside?

Eeek! no sooner are we back from a delightful round trip to Aberdeen for Granite City Comic-Con, we're busy packing our trunks for a visit to the seaside for A Splendid Day Out, steampunk and ice cream, lovely! it's our first time but the event came highly recommended and is, I think, now in its 4th year with this year's expanded show incorporating the 'Arts of Steam', a celebration of the art & writing & crafts inspired by the steampunk genre/movement!

Actually is it a genre or a movement? not sure, maybe we can ask the man who first coined the 'steampunk' phrase himself, K W Jeter who is making a rare appearance to the UK for the festival. Many of course will recognise the name from his lauded Blade Runner sequel novels from a few years ago.

I'll be in the same venue as K.W Jeter in Morecambe's iconic Winter Gardens Theatre, a short walk from the promenade. I'm looking forward to the show, the venue and meeting new people which may well include (separately) a relative and an important Accent UK contributor!

Asylum Steampunk Comic Kickstarter!

Accent UK's first ever Kickstarter campaign is currently running here for the opportunity to pre-order our exciting new comic launching at this year's Asylum, the steampunk festival which inspired the concept and the comic!

Find out more about the project from Dave West here with incredible cover artwork provided by Gary Crutchley, coloured by Matt Soffe - dodgy fellow on the cover notwithstanding! The project both features and is inspired by real steampunk personas encountered at last year's Asylum Festival so is very different from our normal stories.

A further departure for me is that I have scripted a story to be drawn by a talented new artist Anna Francesca Schiraldi who I first had the pleasure of meeting at last year's Edinburgh comic festival and caught up with again this year.

There will be more news to come but we're delighted that the Kickstarter was funded in less than 24 hours (around 14 we think!) of its launch so its safe to say that the comic will definitely be coming to life in August when you can Enter The Asylum!

Back Drawing!

Well it has been a hectic last few weeks with fun comic trips in England, the US and Scotland all keeping me quiet, if time allows I'll post some pictures and comments about each one but in between those, family time and the next batch of shows in a few weeks, I've found time to catch up with some of my drawing!

Well namely its some more of the wee postcard sized watercolour sketches mainly of characters from my 'Moments of Adventure' comics plus a couple of guest stars! These are fun to do and although I don't directly sell them, I include them in packs of both comics & prints to make a nice little package for folk at shows. They're becoming increasingly popular hence the fact that I had to do some more since the last few events has virtually cleaned me out!

I try and make each one unique but try and maintain a good spread of my characters, MacBeth and sundry Zombies tend to be most popular so I'll likely do a few more of them plus one or two Steampunk ones in anticipation of this summer's shows.

3 in 3, there's going to be a Time Quake!

Well we do like to test ourselves don't we so since things are too quiet round here, the Accent UK 'tourbus' is outdoing itself these next few weeks with Time Travel, Atlantic Crossings and a 'Homecoming' coming up!

Who opened the Jar? A glimpse of our Curious Comic Corner!

First up this weekend sees Dave and I re-united for a brand new event from those fine folks behind the Asylum steampunk festival that we've being enjoying in recent years. Time Quake though promises to be something very different with various 'zones' such as Post-Apocalyptic, Time Lords, Wizardry, Steam Wars and much, much more with ourselves building a small set for our brand new Curious Comic Corner in the very special 'Author & Artists Alley', not a standard 6' x 2' table in sight! Challenged we've been on this one with serious planning since before Christmas, there's been a few hiccups here and there but join us if you can in Manchester, it all promises to be a very different spectacle over the Easter weekend!

Next up is a different type of time travel as Dave and I will literally be travelling back in time (by a fair few hours at least!) to take up our positions in Artist's Alley of C2E2 in Chicago, the windy city! We're soooo excited about this, our first 'big' US show and our first time exhibiting across the Atlantic for I think 5 years! As I reported after Scott and I's Seattle trip, so much has changed over there with the growth of comic movies and related interest, so this is quite a thrill. That said we're under no illusion that it will be a tough gig for us alongside the better known creators of the comic world and of course the entertainment guests and more but we're going mainly for networking, a bit of promotion and of course the experience, exciting stuff!

Next up - and I do mean, literally next! - is a welcome return to Auld Reekie for Edinburgh Comic-Con. This will be our third time there and its been a privilege to be part of this enthusiastic, friendly event as it has grown. This time, WesterNoir's very own Gary Crutchley will also be attending for what I think will be his very first trip to Scotland! I will of course be failing if I let him go without trying a wee bit of haggis, neeps & tatties, washed down with a Tennents or maybe a wee whisky? We'll see!

Actually I think there's a fair few other 'southern-based' comic creators making the trip so with the amazing native comics folk, Edinburgh again promises to be an enjoyable trip.

So there we are, 3 shows in 3 weeks in 3 countries !  There's a few more after that with a couple of new shows to be added to our tour dates but luckily I'll have a decent break after this wee run to - hopefully - get back to the business of writing and drawing! It may be a wee bit quiet here until then but if you are anywhere near these 3 shows, feel free to join us and tell us about your own favourite comic trips!

Just got in from The Emerald City!

Phew! Scott and I are slowing recovering from our epic trip last week to Seattle's Emerald City Comic-Con which was fun and a real inspiration. I wasn't tabling, so was attending purely as a 'punter' for the first time in almost 20 years!

While not 'working' the show felt really strange, particularly on the first day, once we got into our stride and studied the informative programme, Scott and I found ourselves kept occupied throughout the show's 4 days! We wandered about the always interesting show floors, casually exploring the mammoth Artist's Alley and caught several panels amongst many other things. In fact having the (sold out) 4 day pass and not being tied to a table made us really relaxed despite the massive crowds - estimated at 95,000 - so we could see the whole event without constantly dashing around or clock watching and this made for a far more enjoyable experience than normal.

A happy Scott at ECCC18!

I was particularly interested in both comparing how the show had evolved since Dave and I had boldly accepted a last minute table share at ECCC way back in 2010 and also how ReedPop, the event organiser's approached things, being as they've recently bought over the UK's MCM series of events that we regularly table at. A further level of interest was added by our confirmation of our own artist alley table at next month's C2E2 event in Chicago which again is organised by ReedPop, so there was a lot to take in for me at the show. A lot of my questions were in fact addressed in this well timed Forbes magazine article with ECCC's show directors which you may also find interesting?

As the above article clearly indicates and our experience confirmed, thankfully comics remain 'front and centre' of ECCC. From the huge comic publisher booths (Dark Horse, Image, Boom etc etc), the dealers with their eye-popping golden and silver age comics to the sprawling Artist's Alley (500 tables and counting, mixed fairly even between pros and indies) to all the many comic-centric cosplayers, there was no doubt that this was a comics-focused show. It might seem odd to mention this in the context of describing a 'comic-con' but the term has become overused and, particularly in the UK, a 'comic-con' can frequently feature just merchandise stands, fan art and a few D-list celebs with no hint or pretence to showcase actual comics or comic creators so to wander about an event of this size and be surrounded by all things comics was both refreshing and genuinely inspiring!

Yes there was of course merchandise but, with the exception perhaps of Funko, they weren't allowed to dominate and much of the non-comic items were actually grouped together under a 'Homegrown' banner and alley (similar to the UK's MCM Comic Village) to showcase their home made crafts, plushes, t-shirts, models and even on tap crafted beer! Here you could meet and discuss the works with their makers which again felt special compared to hordes of mass produced product.

Hulk guarding the Funko booth!

I mention Funko who's Pop figure collectibles have really exploded these last few years and in some ways are held to be an example of  what's wrong with a 'comic-con' in that they are often seen to dominate the show floors (again particularly in the UK) but you can't deny their popularity and they are, for Seattle, a local business being established in nearby Everett, (yes we did visit Funko HQ after the show, did I mention that Scott is a huge fan!), so in the case of ECCC, I think they can be excused, they had a huge booth with a carefully co-ordinated and ticketed queueing system so as to not interfere too much with their neighbours and they were an important attraction at the show, much in the same way as their near neighbours Weta Workshop (all the way from New Zealand no less!) and Dark Horse Comics etc.

David Tennant & Billie Piper draw a crowd!

Even the actors, another popular attraction, weren't allowed to dominate and had been located across the street in the plush Sheraton hotel where there was a strict 'no photos' policy enforced but it was still a bewildered treat to wander about and see the likes of Christopher Lloyd and sundry Walking Dead, Harry Potter actors with their huge lines of fans waiting patiently for an autograph or photo shoot. David Tennant and Billie Piper appeared to be major draws and had their own signing rooms but we saw them being interviewed back at the conference centre's main theatre auditorium which was packed to the rafters (maybe a 5k+ crowd?) with giant screens and all!

Colin meets Onrie on day one of the show

There's a lot more I can say but I've already written a lot so here's a couple of quick shout outs to awesome sales beast Onrie Kompan who we were able to catch up with for dinner along with writer, musician and audio producer Travis Vengroff. Onrie sold an incredible amount of comics at the show as he does almost consistently across the US (check out his blog and youtube channel) so it was great to swap stories and tactics with him, also caught up with Arni from Denmark's comic buddies, Sara Richard, Jarrett Melendez, Ben Templesmith and meet for the first time the likes of Janet (Dapper Men) Lee, Ted (Courtney Crumin) Naifh, Adam Knave, D J Kirkbride and others!

Onrie sold out early Sunday afternoon - an incredible 1,300 comics & graphic novels!

Also of course, Mike Garley and Martin Simmonds from the UK who were tabling in AA for the first time and enjoying the experience and schmoozing. Scott and I joined Mike & Martin for a fun dinner one evening too which was amusing for among other things, the 3 of them all being ID by the barman before being allowed to order alcohol - sadly one of us wasn't ID as considered an old man, guess who :(

I think I've always been a rebel at heart!

Oh and I finally got a chance to have a chat with The Beat's very own Heidi MacDonald after all these years after she moderated one of the excellent panels I attended, see a write-up of which here (of the panel, not my chat!).

Scott meeting top comics writer Brian Michael Bendis after an epic queue!

So as you can tell we very much enjoyed the whole experience which hopefully bodes well for both the UK's MCM shows and our own forthcoming Chicago trip.