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.

2018 Comics Tour Schedule!

Hungry for Comics?

As we gear up for the forthcoming 2018 comic convention season, I thought I'd share a few images and characters that you may meet if you'd like to track me down this coming year, near or far, at a show near you? Watch this space for more comic surprises to come!
 

 

 

Some you win, some Zulus!

Some Zulus! My artwork, Matt Soffe colours from forthcoming graphic novel!

As is traditional today, I've spent a little time reflecting on events in Zululand 139 years ago which, as readers of this blog will be aware, has had rather a profound interest (or is it obsession?) for me for almost as long as I can remember. Much of that time my interest was simply that, an interest stirred by that movie, and a genuine desire to learn more about the military history behind those colourful set-pieces and action scenes. The more I read of course lead to a greater understanding, reaching a pinnacle with my first visit to the South African battlefields themselves with the eminent historian, Ian Knight, who's many books on the subject I've eagerly devoured.

Isandlwana battlefield cairns from 2010

Isandlwana battlefield 2014

Proud & happy Zulu children 2014

That first visit brought me directly into contact with many Zulus themselves and a growing awareness that they viewed the events of 1879 rather differently - a planned Zulu Victory for starters, not just a surprise British defeat -  and also a need to commemorate the occasion as a rare victory against the Europeans colonisation of Africa itself, which is something I guess I'd not really thought about, much to my regret. As they say, history is written by those who won and it is generally that history, that of the victors we learn about ourselves, so - in basic terms - we know that the Anglo-Zulu War was relatively short, (After the Isandlwana defeat, the might of the British Empire was thrown against the Zulus), concluding in the Battle of Ulundi on 4th July 1879 and resulting in the subsequent capture and exile of the Zulu King Cetshwayo.

Ulundi battlefield memorial 2010

After a time and an audience with Queen Victoria at her Osborne House home, Cetshwayo was restored as monarch but to a lessor territorial area and who's powers were severely restricted by the British governors. Not long afterwards Cetshwayo died, possibly poisoned by his rivals, and various periods of unrest followed culminating in the deadly and failed Zulu rebellion of 1906. British interest during this period was of course dominated by clashes with the resident Boer farmers leading to two major wars, setting a template for the World Wars to follow. Zulu influence was further and further eroded during this time, arguably leading to the rise of apartheid so that it's only comparatively recently - post Mandela - that the authentic Zulu voice has again been heard and more importantly listened to again.

King Cetshwayo's remote burial site, deepest Zululand 2014

I know I'm been very, very simplistic in these comments but I mention this really to illustrate that history or rather perceptions of history can continually evolve by those who are or were affected by it. These thoughts came to me during my 2010 and subsequent 2014 trips around Zululand, encountering many locals who, rather than be encumbered by history were very much in the now, enjoying what freedoms are available to them or may be available in the future - Zulus particularly seem a very proud and optimistic bunch!

Ian Knight and reader inside Ulundi battlefield memorial 2014

I know that Ian Knight and many other scholars have regretted the relative lack and brevity of first-hand Zulu accounts of the 1879 war compared to the almost numerous European accounts which of course can lead to a certain bias, which Mr Knight and others have done well to counter to provide as balanced a view as they can of the events which fascinate us so.

Zulu veteran from the 2016 re-enactment

Since 1999, there have been annual re-enactments at Isandlwana which modern Zulu Kings and dignitaries have attended, bringing a fresh modern interest in the conflict among the Zulu people who themselves can 'reclaim' their own history and bring the events of 1879 to a fresh perspective. This year has been no different and I've already seen a couple of contemporary reports of the 2018 anniversary which show that interest continues to grow and this surely can only be a good thing in terms of commemorating the ultimate sacrifices that so many made and allowing both countries and its people come to terms with a troubled past.

Keeping the throne warm for the King 2014

As for me, well despite my reading and learning, I'm not qualified enough to speak of the politics of the time or of now other than to try and show an equal balance between both sides in my own interpretations of this period of history. The expanded story Pointy Heads attempts to do this in my much promised forthcoming graphic novel of the Zulu Wars which is inching towards completion!

Zulu children from Pointy Heads, my art Matt Soffe colours