Accent UK nominated in Tripwire Awards!

Exciting news, our Accent UK comics collective have been nominated in top pop culture Tripwire Magazine’s annual awards, in the best UK small press/independent comic publisher category! 

It’s quite an honour to be included and a great way to mark the 20 year journey that Dave West and I have shared after Accent UK was formed with Barry Renshaw way back in 2002. 

There's lots of other fab nominees across the world of comics and pop culture, so if you’ve ever enjoyed our work, please consider voting, thank you very much :)

The link to the google docs form is here and quick n easy to use !

Kia Wordsmith Continues!

The Kickstarter for Dave West's and Ian Ashcroft's second Kia Wordsmith comic is now live and looks to be an exciting continuation of the story. Please check it out here where both issues to date can be ordered!

John Freeman at his Down The Tubes comic news site also features the campaign here.

"That's Weird!"

My Accent UK comics buddy, Dave West is always working away on something and then has a habit of that 'something' eventually appearing and so it is with this his latest project, intriguingly titled " I before E except after W, that's Weird!" currently funding on kickstarter.

He's been working on and off on this for years, initially - if I recall correctly - as 'The A to Z of Superheroes' with an overseas artist but as he became interested in vintage books an idea developed to use some of those old obscure but fascinating images in some way and armed with scissors, glue and a fevered imagination this unique comics n collage project came to life.

I've only seen a handful of these images over the years but Dave's assured me that he recently completed the whole book, so I'm intrigued to see how it's turned out in it's execution.

The Kickstarter is doing pretty well and close to funding already but if your interest is piqued, please consider backing it as the campaign's pre-order is the best way of securing yourself a copy which may be one of the oddest books Accent UK have ever released.

Dave has included some of the original art pages in the reward tiers and I've already bagged my favourite and as they say, once they're gone they're gone!

Accent UK are Comic Heroes!

 

Ha! Ha! we'd almost forgotten about this but the latest Comic Heroes magazine is sure to be a best seller as it features a wee spotlight on Accent UK and interview with Dave West!

It's a lovely two page spread conducted by Miles Hamer who contacted Dave after recently reading his Whatever Happened to The Invisible Man? title. I assisted a wee bit and supplied the images and am delighted that it's come out so well - and amazed that I found a decent photo of Dave to use!

The same issue also features long time peer - and recent Copenhagen Comics companion, John Anderson of Soaring Penguin Press and my newly made chum from Stoke, Marc Jackson, who I understand regularly supplies a strip for the mag.

All in all its a good read and, as they say, available from all good newsagents - but grab it quick, that pic of Dave ensures it won't stay on the shelves for long!  

When Eagles Soared.....

Stumbled upon this link in the essential Down The Tubes blog of a time when Accent UK were mentioned alongside Brian Bolland, Jonathan Hickman, Kevin O'Neil, Frank Quietly, Warren Ellis, 2000AD and The Walking Dead etc, whatever happened to them?

This was 2010 and the award of best British Black & White Comic Book  for Dave West and Marlene Lowe's wonderful Whatever Happened To The World's Fastest Man? I remember it well as the awards were announced overnight at the MCM London's show at the sprawling Excel Centre which I think was only the second time that we had exhibited at? It was crazy stuff and when the award was presented and displayed on our table the following day, the comic, like the Eagle itself flew off the table.

Mike Conroy (Eagle Awards coordinator) presents a happy Dave

It was a rather special moment and the reviews and interest in the book that followed were a great reward for the hard effort in its creation. The award brought a great spotlight on the book and generated some media interest at the time and led to a Brazilian edition, translated into Portuguese!

The book's still a great read today and sells steadily. Dave of course has written several titles since but was recently re-united with artist Marlene (now Starksfield) Lowe for the engaging Jigsaw Girl  back up story in issue 1 of Stephenson's Robot which has been well received in recent reviews.

An extract of Marlene's stunning Jigsaw Girl artwork

Sadly the Eagle Awards, the UK's longest running comic awards, ceased in, I think, 2012 but left behind a rich heritage of capturing the comics zeitgeist, certainly they gave us a boost at the time and I know that Dave has a fondness for the trophy received, just watch his face light up if its ever mentioned..... 

The Comic and The Eagle!

Thought Bubbled 2014!

TB14 with the new TB TeePee!

And relax, or maybe I should say stop smiling as that's all I've been done since last week's wonderful Thought Bubble Comic Arts Festival in Leeds, or TB14, to give it its hip tag!

Accent UK have been lucky to attend and support each and every Thought Bubble since its modest 2007 start in Leeds Town Hall basement and while its had its up and downs, (which I commented on last year,) at TB14 everything really seemed to come together to finally deliver the potential the show has long promised.

Build it and they will come....TB's TeePee!

Now don't get me wrong, Thought Bubble has always been one of the most enjoyable and inclusive comic conventions/festivals in the UK but rather strangely, for us, has never produced the level of sales that other, less celebrated shows have. A lot of factors affect this and while Dave and I are experienced enough not to purely judge the success of a show on sales alone, it has been a puzzle and we've often deliberated whether its down to location, attendance, competition or maybe just fatigue, coming as it usually does, at the end of a long convention season.

Inside the TB TeePee - Travelling Man stall

Well whatever the reasons, TB14, blew all our doubts and expectations away, it may have been the innovative new layout - hello TB Teepee! - an increase in numbers or maybe, just finally our range of books 'clicked' with its audience but our sales started briskly with many return readers and steadily carried on the whole weekend. A quick tally at the end of Saturday surprisingly revealed that we'd comfortably thrashed the whole two days of TB13, and by the festival's close we'd more than doubled last year's numbers!

The Accent UK table stock at the start of TB14

Most 'long-time' exhibitors we spoke to were similarly happy but one or two and a few of the newer ones were more restrained in their praise with some table placements and guest queueing said to be problematic for some. I suppose the truth is that with an eye-watering 400+ exhibitors, most with new books, the TB14 competition was fierce and sadly punters have only limited funds so there will undoubtedly be a few casualties, which maybe applies to us too in our previous TB outings?

Certainly I know that despite having a few wanders around I missed seeing lots of people that I'd hoped to catch up with and again failed to see any panels or any of the guests - with a brief exception of White Death's Robbie Morrison and The Goon's creator Eric Powell - which perhaps indicates the scale to which TB has grown.

The new books on the table - note WesterNoir book 4 sold out!

New books always seem to go down well at TB, and this year Accent UK had two, Tales of WesterNoir and Stephenson's Robot, as well as the latest WesterNoir issues which had debuted earlier in the year. Dave and I were again joined by Scott and WesternNoir artist Gary Crutchley, who's enthusiasm is contagious and grin grew bigger and bigger as the WesterNoir sales continued, selling out of the latest, Book 4 on Sunday afternoon.

Andy, Dave and Scott raring to go!

Our table neighbours this year was none other than Andy Bloor, Wolfmen artist and Accent UK book designer, who with writer and fellow AUK contributor, Mo Ali were launching their debut book Midnight Man which seemed to sell very well at the show. On the other side was familiar convention face and another talented AUK contributor Richy Chandler who is really prolific at the moment and one of the UK's rising stars. Further down was another rising star, Sally Jane Thompson, but such was the busy nature of the show, other than a wave and smile I didn't get the chance to chat.

Ed Murphy and Jim Alexander share a moment

Letty Wilson and fellow Dundee Mlitt in Comic Studies graduate Nathan Langridge

I was though able to catch up with many familiar faces at the show and for once won't attempt to list them all but special mentions for recently 'discovered' creators Danny McLaughlin and the Irish Uproar  Comic Crew, Neil & Anna of the Scottish Treehouse Comics Crew, fellow Dundee graduate, Letty Wilson (who was selling the terrific 'Weird Moose' comic I saw her draw page by page at Glasgow Comic-Con in the summer!), Erin Keepers and the delightfully talented Sara Dunkerton (more of whom in a later post!) who were all enjoying making their Thought Bubble debuts. Also pleased to catch up with new comics dynamo Jessica Martin who launched her Vivacity book and the returning talented Portuguese trio, Andre Caetane, Ines Galo and Antonio Silva.
 

Portuguese artist trio of Andre, Ines and Antonio who we'd first met at TB13

Meanwhile here Gary Spencer Millidge & Col share a moment

Returning TB stalwarts included Sean Azzopardi, Matt Brooker (D'Israeli), Mark Buckingham, Gary Spencer Millidge celebrating Strangehaven's welcome return, Selina Locke & Jay Eales, Gary Northfield and the unexpected appearance of the awesomeness of Bridgeen Gillespie whom Dave and I had somehow missed last year and promptly fell out over her last Kate Bush pocket mirror - only joking Bridgeen, I think Dave's going to surprise me with it for Christmas!

Mark Buckingham & Gary Crutchley catch up!

I should look happier here - see the gaps of sold out books!

I could go on but for Dave and Gary's thoughts on the show go here and here and there will I'm sure be lots more reportage out there for those who want it. Needless to say, we had a great time and for us, TB14 has finally cemented its position as the UK's most important and fun pure comics show, well done all concerned, a perfect way for us to finish the 2014 convention season.

The obligatory TB14 haul photo!

Finland Here We Come!

Aha, been doing a wee bit of travelling recently both home and away so had a break from comic shows but now its time to confirm our imminent departure to Finland for the 29th Helsinki Comics Festival!

The trip has actually been on our agenda since meeting some of the show organisers during last year's Copenhagen trip and with the Danish shows normally being bi-annual, we thought why not. This was also in our minds in not returning to MoCCA and the US this year, saving the pennies for a Nordic trip instead.

As it happens after we'd made our decision we'd heard from our good Danish friends about a different comics festival happening there this year, Art-Bubble in Horsens on 27/28 September 2014. This sounds special too but it would be pushing to do two overseas trips in the same year after a busy schedule already taken in Belfast, Glasgow and London trips etc so Finland it is.

Dave West and I will be accompanied by WesterNoir artist Gary Crutchley despite his unease at flying - good job its only a 3 hour flight (I think!), so its all systems go.

We'll be in the main tent for international exhibitors which I understand will be placed in one of Helsinki's central public squares and with free entry promises to be busy. There are special exhibitions planned for the likes of Tove Jansson and Tom of Finland and the festival's spotlight country, Germany so we'll hopefully get a chance to see some of these.

Following Finland we've also confirmed our final comic shows for this year being welcome returns to London MCM in October and Leeds's Thought Bubble in November, where we plan to launch a couple of new books!

 Right best go we're flying tomorrow, Finland, Finland, Finland, the place I want to be.....

  

The Demons Are Coming!

 

Demoncon 7 kicks off this year's comic convention season down in sunny Maidstone. Well I say sunny, with the current dramatic weather, wet and windy may be more likley!

The Demoncon series of shows are run by Graham Beadle of local Grinning Demon comic shop and have become quite a regular feature of the comics calendar down in the South East. Despite knowing Graham and hearing about the show for a few fair years we've never been able to take up his warm offer of a visit down there until now! Well not quite all of us but Dave West and Gary Crutchley will be winding their way down South to fly the Accent UK flag, sadly family commitments and a hectic schedule will keep me away*

But there will be a treat in store as with the able help of Stuart Gould of UKCOMICS, the latest issue of the acclaimed WESTERNOIR series, Book 4 will be launched! Gary promises to have some very special sketches with him so if you are in the Maidstone area please drop by to what promises to be a fun show.

* My non-appearance and the fact that, according to WESTERNOIR 4's cover, that there is a price on my head are not connected in any way, honest!

Loading up for Thought Bubble!

Excellent timing sees another great review of Gary and Dave's latest WesterNoir issue by Jeremy Briggs at the Down The Tubes site here with this fantastic concluding paragraph;

WesterNoir is one of the best small press series being published at the moment and Book Three maintains the high standards of the previous two while not sticking to any plot formula. The stand-alone nature of the stories means that new readers could read this one as easily as any of the other books in the series but, with their combination of strong writing and impressive art, it is worth seeking them all out.

So if that doesn't make you want to mosey on down to the Thought Bubble Comics Festival in Leeds this weekend then have a wee gander at a sample of the sketches which Gary has produced for the special limited sketch and print WesterNoir packs!

The Accent UK posse will be at Table 14 within the main New Dock Hall sandwiched in between Image Comics and Ian Edginton with our full range of books and goodies - hopefully see you there!

 

Robot Shorts Blitz Marketing Campaign!

I see that Steve Holder has blown Accent UK's marketing budget for the next decade on his and Dave West's second printing of their quirky science-fiction fun book, Robot Shorts, there's really no escape from it, so the best you can do is catch us at our forthcoming shows or order from our site, you know it makes sense!

See the Invisible Man!

Lucky folk at our recent shows were able to see advance copies of our "Missing: Have You Seen the Invisible Man?" and pick themselves up a quality read and now you can too as its listed in the current Previews catalogue from Diamond Comic Distributors.

It's set in the same "Blessed/Cursed" thematic universe as the earlier Eagle award winning "Whatever Happened To The World's Fastest Man?" as it shows that there isn't always a silver lining to having a special power or ability.

A panel of Joe Campbell's artwork - can you see the Invisible Man, well can you ?

The tale again comes from the pen of our own Dave West and expertly illustrated by artist Joe Campbell and the advance copies have already received excellent reviews here and here and has spotlighted by Paul Gravett so here's your chance to look into matters for yourself to see if you can indeed truly see the Invisible Man?

Order through your Comic shop retailer using order code STK623409 before the Invisible Man disappears for ever......

Mermaids Ahoy!

Funny how sometimes a few good things all come together at the same time, all sharing something, a common link, all by a happy accident, well that's how it seems to me recently with Mermaids and I'm pretty sure that's a good thing, although it has to be said that Mermaids can seriously harm your health if you let them!

From left to right above is firstly Gary Crutchley's unadorned cover art for Westernoir book 3 (see the printed version below), the latest in his and Dave West's excellent new series following the exploits of a certain Josiah Black. The book of course is from Accent UK and I may be biased but don't take my word for its excellence, check out the latest reviews here and here. You can catch up with the series from us direct at any of our forthcoming shows or buy direct from our website here, you won't be sorry, the story's gathering pace and Gary's artwork oozes style and confidence.

Next up is the sign of The Mermaid pub from of course the new Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost movie The World's End which we saw at the weekend. It's a wonderfully silly, sweary, boozy movie, very British (in a good way!) with lots of funny moments and cameos. Perhaps not quite hitting the heights of the earlier classics Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz but still great fun and well worth a look. The World's End Mermaids are very modern in a late 80's school disco way but true to form are dangerously alluring...

Which leads me nicely to Mark Siegel's elegantly old school Sailor Twain graphic novel and the tragic tale of the Mermaid in New York's Hudson river. I was vaguely aware of Mark's book and was delighted to pick up a copy and meet him at this year's MoCCA festival where he drew me a wonderful Mermaid sketch - which I think is worth repeating;

I've now read Mark's book and its a wonderfully dark, comic, dangerous tale featuring the eponymous Captain Twain, the alluring Mermaid with unpronounceable name, steamboats, saucy liaisons and mystery, all told in absorbing pencil and charcoal. Well worth setting a course for!

These Mermaids all offer something different and may be dangerous to approach but can you resist their siren's song?

Living The Life!

Col in the sun at Fredrik Stromberg's garden terrace in Malmo!

Well it's been a while, but rest assured all is well at the moment, just had an incredibly busy but enjoyable time with family visits, comics, shows, work, decorating and more!

Hopefully I'll get a chance to update soon but please check out the much more organised Dave West's write-up's on our recent visits to Copenhagen Comics and MCM in Manchester. Next up is an unexpected return to the Mega-Con in Carlisle next Saturday, Crikey where does the time go?