Comic Calendar!

 

 

Hi the 2014 comic calendar is starting to shape up with a few shows now confirmed. At the moment, the definite ones are all within the mighty MCM Comic Con brand with the Accent UK tour bus calling at; 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We of course are very familiar with the MCM Manchester and Glasgow shows but Birmingham and Belfast are both new to us. We've not been to the MCM London show since 2010, when I think they had a mere 14,000 or so attending which was pretty impressive but I understand that they're now up to some 60,000+ !!

 

It's numbers like that and the recent success we've enjoyed at Glasgow and Manchester which helped convince us to make more of an MCM effort this year. It also helps that MCM themselves are expanding with some of these events being new or extended from before. We also quite fancied their Dublin show in April but it clashes with something else, but I think we're doing okay!

 

This doesn't of course mean that we're only doing MCM shows this year, we're aiming to match last year's total of 11 events, out of a long list of 24! Not all these shows have yet released tables/confirmed dates but we have applied for a further 3 and should find out soon if we're confirmed or not.

 

It is a fine art deciding which ones to attend and there's a number of factors that determine whether an event is right for us. Sometimes even informed choices don't work out so it can be a bit of a gamble and we've had to carefully look at the calendar and 'drop' a couple of our normal events to accommodate these newer ones. Particularly it was with regret we decided not to apply for this year's London Super Comic Convention and New York's MoCCA. These are both great shows and ones we'd enjoyed becoming regulars at but you can't do them all and its good to freshen things up.

 

Watch out for more announcements and see what new goodies we can take with us!

The Lakes Comic Festival!

 

Wow, well that was The Lakes last weekend or I should say The Lakes International Comic Art Festival to give it its full Sunday name, but 'The Lakes' will do just fine I think, although 'The Rain' would also be a close second!

 

Actually its maybe a bit unfair to mention the weather for a comic show, however when that show takes over the whole lake district market town of Kendal and involves a wee bit of walking around, the weather plays its part, more so than the normal convention centre set show that we're used to. However although the frequent drizzly rain did its best, it failed to dampen the spirits of attendees, guests, exhibitors and volunteers as we encountered probably the friendliest and best-run debut show we've ever attended - no mean feat when we recall the previous contenders.

 

The Comics Clock Tower & some of Kendal's Signage!

But its true, the enthusiasm of the organisers and volunteers was infectious and helped overcome the few teething problems and the vagrancy's of the local weather. Our location, The Comics Clock Tower was in fact Kendal's town hall and as such, slap bang in the centre and not one you could really miss and ideal for reaching the nearby Brewery Arts Centre where most of the talks and events were held. I'm reliably informed that it was pretty close to the various other exhibition sites, library and 'pop-up' shops too etc but we didn't venture too far from the Clock Tower so sadly missed out on much of what else was going on but that tends to happen when you're exhibiting, but for attendees there was a lot more to see to keep you fully occupied both fun packed days and evenings!

 

John Wagner & Carlos Ezquerra take the stage

And that was true of Accent UK too, we had a fun, enjoyable time at the show and in Kendal, with this, like the recent Glasgow MCM show being accompanied by (some of ) our families which is good to all get away and share the comics fun. We were delighted to also be accompanied by long term friend Garen Ewing of Rainbow Orchid fame and I note that Garen has already posted his thoughts on the show here before scooting of to Essen in Germany for another show, busy man!

Dave, Garen and Col - add your own caption!

Its always fun sharing time with Garen and as he was also staying with us en-route before and after the show, we had plenty of time to catch up which was great and that's one thing that perhaps Dave and I have missed a bit in more recent comic shows, in terms of catching up properly with other comic folks. Too often its just a quick hello and wave then you're busy behind your table and before you know where you are, the shows over and you've still not had a decent chat with these seldom seen friends.

10 or even 5 years ago, there weren't that many comic shows in the UK so you could almost guarantee that 'everyone' would be there and you'd usually see them about town or in the same hotel etc but since those heady heights of Bristol and Birmingham, the UK has seen an explosion of shows so there's less need to chase round the country when you can just as easily stay closer to home, meaning though that the UK comics 'scene' has arguably become more splintered than it ever was, albeit independent comics are themselves possibly more accessible than ever before?



However, The Lakes had that good old fashioned feel of 'everyone' being there as you could hardly walk down the street without bumping into familiar comic faces in unfamiliar surroundings which was nice, seeing how many people had made the effort to travel to the show.

Still I heard of a possible 3 new UK shows next year and its unclear whether the UK can really support them all? Anyway The Lakes should have no such worries, confidently announcing its 2014 dates alongside its debut programming. With the promise of even better to come, it could really become the jewel in the UK comics' crown with the real potential to match France's revered Angouleme Festival which it is using as its model.




The view of the Clock Tower first floor from the gallery

While we happily give The Lakes a positive endorsement, it was difficult to say just how busy it was with actual attendees as judging purely from our Clock Tower view, it was steady footfall without being spectacular - bear in mind our last show was MCM Glasgow's amazing 20,000 crowd! - and sales, particularly during Saturday were slow but unusually almost busier on the Sunday and while overall, our sales were respectful, they were not the high numbers we'd recently encountered. That in some ways is to be expected in a new show when really everyone is investing in the shows future and of course there was a great choice available for the punter's pound - I won't list everyone here or all our shout outs as it would take too long, but have a look again at the Clock Tower's floorplan for the names of many great creators, publishers and dealers! 

Ivan and his Elsie and Mairi new book

One special 'shout-out' I will give is to Ivan Petrus, he of 'The Nieuport Gathering' book I picked up when first meeting him at the London Super Comic Convention earlier this year. Ivan had bravely driven from his home in Belgium to Kendal, which is a long, long way and he didn't have the best of journeys but accompanied by his very good friend Gert, he settled into the show and again turned out some wonderful full water coloured paintings in his books. Sadly although he had finished the next book in his World War 1 series, Elsie en Mairi, the English version is not yet available but I had a good look at the Dutch version Ivan had brought with him, which again looks great, so fingers-crossed I won't have too long to read it, if not I may just have to try and learn Dutch!



The Brewery Arts Centre

The Graphic Memoir panel

The Lakes was also special for the fact that both Dave and I took the opportunity to attend a couple of the talks, one each each day which was a rare treat with it being years since we'd done so but The Lakes programme was so good we couldn't resist! I saw the 'Graphic Memoir' panel with Al Davison, Katie Green, Nye Wright and Mary Talbot which was very good, moving and thought provoking in places with the panelists being very open with their experiences behind their very personnel stories and the reactions they'd encountered. Ably chaired by Nicola Streeten, the hour flew by very quickly.

 

Joe Sacco with Steve Bell (can you spot Tin Tin!) 

The following day was the Joe Sacco in conversation with political cartoonist Steve Bell event which I was very excited about, I am a huge admirer of Joe's work and was genuinely excited about the prospect of hearing him talk. I was pleased to again bump into Jeremy Briggs of comics news blog Down The Tubes (see Jeremy's own Kendal photo report here) amongst the packed audience and we greatly enjoyed the casual and revealing discussion between these two talented artists as they explored each others creative styles, deadlines and sensitivities in dealing with often challenging material. Their talk veered around different subjects in the same way that a conversation between two friends does and while always interesting I would have liked to hear a bit more about the nuts and bolts of Joe's techniques but I did learn that he kept very detailed journals which he carefully indexed, the art for a finished page usually takes him 2.5 days to complete and with a book like Footnotes in Gaza taking some 7 years to complete, he's now turning his attention to shorter form stories as seen in the recent Journalism collection.
 

One of Joe Sacco's amazing panoramas from his new Great War book

I was though very delighted to meet Joe at his signing afterwards and spend a few moments with him as he kindly signed my books, he was indeed as gracious as I'd hoped and, as far as I could see, made time for everyone who queued for him, a real gent and a real joy.

And that joy was mirrored around everyone I encountered at The Lakes, chatting to volunteers, strangers in event queues, signings, the locals and is a major factor in the success of the show. Despite the weather and the respectful sales, this was a timely reminder that a true comics festival is more about the experience rather than just numbers and on that level The Lakes is a major success and one we hope becomes a regular fixture of the UK calendar, so congratulations and thanks to all involved, see you next year please!



The Lakes Haul

LSCC Moments 2013

 

 

Well that was fun, the Accent UK crew are now rested after attending last weekend's second London Super Comic Convention or LSCC to you and me! 

 

The event was held at the huge Excel Centre in London's Docklands and do you know what, it was pretty good, great guest list, plenty of attendees, well organised and even better than last year's sales. Although it didn't feel quite as busy as the inaugural show this may have been as the hall seemed bigger and there were many more dealers and exhibitors, obviously attracted by the positive reports from last year's amazing show.
  

Zombies 2 Cosplayer Undead Mousey!

And maybe that was the only problem, last year of course had the wonderful showman Stan Lee in attendance and his presence, energy and enthusiasm infected everyone to such a level that there was a palpable excitement in the air, something that I (and most other UK comic veterans) had never felt at a show before and that buzz had heightened expectation this year to unrealistic levels.

The result, for me anyway, was that the show was perfectly good and decent in every way except that nagging feeling that something was missing, which it was after all, in that there was no central focus or sustained buzz. Whereas in the first year, Stan's charisma and the crowd's positive reaction to him rose to fill the sometimes cavernous space of the large hall, this time sadly it often just felt that you were in a rather large hall. This should though not be seen as a criticism of the LSCC organisers as in the 12 months since the first show, I've had many conversations with various comic-related people and not one could come up with a credible suggestion as to who on earth could possibly follow Stan? Now we know the answer was what we had all sadly suspected, no-one can.

Scott & Dave spot Colin's new hat under the table  

Our Accent UK blog has our good friend Chris D's take on things but I will add that while the show was perhaps missing that magic spark, it was still one of the, if not the best guest-lists of comic creators assembled in the UK for a long, long time. I can't list them all but they included, legends Neal Adams, George Perez, Roy Thomas, Herb Trimpe, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bob Layton and current hot contemporaries Simone Bianchi, Mark Buckingham, David Finch, Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Dan Slott (who happily signed for hours and hours both days with queues that would have done Stan proud!) delightful table neighbour Lee Garbett, together with UK legends Brian Bolland, Alan Grant (who I congratulated on his work on The Loxleys and The War of 1812 - which made my best of year list - and he said there may be a sequel which I'm excited about), David Lloyd and John Wagner (who I discovered is a fellow Manchester United fan!). Check out the LSCC's own website and other reports for the awesome full list of guests and spot your own favourites.

Happy Cosplayers bag Westernoir for birthday present! 

The event staff I spoke with all seemed happy enough too and were fairly confident that LSCC would return in 2014 and that is really great news for everyone connected with UK comics. While it may not have had the razzmatazz of the first show, the event has quickly become an important and welcome addition to the UK calender and what better way of starting the year's schedule!

I'll follow this event overview with my own personal LSCC highlights tomorrow!


Colin & Tripwire's Joel Meadows show Dave how many hours the slow train home takes!
(or of course it may have something to do with Tripwire's deserving  kickstarter campaign!)

Accent UK's latest releases!

Here's a quick wee look at our latest books for you to check out at this weekend's London Comic Convention. Starting with Who on Earth was Thaddeus Mist? A mysterious tale of identity, myth, adventure and more created and edited by Owen Johnson and scribed and illustrated by a talented crew of Accent UK stalwarts.

The above trailer was prepared by Owen with music from Robert Logan and edited by David Turnball and was released just ahead of the book's successful launch at Thought Bubble last year featuring real-life mourners to Thaddeus Mists's funeral wake!

Also launched at Thought bubble was the latest instalment of Dave West and Gary Crutchley's entertaining WesterNoir series. Book 2 sees the return of Josiah Black as he hunts down some creepy looking Gator Boys in the deep Louisiana swamps, I kid you not!

 

Finally in our trilogy of new releases is the rather wonderful Missing: Have you seen the Invisible Man? coming from the pen of Dave West and the artist arm of Joe Campbell. I can't say much without spilling the beans but let's just say things are more than we seem when leading scientist James Williams goes missing! Its set in the same 'Blessed/Cursed' vein as Dave's earlier Eagle winning success Whatever Happened to the World's Fastest Man? 

While these new titles await their respective Diamond listing they will only be available directly from us at shows or our website, along with our other popular books, so please check them out when you get a chance.

London - Bring it On!

 

Only a couple of days to go until this year's London Super Comic Convention and if its anything like the inaugural show it promises to be a blast! Thinking back there was actually a lot of doubt over last year's show and whether it would be a success or not, being first-time organisers, aiming high with their guest list and clashing dates with another established show, but those fears were blown out of the water as soon as a certain sprightly 89 year old made his bold entrance, arms aloft, smiling that famous cheesy grin with a war cry of "Bring it On!".

Stan Lee is in a class of his own and this year's guest list, strong as it is, cannot compete with the whole razzmatazz that Stan brought, but what better way to have announced the shows arrival as a serious player on the UK comic scene. I have never before felt such a warm feelgood vibe at any show amongst everyone in attendance, punters, exhibitors, guests, staff and volunteers, it really was something special and I'm chuffed to bits that I was able to experience it with Scott and Chris, who along with Dave are all returning this year.

The guest list is still first class, a nice mix between old-school super-hero, Neal Adams, George Perez, Roy Thomas, Bob Layton and lots, lots more plus 'newer' creators like our good friend Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Dan Slott that Scott tells me writes the new Spider-Man series, check out the guest list for yourself it is very long and very impressive (no wonder Thought Bubble has already upped its own impressive game for 2013!).

The one guest I'm most looking froward to though isn't really a big name, Jeremy Bastian produces a wonderful quirky comic called Cursed Pirate Girl which has just been collected by Archaia Entertainment. I only managed to pick up the first issue a couple of years ago so but was blown away by his intricate artwork so delighted the story has been completed and collected, can't wait.

Oh, there is a table plan for the show and I know we're on D107 which I think is kind of top left in the 'yellow' section but my eyesight can't quite make out the numbers that clearly! Don't worry though, just look for the Accent UK banner and our smiling faces and you'll find us, (I won't though be making the mistake of wearing the same bright yellow t-shirt as the volunteers, for obvious reasons!). I think we've some five new books since last year so should be something new for you, - Bring it On!