Manchester Comic & Reading Festival!

Very nice to be asked to participate in this new event, a collaboration between Dennis Whittle of the Comics Den shop in Oldham and Manchester's Central Library. Dennis is the chap behind the successful Oldham Library events which sadly I've been unable to attend so far but is branching out as part of this year's libraries summer reading challenge, focusing on comics.

Full details here including a complete list of the many talented comic creators attending.

It promises to be fun and can be enjoyed as part of the city's bee trail of which the library may house a few special exhibits, so you best 'Bee' there :)

Celebrating Bowie!

Welcome to 2018 which has already delivered a couple of positives and a memorable highlight in yesterday evening's wonderful celebration of David Bowie's music. Coming only a few days after the respective anniversaries of Bowie's birthday and loss, this was both a timely reminder of his musically legacy and a damn great night out in the January chill air!

The Manchester gig was the third date of a 2018 world tour Celebrating Bowie's music produced by guitarist and performer Angelo Bundini and featuring former Bowie band stalwarts including Adrian Belew, Gerry Leonard, Carmine Rojos and the legendary Mike Garson! In addition to Adrian Belew, lead vocals were provided by 3 - new to me - names, Joe Sumner (of Flight Plan band & son of Sting!), Paul Dempsey (of Australian band Something for Kate) and Angelo Moore (of Fishbone band).

The vocalists took turns singing the classic songs as the incredible band kept the powerful rhythms going, changing key and moods to fit the tracks. Surprisingly this musical merry-go-round worked incredibly well with each amazing track surpassed by the next, as musicians and singers swapped places, waited in the side wings and ably supporting each other.

From opening track, The Next Day's The Stars (Are Out Tonight) to of course the final strains of Heroes, the energy never relented and Karen and I, like so many others in the capacity audience danced the night away. The almost odd thing perhaps was that our enjoyment of the music and the moment was matched by the joy shared amongst the band as they smiled, encouraged and congratulated each other, it was a very special experience.

There were many highlights but the fairly early in the set performances of Joe Sumner singing Life On Mars, Angelo Moore's Ziggy Stardust and a very, very emotional Rock 'n' Roll Suicide by Paul Dempsey set the scene for a glorious evening. The set was interspersed with short chats and anecdote's of Bowie's long time cherished pianist Mike Garson which added to the credibility of the evening. Everything that followed was a highlight from perhaps lesser known tracks such as Stay, D.J, Little Wonder to sing a-along anthems as Ashes To Ashes,  Rebel Rebel, Let's Dance and a mesmerising Space Oddity.

 

A stand out performance of Hunky Dory's Quicksand by Angelo Moore included a crowd walk thru and stage dive which only cemented the occasion as memorable and respectful tribute to the great man himself. You could feel the emotion of the crowd as with the band we celebrated the music of a legend still dancing to Bowie's music even as the house lights came on. This was no tribute act but a genuine celebration of a legend's music by musicians and fans who were there the first time, embracing the occasion of shared memories and enjoyment.
 

Photos by Karen with the gig's face book page having even more to offer including further personal comments and if you're still not convinced check out the tour's official trailers here;   

And the previous evening's London gig highlights here!

New Moments of Adventure Review!

Yay! As I'm finishing off lettering the second issue, I'm delighted to flag up a new review of Moments of Adventure:Collection One by The Comic Vault, (an online Bat Cave of all things geeky - so it says here!).

This is a very timely review as I only met the writer, Jamie Ryder at Manchester MCM at the weekend so for him to have quickly read, reviewed and written about the comic so promptly is (hopefully) testament to the strong impression it made on him!

You can read his own thoughts on the comic here and if you haven't already got yourself a copy, check out our convention appearances, order online or add a comment below. Right I'm back to lettering Moments of Adventure: Collection Two with a big smile on my face and for those wondering, yes it 's planned to launch at The Asylum :)

Unlettered preview of the Pirates strip appearing in Collection Two!

MCM Manchester!

Fantastic 'Ziggy Bowie' cos-player at this year's show (pic MCM's own site)

Last weekend's Manchester MCM was fun, busy and inspiring with lots of interest in our books and sales at the same level as last year. So although not a return to the 'heady' heights of 2015, the recent decline seems to have eased to a sustainable level. Certainly a 'hometown' show like Manchester with minimal costs is a welcome boost and helps offset other shows where travel and accommodation costs can eat into finances.

The show was very crowded both days and seemed busier that last year but the reported 36,000 attendance (gulp!) is, I think around the same as 2016? In any case the celebrity guests and special attractions seemed popular and everyone we spoke to had said they'd enjoyed the show and would return which is nice to hear.

For the first time since, I think, last year's Thought Bubble show, the whole Accent UK crew was there with WesterNoir co-writer & artist Gary Crutchley joining Jemma, Scott, Dave and I. Its always good when we all get together and make plans on what's happening next, in this case co-ordinating our forthcoming trips to the Asylum Steampunk festival and separate MCM Glasgow & Thought Bubble shows which fall on the same weekend this year.

We had a fun social time too meeting up in the evenings with fellow creators and comic dealers which is always an important part of being on the 'convention circuit', both swapping notes on various events and just letting our hair (what's left of it) down!

Dave moonlighting at Mike Garley's table

MCM Manchester Returns!

It's been a very quick year but this weekend sees the return of my (adopted) hometown show MCM Manchester, this time with added HULK!

The full Accent UK crew will be pitching up in the Comics Village with our latest comics, prints and special offers in what is always an enjoyable and friendly show and being one, for me, involving minimal travel for once - yay!
 

You can see some pictures and reports of previous Manchester shows here, here and here but if you're around please stop and say 'hi' - just be careful not to make us angry, you wouldn't like us when we're angry!

"Really Interesting!" says TorAthena!

Aha, delighted to have found this great video review of Moments of Adventure: Collection One from the TorAthena youtube channel!

I recall meeting Lucy aka TorAthena at the recent Manchester MCM show (see again it's not always about the sales!) where we chatted about Accent UK's range of comics, and she confessed that she was a big fan and supporter of independent comics but hadn't seen our stuff before so bought a couple, including Moments to check them out, so I'm really grateful to her for taken the time to read and discuss my little comic, thank you Lucy!

It's not always about the sales!

Well that was fun, Accent UK were exhibiting at last weekend's Manchester MCM, our 'hometown gig' and it was, as always fun. However unlike previous year's it wasn't a record breaker in terms of sales for us. In some ways, our recent success couldn't continue but it is always interesting to try and understand why sometimes you haven't done so well as before.

The Judges wondering where their order of doughnouts are

In this case we couldn't fault the crowds, tickets had largely sold out in what promised to be another record attendance at this enjoyable show and we got plenty of browsers through our central Comic Village spot, although noticeably more and more said they were 'doing the rounds' browsing before buying and while some returned to buy, many did not, but whether this was due to them finding something else more to their tastes or simply limited budgets is hard to say.

We also had 5 new titles since last year's show so there was plenty new on offer although disappointingly our launch of the new WesterNoir trade was unexpectantly postponed due to technical difficulties with the book, meaning that we quickly sold out of the few remaining #1's of the title which effectively killed off it's sales for the rest of the weekend.
 

Team West resting - wait a minute are those doughnuts they're scoffing!

That said we still did pretty well and with it being the 'hometown gig' we had no additional accommodation costs to cover meaning it was still a good 'un overall and I was personally pleased that once again my own Moments of Adventure comic sold steadily over the weekend.

Sketching away!

We of course enjoyed catching up with regular faces on the comics convention circuit and renewed our recent Belfast acquaintances with Jenika Ioffreda and Gary Erskine, this time joined by smiling Steve Tanner (who reported that his Flintlock book had sold like proverbial hot cakes, proving that not everyone was having an 'ordinary' show saleswise) and Lorenzo Nicoletta, talented artist on Steve's afore mentioned Flintlock book who'd flown in specially from Italy!

Storage Hunter's Jesse & Sean interviewed

And, proving yet again that you should never judge a shows performance purely on sales we not only met several folk from comics' fandom who may feature our books in forthcoming reviews etc but we were presented with three highly interesting opportunities which, if they proceed, will certainly raise Accent UK's profile by taking our books into new areas!

Favourite cos-player of the show...

....Aidan, whose Mum had made this super Jurassic Park adaption!

As is the way of such things, we can't really say anything about two of them at the moment, however the third is something that has been brewing away in the background since last October's London MCM show and that is that we have been invited to attend Asylum, Europe's largest steampunk festival in Lincoln late August bank holiday weekend!
 

This really follows, regular MCM attraction, the Victor Steampunk Society's (VSS) interest in our comics, most notably WesterNoir and Stephenson's Robot at previous MCM shows and thinking they may be suitable for their authors exhibition area to be set up in the Steampunk Embassy in Lincoln's Cathedral Centre.

Colin and the VSS's Alan at London MCM last year!

At Manchester, the VSS's good Major confirmed that all our papers were in order and that we would be receiving our deployment orders soon, so all exciting stuff, of course this does mean that we will have to dress up and Dave has that troublesome big head to find a hat for!

Re-United in Manchester!

Well after a fun Glasgow and wee trip round Scotland, we're back and revving up the Accent UK tour bus for this weekend's Mighty Manchester MCM Comic-Con! This is a special one being as it's our hometown gig and re-unites the full Accent UK Team, including Dave West and WesterNoir artist Gary Crutchley, after Team M went solo at Glasgow!

Scott, Colin & Adam aka 'Team M' in Glasgow! (photo by Jeremy Briggs)

          
(Speaking of Glasgow Comic-Con, as I'm super slow with show reports at the moment, please see these links from those fine folks at Down The Tubes for their show and photo reports, where you might recognise one or two familiar faces!).

Last year's Manchester MCM was an incredibly busy and enjoyable show and I hear that ticket sales for this year's have gone even quicker so fingers-crossed It'll be another good one. Accent UK should have six new titles since last year's show which itself is amazing including the first English appearance of Martin (Man of Glass) Flink's gorgeous The Troll, successfully launched at Copenhagen and proving very popular in Scotland at the Glasgow show, it's a timeless all ages title featuring a young boy's imaginative walk through the Danish woods where he encounters a strange creature which may or may not be real.....

Also released in Manchester should be the second issue of our new serial Stephenson's Robot, after issue one was launched at Thought Bubble late last year. This features Kingdom a steampunk robot with a mysterious past and a forceful present as he fights to protect his circus friends from an invading enemy which threatens the hard-won peace of an alternative Europe at the turn of the 20th century...

Kingdom aka Stephenson's Robot by Indio!

Written by Dave West and lavishly illustrated by Indio, issue 2 propels the action further with a Dave West and Jon Ayre co-scripted back-up story featuring the circus's Carnival Master's reflective past, illustrated by WesterNoir's own Gary Crutchley!

Gary Crutchley's Carnival Master

There will be our customary special offers at the show where you can find Accent UK in the Comic Village at tables CC2 & CC3 - yes that's right two full tables to contain our full range of books, including the unexpected return of an old friend in the shape of the long out of print Zombies anthology which gets a new airing for 2015!

Steve Bissette's classic Zombies cover

Manchester Comic-Con: Bigger & Better!

Outside the Manchester (G-Mex) Central venue

Blimey that was good! Accent UK are all smiles after another incredible comics weekend, this time on 'home turf' at the MCM Manchester Comic-Con! This was the 4th show here, the first over two days and again attendance records were broken, despite Saturday's poor weather. Local paper, the Manchester Evening News reports that just under 40,000 people attended, 23,000 the first day and 15,000 the next which I think is double last year, justifying the move to two days.

The new signing area, taking queues away from the main hall

With more room for impressive costume displays

The new chillout & catering area

Inside there was a noticeable difference to previous shows as the event now extended into Manchester Central's conference facilities rather than just the distinctive railway shed. This provided extra space for seating, catering and a separate hall for media signings, props and costume displays, effectively moving the queueing areas away from the main hall. There were still bottlenecks here and there but the movement was generally comfortable and manageable, not something you could have said about previous years, so a major improvement.

The rain didn't dampen the crowds too much

There were still some problems 'outside' with Saturday's pay on the door entry taking up to 4 hours to enter, in the rain! After my own experiences in London last weekend, those poor folk had my sympathies and admiration for sticking it out. In contrast to London though, come 4pm, the event organiser's starting letting those who had waited so long in for free so at least they got to enjoy the last 2 hours of the show. This seemed to help keep tensions down and I heard little complaints from those I spoke to.

Whatever ticketing problems that there were seem to have been resolved on the Sunday with people quoting only minimal queueing times, so well done to the organiser's for taken steps to ensure a smooth entry to the show.

Inside the main hall

And what of the show you ask? well once inside it was the usual MCM explosion of colour, costumes, displays, gaming, manga, anime, movie props, special guests and more. This time though it was less frantic given the extended floor area, making for a more enjoyable experience all round.
 

Col & Dave strike the obligatory table pose

Gary strikes a pose - note WesterNoir banner & Jemma behind!

Of course Dave and I spent most of the time behind the Accent UK table in the comic village but managed our usual wandering to catch up with friends and fellow exhibitors. This was easier on the Saturday when team Accent UK was complemented by top artist and salesmen Gary Crutchley, (read his own report Manchester here), who is always a delight to spend time with and of course Scott and Jemma, fresh from their Glasgow stint.

Steve Tanner & Colin's turn to pose

We had been joined this trip by Steve Tanner of Time Bomb Comics, making his regular sortie North for the show and had a decent chance to spend time together rather than the usual short 'snatched' conversations we usually have. It was a real delight to catch up with Steve and share thoughts, experiences and ideas on the UK comic scene - not sure Dave and I are quite ready to share Steve's taste in loud shirts though! Steve and Time Bomb have some exciting plans ahead including the imminent launch of Longship at the forthcoming Birmingham ICE show, (which sadly commitments mean we can't attend), so be sure to keep a lookout for them.

Scott & Jemma take their usual turn at the table

Very good to also catch up with show regulars, Jeremy Biggs, David and Art Goodman, John Maybury, Siobhan Hillman, Adam Cadwell, Dave Bulmer, Abby Ryder, Lyndon White, Rudra Purkayastha and the ever busy Jenika Ioffreda - this was something like her 14th show of the year compared to our 7th! Also pleased to chat to 'longtimer's' Martin Eden (of Spandex and O-Men fame) and Laura Howell (of Beano and Gilbert & Sullivan fame!) whom we'd not seen for a long time. Laura was actually one of our table neighbours and its always nice to see a familiar face, on the 'other' side we'd the talented Jack Baker and Tom Stephens who I don't think I'd met before but they've made a few appearances since making their comic debuts in the last year or two. That's whats often good about the MCM Comic Village layouts that you meet new people and discover new comics even when you're not able to escape your table!

One familiar face was that of Barry 'Baz' Renshaw and his family. Baz, as some may recall, was along with Dave and I, the founder of Accent UK back in the day and of course the driving force behind the indie comic press magazine Red Eye. It was therefore particularly good to catch up with him and hear about his own comic plans which we wish him well with.

Baz & daughter Amy enjoying the show

Cap & friends dropped by

This guy talked & walked!

These were a great group of cool steampunk cosplayers

Sales-wise, the extra floorspace and duration of the show meant for a more relaxed affair with a steady flow of customers to the Accent UK table, some new, some returning and many great comments on the books. Robots, Zulu (again, last couple of packs!) and Dave's Strange Times sold out and all four issues of WesterNoir proved very popular, (as did Gary's sketches!). Thankfully though the recent pattern of these shows was repeated with the whole of our back list receiving interest so all books including old favourites, Wolfmen and Man of Glass enjoying decent sales. Adding up afterwards we were pleasantly surprised to find that MCM Manchester was indeed bigger and better with overall figures surprisingly rivalling that of the recent London show!

We seem to be enjoying a bit of a purple patch at the moment but being cautious chaps we won't get too excited just yet.We are now though having a short break from exhibiting with family and other commitments meaning no more shows until September when we have a very special trip indeed lined up, watch this space!

You will buy Accent UK comics!