Isolation!

I hope all reading this is well and coping with the current situation as best as you can. The coronavirus is impacting everyone in almost everyway and we are no different, so can't really confirm plans for the foresable :(

Most of our intended or booked events prior to Summer 2020 have already been cancelled or postponed and those that currently remain are, quite rightly, subject to continual review as the situation and Government advice continues to evolve.

It is hoped that the post-summer events, (and maybe those earlier?) will be held as close to normal as possible but of course no-one really knows. I will continue to monitor those and update our events listing as and when it appears prudent to do so.

As most creatives are already 'self-isolated' working from home, we can hopefully crack on with our creative endeavours more or less as normal, but without an audience or an income, this will test our resolve more than normal.

Hamba Kahle / Go Well

Salute Ahoy!

Ahoy all! Hope the year is treating you all well so far? Things may appear quiet here within Accent UK Towers but the comic creating machines are in full swing for the convention season ahead - in fact our co-founder and friend Dave west has already kicked the year off with a trip South to Cheltenham and the annual True Believers Comic Festival, see his remarks here. 

While a few events are still to be confirmed for our full 2020 itinerary, we are though taking careful aim at the year with a few shows already scheduled including a very exciting debut in April at SALUTE!, the UK's premier wargaming event at the Excel centre in London - a familiar venue for us with MCM Comic-Con's also held there. Running since 1980, the event is organised by the South London Warlords wargaming club, and is the UK's biggest one day independent wargaming and gaming event and looks like great fun.

It is a bit of a 'throw of the dice' (ahem!) to see how our comics and artwork will be received but since we have several titles covering history, military, steampunk and fantasy subjects, hopefully we'll receive some interest. At the very least I'm sure we'll be inspired ourselves aplenty from the amazing sights and talent we'll see and you never know gamers may be inspired by our comics too!

Watch this space for further information on this and our other 2020 events and in the meantime here's a little flavour of what we'll be taking with us to Salute!

 

Zulu Time!

 

Sawubona! I'll be travelling on tomorrow's Anglo-Zulu War anniversaries so unable to make my usual post so instead here's a few pictures from last year's amazing experience when I was fortunate enough to return to Kwa-Zulu Natal for the 140th commemorative events at the famous battlefields themselves.

As you can imagine, this was a truly memorable event, a great spectacle in great company with the British re-enactors, the Die Hards joined by their South African counterparts from Dundee and a 500 strong Zulu impi, mustered by the King himself who oversaw proceedings.

I'm not sure I've yet fully processed the event, busy as modern life is, but the many photos, notes, conversations and experiences enjoyed during the trip will live with me for a very long time. A real honour to salute the warriors on both sides at the very places where their bravery was witnessed all those years ago. An ongoing inspiration, uhambe kahle, go well.

Tripwire Comic Awards!

Happy New Year all! Hope all is going well so far? I'm pleased to say that Accent UK Comics has had a delightful start to 2020 with our nomination in the Tripwire Comic Awards!

That's right, Accent UK have been nominated in the Best UK Small Press / Independent Comics category among many other respected publishers.

Some stiff competition there certainly but it's nice to be recognised among your peers which is a nice reward in itself among the many difficulties in being a small creative voice in an often  overlooked medium, so thanks to the Tripwire judging panel for considering and including us.

If you have enjoyed any of our titles and creative endeavours please consider casting your vote in this and the other award categories which are a nice 'pat on the back' for all involved.

Tripwire's site can be linked to here and the voting form here , Voting is I believe open till April I but there's no time like the present if you have 2 minutes! The awards are due to be announced at the Portsmouth Comic-Con early May where Dave West will be in attendance - wonder if he's renting a tux?

"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!

Asylum Pencils to Page!

Advance copies of our 'Return To The Asylum' comic had a great reception at this year's wonderful Asylum Festival in Lincoln a couple of weeks ago and there's still time to guarantee yourself a copy in the last couple of days of our kickstarter campaign.

This year, I had promised myself that I would write and draw one of the previous year's kickstarter reward stories and was delighted that it had been backed by the curious chap, Count Rostov, giving me a chance to feature both him and the lovely Lady M :)

A fun madcap adventure soon ensued across six pages, taking in stolen airships, space rockets, a Titanic homage, Morocco and more! For those who like a look 'behind the creative curtain', you're seeing here, one panel from my Heart's Desire tale in it's pencilled, inked, coloured (by the ever wonderful Matt Soffe) and finally the finished lettered stage to let you see the different phases involved in bringing the story to life.

 

 

If you'd like to see more, not just of my fun wee strip but many others all inspired by characters and events encountered at the Asylum Steampunk Festival, you can order a copy at our soon to close Kickstarter campaign by clicking on this link. Thank you for your interest and support.  

The Finished cover by Gary Crutchley & Matt Soffe

Return To The Asylum!

Aha, I'm delighted to confirm that Accent UK's brand new comic; Return To The Asylum will launching this weekend in Lincoln, appropriately at the Asylum Steampunk Festival!

This is a sequel of sorts to last year's Enter The Asylum comic which proved very popular and again features comic strip adventures inspired by and starring the alter-ego steampunk persona's of festival goers, who have co-operated with our creators to produce 6 original comic strip stories plus a bonus short in this new all colour perfect bound issue.

I have two stories, one again illustrated by the talented Anna Francesca Schiraldi, featuring a Licensed Elemental Conservationist (aka 'Faery Catcher') and a seemingly cheese-obsessed Professor!

  
Secondly, I've both written and drawn a story featuring the legendary Count Rostov and Lady M, Asylum festival stalwarts and contributors who enjoyed  their own real-life moment in the spotlight at last year's event, which I was fortunate to witness. I therefore just had to come up with a wee story to explain the resulting 'happy ending'!

If all this sounds of interest and sadly you're not able to attend this weekend's festival, then the comic is currently the subject of a pre-order campaign on kickstarter - check out the link here where you can find out further information on the other stories and creators involved!