Another year another BICS (Birmingham International Comics Show). Amazing how time flies as this was the third annual event organised by the BICS crew. As with the previous year, the venue once again was the ultra-modern Think Tank at the Millennium Point just outside the city centre. Apparently numbers were up, with over 3,000 attendees. The atmosphere seemed very comfortable and laid back, which is a testament to the hard work of event organizers James Hodgkins, Shane Chebsey and Andy Baker.
2008 marked 40 years since Phil Clarke, Mike Higgs and Steve Moore organised the very first UK comics convention in Birmingham. Unfortunately there wasn't anything on the bill this year to celebrate that fact but that's only a minor gripe. (Phil and Mike were in attendance though, so there was a link to the original Con.) The weekend was efficiently run and carried a good variety of exhibitors and panel discussions to reflect the current comics scene.
I'm still catching up with work (and sleep) but here's a few photos from the weekend. As always, click on the photos to enlarge them, click on the lighlighted names to visit their websites...
1: Simon Woolford and Beano / Toxic / DFC artist/writer Laura Howell at the MC2 table. 2: Matt Yeo, editor of Toxic, showcasing the latest issue of new UK independent adventure anthology Bulletproof.
3: Tim Perkins (of the Wizards Keep website) sketching on the cover of the convention special issue of Bulletproof.
4: Gary Northfield at the book signing for his hilarious Derek the Sheep hardback collection.
5: The Kryptonite Factor teams embark on the entertaining comics quiz. 6: Roger Langridge with his excellent range of comics including Fred the Clown.
7: David Ballie and Sean Azzopardi at one of the small press tables.
8: Mike Collins, (artist of Classical Comics' A Christmas Carol) sketching Batman for a fan.
9: Dave Windett at The DFC table discussing his forthcoming strip Lazarus Lemming with a reader. 10: Part of The DFC panel: The Etherington Brothers, Emma Vieceli, and Andrew Wildman.
11: David Hitchcock with his latest publication Gothic, - a tabloid newsprint comic. (Yes, a "proper comic" like wot they used to be!)
12: Husband and wife writing team supreme John Reppion and Leah Moore at the Accent UK table.
13: A view of the convention bar during the day, practically empty, as all the fun happened on the evening pub crawl between Bennetts, The Briar Rose, and the all-night Subside rock bar.
14: If only Tony Lee could overcome his shyness. Bevis Musson (creator of the highly amusing Dead Queen Detectives) basks in his glow.
15: Hell, boy, it's Duncan Fegredo after a hard day's sketching.
16: The Exhibition Suite at the Think Tank on the Sunday afternoon.
17: Charlie Adlard and Phil Winslade (who were both part of the bostin' Giant Size Band Thing with vocalist Liam Sharp and Paul H. Birch on bass guitar at the launch party) sketching like demons on the Sunday.
18: The Exhibition Hall late on Sunday afternoon as the event began to wind down after a very busy weekend.
Above: Some of the items I picked up over the weekend. I'll be reviewing them (and the latest issues of the ever-improving Crikey!) on this blog soon.
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