Bright and breezy Brighton for the ICE Summer Special

The Hilton Metropole on Friday evening.

Saturday 10th June saw the ICE (International Comic Expo) Summer Special take place at the Hilton Metropole, right on the seafront at Brighton, and a fun day it was indeed. 

I'd arrived on Friday, in time for the launch party at a local pub, where it was great to catch up with Jessica Kemp, Gary Millidge, John Charles, Mike Conroy, Ken Gunstone, Paulina Vassileva, Dave Gibbons, Tim Pilcher, Chris Weston, Clint Langley, and more. A very pleasant evening that flew by too quickly.

The Comic Expo itself was on Saturday, a gloriously sunny day to be outdoors, although of course we were indoors at the Hilton. The venue was great though; nicely air conditioned and with a good layout. Comics guests and dealers were in one large hall, with talks taking place in another hall next door. 

Organiser Shane Chebsey and his team have always put on a good show for the ICE events in Birmingham and likewise for this inaugural Brighton expo. The friendly team are always accessible and attentive to guests and visitors, making the events some of the most enjoyable and relaxed comics shows in the UK. 

Here's a few photos I took at the show. As usual, I never take enough to do the events justice but you'll get a taster from these pics...

1: With our tables set up, we await the opening of the show. Some early bird arrivals talking to Simon Myers, cover artist extraordinaire of Titan's Doctor Who comics amongst other illustration work. Check out his website:
http://prettyfunky.com/wordpress/

It was great to finally meet and spend time with Jessica Kemp, publisher of the upcoming Missed Deadline magazine. Keep an eye on the mag's Facebook page for developments!

https://www.facebook.com/MissedDeadline/

Brilliant to see the ever-affable Dave Gibbons at the show. Here he is signing comics and books for attendees...

It's always good to see Jessica Martin, multi-talented actress, singer, impressionist and comics creator. Here drawing a Wonder Woman sketch.

Website:

http://www.artymisspublishing.com 

The mighty Etherington Brothers were there too! Here's artist Lorenzo Etherington and his fantastic work. 

http://theetheringtonbrothers.blogspot.co.uk

Steve Tanner of Time Bomb Comics had a table too, and it's always good to catch up with him. Here he is promoting Flintlock No.2 which I'll be reviewing soon.

http://www.timebombcomics.com

A couple of shots of the convention floor. Pat Mills in the pink shirt on the left there talking to fans. Pat was promoting his new books which I'll be reviewing soon.

https://www.millsverse.com

The comics news and rumour website Bleeding Cool did a quick video walkabout on the day, which you can see here:

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/06/11/walking-around-brighton-ice-comics-expo-2017-from-deadline-to-live-wires/

My thanks to Shane Chebsey and the gang for a very pleasant event, and also thanks of course to everyone who stopped by my table to buy comics and/or a sketch. Thanks also to David Leach and his family, Olly MacNamaree, Samuel Savage, Jeff Chahal, Jim Stewart, Valentina Sannais, and more for being great company. 

Apart from a flying visit years ago, this was my first trip to Brighton so I stayed over until Monday for a mini-break. Time to get back to work now as my next convention will be the Birmingham Comic Art Show (part of the Birmingham Comics Festival) on Saturday 24th June. 
https://birminghamcomicsfestival.com

More photos from ICE 2016

Robbie Morrison, Rachael Stott, Sarah Millman, Lew Stringer at ICE2016.

Roving reporter Leonard Sultana has uploaded a load of photos to his Flickr account of scenes from the International Comic Expo that took place the other week in Birmingham. Check them out here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/anenglishmaninsandiego/29695678775/

Also, be sure to visit Leonard's website for other stories here:
http://www.anenglishmaninsandiego.com/

ICE on TV

A busy day at our tables.

Independent Midlands broadcaster Big Centre TV were at ICE2016 the other week, shooting news footage of the comic con. It's now up on YouTube for all to see. It was a great event so if you missed it, or maybe you'd like to see if the camera captured you, here's the link:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=fL0PRl2Zm7w

...and table bookings are already available for next year's event, ICE2017, which will take place on Saturday 9th September. Get in there! Here's the link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ice-birmingham-2017-tickets-27795911319#tickets

ICE 2016: Jolly good show!

Badge art by Staz Johnson

Having returned from ICE 2016 yesterday and had a good rest to catch up on lost sleep, I thought I'd commit a brief review to this blog. I've always rated the International Comic Expo (ICE) highly and this year was equal, even better, than previous years. It was a tremendous show and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The venue, 'The Studio', in Birmingham's Cannon Street, is ideally suited just a couple of minutes walk from New Street Station. It's deceptively bigger on the inside, and perhaps aware of this, one of the lift frontages is decked out like a TARDIS. The Studio is an ideal place to host a comics convention, with large rooms on three levels for exhibitors and various rooms along its corridors for talks and presentations. 

As I was launching my new Derek the Troll one-off comic at the event I'd taken along a stack of them, hoping that at least 50% would sell. By 5pm I'd sold out! Brickman Begins also sold out, and I only had a couple of copies of Brickman Returns remaining by the time the event closed. 

I was also busy sketching all day, and even have some to finish at home as I ran out of time, so my thanks to every one of you who stopped by my table! This was my last event of 2016 so you all made it very special and one to remember. 

Sketch in progress.

My apologies for not having time to get around to see friends on other tables. Sadly, I missed Jessica Martin, who was only there for the day, and the Etherington Brothers, and only had time to wave to Jenika Ioffreda. Next time! 

It was great to catch up with many other comic pals though, and to meet new people. I became a bit of a fanboy on meeting the legendary Steve Parkhouse, whose work I've enjoyed for many years. (As a little lad I used to have the Marvel pin-ups on my wall that he drew for Fantastic.) 

Steve Parkhouse and Peter Hogan.

Here's a few more snaps taken on the day...

Ian Churchill

Joe and Michelle Matthews.

Bambos Georgiou and David Leach.

Ian Edgington and Dave Taylor

On Saturday afternoon it was my pleasure to be a guest on a panel alongside Robbie Morrison, Rachael Stott, (Titan's Doctor Who 12th Doctor comic) and Sarah Milman (indie comic Heart of Time) hosted by the Geek Syndicate (http://geeksyndicate.co.uk/). Lots of laughs and well attended. 

Rachael Stott, Robbie Morrison, Sarah Millman, and some old bloke.

There was an artwork auction on the day, with items from many of the guests up for bids with the money raised going to charity. I submitted my original art for the Derek the Troll postcard which I'm pleased to say went for higher than I expected.

The next day saw the same venue host another event, Comics Uncovered, which comprised many seminars and workshops for people wanting to either break into comics or brush up on their skills. It also enabled attendees to relax and mix with the guests in an informal atmosphere (the bar) which was a good way to wind down the weekend.

Thanks to Shane Chebsey and his team for making ICE2016 / Comics Uncovered such an enjoyable event. Last but not least, to name-check a few friends old and new who were there, it was a pleasure to catch up with Deborah Tate, Robbie Morrison, Nigel Parkinson, Nika Nartova, Phil and Pippa Winslade, Simon Furman, Rachael Stott, Geoff Senior, Dylan Teague, David Leach, Paul Trimble, Bambos Georgiou, Ryan Brown, Karen Rubins, John Short, Ian Churchill, Gary Erskine, Pete Doherty, Staz Johnson, Patrick Chaduc, Jeff Chahal, Jimmy Broxton, Peter Hogan, Jatinder Ghatora, Joe Matthews, Mel Horton, Duncan Fegredo, Sean Phillips, and many more. 

ICE 2016 proved that the UK comics community is alive and well and as bright and barmy as ever. It was a great representation of the British comics industry (not forgetting the U.S. guests too of course) and showed that it's still in good hands. Anyone who still harbours doubts about the quality of modern comics only needs to look at the incredibly high standard of scripts and art that are around today to prove otherwise. Long live UK comic conventions, and long live ICE!

The photograph of the panel discussion is by Leonard Sultana who runs an interesting blog called An Englishman in San Diego, which features interviews, vlogs and reviews of various comics events. 
http://www.anenglishmaninsandiego.com

If you missed the event, you can still order copies of Derek the Troll and other comics from my online shop and I'll post them to you:
http://www.lewstringer.com/page7.htm

See you at ICE 2016

Art by Staz Johnson.

Yes, it's time for another International Comic Expo in Birmingham and I'll be there for ICE 2016 tomorrow, at The Studio, Cannon Street (just off New Street, a couple of minutes walk from New Street Station). 

Anyone who thinks comics are dead, or that today's creators aren't a patch on those of years ago needs to check out this list of guests. The talent that's out there now is easily on a par with that of previous decades. Come along and find out for yourselves at ICE 2016 on Saturday 10th September, and at Comics Uncovered the following day at the same venue.

Need more info? Here's a FREE PDF of the convention booklet for you, listing all the events:
http://media.wix.com/ugd/270119_00493250786d49cb9c919489dedd7edb.pdf


The show takes place on several levels of the building and you'll find me on the 2nd floor, table 37, alongside such top talents as Phil Winslade, Rachael Stott, Dylan Teague and more...

Look out for my new banner!

As previously reported, I'll be launching my new one-shot comic Derek the Troll at ICE so come along and buy a signed copy. It'll be great to see you. (No extra charge for the signature of course!)

If you can't make it to the show, you can order the comic directly from me and I'll post it out next week:
http://www.lewstringer.com/page7.htm

DEREK THE TROLL is here!

Here's my new comic that I've been hinting at for weeks. Hot off the presses, Derek the Troll will launch at the ICE 2016 comics convention this Saturday, 10th September, in Birmingham. 

Derek the Troll is a 32 page one-shot collecting every Derek the Troll strip I did for Warlock and White Dwarf magazine from 1985 to 1987. Derek is the affable but stinky denizen of a time before history, encountering angry villagers, mad barbarians, and sneaky warlocks.

The second half of the comic features Rock Solid, Space Hero, a serial I did for Harrier Comics' Swiftsure way back in 1985 and never reprinted before. Rock thinks he's the greatest hero in the galaxy, but in fact he's nothing but a space-faring psychopath. But when Earth is invaded, he's the best hope we have! Will humanity survive? The complete 15 page saga is collected in this comic.

Derek the Troll and Rock Solid are some of the earliest strips I had published, right back in the early years of my career and you can see my style develop with each episode. I'm still pleased with how they hold up and anyone who enjoyed my Combat Colin and Oink! strips will hopefully get a kick out of them. 

Speaking of Combat Colin, I've also included a couple of half-pagers from the late 1980s as a bonus back-up feature. 

Derek the Troll is a 32 page comic including 28 interior pages in their original black and white. If you can't make it to ICE 2016 for the launch, you can order a copy from my online shop and I'll post it out next week.
http://www.lewstringer.com/page7.htm

ICE 2016 reveals its schedule of events

Here's the full line up of events for ICE 2016, the International Comic Expo that takes place in Birmingham on Saturday 10th September. A great convention all about comics! It's the place to be for all comics fans! See you there!

And here it is the amazing ICE 2016 full events Saturday Schedule 2016. These events are FREE to all ticket holders...

ICE 2016  ROOM  1– Hosted by GEEK SYNDICATE 

11.15 - To Hell and Back – Join Hellboy artist Duncan Fegredo and BPRD artist Lawrence Campbell as they talk about their experiences working within the famous Mignolaverse at Dark Horse Comics. 

12.30 – Making Waves – Writers Joe Pruett & Marguerite Bennett tell us all about their latest projects from the new publisher shaking the American comics industry to its foundations… Aftershock Comics.

13.30 - I hope you drew enough for everyone  - A panel discussing the importance of  all ages comics and how they are an essential part of the medium, bringing in fresh readers and making comics accessible with The Beano’s Lew Stringer, Heart of Time Creator Sarah Millman, 2000AD’s Alec Worley and Doctor Who artist and writer team Rachael Stott and Robbie Morrison.

14.30 – Your hosts tale a well earned 1 hour lunch break, so please welcome Humanoids’ Tim Pilcher as he takes over with...

The European Invasion – We used to talk about the British Invasion of the USA market in the 80s and 90s but there are also a huge number of Mainland European artists now invading the pages of Marvel and DC comics. We talk to some of those invaders including guests Juan Albarran, Maria Laura Sanapo and Marco Santucci about the work they are doing for American publishers.

15.30 – The boys return with...

A Different Breed of Comic – Join Sean Phillips (Criminal,Sleeper,Fatale) Andy Diggle (Losers,Thief of Thieves) Corey Brotherson (Magic of Myths, Clockwork Watch), Jessica Martin (Elsie Harris Picture Palace, IT Girl) and Sonia Leong (Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet,Manga Life ) as they open your doors of perception to talk about different types of comics other than straight capes and tights our panellists will attempt to discuss  the infinite genres that the medium has to offer. 

Autobiographies, horror, adventure, comedy, scifi, crime, romance… the sky is just the beginning!

16.30 - Geek Syndicate Live – AN EXCLUSIVE LIVE PODCAST FROM THE EXPO FEATURING:

    The GS boys have a chat with the all star comics team Jordie Bellaire and Declan Shalvey. Find out about their work on the new Batman Series as well as a host of other projects this dynamic duo are working on.

     Plus the final event of the day…  Charlie Adlard, Rachel Scott & Staz Johnson in the Great British sketch off!  On your marks, get set...SKETCH!

ICE 2016 – Room 2  Special Events

11.00 – Goldtiger: The Truth Behind The Legend –

Join renowned creators, comics historians, and erotic dancers Jimmy Broxton and Guy Adams as they present a fully illustrated seminar on their unearthing of Goldtiger, the sixties newspaper strip posterity forgot. Why was this seminal strip neglected for so many decades? What caused the Baskerville Newspaper group to pull the plug on such a prestigious project? Why was Malta the only country that embraced the strip? Did artist, Antonio Barreti actually kill his long-suffering scriptwriter Louis Schaeffer? How many pictures of naked ladies does Jimmy Broxton hold on his hard drive? Is there a limit to the number of cats Guy Adams can own? Is any of this remotely true? Do you care?

The discussion, and accompanying visual presentation will contain new art, new information and mature themes (most probably discussed in a vaguely immature way).

12.00 – The Big Reveal – 

Join Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back Producer Gary Kurtz along with Richard Bazley (Iron Giant, Harry Potter), Paul Goodenough (How to Train Your Dragon) and comic creators Ben Oliver and Simon Furman as they reveal their new Comic and TV series The Chimeran in full, for the very first time, exclusively at ICE 2016!

Need we say more?

Followed by a short signing with the creators in the CBCS signing area.

13.00 – Offical European Book Launch: “Also Known As” –

Based on an original idea by Andrew Nicholaou, “Also Known As” is a science-fiction twist on a supernatural mainstay, a film and trans-media franchise currently in development by UK-based film producers BoxFly Pictures. 

In addition to this BoxFly produced a 110 page graphic novel, adapted by the film’s screenwriter Tony Lee with art by Christopher Jones, colours by Charlie Kirchoff and letters by Aditya Bidikar.

Join New York Times No. 1 best selling author Tony Lee and Boxfly’s Haydn Pryce-Jenkins as they officially launch the new Graphic Novel ahead of it release at ICE 2016!

13.45 – Official Project Launch: “To The Death” – 

Legendary MARVEL UK creative powerhouse team Simon Furman (Transformers) and Geoff Senior (Dragon’s Claws) officially launch their brand new project, “To the Death,” which is a stunning online comic sci fi action adventure. Find out all about the new project and take part in a Q&A with the creative team at this exclusive ICE 2016 event.

14.30 – The Men Who Fell To Earth –

Peter Hogan and Steve Park House interview with Dark Horse’s Philip Simon

Since debuting in the rebooted Dark Horse Presents anthology in September 2011, Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse’s Resident Alien series has spawned four miniseries runs and three collected editions—with more to come! 

With Resident Alien: The Man With No Name #1 being released on September 14, join writer Peter Hogan and legendary artist Steve Parkhouse with Dark Horse series editor Philip R. Simon on the eve of a new series launch for a conversation about Peter and Steve’s work with Dark Horse Comics!

15.15 – Peter Milligan Interview with Joel Meadows – The man behind Tripwire talks to acclaimed writer Peter Milligan, famous for his work on X-Force, Hellblazer, and a host of other Marvel and Vertigo books, about his most recent projects and what he has out this coming year.

16.00 – The CBCS Charity Auction – Hosted by the one and only Peter Doherty (2000ad)

The event fans and collectors have been waiting for all day! 

Artists and writers from all over the world have kindly and generously been donating original artwork, sketches, signed books and other unique goodies for the past few months and we have steadily built up a veritable treasure trove of items. 

All going under the hammer to raise money for our chosen charity Beanstalk, who help children with their literacy and reading in schools, a cause very close to our hearts her at ICE.

Come along and walk away with an original sketch cover form Jock or an original piece of art from Staz Johnson.

Or if signed books are more your thing, how about a signed SDCC Ltd Edition Walking Dead Hardback Compendium Edition from artist Charlie Adlard?

There are literally dozens of unique and rare items up for sale for this good cause.

Book your tickets now at: http://www.thecomicsshow.co.uk/

ICE 2016 is on its way!

Here's the final poster for ICE 2016, the International Comic Expo. It'll be displayed in local comic shops in Birmingham, the city where the event takes place. 

The venue is right in the city centre, no more than five minutes walk from New Street Central Station. And there's a fantastic guest list, plus me! 

Best of all, ICE is a convention that's all about comics! See you there!

https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com/

ICE is coming!

Here's the next convention I'll be attending. It's ICE 2016 (International Comic Expo) in Birmingham city centre on 10th September. Just look at that great guest list! There'll be exhibitors selling comics there too. How can you resist? 

See the website for booking details and more info....
https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com/

ICE 2016 will be the 11th comics event I've attended this year. I've no more shows scheduled for the rest of the year but I'm always open to offers!

ICE is coming!

Hard to believe on a hot summer's day like today but ICE is coming! Yes, the International Comic Expo is returning to Birmingham city centre on Saturday 10th September. Here's the new ad for it above. I've really enjoyed the previous two years events so I'm looking forward to this one. I might even have a new comic out by then too! (I launched Brickman Returns at last year's ICE.)

You can find out the full details of the event here:
http://www.thecomicsshow.co.uk

ICE showreel

Here's a link to the short official showreel of the International Comics Expo; the excellent convention I attended in Birmingham the other week. If you weren't there, it'll be a quick taster of what you missed, and if you were there you might spot yourself.
https://www.facebook.com/529276490479928/videos/882764175131156/

ICE: Who's doing what and where this weekend

Comic conventions in the UK began in Birmingham back in 1968, and from that day onwards have continued more or less every year in various locations around Britain. These days there are more events than it's possible to attend, as they often clash because there just aren't enough weekends in a year to accommodate them all! 

It's impossible to gauge how important conventions have been for the comics community over the decades; solid friendships have been made, even romance and marriage, deals have been struck, new creators have been inspired, and, more often than not, a good time has been had by all. Conventions have changed people's lives, and created a community where fans and creators can interact in an informal environment. Hats off to convention organizers! Yay!

This weekend sees the International Comics Expo (ICE) in the city where it all began, Birmingham. There's a lot of guests attending, and plenty going on, so I thought I'd show a few pages from the official programme here as a guide for those of you attending. Click images to see them much larger. Here we go, firstly with the floor plans of where you'll find us. 

Here's the timetable for Saturday's events...

ICE takes place on Saturday 5th September, and the following day there's the related Comics Uncovered event at the same venue. 

Here's the timetable for Sunday's Comics Uncovered events...

The venue is The Studio in Cannon Street, right in the city centre and very easy to get to from Birmingham New Street Station. About five minutes walk at most, if you exit New Street Station from Stephenson Street. Here's a grab of the Google map of the area to help:

For all the details on ticket prices etc, see the official website here:
http://www.thecomicsshow.co.uk/

Whether you're a first timer or a convention veteran I hope to see you there! Please drop by my table on the third floor for a sketch and/or a chat.