My Twitter and Facebook feeds seem to be full of comments about the Leeds' Thought Bubble convention that's on this weekend, but personally I'm very happy that I chose to accept the invite to Preston Comic Con.
Preston Comic Con took place yesterday in the city's Guild Hall. I'd heard good things about the show from previous guests, but I was concerned that attendance might suffer due to it clashing with other comics events in Leeds and Cardiff (and numerous SF events around the country). My fears were unfounded. Preston Comic Con was one of the busiest events I've been to this year.
Firstly, my thanks to Darren Wildman, Paul Dunne, and the rest of the Wonky Rocket team for their outstanding hospitality. We were collected at the railway station, wined and dined on Friday night, and looked after throughout the con on Saturday. The show had an equal balance of guests from comics and film/tv, and we were all treated the same, and it was good to mix with each other. A shining example of how a comics/media convention should be run.
As I said, the event was very busy, and I was sketching most of the day. (Which is why I didn't have time to take many photos other than the view from my table.) I know that some people look down their noses at 'Comic Cons' that include actors, but in my experience it's a positive thing (as long as there are comics guests on the bill as well). The media guests attract a slightly different crowd to the comics-only events, and I find that people are pleasantly surprised to find "The Beano is still going?!" or "I remember Oink / Combat Colin!" so it enables comics guests to engage with members of the public we might otherwise never meet.
Someone asked me to do a Beano version of Judge Dredd, so here's how it turned out...
It was a real pleasure to attend Preston Comic Con, and good to catch up with friends such as Laura Howell, Phil Winslade and his wife Pippa, Trev and Simon, Clare Eden, and (far too briefly) John Higgins, Dave Taylor, and Martin Griffiths. Great to see artists Adrian Salmon and Tim Perkins too, who dropped by for chat, and also good to meet artists Dave Milgate and Karl Richardson.
Wow, there are at least four comics events around the country this weekend (who sez the UK comics community is dead?). You'll find me at Preston Comic Con on Saturday 23rd September, at the Guild Hall, along with all these fine folk. Come along and say hello! I'll be bringing my comics and doing sketches on request.
More info on Preston Comic Con here:
http://www.prestoncomiccon.co.uk
The next show on my events calendar for this year will be Preston Comic Con on Saturday 23rd September, at the Guild Hall, Preston. As you can see from the poster above, it's a multi-media event including TV stars too. Looking forward to catching up with Dan Starkey and Trev and Simon again, along with comics pals Laura Howell, Phil Winslade and John Higgins, and meeting new people. Hope to see you there!
Convention website:
http://www.prestoncomiccon.co.uk
I can now reveal another date for my convention calendar as Preston Comic Con have just announced me as a guest for their event. It takes place on Saturday 23rd September at the Guild Hall, Preston, and you can find out more info here:
http://www.prestoncomiccon.co.uk
I have to point out that I did not draw the Beano cover shown on the advert. (It's by Nigel Parkinson.) I can only guess they used a Beano cover to grab people's attention.
Here's the updated list of the rest of my convention appearances for this year...
INTERNATIONAL COMIC EXPO (ICE) - BIRMINGHAM
9th September 2017
Holiday Inn,
Birmingham
https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com
PRESTON COMIC CON
23rd September 2017
The Guild Hall,
Preston
http://www.prestoncomiccon.co.uk
COVENTRY COMIC CON
1st October 2017
Sports Connexion,
Leamington Road,
Ryton On Dunsmore,
Coventry
CV8 3FL.
http://www.coventrycomiccon.uk
LAKES INTERNATIONAL COMIC ART FESTIVAL
13th to 15th October 2017
Kendal,
Cumbria
https://www.comicartfestival.com
LOUGHBOROUGH COMIC-CON
22nd October 2017
Loughborough Leisure Centre,
Loughborough.
https://en-gb.facebook.com/loughboroughcomiccon2017/
To be announced.
10th to 12th November 2017
More info soon.
READING COMIC CON
25th/26th November 2017
Rivermead Leisure Complex
https://www.facebook.com/readingcomiccon/
I've also been booked for two events for 2018 but I'll reveal those after the organisers have announced them.
I hope to see you at some of these shows. I'll be there sketching and selling copies of my comics so drop by my table!
