New venue, ace guest list for Glasgow Comic Con

There's an impressive line up already announced for this year's Glasgow Comic Con, which will take place at the CCA Glasgow.

GCC is Scotland’s number one comic book festival, bringing in people from across the UK to celebrate the art or creating comic books.

The organisers tells the event has grown from a love for the medium and hole in the market place - and no doubt helped by Glasgow's position as a major centre of comic book creators.

A recently announced addition to an already impressive roster is Eagle and Eisner Award winner Simon Bisley, an artist best known for his work on 2000AD's ABC Warriors  and Sláine, along with Judge Dredd/Batman and DC Comics Lobo. His work has inspired various forms in media, including the Beast in the 2006 Doctor Who episode “The Satan Pit” and Simon Pegg’s character Tim Bisley on Channel 4[s sitcom Spaced.

Other artists, writers and comic creators confirmed for the event are; Alan Davis (Captain
Britain, Miracleman, D.R & Quinch, Wolverine), Carlos Ezqurra (Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, ABC Warriors), Alan Grant (Batman, Lobo, 2000AD), John Higgins (Watchmen, The Killing Joke, Judge Dredd), Cam Kennedy (2000AD, Star Wars: Dark Empire, Commando), Barry Kitson (Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Spider-Man), Mike Ploog (Ghost Rider), John Wagner (Judge Dredd, A History of Violence), Rufus Dayglo (Tank Girl) plus Hannah Berry, Peter Doherty, Gary Erskine, Ferg Handley, Yishan Li, George Low, Colin MacNeil, Lorna Miller, Robbie Morrison, Monty Nero,
Tanya Roberts and more to be announced.

Further to the many talks, panels, signings and sketches taking place, some of the UK's leading independent comic book publishers will be on hand, including Scotland's Black Hearted Press and publishers Com X, Jonathan Cape, Orang Utan Comics, Rough Cut Comics and a host of small press exhibitors, comic book shops, toy shops and many more exhibitors.

The event will also host the awards ceremony for the Scottish Indie Comic Book Alliance Awards, dedicated to the promotion of local comic books, graphic novels and sequential art in its many forms and comic creators; artists, writers, colourists, letterers, designers or editors. Winners from the 2012 SICBA awards include writer John Lees and artist James Devlin, as well as an Outstanding Contribution to comics award to David Alexander.

• Nominations for the 2013 SICBA awards are now open at www.sicba.org.uk

• Glasgow Comic Con 2013: Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th July 2013, Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3JD. More information from Sha Nazir and John Farman, Event Producers Glasgow Comic Con, c/o Black Hearted Press, 15 Hope Street, Flr 3, Glasgow, G2 6AB. Web: www.glasgowcomiccon.com Twitter: #glasgowcomiccon Facebook: facebook.com/glasgowcomiccon

Breaking talent to be showcased at Kendal-based comic art festival’s Clock Tower

Some of the UK’s best emerging and established comic art talent will be showcasing their skills at the specially-dedicated Comics Clock Tower venue as part of Kendal's The Lakes International Comic Art Festival in October, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Print Media, publishers of STRIP: The Adventure Comics Magazine.

The festival will run from 18-20th October in Kendal in Cumbria. Held beneath the landmark tower of Kendal Town Hall, the Comics Clock Tower venue will be a vibrant mash-up of writers and artists from a wide variety of styles and genres, who will be signing, sketching and selling their original creations.

Occult antiquarians will rub shoulders with urban teen vigilantes. Slacker vampires will size-up the romantic poets in a venue that promises to have something for comic fans and those who may not have read comics since they were kids.

The aim of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival’s Comics Clock Tower is to champion some of the breaking talent of comic art, as well as some of the industry’s more established names. The focus is on writers and artists who are pioneers of new styles in the field of comics and graphic storytelling. The venue will celebrate and introduce their work to a new audience.

Owen Johnson, co-ordinator of the Comics Clock Tower, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to reveal some of the comic creators and publishers taking part in the three-day marketplace.  These are some of the brightest, freshest names in British comics and it really is a privilege to present them to a wider audience.

“In the lead up to the show, we plan to use our various social media platforms to present interviews and artwork from these guests in order to explore them and their work in graphic novels.”

There will be an emphasis on creators working or living in the North of England. These will be joined by a selection of cutting-edge names from across the country, as well as leading UK publishers.

Guests who will be appearing at the Comics Clock Tower include:

• Emma Vieceli, 33, from Cambridge, who has worked on the Manga Shakespeare series for SelfMadeHero, Girl Comics for Marvel, Violet for The DFC, My Little Pony for Hasbro, and Comic Book Tatoo for Image Comics.
  Her more recent work includes The Avalon Chronicles, the award winning Vampire Academy and the graphic novel adaptations of the Anthony Horowitz Alex Rider series.
• Great Beast, a publishing house which is dedicated to making fun, creative, accessible and pop-culture inspired comics.
• Black Hearted Press – Scotland’s leading independent comic book publisher. The publisher’s leading title School of the Damned has been optioned to be made into a motion picture.
• Andrew Tunney (aka 2hands) – Manchester-based, Andrew’s debut self-published comic GIRL&BOY was nominated for Best Comic in the first ever British Comic Awards in 2012. He is also the colourist for Peabody & D’gorath.
• Nich Angell – Nich has been drawing explosive, vibrant and colourful comics for clients such as Mattel, Hasbro, WWF, Titan and the BBC for more than seven years. He has also recently produced concepts and games for an animated series for Nickelodeon UK.

Many of the more than 50 special guest writers and artists who will be appearing at the festival will also make appearances within the Comics Clock Tower., which will give an opportunity to people to buy from a wide range of new and existing comic art of all genres.

Names already announced as attending the festival include founder patrons Bryan and Mary Talbot and as well as Sean Philips, Ed Brubaker, Charlie Adlard, Posy Simmonds, Kurt Busiek, Joe Sacco and many others.

Julie Tait, festival director, said: “We want to give comic fans the chance to discover something new and also encourage others, who may perhaps think comics are just for kids, to pick up a graphic novel and find out what they are missing.

“The Lakes International Comic Art Festival wants to highlight the diversity of the UK comic arts community. One of the ways we will be doing this is through the Comics Clock Tower – our version of a comics’ marketplace.”

• More details about the new event are available at www.comicartfestival.com.

In Review: Laptop Guy Issue 2

Created by artist Sha Nasir, Laptop Guy is one of the comics titles published by Glasgow's Black Hearted Press.

The first issue was something of an oddity - a US-size, anthology humour comic that played with the somewhat nonsensical idea of a guy with a laptop for a head in a mixture of situations - dating, TV presenting, going to a convention, appearing in Star Trek. It could so easily have been a one-off title consisting of a menagerie of ideas and writers that, like any anthology, had some ideas that worked and some that didn't.

However the one that perhaps worked the best was 'You Can't Sell Out If Nobody's Buying' written by Jack Lothian in which artist Sha's comic alter-ego tries to explain that he is using the character of Laptop Guy as a comment on society.

So it is good to see that the second issue of the title takes that basic concept and expands it into a comic length story. With Sha Nasir on the majority of the art and Jack Lothian providing the script, the reader is taken through several days in the life of Sha's alter-ego as he frustratedly tries to illustrate the comic character Marine X (a brutal version of 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and illustrated here by David Braysher). However on arriving at his drawing board one morning he discovers the artwork for Laptop Legion, a Marvel/DC take on Laptop Guy, artwork that he didn't draw but which draws him into a downward spiral that could lead towards madness.

This was not what I was expecting from the title, given the humorous first issue, as it takes it away from the single page gags into something much deeper and more interesting. It's not biographical, or at least I hope for Sha's sake that it isn't, but it does give the impression of a dark take on the 'slice of life' comics that are popular within small press circles.

For those people walking around a mart or convention looking for something out of the ordinary then Laptop Guy 2 is well worth picking up.

There are more details of Laptop Guy on the Black Hearted Press website and it can be purchased from their webstore.

Black Hearted Press will be at the Dundee Comics Expo (Table 18, College Hall) on Saturday 30 March where Sha Nasir will be leading a Comics Workshop at 11:30am (outside the Baxter Suite).

Sha Nasir recently illustrated the factual graphic novel Telling Scotland's Story written by James Crawford for the Scottish Archaeological Research Framework (ScARF) which features a series of stories including the Storegga Tsunami, the Frankenstein Mummies of South Uist, and the 15th century Buannachan Mercenaries. The book was featured on the BBC News site and is available to download free from the Society Of Antiquities Of Scotland website.

Glasgow Comic Con 2012: More Pictures

Following up on our review of Glasgow Comic Con, here are some more pictures from the event, courtesy of the organisers. Photography by by Alasdair Watson © Alasdair Watson & Glasgow Comic Con

Queueing around the block

Newly-signed creators for Black Hearted Press

Doctor Strange sees all!

A new 2000AD fan meets writer John Wagner

Comic artist and writer Jim Starlin signs for fans

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely on stage

Good Cop, Bad Cop checks into High-Ex

If you're planning a trip to the Highlands for the Hi-Ex Comic Expo next weekend, then be sure to track down the latest comics from Black Hearted Press, run by Jim Alexander, David Brayher, John Farman and Sha Nazir.

Black Hearted Press is a new Scottish comic book publisher promoting new, exciting and diverse creator owned, collaborative comic books whose first release was Black Maria issue 616. Building on that success, they've added several new titles including the much-praised School of the Damned, Gabriel and Scout One.

Their latest title is Good Cop, Bad Cop by ace writer Jim Alexander, whose credits include stories for 2000AD, DC and Marvel Comics and Metal Hurlant.

In a modern and suitably macabre take on Jekyll and Hyde, the Good Cop and Bad Cop just happen to be the same person and the first issue features three all-new stories written by Jim, with art by Garry McLaughlin (Junkie Dad, Year of Fear, Taking Flight).

With suitably black humour and some nice touches on the characterisation, it's a project with immense potential - I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops. For example, given the Bad Cop's predilection for killing, rather than arresting villains, how will Good Cop cover the tracks of his alter ego? Do they have entirely different DNA, for example?

I'm sure this is the kind of thing Jim will be having fun with in later issues.

Also out is Scout One, what Jim previously described as "a super-hero strip with a difference." Sha Nazir's art lends the story a gritty DC Thomson look, and the first issue again features three stories from the mythology of Scout One.

"The story has a Doctor Who sensibility to it," says Jim. "There's a real sense of adventure and fun to be had. Something parents and kids can both enjoy."

Hi-Ex takes place at Eden Court, Inverness 31st March - 1st April. Other guests include Jim Montynero, one of the creators on CLiNT, Rok Comics editor John Freeman, artist Graeme Neil Reid, Inko and many more. More info at www.hi-ex.co.uk.

• Black Hearted Press: www.blackheartedpress.co.uk

• Jim Alexander's blog: http://jimalwriter.blogspot.com

Black Hearted Press to launch new titles at Thought Bubble

Comics writer Jim Alexander, whose credits include stories for 2000AD, DC and Marvel Comics and Metal Hurlant has been heavily involved with Glasgow-based publishers Black Hearted Press and is the writer on two new books that will be launched at Thought Bubble in Leeds later this month.

Co-founded by David Brayher, John Farman and Sha Nazir last year, Black Hearted Press is a new Scottish comic book publisher promoting new, exciting and diverse creator owned, collaborative comic books whose first release was Black Maria issue 616.

Building on that success, they've published three titles this year - Black Hearted Love, Laptop Guy and School of the Damned with contributions from Jim Alexander, Dave Alexander, Jim Devlin and Jack Lothian - and are now set to publish Gabriel and Scout One, both written by Jim.

A page from the first issue of Gabriel, drawn by David Hill

"Gabriel written by myself with art by David Hill, was published almost a decade ago by Caliber," he tells us. "Now serialised by BHP over four parts, it's the story of one man's isolation and dislocation, wrapped up in horror and religious themes, as a demon runs rampage through the streets of Glasgow - which seems as pertinent to me now as it did then.  I'm firmly of the belief the strip deserves a second outing."

The back-up strip is 'Manchester', also written by Jim with art by Andy Dodd. The story is set at the end of the world. "For one man," says Jim, "the last day on Earth is quite possibly the happiest day of his life."

Also out is Scout One.  "This is a super-hero strip with a difference," Jim reveals. "I know you've probably heard this a hundred times before, but artist Sha Nazir's lovely expressive art lends the story a gritty DC Thomson look, which never detracts from the three different storylines from three different time periods, chronicling the modern myth that is the super-hero known as Scout One.

"The story has a Doctor Who sensibility to it; there's a real sense of adventure and fun to be had.  Something parents and kids can both enjoy."   

• Gabriel #1 is on sale now.  For more details check out the link http://jimalwriter.blogspot.com/2011/10/im-now-member-of-black-hearted-press.html#links


• Gabriel #1 and Scout One #1 will also be on sale at Thought Bubble, Leeds, Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th November.  Black Hearted Press will be sharing a table with the Burke & Hare team in Saviles Hall.

• Black Hearted Press: www.blackheartedpress.co.uk


• Jim Alexander's blog: http://jimalwriter.blogspot.com

In Review: The School Of The Damned Issue 1

Black Hearted Press is a new small press publisher in Glasgow run by names familiar to those who attended the Glasgow Comic Con during the summer. The School Of The Damned is their third comics title to be released.

It is 1936 and in eastern Europe German soldiers approach a school run by Count Orlock. The Count invites Major Von Stroheim in to discuss the location of Gabriel Utterson, an Englishman that the Germans have been hunting for through the travelling freak shows of Europe. However as some of the school's pupils guide the soldiers through the dark marshland towards Utterson's cottage, the Nazi's discover that there is more to the school than they had been lead to believe.

Glasgow has something of a reputation of producing small press titles themed around drugs and titillation, themes that culminated in the national distributed magazine Wasted. So it is good to see publications from the likes of Team Girl and Black Hearted Press that break the mold. In The School Of The Damned writer John Farman has taken Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen and 1920s and 30s horror movies and given them a good shake together, added in some Nazis for good effect, and produced a title that deserves attention.

Run by the lead character from the 1922 Nosferatu film, the school includes a werewolf, gargoyles, Medusa, the boy Molock as seen on the front cover, plus Victor Frankenstein and his latest creation, Jenny. There is a lot more going on here than can be fitted into 19 pages of a single issue with some characters only getting a few fleeting panels, but the interactions of those barely seen characters hold out hope for the the already planned continuation of the title. The comic also has a short four page backup story, with art by Dave Alexander, giving a little more information about Gabriel Utterson, a character from Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, plus a page of the writer's thoughts on the overall concept.

James Devlin's moody cover with its subdued colours stands out while his internal artwork is in greyscale which suits the 1930s horror movie feel of the book very well indeed. There is little grandstanding inside with the few splash panels used to good effect as the art gets on with telling the story while the action sequences skew their panels and most pages have black gutters just to add to the overall effect.

I have a great fondness for the old school horror films and so approached this title with a little trepidation. However The School Of The Damned proved to be an entertaining read and I look forward to seeing more of it and its characters in the future.

• There are more details about ordering The School Of The Damned on the Black Hearted Press website and Facebook page.

• There will be an official launch of The School Of The Damned at Glasgow's City Centre Comics in Parnie Street near the Tron Theatre on Sunday 30 October 2011 running from 7pm to 10pm with writer John Farman and artist James Devlin. There are more details at the event's Facebook page.