Lawless Comic Con for Bristol in May

I noticed the other day that some blogger had claimed Bristol hasn't had any comics events for a few years so to help put the record straight I thought I should give Lawless Comic Con another plug. 

I was a guest at Lawless 2022 back in May and really enjoyed it. A very busy and upbeat event totally dedicated to comics which was well organised by Su Haddrell and her team. I've been invited to the next one too, which will take place on 27th and 28th May 2023 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, just a short walk from Bristol Temple Meads Station. 

If you look at the impressive guest list above you'll see that it'll be a comic con well worth attending!

Tickets for the event will go on sale soon so keep an eye on the Lawless website at this link:

https://lawlesscomiccon.co.uk/ 

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LAWLESS was FLAWLESS!

A big thank you to Su Haddrell for inviting me to the Lawless Comic Con in Bristol last weekend and for being a fantastic host. It was my first venture out of my local area in over two years and it was the perfect event to attend. A friendly, upbeat atmosphere with great people and lots of laughs. One of the busiest conventions I've done in 40 years, sketching from the moment I set out my table to the time the show closed. Thank you to everyone who stopped by for a sketch, buy a comic, or just for a chat. 

Waiting for my train at 6 A.M. on a deserted platform.

Good to have top artist Ian Richardson as my table neighbour.

It was great to catch up with old friends again such as Ian Richardson, Becky and Dan Cornwell, Paul Goodenough, Mike Allwood, Benjamin Conan Cullis, Leonard Sultana, Mike Collins, Graham Bleathman, Shane Chebsey, Brian Bolland, John Higgins, Joanne Alexander, Steve MacManus, David Roach, John Charles, Stuart Gould, and many more, and meet new people such as Stacey Whittle, Jo Heeley, Dave Heeley, Andrw Sawyers, Alexus Savage, Colin Maxwell, Sally Jane Hurst, Kek-W, Sarah Lea and many more. (I bet I've forgotten some I shouldn't have so please forgive this quick post.) 

Photo by RICHARD BRYANT.

 

Sadly I didn't get around to catching up with John Wagner or Glenn Fabry or visit the small press room. I did take a break for ten minutes though to visit a fantastic display of comic art curated by Graham Bleathman. Pages from Eagle, TV21, and Look-In brought memories flooding back of reading the comics those pages were drawn for. Graham himself is a fantastic artist of course, having illustrated numerous cutaways for Gerry Anderson comics as well as much more over his long career. Graham and I started out in fanzines around the same time way back in the late 1970s and it's always a pleasure to chat with him.

Frank Bellamy's front cover art from JOE 90 TOP SECRET (1969).

1960s art from EAGLE and TV21

 

 

Mike Noble art from TIMESLIP (LOOK-IN, 1971).

On Sunday afternoon I took part on a panel hosted by Leonard Sultana alongside my colleagues from The77; editor Ben Cullis, artist Andrw Sawyer, and the legendary Steve MacManus. The77 were also launching a new comic at the show; Pandora edited by Jo Heeley, a 40 page full colour anthology comic that you can buy from this link:

https://the77comic.bigcartel.com/

That link will also take you to where you can buy The77, including the Reissue of No.1 featuring some best bits from the sold out first issue and some new content including a back page pin-up from me. 

I can tell you now that The77 Publications are doing another comic soon! This Comic Is Haunted will be a brand new British horror comic and I'm hopefully doing a page for it. The Kickstarter for it begins next month and you can find out more details by following their Facebook page at this link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/695217408358133

It felt exciting and strange to go on a train for the first time in 26 months and to mingle in crowds again. Yet in some ways it felt like the past two years hadn't happened as we all readjusted like we'd only seen each other yesterday. Not that we can be complacent of course. The virus is still out there and still spreading, and I did wear a mask on the train. 

Summing up, there could be no better place to restart anyone's social life than at the Lawless Comic Con. A fun and welcoming event that I'll always remember. 

Joanne Alexander interviewed me live for her Facebook feed on Sunday morning and you can see that here:

https://www.facebook.com/joanne.alexander.5095/videos/397301232410631/

Best cosplay ever! Sarah Lea as GNASHER!

End of the show. Organiser Su Haddrell gets a round of applause.

I didn't have chance to take many photos but you can see more by visiting the Lawless Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LawlessComicCon

...and if you wish to bid on a signed Lawless programme/comic where proceeds are going to a good cause, read about it here:

https://downthetubes.net/bidding-builds-on-signed-lawless-a-celebration-programme-in-aid-of-the-charity-calm-now-offered-with-unique-extras/

My next convention will be Comics Salopia in Shrewsbury on June 25th and 26th, followed a week later by Macc-Pow! in Macclesfield on July 2nd. More details soon!

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Let's go LAWLESS in Bristol this weekend!

This weekend will see the Lawless Comic Con taking place in Bristol, and I'll be one of the guests. I'm looking forward to returning to the place of many happy conventions of the past and to meet up with old friends and new readers. 

I'll be bringing along a few copies of Combat Colin 2 and 3 (and a couple remaining issues of issue 1 I've dug out), and the Derek the Troll special, and anything else I can fit in my case. I'll also be doing sketches of comic characters of your choice (in my style). I'm only accepting cash payments as I don't have a card reader yet, but it'll all be banked and declared as income when I get back.

I'm not 100% at the moment as my achilles tendon is still playing up. It's getting better but I'm limping a bit and it's slowed me down. Also, this will be my first journey to another part of the country in over two years so be gentle with me! I'll be bringing hand sanitiser but if I only give you a fist bump instead of a handshake please don't be offended. Conventions are notorious for catching "con flu" so let's be careful out there and respect each others personal space.

Here's the list of panel events over the weekend. Hope to see some of you at The77 Panel at 12.30 on Sunday! As always, click / tap on the image to read it full size.

For more info see the Lawless Comic Con website at this link:

https://lawlesscomiccon.co.uk/

Here's my banner to look out for at the show. I'll be doing a new banner sometime this year.

Did you miss The77 No.1?

Since its launch in May 2020, The77 is a UK independent comic that's proved to be a success, with issue 8 due this summer. Back issues have been selling well too, and as No.1 has sold out there's now a reprint of its "best bits" in The77 Reissue 1. 

The Reissue has 32 pages selecting a bunch of the first episodes including my Sgt.Shouty strip. There's also a brand new Sgt.Shouty pin-up on the back page, a new strip by Mamode Ognewele and Samuel Iwunze, and a coloured version of V. It'll be available to buy at this weekend's Lawless Comic Con in Bristol where contributors will be happy to sign it for you, or you can buy unsigned copies from the publisher at this link:

https://the77comic.bigcartel.com/product/the77-reissue-no-1

Tickets now available for LAWLESS COMIC CON

I'm looking forward to being a guest at the Lawless Comic Con in Bristol over the weekend of 28th and 29th May, all being well! As you can see it's a great guest list! Tickets are now available to buy from their website here:
https://lawlesscomiccon.co.uk/ 

 

Convention announcement for 2022!

The announcement has just gone out for the Lawless Comic Con for next year, and I'm pleased to reveal that I'll be one of the guests.

I'd been invited to the ones planned for 2020 and 2021 but of course the pandemic prevented that and they had to be cancelled. Hopefully this will be a case of third time lucky! 

The two day show takes place over May 28th and 29th at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Bristol. That's the same venue where many happy Bristol Comic Expos took place years ago so I'm looking forward to returning! I've heard good things about the Lawless events and the guest list looks great, with more to be added!  

Hope to see some of you there, - and I should have Combat Colin No.5 out by then too, all being well! Tickets will go on sale in January. In the meantime, follow the progress of the event on their Facebook page...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LawlessComicCon  

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Sad news. LAWLESS is cancelled

Convention organiser Su Haddrell has just announced that unfortunately this year's Lawless comic con has been cancelled. The event was due to take place in Bristol on 16th May but because of ongoing concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic it's wiser to postpone the show until 2021.

I was scheduled to be a guest at this event so I thought I'd let you know. I feel very sorry for convention organisers this year. They put a lot of time, effort, and their own money into such events and this is the last thing they needed. I hope everyone understands this and gives the organisers your moral support and good wishes.

Here's Su's announcement in full:

"Announcement!

It is with great regret that we have decided to cancel this years Lawless Comic Convention.  We were hoping to continue or wait out the situation to see if we can still go ahead, but in light of the amount of shows that are not going ahead, the financial difficulties that folk are facing day to day, as well as the ongoing 'Unknown' of how this Plague is going to pan out, it seems sensible to put a stop on it now.

The next stage is as follows:

I'm waiting on confirmation from the Doubletree that we can move the date of the show to Saturday 15th May 2021. I'm also waiting on confirmation that they will refund hotel bookings regardless as to whether or not they're 'non-refundable'. There may also be the option of moving the date for those as well. So hold your horses on hotel stuff until I come back on that one.

Secondly - in the interest of simplicity, the event will be cancelled on Ticketlight and you will all receive refunds. The tickets will go live again in Jan 2021 as per the usual process. This just makes it easier than cancelling or not cancelling individual tickets for 250 odd attendees and traders who may or may not be able to make it next year.

Thirdly - I will be messaging all Guests and traders individually via messenger and email to advise them of the above situation. We will re invite them again for next year, but obviously this may chop and change with peoples plans, so a new guest list will be announced in the New Year (with a bit if luck, it'll be pretty much the same!)

Lastly - You are all still welcome to gather if you wish. We're not making any plans that far ahead, but maybe up for a trip down to Bristol for and afternoon/evening drink or something - feel free to organise yourselves or someone set up an FB event to that effect. :)

I will post again once the hotel have confirmed the rooms are sorted and once I've canceled the Ticketlight site. Feel free to ask any questions and spread this message far and wide.

Again - SO SORRY to have to cancel this, it sucks balls. 

Be excellent to each other and look out for one another. And don't stock pile! 

Love & Hugs

Su"

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More convention news: LAWLESS tickets now available

Tickets to Lawless, the comic convention set for Bristol in May, are now available at this link:
http://lawlesscomiccon.co.uk

This will be my first visit to Bristol in years so I hope to see some of you there!

Got a question, or an opinion, or fond memory about comic cons? Share it in the comments below! 

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I'm going LAWLESS!

A brand new convention for me but a familiar city. I have great memories of the old Bristol Comic Expos so I'm looking forward to returning to Bristol on Saturday 16th May for the Lawless comic con. (My paternal grandmother was from Bristol so it's in me blood.)

This event has been running for a few years and I've heard good things about it so I'm very happy to be invited to this year's show. See you there! 

More info:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LawlessComicCon

http://lawlesscomiccon.co.uk

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