After our reports from the recent Birmingham Comicon by comic artists Matthew Craig and Ryan Taylor, we’re pleased to present our third and final report – this time from Michael Gee, one of the team at Nostalgia & Comics in Birmingham, who casts a critical eye over the Comicon.

Over to Michael:

So on Saturday 27th August the Birmingham Comic Con 2011 took place in it’s new home of the Holiday Inn on Smallbrook Queensway. Luckily this move made my life a hell of a lot easier as it is just above my second home – Nostalgia & Comics. For the third year I helped run the shop’s table at the show so I thought I’d give you my tuppence worth about how I thought the show went, as both retailer and punter.

Looking at the programme, on release, my initial reaction was to be fairly underwhelmed. I mean, no offence to any of the organisers or the guests but, the Brum Con seems to be providing us with pretty much the same old faces and names year after year. Ever since the Con that Mike Mignola attended we don’t seem to have had a guest that we would be surprised to see on a British Comic Con line up.

On the day of the show I walked into the main room and was greeted by a sight that actually upset me a little bit. The hall was made out to look like a glorified comic mart with the bulk of the people selling back issue comics. Yes, it’s a comic show but the tables of comic boxes, old action figures, statues, tee shirts and so on just seemed too dominant. Now I know this will always be a massive part of comic convention culture but we seemed to be the only table that was taking the idea of graphic novels and trade paperbacks seriously and… even we had the obligatory table of back issues and tat!

The talks and panels were mainly the same jokey ones as last year with slightly different teams. I still stand by the fact that I think the best panel at any of the Birmingham shows so far was Matt Hollingsworth’s colouring comics presentation, which proved that a panel could be complicated and technical but also entertaining and interesting. By all means keep doing the jokey panels such as ‘Play Your Comics Right’ but at the same time maybe program alternatives to give the attendees a choice.

(Doug Braithwaite, Mark Farmer, Alan Davis. Pic courtesy of Jon T Law’s Flickrstream)

I moan about the big creators being the same ones, but don’t get me wrong as they do include great talent. Doug Braithwaite, Alan Davis, Mark Farmer and Dave Gibbons are all great, home grown names but it doesn’t help though if the person most visitors see as your star guest decides not to turn up. Mark Millar withdrew late on – what an absolute let down. (Ed – Millar couldn’t make it due to a case of flu)

I have to give kudos to some of the guests at the show. Steve from Timebomb comics is always a gem, there was a guy selling cushions, bags and the like from recycled quilt covers and curtains (I picked up a lovely Amazing Spider-Man cushion), and I think Cinebook did quite well and it’s always good to hear a publisher proving not all comics are spandex and capes being a success at a more mainstream comics show. My personal hidden gem at this show was has to be an illustrator called Dean Beattie who I purchased a print, sketch and book from which is one of the funniest things I have read in a very long time.

All in all, even though I had my advance reservations about my fourth Birmingham comic show it still did it’s best to prove me wrong. Like one of those bizarre reviews in a movie magazine where, though they seem to say nothing but negative things, they still find a way to give it four out of five stars.

At the end of the day I guess it’s down to the people you get to see, be they new or old faces. Being thrown into a situation with like-minded groups of people and being able to talk about something you love with both fellow fans and the people who create those things is always a big part of how much you enjoy a convention. The mix of faces within the crowd this year was one of the most diverse I have seen at a show yet.

Overall I hear the show was a success and that there will be another next year, let’s just hope that it can be the best one yet with just a couple of tweaks and improvements.

Here’s the second of our guest reports from the recent Birmingham Comicon 2011 (first one yesterday from Matthew Craig). This time it’s from Ryan Taylor, author of The Grinning Mask comic and member of the Midlands Comix Collective.

Thanks very much to Ryan……

Hello trees, hello sky, welcome to Birmingham’s Comicon. Following the previous year’s Bics at Millennium Point, this year the organisers took a punt on splitting the comics fun into two shows. One aimed at creators and one for fans – Comics Launchpad and Comicon respectively.

Having attended them both, I can happily say that both events were top days out. I’m not sure if much was written about Launchpad on the FP Blog in terms of reviews, but it really deserves a mention here. For an aspiring comic creator, it was an unmissable day out. Full of interesting talks and presentations by a wealth of professionals – indeed my only complaint was that for an artist, there was almost too much to see and much like a music festival, there were a few inevitable clashes of events. Hardly a fair criticism on my behalf though…

And so to the past weekend’s Comicon. Skipping the Launch Party and stepping off the train at New Street on Saturday morning with a rucksack and portfolio laden with stuff, I was suddenly very glad of the change of venue. Swapping last year’s miles-from-New-Street-Station Millennium Point to handily-down-the-road Holiday Inn, this was at first glance a smaller affair more akin to a Bristol comics show than what BICS fans may be used to.

(On the way in to the show – Timebomb Comics‘ Steve Tanner with trademark jacket, Accent UK‘s Colin Mathieson, and right at the end is Futurequake)

The comic room – Jason Cobley of Bulldog fame front and centre)

(The other room at BC2011)

(Laura Howell and Tim at the Midlands Comix Collective stall)

Chatting to one Shane Chebsey first thing though, I was told that this was certainly in terms of hire costs a great choice. In fact, given the inner city location, there was a steady stream of folk through the doors all day and more passing custom than one would get at Millennium Point. All this added up to a super busy show. A small point perhaps, but having the hotel booked for the evening meant that there was also a great sociable atmosphere in the hotel bars afterward.

I did a fair amount of stall-sitting and didn’t get chance to attend any talks / events so will quickly just mention some of the bits and pieces that caught my eye and filled my rucksack on my strolls around the show.

Starting at the bottom and going around clockwise; -

The hard working Matthew Craig had his new Bostin’ Heroes comic – always a great read and this was happily no exception. How he manages to produce so much good comics work is beyond me I’m afraid. Some fabbo original artwork from Playhour Annual from Mike Higgs’ stall. Who could resist this?
Tuk Tuk – a fabbo looking comic by Will Kirkby. I’ve not actually sat down to read this one yet, but when a comic looks as great as this, that’s half the battle won for me.
A lovely Frankenstein fridge magnet by Hunt Emerson. Rather handily, I do own a fridge. Check out Dean Beattie’s site, I saw plenty of people walking around with his prints. Gloriously odd stuff. The NQHIRT comic was a real surprise. Thrust into my hand as I walked around the show, it’s a spoof set of old comics covers that has certainly made me chuckle. Whoever put this one together (I can’t find a contact on the comic) deserves a quick round of applause. The London Deep card is a flyer from Mogzilla for their wonderful looking line of books. They were bravely manning a heaving table of great looking reads.

Finally my big purchase of the day – Gary Spencer Millidge’s ‘Alan Moore Storyteller’. This is now proudly sat atop my coffee table waiting for the day I can find a spare hour or so to plough through it.

To sum up, a great new venue and a top top show. The change of venue only added to the atmosphere of the day. Shane, James and Andy should be applauded for the work they put into getting these events together and here’s hoping that they look to put on similar shows next year.

Thank you very much to Ryan Taylor for sharing that with us. His Grinning Mask comic is up to issue 2 now, and you can order it from his website. And if you need a nudge, here’s my review of it.

Well I didn’t make it to this years Birmingham Comicon – Molly’s birthday weekend took precidence I’m afraid.

Mark Millar didn’t make it either, flu to blame. So no word of what he and Dave Gibbons were rumoured to be announcing. However, all the mentions I’ve seen on facebook and twitter seem to be saying prettty much the same thing; that this slightly reduced Birmingham convention (it’s usually two days in the bigger venue of Millenium Point) was a massive success, very friendly and very busy.

There are lots of very nice messages about it on the BC2011 Facebook page, Lew Stringer’s done a write up over at his blog, Accent UK (finally) launched their new Predator graphic novel and had a great show, and Tony Lee had this to say on Twitter:

“Am home, finally decompressed from BrumCon. One of the best in years, easily best UK con so far for friendliness and conversations. Nice!”

(Pic of the dealers room at the Birmingham Comicon 2011, picture from Lew Stringer’s blog)

Like I say, I didn’t make it down this year, but luckily Matthew Craig stepped into the breach with his con report below.

Matthew’s the creator of many fine, fine comics, many with a distinctly Midlands setting, including his latest; Both Sides.

Ladies and gentlemen……Matthew Craig:

(Matthew Craig at Birmingham Comicon 2011. Photograph from the Flickrstream of Neil Patel, who also contributes his write-up at his website.)

2011BC was a pretty great show, with a lot of familiar faces on both sides of the table. There was a steady stream of visitors throughout the day, with healthy queues for signings by Dave Gibbons and Dougie Braithwaite. Unfortunately for me, the queues were just that little bit too far from my table to be considered fair game for my sales pitch. The crowd skewed a little older than Thought Bubble might, but with all the families and young (primary-age) kids, it also skewed a little broader in age range. The venue was modest and cosy, reminding me at first of some of the Manchester marts I attended in the previous millennium, but there was plenty of room for everyone.

(There’s that She-Hulk Matthew mentions – photo from Jon T Law’s Flickrstream)

There were a few cosplayers, collecting for charity and flying the flag for spandex seamstresship. My favourites were She-Hulk, who showed a remarkable commitment to her verdant persona, Cyclops (a hero spoiled for me forever by Jamie McKelvie’s moustachioed defacement), and The Spirit, who I may have accidentally addressed by name. We had a good chat about Eisner and his indefatigable signature creation, which left me with some novel insights into the character.

(And here’s Cyclops, photo sent along by Dave Lloyd)

The range of exhibitors seemed to me to be a fine slice of the British indy comics scene. Some notable London and Northern names were absent, as were a couple of major UK publishers, but the Midlands comics scene was well-represented, and there was plenty of fine indy fare for readers with a taste for novelty. I enjoyed the best one-day and whole-con sales I’ve seen for a good long time, and gleefully dished out comics and sales pitches to whoever stopped by.

(Detail from Will Kirby’s Tuk-Tuk – expect more about this very soon)

I didn’t get much of a chance to circulate, but that wasn’t such a problem, as people seemed willing to deliver. First among these blessed travellers was Tony Hitchman, who dropped off a couple of free four-page A4 maxicomics. These were jolly as hell, consisting of harsh economic realities and parodic pin-ups. Next up: Will “Chamonkee” Kirkby, whose Tuk-Tuk was a sumptuous (again, A4) full-colour electrostatic odyssey through the lives of two anthopomorphic arthropods on the make. Will’s art is furiously sharp and dense, and the colour, rich and expertly applied, makes Tuk-Tuk a complete package in every respect. My only wish is that someone can get this to a publisher with pockets so it can be mass-produced to bring the price down.

(Page 1 from Ryan Taylor’s new Grinning Mask issue 2)

Ryan Taylor, the only comic book creator with sideburns better than mine, stopped by to swap for a copy of his new comic The Grinning Mask 2. The unnerving cover suggests a surreality to proceedings, but I wasn’t quite so prepared for Ryan’s excellent clockwork plotting, moving between three discrete but parallel strands while also dropping in two-page horror stories in the classic style. Fans of Douglas Noble will very much enjoy The Grinning Mask.

(It’s Just Josh by Josh Clarke)

At the table to my left were Josh Clarke and Wayne Hughes. I picked up a copy of Josh’s first book (online here) at NEC Memorabilia fair in the Spring, so I swapped one of my comics for Wayne’s anthropological fantasy comic Sabre. The art is pleasantly charming, in a classic indy comics style, but watching Wayne sketch (with ink and brush, not bingo markers like I used to use!), I can already see how much his art has improved since finishing Sabre #1. Wayne’s introduction to the comic tells of how it grew out of a desire to enhance his existing artistic portfolio with a finished product, a notion that to me seems both rewarding and logical.

(Tinpot Hobo Issue 1 by Jack and Adam Lawrence)

Briefly enticed from behind my table by a banner on the other side of the room, my final swap/purchase was Tinpot Hobo, by Jack and Adam Lawrence. A richly-imagined science fiction universe in the Firefly/Moonrunners/Farscape vein, Tinpot Hobo finds a naive young woman seeking to redeem her family name in the company of a dodgy courier and his crew, while an outlaw does whatever it takes to evade capture. Tinpot Hobo is Jack’s first creator-owned comic in some time, having previously worked on “Lions, Tigers and Bears” for Image, and his own series Darkham Vale. His art is right at home in the American scene, being delightfully amiable and lightly cartoony, in the Wieringo-Nauck-Brooks vein, and while the world he and Adam have created will feel familiar to sci-fi buffs, the characters are equally well-defined, holding the reader’s attention admirably.

Despite the proliferation of new cons and expos (mostly concentrated in the capital), and the deserved success of the mighty Thought Bubble, I feel that the Birmingham con is important for a number of reasons, above and beyond my own obvious biases. It serves a community of loyal, open-minded readers, quite distinct from the people who attend events such as the Birmingham Zine Festival, who can’t (and shouldn’t have to) splash out forty quid to travel down to London or up to Leeds. It offers a relaxed yet lively atmosphere. And best of all, as with her white rose sibling, the focus of BICS is squarely on Comics. Marvel Comics, DC Comics, British Comics.

And whatever problems people might have had with the show in the past, it’s worth supporting BICS in whatever incarnation it takes next. A one-day version might well ameliorate some of these problems, rebuilding and focusing the energy of the con in the way that made Thought Bubble so much fun these last three years. A cheaper venue would help, although that’s easier said than found, and the proximity of the Holiday Inn to New Street Station is hard to sniff at. But whatever happens, the Birmingham Comicon should not be allowed to fade away.

(Matthew Craig’s new comic – available at his webstore – he’s far too nice to mention it himself!)

Thank you very much to Matthew Craig for the great convention report. Make sure you go and have a look at hiss website for some great Birmingham comics and have a read of this – Matthew’s in need of a few good artists right now!

I can only support what he says about the real need for an ongoing Birmingham convention of one sort or another. And as usual I think we should all be thanking con organisers Andy, James and Shane for doing this year in, year out. See you there next year!

(news footage from the troubles in Manchester last night showing the damage to the storefront of FPI Manchester)

The Manchester store did take some damage to the windows, but as with the N&C store the day before it doesn’t look like they got into the actual store, so there was no looting, the staff were at home so they are all unharmed, thank goodness. I’ve also checked in with the N&C gang and our crew in Wolverhampton where there were disturbances last night too, N&C reports no new problems and fortunately our Wolverhampton store avoided any damage, although several of their neighbouring retailers were not so lucky (on a positive note though, volunteers are already out on the streets there helping clean up the mess, kudos to them). All of the stores are open for business today – it’s New Comics Day and by grud, we’ll be damned if any bunch of rioting mutie scum will stop us selling new comics today! We’re all open, we’re all fine, even if a couple are slightly battered, and again we’re all very moved and hugely cheered by the touching concern so many of our readers displayed on Twitter and on Facebook – you guys rock.

(view of some of the independent comics titles supported at the comics reader’s delight that is Birmingham’s N&C)

The good news is, despite the damage Kenny tells us that most importantly our Brum staff are okay, they were not present when it all kicked off thankfully. And they will be opening and trading as usual today. Comics lovers of Birmingham, N&C is a class store with a good history of staff who are passionate about the medium and who have supported the small and Indy presses as well as the big name titles, so if you are in the area please show the N&C crew some support and love. And indeed the same message of support to everyone else suffering from the shameful behaviour of these thugs in far too many areas. Peace out.

Paul Cornell and Jimmy Broxton were guests at our Nostalgia and Comics store in sunny Birmingham for Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, seen here relaxing with a cuppa generously laced with laudanum before the events kicked off (it’s how we keep the writers and artists manageable).

And of course it wouldn’t really be FCBD without some cosplaying!

(thanks to Dave at N&C for the pics)

It’s been a huge event for many years, taking place at Birmingham’s NEC, but this is the first year that Memorabilia will have it’s own dedicated Comics Village. A little smaller than the massive MCM London Expo Comic Village perhaps, but still nice to see the Midland show acknowledging comics properly after many years of having the artists sprinkled about the place in amongst the stars of TV, screen and football pitch.

Comic people appearing include John McCrea, Al Davison, Lizz Lunney, Matthew Craig, Philippa Rice, Laura Howell, Sean Azzopardi and more.

Full details at the Memorabilia site.

Lizz’s mini comic At the Planetarium was reviewed here on the blog by Richard just last week.

Prepare yourselves for some Doctor Who awesomeness coming to a venue near you soon! Prepare for excited kids demanding to be taken along and equally excited parents too for that matter! The monsters are coming! A new musical stage show featuring the monsters from Doctor Who – Daleks, Weeping Angels, Cybermen and more – is touring the UK this autumn, starting with the Wembley Arena in London (October 8th to 10th) through England, Scotland, Wales and finishing in Northern Ireland with Belfast shows in the Odyssey Arena (on the 6th and 7th of November). The perfect warm-up to this year’s Christmas Special Doctor Who. Excited? We are! Monsters! Special effects! Exclusive new videos (including Matt Smith scenes)! Murray Gold’s music! Jellybabies! Okay, maybe not jellybabies (but you can always bring your own). For more details check the official Doctor Who Live site.