Next Saturday sees the very first Manchester MCM Expo! For months following its announcement there was no news about the event and simply a holding image on their website of Spidey humping the old G-Mex. Finally, late last month the site went live and shortly after that the ‘Artist’s Alley’ line up was announced, the equivalent of the Comics Village at the much larger London shows. Tables are free for creators and a nice handful of talent will be there on the day including…

Special Guests Leigh Gallagher (Dafoe, 2000AD), Marc Ellerby (Chloe Noonan, CBGBs), Anthony Johnston (Wasteland, Daredevil) and John McCrea (loads of stuff). Plus Lizz Lunney, Timothy Winchester, Joe List, Rob Jackson, Dumpy Little Robot, Accent UK, Graham Pearce and me Adam Cadwell and lots more.

As well as all the other movies, games, anime, manga and merchandise stalls there’ll be a few stars there doing signings (I don’t know if this is free or not) including Warwick Davis which I’m most excited about!

I suspect there’ll be a few other comic folks hanging around too, taking advantage of the fact that people are travelling TO Manchester for a comic show for a change. As for after party shenanigans I don’t know of any official event, so I’m thinking of picking a pub and telling everyone to go, therefore creating an MCC MCM After Party. Just rolls off the tongue doesn’t it? More on that soon.

AND for anyone staying in Manchester overnight, there’ll be the AWARD WINNING monthly Drink ‘n’ Draw event on the Sunday, 4pm -8pm at Sandbar, free entry, free snacks and pizza, free comics and 10% off at the bar. It’d be nice to see some out of towners join in.

Any additional info or suggestions for an after party venue, please leave your comments below.

TICKETS (More info here)

EARLY ENTRY OPENING – Saturday: 9.30am to 5pm (Last ticket sale 10.55am)
£8 each regardless of Adult or Child, includes booking fee.

GENERAL OPENING – Saturday: 11am to 5pm (Last ticket sale 4pm)
Adult Ticket: £5 (15 years old & above)
Child Ticket: £3 (11 to 14 years old)
Kids Go Free: (10 years old and below)
*Children (10 years old & below) gain Free Entry if accompanied by a full paying adult (restricted to 2 children per full paying adult) The ‘Kids Go Free’ offer only applies to ‘General Entry’ tickets.

VENUE

Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex)
Petersfield
Manchester
M2 3GX
(Map)

Towards the end of last year I posted a summary of all the comic conventions listed in the Calendar section of this site (which you can add to your computer’s calendar btw). This year instead of creating individual posts for events months and months ahead of us, I thought I’d create the summary first and post more info nearer the time of each show. So here’s a list of all the comic conventions, shows, fairs and fests that I am aware of. If you know of any more, please leave a comment.

February 26th – Cardiff International Comic Expo (CICE)

As well as Charlie Adlard (Walking Dead), the fantastic Rob Davis (Don Quixote) and a host of Dr Who artists and writers, Manchester’s own Abigail Ryder (2000AD, TMNT) and Dave Bulmer (Demon Tomato) will there too. Also, premiering at the show will be a double preview issue of Stiffs and The Pride, both by Joe Glass (co-writer and writer, respectively) with art by rising talent Gavin Mitchell.

March 12th – London Small Press Expo

The London SP Expo is the successor to the long running but now defunct Web & Mini Comix Thing (aka The Thing) and will play host to a wealth of British self published talent, far to many to mention here. Special guests are David Hine and Shaky Kane (Bulletproof Coffin).

March 19th – Leeds Alternative Comic Fair

After the success of the first show last year, Steve Tillotson and Hugh Raine bring us another collection of fine artists and writers, selling there wares in the welcoming confines of The Nation of Shopkeeper’s bar.

April 9th-10th – Kapow!

Mark Millar’s newest attempt to make comics cool (though he called it Kapow!) was to envision a Comic Con for London promising big names, movie studio announcements, TV stars and the Stan Lee Awards. All in a hall for 3000 people. Table prices are £140 each, so don’t expect any self published artists or smaller publishers to be there.

May 14th-15th – Bristol Small Press Expo

May 27th-29th – London MCM Expo

The Comic Village section of this movies, games and anime show gets bigger and better each year; it’s a good sized comic show in it’s own right. 50,000-80,000 people are expected to pass through it’s doors over the three day show which will be affiliated with the Green Lantern movie, so expect plenty of film and TV related panels and events. And for exhibitors, tables are just £40!

May 28th-29th – International Alternative Press Fair

As part of a festival of comics running from the 27th May to the 13th June,featuring exhibitions at Orbital Comics and much more.

July 9th – Birmingham Zine Festival

Lizz Lunney & Co. are at it again. A weekend of independent books, comics and magazines.

July 31st – Manchester MCM Expo

This Summer for the first time, the MCM Expo comes to Manchester for a one day show. There will be a dedicated Comic Village portion of the show and the MCC may be involved in organising it. Much more news over the coming months.

October – British International Comics Show

Dates to be confirmed.

October – London MCM Expo

Autumn show. dates to be announced.

November 19th-20th – Thought Bubble

Tim Sale has already been announced as one of this year’s big guests, and the wonderful original art by Becky Cloonan has been revealed. Follow the Official Thought Bubble Blog for more information about what is widely regarded as the best comic show in the UK.

There’s a lot of comic shows coming up in the next couple of months though you may have missed them all as I’ve been blogging about them when I’ve heard about them so, I thought a summary was in order. Of course, you can always check the Calendar section of the site or the ever present Calendar in the sidebar. Both of which you can subscribe to to update your computer’s calendar automatically.

Sept 11th – Birmingham Zine Fair

MCC event page
Official website

Sept 18th – Leeds Alternative Comics Fair

MCC event page
Official website

October 16th-17th – British International Comics Show

MCC event page
Official website

October 30th-31st – London MCM Expo

MCC event page
Official website

November 20th – Thought Bubble: Leeds Sequential Arts Festival

MCC event page
Official website

November 28th – Alternative Press Fair

MCC event page
Official website

And that’s the rest of the comic shows for this year in the UK. If there’s any I’ve missed please let me know.

EDIT: I’ve kindly been informed about the Alt Press Fair which I have duly added. If there are any others, get in touch.

With the announcement earlier this year that the long running UK Web & Mini Comix Thing was calling it a day, it was clear that someone had to fill it’s shoes. Enter the people behind Fallen Angel Media (an independent printing and publishing house) who, when the Bristol International Comics Expo downsized and moved venues last year, stepped in and organised the Bristol Comic & Small Press Expo to cater for all the self published artists cast aside by the conventions smaller scale.

The London SPExpo looks set to be a classy affair, held in the Art Deco main hall of Goldsmith’s University. I expect the majority of exhibitors from the Thing over the last few years will be there. Indeed Manchester’s own John Allison and Joe List are already on the line up (and I’m planning on being there too).

It hasn’t been announced if there’s an entrance fee or not yet. The Thing had a £5 ticket price so if they do I’m guessing it won’t be more than that.

For exhibitors, a table is £35 until 31st December. See the site application info.

More news as it happens.

Goldsmiths, University of London
Lewisham Way
New Cross
London SE14 6NW (map)

It’s about time, eh? A big comic show for Manchester! It was announced earlier this week that the MCM Expo, easily one of the biggest geeky events in the country, is holding an event in Manchester next Summer on the 30th July. It will be held at “Manchester Central” which is the new name for the refurbished GMEX.

While the show is devoted to more than just comics, Cosplay and Anime play a huge part as does promotion for upcoming movies and games, the ‘Comic Village’ part of the London events is quickly growing in size with more and more big name creators appearing each time, for example Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith.

For more info take a look at the London Expo’s site for the full press release. I’ll bring you more news about the event nearer the time when more details and guests have been confirmed.

Tickets for one of the fastest growing and down right fun comics shows in the UK have gone on sale on the Leeds Council’s sexy website.

Here’s a quick note from Thought Bubble organiser Clark:

You can buy tickets
– online at http://bit.ly/9SA2Hv
– by phone on 0113 2243801
– in person at the city centre box office on Millennium Square (Leeds)

PLEASE NOTE: we DO NOT send tickets out in the post – if they’re purchased online or by phone you can either pick the tickets up in advance from Leeds Millennium Square city centre box office, or on the day of the convention from Saviles Hall (the convention venue itself).

Box office opening hours are 10am – 8pm Monday to Saturday.

Full information on this year’s festival can be found on the website http://www.thoughtbubblefestival.com

Thanks, and we hope to see you all in November!

(The MCC Calendar page for this year’s Thought Bubble is here)

Venue:
ExCel Centre
One Western Gateway
Royal Victoria Dock
London
E16 1XL

More info forthcoming.

A favourite of many creators in the UK comic scene, Thought Bubble returns bigger and better than ever. Check the site for an incredible line up of artists including John Romita Jr (Kick Ass), Jock (The Losers), Adi Granov (Iron Man), Duncan Fegredo (Hellboy) and Tony Harris (Starman) among many others plus a great schedule of talks, panels, workshops and screenings. Here’s the blurb from their site:

“The Thought Bubble Festival is the UK’s largest four day annual event which celebrates sequential art in all its forms, including everything from superheroes to independent small press. We are a non profit making organisation dedicated to promoting comics and graphic novels as an important cultural art form. Taking place at a variety of venues across the city, our aim is to cater to both long-time comic book fans and those who have never picked up a graphic novel before! Thought Bubble will take place 18th – 21st November 2009 with a centre-piece one day convention on Saturday 20th.

Thought Bubble will include art and writing based workshops for young people and adults, panels and talks lead by industry professionals and a programme of sequential art related film screenings. The special one day convention includes an incredible line up of leading artists and writers, and over 200 tables selling comics and merchandise. The day will also feature portfolio viewings and competitions. This promises to be one of the best events of its kind in the UK, where you’ll be able to meet some of your favourite comic book creators and browse the huge selection of memorabilia on sale – brought to you by the biggest and best exhibitors and dealers from across the country.”

Thought Bubble Convention,
Saviles Hall, Leeds,
Saturday 20th November

Adults £10
Breeze Card Holders £6 (pay on the door)
Cosplayers £6 (pay on the door)
Under 12′s are free

Check the official site for more information and guest announcements:

http://www.thecomicsshow.co.uk

“The UK’s largest event devoted to comics of all kinds returns for it’s fifth year with another international guest list and packed events schedule.

Guests this year include: Yuko Shimizu, Tommy Lee Edwards, Mike Carey, Peter Gross and Mahmud A Asrar to name but a few. We have 100 exhibitors from all areas of the industry including 2000ad, Markosia, Panini, Cinebook, Egmont, Random House, and a wonderful selection of UK independent publishers, not to mention all the UK’s top dealers offering bargains galore all under one roof – our state of the art Venue in Birmingahm – Think Tank at Millennium Point.

Ticket Prices are held to last year’s as follows:
Weekend Pass: £20
One Day Pass: £12
Kids go half price and under fives go FREE!
Hope to see you there!”

The Think Tank, Millennium Point
Curzon Street, Birmingham

Organized By: Shane Chebsey, James Hodgkins and Andy Baker
Phone: 01952 770013