The Castlefield Artisan Market is a new market for the canal-side area of Manchester’s city centre.

“A monthly (every 1st Sunday of the month) fine food, antique, vintage and craft market. Bringing some of the regions highly acclaimed Artisan food producers with interesting antique and vintage stalls.”

The MCC was there last month and will return again to sell the best of Manchester’s self published comics and a selection of Travelling Man’s small press section.

If you’d like to sell your work on the MCC Comics Stall it is totally FREE! Simply get it to me. Either bring it down, ideally, before 10am on the day or drop it off at Travelling Man (4 Dale Street) before 5pm on Saturday 3rd. Please label your stock ‘FAO MCC’.

Come along for a fine selection of comics as well as award winning food such as chocolate, curries, cakes and pies, plenty of other hand crafted products like jewellery and clothes and there’ll be a Jazz band and Swing Dancing too!

Come on down and get some Christmas shopping done early. Our comics make perfect gifts, waaay better than socks.

Here are some photos from last month:

Here I am (shivering) in the MCC Gazebo! The Hot Vimtos got me through but this month I will actually have a winter coat and thermal underoos, so I won't look quite so curmudgeonly.

Richard Hughes manning the stall in a manly fashion. What a man!

The open area of the market basking in the autumn sun. Our stall was located under the arches.

The Castlefield Market is a new market for the canal-side area of Manchester’s city centre.

“A monthly (every 1st Sunday of the month) fine food, antique, vintage and craft market. Bringing some of the regions highly acclaimed Artisan food producers with interesting antique and vintage stalls.”

Last month was the Market’s first event and I’m glad to say the MCC will be there this month at the second. I will be there selling my own comics (Blood Blokes #1 out now!) and a selection of Travelling Man’s small press section.

If you’d like to sell your work there too just GET IT TO ME, either bring it down before 10am on the day or drop it off at Travelling Man (4 Dale Street) before 5pm on Saturday 5th. Please label your stock ‘FAO MCC’. There is NO CHARGE for the table, it is totally FREE.

Come along for a fine selection of comics as well as award winning food such as chocolate, curries, cakes and pies, plenty of other hand crafted products like jewellery and clothes and (if it’s the same as last month) there’ll be Swing Dancing from 12-2pm.

I hope to see you there!

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)

Just a little note to say that the Andy Diggle talk at this week’s BIG Drink ‘n’ Draw will focus on the idea of literacy in comics and the medium’s potential as a learning aid for children. Joining us for the talk will be cartoonist and comics tutor Jim Medway! If you are at all interested in the role of comic books in education, you’d better not miss this talk at 6pm, Thursday 30th, at Sandbar.

The BIG Drink ‘n’ Draw is only ONE WEEK AWAY! Here’s a nifty poster for everyone to tweet about! Please feel free to use this image and blog about the event to help spread the word and make our first BIG DnD a success.

Just a reminder that the BIG Drink ‘n’ Draw is a FREE event and you can RSVP on the Facebook Event page.

This month we’re doing something a little more special than usual, the MCC and Sandbar will be hosting the first BIG Drink n’ Draw on the very first day of the Not Part Of Fringe Festival!

As always the Drink ‘n’ Draw will be FREE to attend, and we’ll have the usual drawing games, FREE snacks AND pizzas, FREE comics at the Comic Swap table, materials provided and 10% off at the bar! But that’s not all…

As part of the BIG Drink ‘n’ Draw we’ll have a LITTLE Comic Fair! We will have tables set aside for selling YOUR comics! We’ll have a few of table for creators with lots to sell and one communal table for anyone’s comics, minis or zines! Tables are FREE but limited, so please leave a comment to show your interest and I’ll be in touch! If you can’t make it but would like to sell your comics, please drop them off at Sandbar with a note saying “For the BIG Drink ‘n’ Draw”.

As if that wasn’t enough Matt Badham will be hosting an informal chat and Q&A with Andy Diggle, writer of The Losers, Daredevil and former editor of 2000AD! This will start about 6pm and last about an hour.

EDIT: Our second talk of the day will be with acclaimed writing duo Moore & Reppion about The Thrill Electric and their many other projects. This will start at 5pm and be followed by a Q&A.

AND the BIG Drink ‘n’ Draw will be continuing late into the night. There’s a comedy event starting at 8pm and after that a short film night running through the evening, but all the while the DnD will continue in a reserved area of Sandbar with a BIG Comic Jam on a Wall!

It’s going to be a brilliant, creative and social day and I hope to see as many people there as possible!

RSVP on the Facebook Event page and see who else is attending! Join the Drink ‘n’ Draw Facebook Group while you’re there too, for updates of all future events.

Venue:

Sandbar
120 Grosvenor Street
Manchester
M1 7HL
0161 273 1552
(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.

Timothy Winchester claims that this week is Jessica Fletcher week and if someone says something on the internet it must be true. All this week Tim is running Jessica Fletcher and Murder She Wrote themed comics on his webcomic, People I Know, and posting people’s drawings of the interfering sleuth on his blog. Today’s post features great pieces by Warwick Johnson Cadwell and Edward Ross!

So, at yesterday’s MCC Drink ‘n’ Draw, I challenged people to join in and pay homage to the wiley detective. Here, for our sins, is what we came up with.

Adam Cadwell (that’s me):

Kayla Hillier:

Rob Jackson:

Comic Jam 1: Jessica Fletcher Vs. Cthulhu:

There was some discussion at the DnD about how coquettish Joe List has drawn Jessica in the second panel of page 2. I won’t go into it here.

Comics Jam 2: Jessica Fletcher Vs. Twin Peaks:

Pete Batchelor (this one’s a touch risque):

Angela Lansbury, we are very sorry.

Firstly I know that this blog had been quite slow of late, something that will be rectified after Thought Bubble, but I felt this needed immediate attention.

After a trip to the States for the Webcomics Weekend, John Allison has returned to these shores dissatisfied, not with the talent here in the UK comics scene, but with the lack of ambition in many of those who hold it. The US has a very can-do attitude that is evident in all walks of life and I feel that Allison, with this Manifesto, is trying to shake us out of our rain-sodden lethargy and inspire us all to do better, think bigger and make some bloody money from our work.

Allison has turned off comments on this particular blog post so I thought I’d re-post his points here because, on the  I’d like to hear some discussion somewhere a little more permanent than Twitter. For Allison’s introduction this read the full blog post.

A MANIFESTO FOR UK INDIE COMICS IN 2010

1. Maybe living in the most expensive place in the country is not the best idea anyone ever had

If you want to do comics for a living, here’s an idea: don’t live in the capital. London may be the thriving, beating heart of UK culture, but if you want to stop working in a shop and doing your comics in the evening, try living somewhere cheaper. Which is to say, anywhere.

2. Small press: it is not 1994 any more

There are comics on the internet now. If you’re good enough, have a decent website, and keep a reliable schedule, you can have a whole career there. The notion of the primacy of a photocopied quasi-zine “small press scene” in the UK is ludicrous. 1 in 4 people in the world can speak English. Questionable Content has half a million readers. It is not rocket science.

3. Make comics for people who don’t make comics

Why is anyone other than your comic making friends and a few select interested parties going to read an art-damaged visual tone-poem about the inside of your psyche? Learn how to engage and entertain people. It’s a profoundly useful skill.

4. Forget what you learned at art school and read some business books

You need entrepreneurial chops to make a living from your art, or the help of someone who has them. It’s not that hard. You copy someone who has already succeeded. It usually works.

5. Making money from art is not vulgar

Art is a commodity. It makes people feel something. It raises the greater sum of human happiness. It increases the gaiety of the nation. It has a value.

6. Making pamphlets is ridiculous

Comic book pamphlets are largely read by ageing comic book fans looking for a monthly fix. Generating two such booklets a year is not medicine enough for anyone. Don’t fetishize the object, it is part of another era. There are now many better ways to reach an audience.

7. Diary comics: stop it

If your only comics outlet is a diary comic on the internet, you are wasting your time and your energy. The success stories in this field are the product of people with strong, often eccentric personalities and a robust visual vocabulary, capable of turning their lives into a compelling narrative. The 200 people who read your diary comic, on the other hand, all make their own dull diary comics. Or are about to start.

8. Read some actual books

If you want to learn how to construct proper narratives and tell good stories, stop reading comics. All you’ll ever do is produce watered down versions of the things you like. Read actual books, the hard ones without pictures in them. Comics are baby school, prose is hard graft.

9. A scene that celebrates itself has nothing to celebrate

The affirmation of your work by your friends in a small scene means nothing. No one is going to tell you that your work is bad to your face and risk being ostracised. Seek the widest audience for your work, if that’s what you want, then ask yourself why things are or aren’t working.

10. Being ambitious doesn’t equate to being unpleasant

Being ambitious doesn’t mean destroying the opposition. There is plenty of air to go round. It means doing your best work without simultaneously apologising for it.

And please, in replying I don’t wish to see any anger or hatred directed at John Allison for raising these points, just reply to the points themselves.

Abigail Ryder writes on her blog about the great time she had at last weekend’s British International Comics Show (BICS), highlighting all the other tables that she enjoyed and even features all the sketches she did over the two days.

And what a great red tablecloth they used, the MCC approves.