BURY Con 26

As we're up in the North West, we head further north after MaccPow and stay in a hotel in Bury so we're refreshed for the Bury Con.

It's our second and I love that we've already scoped out our favourite Indian Restaurant and know the local pubs.

We had a great curry, I have the mildest and Steve has the hottest on offer, and I ask them to the sure not to confuse them. After that we found two nice armchairs on the first floor of a busy pub and sat, with few beers, to eat h the England game. 

Hmmmm... the first half was pretty boring so we headed back the hotel at half time and watched a better half in the hotel bar.

It was a game of two halves.

The Con itself had moved venues and wasn't as busy as last year, but we did well enough.

Again it's great chatting to new readers and old alike, and to people who wondered just what on earth was going on 😆.

After the event we headed back south, I dropped Steve back at his and was home by about 8pm.

All in all a really enjoyable weekend, and hope to do the same next year.

MacPOW 26

We really enjoy the convention in the centre of Macclesfield.

I bought my first house in the outskirts of Macc many years ago and it's great to have an excuse to visit every year, I still love the town. 

Setting off around 6am, I pick up Steve Tanner on the way, and we arrived in Macc at around 9am. It has changed a bit over the years and I did get lost a little, I knew roughly where I was but didn't recognise the road I was looking for. I found it in the end and we arrived at the Town Hall, with comics, at 9.30am. 

Not idea as I do like to be early at events but it only takes me about 10 mins to set up the table.

This year I was sandwiched between Steve and Kev Sutherland, and as I had only a half table, focussed on the WesterNoir books.

It was great to meet up with old friends and meet new fellow creators. 

It's never a very busy event but it's great fun. 

We had enough sales to make it worth it financially too, which always helps.

We'll certainly be back in 2027, if they'll have us 😊.

Portsmouth Comic Con

So, last weekend was Portsmouth's Annual Comic Con.

I've done this for a few years now, and as it's only 1.5 hours away I tend to drive back and forth each day to save money that would be spent on a hotel room. Had I been travelling on my own then the current cost of petrol may have challenged this approach but this year I was bringing Gary Crutchley and his wife Karen (who were staying over at my place for the weekend) with me so it was definitely cheaper.

But, would we all be able to get up, out of the house and on the road, in time?

It all went very smoothly. We arrived in plenty of time and after two short trips between the car and my table we had sent up with plenty of time for a nice breakfast.

As always there were queues forming, which is nice to see.

Once again my table was in its usually position in the marquee and it's great when people look happy to find you.

We had a lot of people coming back to buy more, having bought our WesterNoir books over the last few years. In a couple of cases we even had people coming back to buy more having only just bought a book or two an hour earlier.

You get to see some great cosplays at this event and my favourite this year had to be the Planet of the Apes couple, with baby Ceasar.

It was great to catch up with a couple of fellow Dungeon and Dragons enthusiasts and continue to talk about our plans with regards a WesterNoir RPG. More on that in the future, but for now it's early days.

Sunday was much like Saturday. Yes it was a little quieter, as is usually the way of Comic Cons, but there were still lots of people to chat to about our books and sales weren't bad at all.

Portsmouth Comic Con really is a family affair. 

It has something for everyone.

Yes, it has a mostly comic theme to it but there are also computer games, authors with their books, role playing games, lessons on how to paint miniatures and of course a special area for TV and film celebrities. 

The Guildhall has something of of interest on every floor.

There were even said to be dinosaurs about the place..

..but I didn't see any.

It's great to be part of this event.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

Banbury Comic Con

Another well run comic con from the Bolt Events people. 

First outing for my new banner 😊

Yes, I should have put the table cloth lower to hide the boxes under the table but there you go.

I didn't do quite as well at this one as the families seemed to be there for the kids more than at Maidenhead, where the parents were also interested in stuff, but an enjoyable day.

Maidenhead Comic Con

Maidenhead is about 30 minutes away for me and their comic con had been suggested by both Gary Grutchley (he heard about it somewhere or other) and my barber (who'd been to the last one to look at a version of the Batmobile).

Two people who had never met (as far as I'm aware) mentioning the same event. Seemed like fate.

OK. 

I'm in. 

I contacted Bolt Comic Cons through their website and booked a table, pretty easy to do. 

I've been to small town comic cons before and whilst nice to be at the previous attempts had resulted in not too many people stopping to chat, let alone buy anything. But this was fated to happen, so it would be different wouldn't it?

It took me less that 30 mins to drive there, park up and find my table.

This was to be my first Con under my 4D Comics company name (I usually go along with Steve Tanner as part of the Timebomb set up). It felt nice to have 4D Comics on the table to greet me as I arrived.

The venue was a sports hall in a leisure centre. It was nicely spaced out and I had a fantasy author on the table next to me, with a person selling a load of graphic novels behind me. The rest of the tables were games and toys.

I was all set for doors opening.

The event started at 10am but they allowed a few people in before that, if they had a need (I heard later). I was pretty well attended, lots of families but unlike the one like this I did years ago, the parents weren't just there to follow their kids around. Lots of good chats with people and I sold a good number of books.

The event was well organised as well, and I'll certainly come back to the next BOLT Comic Con in Maidenhead and will also see of I can first any others in (they do quite a lot across the country).

I wasn't keen on the security though...

Portsmouth Comic Con will be here before we know it.

 

Portsmouth Comic Con is one of my favourites.

It is really well organised and is a really family oriented event.

Can't wait.

Thought Bubble 2026 and Bury Con

My application to the 2026 Thought Bubble, under my new 4D Comics company, has been accepted which is great news.

I've been at these events since they started in Leeds Town Hall many many years ago, as part of either AccentUK or TimeBomb Comics. It'll be strange doing this as 4D Comics but I'll have the usual support from Jemma and Gary so all is good.

Also, we've been accepted at the Bury event on the 28th June.

It's getting nice and busy.

POWER Con

Steve and I really enjoy our trips to Glasgow for the POWER and ACME events.

Well organised, easy to find and park at, a good number of people coming through the doors, friendly staff... what more could you ask for.

It's a long drive, which includes a slight diversion to pick up Steve Tanner in Brum and this year another detour to drop off Quantum 13 stock at the Diamond UK warehouse in Warrington. 

But it's worth it.

Stopping off at Tebay services (up and down) is always an added bonus, and breaks the journey up nicely.

We had good sales, lots of chats and it was great to have a customer who bought our black and white version of the WesterNoir Book One TPB come to the table to pick up Book Two.

And I managed to find a restaurant that did Crumble.

Of course, there was the slight embarrassment when Steve had to check out the Things... errr.. thing.

You really can't take him anywhere.

Comics Assemble!

Shane Chebsey is trying something new. 

A new convention that is aimed at keeping costs down as much as possible, and also hopefully attract a good number of potential customers.

Free with each table booked you get 10 free tickets, which you can sell for the £10 or give away, and then another 10 if needed. This is aimed at getting the creators to help raise the profile of the event but advertising the tickets to all of their readers. 

It's not a bad idea and worth a try... and worth supporting.

So, I have a table.

You can find out more over at Comics Assemble.

Thought Bubble next weekend.

Well, it's that time of the year again when many comic creators and readers head up North to Harrogate for the annual Thought Bubble.

If you love comics and haven't been then you really are missing out.

It's the UK's version of San Diego, back when it was all about comic books.

We're in the 2000AD hall this year, only on the single table (we felt greedy getting two the last couple of years and so decided to downsize) so it'll be a very tight squeeze. Find us at B28.

Please do pop by and see us if you're at the event.

It's a great end to the year. 

Well, that was EPIC

I really enjoy the Cons in Glasgow.

Jemma, my daughter, spent 4 years there doing her BA and I always enjoyed the city when visiting.

Steve and I have been to a few now, but this time we were forced to get an apartment in the city centre due to the ridiculously high priced hotel rooms. Turns out this worked out really well though as there were more food places to choose from and plenty of great little pubs. Also the trip in to the venue was only two stops on the train from the station that was only 10 minutes away from the apartment.

Yes, we'll be looking to do that again.

The two day event was busy for us on the Saturday and not so busy on the Sunday.

All in all we did pretty well though and were happy with the number of books we sold, the number of people we chatted to and the interest everyone showed in what we are doing. It was also great catching up with fellow creators.

I was particularly pleased that we sold some WesterNoir figures and badges.

It all helps 😀

I took this photo of Steve behind the banners
as I think it's kinder to everyone.

Had a great time and am looking forward to doing it all again in March.

EPIC Con in Glasgow

Steve and I are off up North on Friday for this weekend's ACME Con in Glasgow.

It's favourite of ours and one we look forward to.

Pop over and say 'Hi' if you're in the area.

Good fun at High Viz

Yesterday Steve, his daughter Sasha and I were at the High Viz event in Birmingham.

It's an event that I think has been going for quite a while, focussed on visual arts and mostly it seems art on buildings (is it still called Graffiti ?).

This year they were adding comics for the first time. 

To me it felt like a merging of the wonderful Portsmouth Con and the hard to get to Lakes event, in that it was very family oriented and spread across the town.

There were professional comic book people on display (Charlie Adlard, John Wagner and Hunt Emerson just to name a few) mixed in with independent comic creators (and a guys selling back issues who took cash off of me in exchange for some issues of EPIC).

I spent a lot of time chatting with Hunt Emerson, a legend of the UK Comic scene and also to a number of other creators whose work I respect. I was humbled to be asked to sign a lot of my old books and when chatting to another guy to be told how our work is respected.

A great day out. 

If you live in the Birmingham area then it's well worth a visit next year. I'll certainly go again if offered the chance.

Next weekend Steve and I will be at MaccPow (on the Saturday) and Bury Comic Con (on the Sunday). No peace for the wicked.

It was great to be back at Copenhagen Comic Con

It's been a few years since we've been to the Copenhagen Comic Con, 8 years in fact for me.

This year however my old partner in AccentUK, Colin, and I decided to go back. To catch up with our many friends over there, and see if they still remembered us :o)

This year we stayed as close to the central train station as we could, as the new venue for the event was out of town and would require us to use a train every day.

The Astoria hotel was originally built for train workers and whilst a little narrow it was exactly what we needed. Clean and safe. And the staff were very friendly and helpful.

The structure on the roof helped me locate it too.

It was a new venue, for the Con and for us, but we found it fairly easily (despite using the Metro which was undergoing engineering works that forced us to use a bus as well... reminded me of the UK). 

We found it well signposted though...

and the venue itself was well attended 

Admin was well managed and we were quickly in the hall with no hassle at all.

The Con was actually good fun, it was great to see that in Denmark the comic scene is very healthy with many comics (from the USA and Europe) having Danish translated versions. 

During and after the Con we met up with our good friend Arnie, who runs the great ArtBubble event later in the year, and he took us for a drink in the Comic Cafe (which has its own bar).

Colin and Arnie

After the event we also caught up with Soren, who used to own the Fantask comic shop. We had a very enjoyable afternoon and evening just chatting and actually found a pub that Soren had never been to before.

Colin and Soren

I really enjoyed the trip and am looking forward to returning next year.

Copenhagen Comic Con

This weekend my old AccentUK partner in crime, Colin Mathieson, and I will be at our first Copenhagen Con for quite a few years. 

Really looking forward to it.

Hope to catch up with a lot of Danish friends.

Do pop by and say 'Hello' if you're in the area.

Portsmouth Comic Con

What a great event. 

It has always been one of my favourites, well run, well attended and a great diversity of comic and toy related stuff on offer.

I arrived pretty early Saturday morning, you can never predict how motorway driving is going to go so I set off pretty early. I know the area around the Guildhall now though and knew the car park near the event that is easy to get stock between the two.

I was so early I interrupted a fox going about his morning business...

He gave me that kind of 'This is my bin, find your own' look.

The venue is well signposted...

and once you've managed to get your pass (a very easy experience (maybe because I was so early) and you're treated by all ECTO 1 and the DeLorean Time Machine (much bigger than my Lego version)... oh.. and Slimer...

and you're in.

I experimented a bit this year, as I was on my own I didn't have to try to persuade anyone, and only took my WesterNoir related books and merchandise, and Quantum comics.

Happy with the simpler look, sometimes I think less is actually more.

The event was great. Had lots of people spot the figures and come across for a chat (and some purchases) and then the usual mix of new customers and customers returning from previous years to pick up the latest issue(s).

I met up with a lot of people and made some new friends.

Some interesting potential future developments, but I won't jinx anything here and now, let's see how things go.

So, full credit to Kurt and the organisers, another very successfully run and fun family event. 

And the queues outside we long and well managed too...

I'll be back next year...

If they'll have me.

Glasgow's First Power Con

Nothing says Power more than the Incredible Hulk, and nothing annoys an Incredible Hulk more than a bloke from Birmingham criticising his attire.

Whilst it was the first Power Con, it was very much the successor of the very enjoyable ACME Cons of the past few years and so we knew exactly where to do and what to do.

We stayed in our usual hotel, situated close enough to the venue and surrounded by nice eateries and pubs. I was even tempted by the Haggis offered for breakfast.

As they say is Scotland, 'When in Scotland do what the Scots do'.

Not sure I'll try it again though.

Two days of seeing people collect signatures from voice actors of programs I've never even heard of (although one was Victor from Arcane (a great show and great character) and chatting to anybody who stopped long enough at our table. We had a pretty successful con all in all. 

Yes, there were long quiet periods.

Yes Celtic had a home game on Sunday. 

The weather, oddly for Glasgow, Wes dry and sunny (not that we saw much of that being oil the hall most of the daylight hours).

Mr Fudge did well 

helped as he was by the shortest StormTrooper I have ever seen.

And we parked our car next to the Scottish GhostBuster, just to be on the safe side.

Who are no feart fan nae Ghost 😄

Had a great Con, looking forward to the one in winter.

Forgot to add this...

 

Thought Bubble 2024

It's been a few weeks since the last Convention of the year and I've been busy with family things and not found time to write up a few words on how it was for me and Time Bomb Comics.

This year I decided to not bother with Premier Inn but got us rooms in a local hotel. I've been annoyed at how much prices for Premier Inn have risen over the last few years. it was a great decision, not only was the hotel well positioned, clean and well staffed, it was where a lot of the comic book professionals were staying. This meant a few pints after the Con with a lot of people we'd got to know over the years and also the opportunity to make some new acquaintances.

This year the Con had an additional hall. Whilst this is great news for anybody going to buy comics it is always going to have an impact on people at the Con trying to make things work financially. With a couple of new books on sale and the WesterNoir figures being launched we did pretty well but not as well as we'd have liked. Also, I spent a bit more myself than I normally do due to the wealth of great looking books available.

All in all it was, as always, a great end to the comic convention year.

Always great to catch up with fellow creatives and feed off of the energy and enthusiasm for the medium. Also great to catch up with regular customers who have kindly supported our efforts over the years.

Convention schedule for 2025

I've just added our initial convention schedule for 2025 (on the right).

Hope to see some of you at some of them.