Summer time is upon us and so is the London Comic Con at MCM Expo.  Which thank fully also completes my recent trilogy of weekly conventions.  This may be the biggest & the best though.  You will find me as a guest within the Comic Village based on stall E3. Here is a link to the Floor Plan for all you crazy kids.


The show will be running inside the London Excel Centre situated in the heart of the docklands from the 25th - 27th May.  It will feature everything from cosplay and comics the latest videogames, merchandise and autographs.  There will be an MCM Fringe Festival with events taking place inside and outside the halls.  While the special guests, include the likes from Elvira to Danny DeVito!


MCM Expo London Comic Con show opens on Friday 2 -7!  With the main doors opening to the public from 9am - 6pm Saturday & 10am - 5pm Sunday.


For more on MCM EXPO LONDON COMIC CON visit:www.londonexpo.com
 

KAPOW! 2012

22/05/2012

 

This was the second time I have attended Kapow.  The first time I was on the guest list and just went along to enjoy the show.  So let me start out by saying this time around I really didn't get to see much of the show.  I arrived 20 minutes before the opening of Kapow with the queue for the event already snaking itself around the courtyard. I swiftly found my way to my table where I was squeezed between Adi Granov and Barry Kitson so I knew there was bound to quite the crush.

Picture
I was joined for the weekend on my stall by the fantastic John-Paul Bove who was there to digitally colour any sketches requested & to keep me supplied with Jaffa Cakes.

He had a nifty little set up where he was scanning, colouring and printing out finished art pieces for fans.
Of which Dark Judge Fire here is an example

From the start of the day I was sketching and didn't get the chance to stop. In fact I found this show so busy that for the first time at a convention I didn't head into the bar at the end of a long day.  But back to the hotel room to continue with a backlog of sketches & sketch covers to finish.


The sunday came and went in similar fashion with my head down sketching.  I actually had to turn away sketches from 1 o'clock just to make sure I could complete those already requested. Which was something I can honestly say I do not like doing.  This was partly due to a rather strange closing time of 3.30pm. Which is very unusual for a convention of this sort. I literally finished my final sketch as the doors were shutting.

All in all I had a great, but busy weekend. I enjoyed the atmosphere, the people that came along to chat. Even the the cosplayers that I saw were great. The only thing I regret, is that because I was so busy, I didn't get to look around the show myself.
Picture
Megatron crushing Spider-Man Sketch Cover
 

BRISTOL COMIC EXPO

16/05/2012

 

This years Bristol Expo started out very different for me.  With an early start I caught the train and was on my way to Bristol from just after 6.00 and had booked a table seat so I could get on with sketches along the way.  Out of quite an empty carrage three other travelers had decided to locate there.  It turned out they were also on their way to the Bristol show, so there was no shortage of questions on my way there.  What made the journey more unusual was the two rather drunk and slightly stoned women on their way to a festival of sorts.  They kept me entertained if not disturbed for the rest of the journey.  By the time we arrived at the station the one reveler' could barely stand.  Which was quite amusing as she had been performing her Breast and Bum dance on the way into the station.  

The Bristol Comic Expo itself has been moved back into the Engineers shed, which is directly attached to Bristol Train Station. Right back to where the Event originally began and a far better location than spreading the show over two hotels as has been done in previous years.  Though curiously a few artists were still placed within the Ramada Hotel along with the Talks & The Draw the World Together charity.  From what I saw within the main Hall there was plenty of room to accommodate all of these into where the main convention was.  Though the footfall did not seem heavy on the day I have been reliably informed the attendance had gone up from the previous year.  The space within the Engineers shed may simply have made it seem lesser attended than previously.  Happily I found myself busy throughout the day with people that had specifically come out to see me but also plenty of new people in the mix.

One of the things I did notice that was missing from before was the lack of european visitors to the show.  Always a big part of the crowd my only guess is they have decided to move on to the bigger shows such as Kapow.  The other noticeable thing from the show was the lack of advertising. With no outward sign the show was going on at all, a huge market of people were missed out.  With great transport links to compete with any other show, there could of been more effort to capitalize on this.  Interestingly one of the passengers on the train I chatted to had a sister meeting her at the station that actually wants to break into comics. As it turns out even she was unaware the Brisol show was taking place. Which says a lot.

I had a great time catching up with people at the show even if it was ever so briefly.  There has not been a year go by that I have not attended Bristol.  So lets hope now the Event is back to its original home, it will grow from there. Fingers crossed I will be there too.
 
 

I am pleased to announce with a little bit of Trepidation My Convention Schedule for May.  With so many great ones to choose from I thought which should I pick?

So I thought why not All of Them!

I will be attending: 

The Bristol Comic Expo    May 12th(Saturday only)

Kapow Comic Con              May 19th-20th

London Comic Con             May 25th -27th  


I am now taking pre-order Commissions
for All 3 of these events:

A4 = £20
A3 = £60


Simply go to the CONTACT section to place your orders
 
 

The NEC Memorabilia show has been re-branded as The Memorabilia/MCM Birmingham Comic Con. Two events spread over two Halls but open and inter-connected.  This is a show with wide appeal which has vastly changed since its beginnings back in 94'. The show had a great atmosphere which really added to making it feel like a fun day out.  The cosplay was excellent and had vastly improved in quality and number from the last event.


I had quite a few random requests over the weekend. There was the usual Transformers and Super Hero characters to draw, but these were vastly overwhelmed by the range and diversity of requests that came in. Lego Sherlock Holmes, Bruce Lee, BatFink vs. Mr Mxyzptlk were but a few.
Which is something I can say I really enjoyed!


All though I was sat behind a desk for the weekend, I did get an opportunity to take a peek at the show.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and I personally had a fun weekend meeting some great people old and new.  The one thing I had trouble with was lifting my head up from the desk when sketching to see what was around me. Doh!


I was also asked to Judge the Entries for the Art Competion that was sponsored by Letraset.  I thoroughly enjoyed this, There were some good entries and others that provided me with a good chuckle. Intentional or not I do not know.  Overall I had a great weekend amongst some great people, I hope everyone enjoyed the show as much as I did.


 
 
Picture

It's spring time, which is also Memorabilia time.  Or is that now MCM time? I guess it's now both.  MCM Expo Comic Con are launching a Birmingham show.  You will find me as a guest within the Comic Village which is now placed within the MCM banner.


This will be running alongside the Memorabilia show at the NEC on weekend of 31 March – 1 April, the new show will feature everything from cosplay and comics to DDR and the latest videogames, while Memorabilia will continue to feature special guests, merchandise and autographs.


MCM Expo Birmingham Comic Con will take place in Hall 10 right next to Memorabilia in Hall 11, and you'll be able to go freely between each event, regardless of what time of day it is and which ticket you have! Not only that, but prices will remain the same, with Early Entry remaining at £15 and General Entry for only £10.

 

MARS ATTACKS!

22/03/2012

 
Picture

I am pleased to announce I will be a part of the new Topps
MARS ATTACKS HERITAGE CARD SETS.
There will be an Original 1-of-a-kind Sketch Card in every box,
Of which I am contributing over 299 to!
That's 300 in New money. ;)

The box sets will also contain:

-55 Classic Reprints
-10 'Lost' cards based on unused Wally Wood sketches
-15 New Universe cards set within the all-new comic book

It's going to be a busy few months!

 
 
Picture


Here is the latest Commission piece direct from my studio, STORM SHADOW.


This GI JOE, or for some of us retro UK fans ACTION FORCE classic COBRA villain is to go alongside a SNAKE EYES sketch I produced for Chief Stride at the London Super Comic Convention.


Where Snake Eyes was produced on Blue, for STORMY here Red Paper was the choice of the day with lots of white out used to pop the picture.


I enjoyed producing this Picture so much,
I just thought It would be unkind not to share it.
;D


 
 

You Joking?  2012 Is going to be great! :D


After much tweaking and tinkering you will now find the New NEWS Page at the forefront of this website.
No hold back your tears, the old Blogspot News Page still lives and has not disappeared. Simply look under the News section and you will find it lurking ever present in disguise as The NEWS ARCHIVE.

Or of course you could just click to the the right on the Blogger Logo.

With everything now under one roof so to speak, or more accurately on one website you wont need a Sat Nav to navigate.  No getting lost down narrow country lanes here. 


To the Right of the Main Page you will find Links to all my Social Media, with plenty more to come.


More on that soon!

Over the next few weeks I will be releasing details of my convention Schedule, with Projects in the Pipeline and Products soon to follow, join me on my Magical Mystery Tour of 2012.


You can still contact me with any inquires through the CONTACT section. I can't always get back to you instantly, but once I fight my way through the goblin hordes, I will get back to you.


2012. It's going to be a fun. :D