The day I made a comic book convention.

Well that was intense...

On Saturday August 18th all the hard work of the last four months paid off when Megacon Carlisle lifted off the ground. I was one of three organizers for the event (bookseller Levi McGinchley and events wunderkid Graham Barke were representatives for Waterstones, who hosted the event in association with Diamond).

Held at the Richard Rose Academy in the centre of border city Carlisle, it was our intention to unite the various tribes of popular culture fans for one event. This was without doubt the biggest thing I've ever put together, but after supportive friends had encouraged to 'just do it', I found the experience exhilarating. I will be writing more extensively about Megacon Carlisle with ComicBooked but this is my personal blog, so you'll be getting my personal response.

We made a few mistakes which I'm sure will be rectified for next year but I believe - on the whole - myself, Graham and Levi did a good thing, both for ourselves and the area. From the reports I'm gathering, a lot of people had a great day.

Highlights for me included moderating a panel starring artist Sean Phillips (Fatale, Incognito, Marvel Zombies), former 2000AD editor Andy Diggle (The Losers, Daredevil, Green Arrow: Year One), and Jim Alexander (Gabriel, Birds of Prey, Amongst The Stars). These were our headlining guests so it was incredibly nerve-wracking to step up to the plate and try and get them to open up and  divulge some industry secrets. It really was an honor. 


I also got to catch up with Stacy Whittle (SFX, Into the Woods anthology) to record an interview for her podcast which I greatly enjoy. Due to having so much to organize I didn't get to catch up with everyone I wanted to but those creators who I admire as professionals and friends proved a joy in the moments I got to chat with them - writer/illustrator Mal Earl; Sha and John from Black Hearted Press; Colin Bell, who's currently working on the brilliant Detective Space-Cat; my friend and colorist Matt Soffe and a hundred and one other amazing comics professionals who I'm sure will be furious I've forgotten as I type this.

As a side-note, you can always rely on cosplayers and for their dedication and energy at any convention.

My favourite part of the whole day was seeing my friends from Disconnected Press and Accent UK. Novellist and 'Thaddeus Mist' contributor Max Deacon and Disconnected's Conor Boyle (who is also my collaborator on Thaddeus) joined Colin Mathieson, Dave West and myself for the Accent UK panel.

Having previously felt the comic-book pulse of Carlisle I knew there were some wannabe creators out there (some of them still in school!) and so we tweaked our discussion to how to create for yourself and begin down this beautiful but treacherous road that is making comics. Having so many turn up to this panel, consisting of my favourite writers and artists, was humbling, and it remains the highlight of my comic career so far.

We also gave out some Megacon exclusive Thaddeus Mist prints designed by Mal Earl for those cheap bastards that just wanted free shit! I jest!

At which point Accent UK sped off to sell lots of books and Conor sketched until the sun was going down. After the convention a few of us his The Circle bar to talk comics and argue about whether Raiders is better than Temple (Max: Temple, everyone else: Raiders).

Lizzie and Conor Boyle are true heroes of mine, and they give me hope that this industry is not the poisonous snake-pit some have reported, but an arena for craftsmen and artists, who work hard and play hard (I'm billing them both for paracetamol in the wake of my hang-over). In short, good people who make comics all day.

Assorted press from:
Forbidden Planet International
Down The Tubes
Birmingham Mail
Cuttlefish Comics
SFX
The Cumberland News

I personally want to thank every single person who made Megacon Carlisle possible, from the biggest artist to the dude who drove the Yu-Gi-Oh bus; students like Conor's superhero gang who helped lug stock and attend Richard Rose, to Tommy at the Imagination Station comic store on Bank Street for publicizing the event months before without ever seeing reward. From me, thank you all.

I wasn't getting paid a penny for my work by Waterstone's, but financial reward (perhaps foolishly) wasn't my main motivator for staging Megacon Carlisle. Comics kept me alive when I was a teenager living in a village just outside Carlisle. Thanks to the support and allowance granted by my parents I would make weekend pilgrimages from my cottage in Kirkoswald to the not-so-bright lights of the city to pick up my weekly stash of comics from Imagination Station. These first formative experiences are chronicled in my article 'Welcome To Planet Nerd' which can be found at Tales From The Parent's Basement


 It was on these train rides to my comic book treasure that I would find chance encounters with other comics fans like Ian (who I was delighted to bump into at Megacon after literally ten years had passed!). We would debate about how Batman was going to order the chaos of No Man's Land; how Ultimate Spider-Man was, like, our generation's Spider-Man!; how much we just heart-breakingly, passionately loved comics. Cumbria, for those who don't know, is an incredibly rural area; villages miles apart, attractions scarce. It was 10-minute conversations with other kids about movies, music, comics, EVERYTHING that made school more bareable, self-harm more preposterous, life less painful, as if someone had taken to printing multicolored dots all over it and plastered it with ten foot high letters so that each bully-punch came with a KA-POW and each chance encounter with that girl you kinda-sorta fancied at school was laced with Poison Ivy pheromone.

That's why I organized Megacon. To make other young kids (and they made the convention for me) feel like they weren't alone and that they should have a comic collection if they need one.

 OJ
OX

Glasgow Comic Con

Risking life and landslide, I decided to haul ass to Glasgow last weekend for the Glasgow Comic Con. A relatively small con in its second year, the event was hosted by the boys from Black-Hearted Press in the Mackintosh Church on the outskirts of the city.

I lost an hour or so in Hope Street Studios, but when I returned Jim Starlin was signing, and the gentleman happily chatted and signed issues of 'Death In The Family' that I remember hiding for fear my mother would spy the battered carcass of Jason Todd, skin and circus colors in ribbons, and ban me from reading them. When I look back at that artwork, dated by fashion and yellowed with time, what I remember is the intensity of the reading experience. 

Highlights also included discussing the thyroid problems of Grant Morrison's cat (with the man himself) and getting an informal portfolio session with Eddie Deighton from Com.X. Eddie gave some great advice on what I was doing right in my art but - more importantly - what I was doing wrong, and I managed to pick up some of their output (Seeds and BlueSpear). So far I've only read Seeds by Ross Mackintosh, but it impressed me, concerning itself with tackling a potentially overwhelming grief with good humor and domestic ritual (look out for the recurring hand-soap motif). All in all, quite hypnotic. 

Unfortunately I missed people I wanted to catch up with (Colin Bell of the wonderful Jonbot vs. Martha and Detective SpaceCat - who I'm happy to report did a sterling trade) and Jim Alexander, due to lanyard malfunction and scheduling duels. But hopefully that can be rectified at future conventions. Glasgow is an exciting place to be right now if you're a comic creator, and if I have to develop a functional Boom tube, I will be in attendance next year. 

Thanks to John and the rest of the team at Blackhearted Press for a great time. 

OJ 

OX

Roll the film...

I've neglected you, dear blog, for far too long. Spinning plates like a crazy-person but until I get chance to give you much needed attention, a quick scan from Reel Love, work-in-progress/labor of love/fool's errand of the moment.

Ink-wash is boss. That is all.

The Brits are coming...

This is really a plug for my good pals at Accent UK. Editors will be arriving in New York next weekend to show off the goods at Mocca (Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art, for those not in the loop).

I believe their new title 'WesterNoir' is being printed in time for the event. I've seen it and I can attest that it's pretty freakin' excellent. This will also be the only convention the higher ups at Accent UK will be attending this year, therefore the only chance US fans can get a glimpse of the mega-graphic novel 'Who On Earth Was Thaddeus Mist?' before proof and review copies are sent out prior to release. Dave West himself it taking some samples and previews to the event so if you ask him nicely - and perform the secret hand-shake - I'm sure he will welcome you into a smoky gentleman's club and unveil some of the mysteries... ...or get him really drunk and he'll probably tell you how the whole thing ends, and sing a Bowie Station to Station track until you both get thrown out! OJ OX

Reel Love

So, I started writing and drawing a new comic book.

This one kinda came out of nowhere. I had been having idea-sketches happen for a while with these characters but had no clue my brain would force me to work on it so soon.
I don't want to tell too much because I'm not sure there's much to tell yet, I'm not sure what it wants to be (I work that way) or how long. I'm not sure whether I'll self-publish or look for someone to put it out. It's a really personal story with ten foot witches and ray-guns. Absolutely all of it is true.

It also has a tentative title, but knowing me (I decide pretty quickly and stick with it) that is going to be the final title; Reel Love. It's about having a relationship with the entity of cinema, as told from the point of view of the art-form. It's got people I've known and people I want to know.

I've been working on it purely for fun, as a sort of experiment, and for some reason those always turn out to be projects I rate most highly. A lot of my time is taken up making sure Thaddeus Mist happens, but I've managed about ten pages of this in downtime before working on new scripts. Writing and drawing together, it's a much more intangible and rewarding process than I was expecting.

OJ OX

Zombies 2 in Previews March!!!

Zombies 2 (featuring 'Fever Dreams' by myself) is now available to pre-order through your March Previews catalogue. Get your candy ass into your local comic store and order one, pronto. Indie comics do not survive without people like YOU laying down the benjamins. We appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Thanks!

Thaddeus Mist and related treasures

The artist team on 'Who On Earth Was Thaddeus Mist?' have been working hard to bring the whole thing alive in recent months (and a comic book is never really alive until an artist magics them out of thin air with just paper and ink). I thought I'd take this opportunity to share how excited I am. Every single one is knocking it out of the park.

Thaddeus Mist by M.D.Penman


Over at his blog, the brilliant Grant Perkins has done a marvellous pin-up for the book.
http://thegrantperkins.blogspot.com/2012/03/grey-britain.html

I believe the plan is to release a smaller volume of pin-ups, process notes, and other juicy material to coincide with the release of the main graphic novel. There were so many great artists and friends that for whatever reason (scheduling, length etc.) couldn't make it into 'Thaddeus Mist' so it would be great to still have their work feature in some way.

Also over at Rhys L Reed's blog you can see the thumbnails for his contribution to the comic. Find those here: http://applejackandreed.blogspot.com/

Rhys I met at Thought Bubble last year and knew right away that he'd be great for this. His art is just amazing and gives a texture and whimsy that the book was lacking before he jumped onboard.

Finally, Conor Boyle gives us Thaddeus Mist...



Conor is the main artist on Thaddeus Mist (our narrative frames the other stories - almost like flashbacks). It's been a true joy working with Conor, and so far I've been humbled by his work-ethic. Everything I've thrown at him art-wise he has embraced, and even brought more to the table than I'd imagined, making suggestions and making even a hack and a pretender like me look much, much better than I am. On top of this, Conor's stepped in to oversee the art direction on the book, in order to make sure the transitions and stories mesh together correctly (no easy task when there are so many artists involved in telling one continuous story). Follow the dude on twitter (@pencilmonkey), read his blog, generally worship at his feet. He is a damn fine artist.

Press!

Thaddeus Mist features in issue 374 of Starburst magazine (The Walking Dead cover) and there will be some attention given to Accent UK books in an upcoming issue of Comic Heroes, thanks to Rob Power. Comic Heroes is a great magazine I've been reading for a while so it would be nice to have Thaddeus Mist feature in there at some point in the future.

We're still shooting for a tentative release at the end of summer (but with comics, I've learnt, many things can and will go wrong. In short, don't hold ya breath, folks! If the Mayans are right we'll all be toast before this baby hits the racks!)