Results tagged “BICS 2009” from Birmingham Mail - Speech Balloon

Lorne Jackson caught up with comics legend Howard Chaykin in Birmingham last week. The following is his article from the Sunday Mercury.

SHAGGY is a half-and-half sort of guy.

The bottle of Stella he brandishes in his fist is half-drunk, for instance. Shaggy's half-drunk, too.

He is also 50 per cent screw-up; 50 per cent some sort of success.

Too much hardcore partying during his 40 years on this planet has undoubtedly been fun.

But it has taken its toll on the graphic designer.

BICS 2009 held in Birmingham, England on the weekend of 3rd -4th October has proved to be a critical success.

From the no-holds barred interview Speech Balloons' Paul H Birch conducted with star guest from the USA, Howard Chaykin (pictured above) to the various publishers and dealers wearing smiles on their faces all weekend, plus updates on the newly formed Comic Book Alliance.

For a full review of the show, courtesy of GM Jordan, visit: www.comicshopvoice.co.uk

AS someone became hooked on comics through his older brother's Tintin books, I have always adored the clean-line style, the detailed backgrounds, the boys own adventure stories and plots which don't talk down to the audience.

So I was delighted to see the poster advertising Garen Ewing's Rainbow Orchid at BICS and picked up a copy straight away.

This is set up as the first adventure for Julius Chancer, a young adventurer, antique hunter, and mystery solver who is joined by glamourous silent film star Lilly Lawrence on a quest to find a mythical flower.

The 1920s world of Julius Chancer is peopled by a range of larger than life characters from the evil corporate tyrant Grope, the sleazy reporter and gossip columnist Pickle, a bumbling Hollywood agent and, in the final scenes of volume one, a daredevil pilot who drops everything to save the day, in style.

It is truly great stuff. I am looking forward to volumes two, out in April and three to follow later in 2010

Garen, while signing books, helpfully explained that, while welcoming the comparison's with Herge's work, there is more to clear line comics than just Tintin and his website gives a few useful pointers.

I have already refered to my interview with Bryan Talbot which appeared in the Birmingham Post here. So I won't go over the same ground

One of the joys of reading Bryan Talbot's Grandville is spotting the little references hidden away inside.

Most obvious is the appearance of Tintin's sidekick Snowy, called Snowy Milou, after his name in French.

However I will never see the Herge version in the same light after seeing Grandville's tragic opium addict version of the character, picked on and preyed on by all, dreaming of a more noble existence and adventure.

BICS 2009 takes place today at the Thinktank, Millennium Point in Birmingham today - Get your skates on and be there!

International guests include Bryan Talbot, Alan Davis and Howard Chaykin who will be interviewed on stage by Speech Balloons' Paul H Birch from 1.30pm onwards - Don't be late!

Ahead of his appearance in Birmingham at BICS2009 there is an interview with Bryan Talbot in today's Birmingham Post.
He talks about his new book Grandville and the success of Alice in Sunderland.

BRITISH comic publishers and creators will be showing the public what the indigenous industry has to offer at the Think Tank in Birmingham next weekend.

As well as well known overseas guests like Howard Chaykin and Pasqual Ferry visitors to the show will be able to meet some of the top British creators working in comics today.

Those such as DC and Marvel Writer Andy Diggle, Hellboy artist Duncan Fegredo, the legendary Bryan Talbot, and a whole host of Independent creators and publishers at the cutting edge of UK Comics will be at hand to meet the fans and talk about new work in the pipeline.

New additions to the guest list include 2000ad superstar artist Clint Langley who will be signing copies of his acclaimed graphic novels "Volgan War" and "Slaine: Book Of Invasion" at the 2000ad booth.

Titan Books will also be appearing at the show to find new talent, and Editors will be conducting portfolio reviews on the Saturday joining DC Comics editor Michael Wright as they give up and coming artists the chance to receive feedback on the work and possibly a chance to land their first professional assignment in the industry.

"Many people out there think that British Comics are a thing of the past, but at BICS readers will discover, that it is anything but the truth, with publishers like Com.X, Markosia, and Insomnia innovating with fresh talent and ground breaking stories, expanding the medium in new directions and taking risks creatively," said show co- organiser Shane Chebsey

To find out more about BICS visit: www.thecomicsshow.co.uk

A curtain raiser to next month's BICS, the special Watchmen IMAX screening hosted by Dave Gibbons will be hard to top.

The artist was on sparkling form and, through the question and answer session, gave a genuine and, at times, detailed insight into his creation, his work with Alan Moore and his thoughts on the big screen version.

Dave has attended previous BICS here in Birmingham, but is unavailable on October 3 and 4 and so the Watchmen event was born.

One audience member asked about the latest editions of the graphic novel in which the cover has been switched from the iconic blood splattered smiley face to an ensemble picture of the Watchmen characters.

THE HIGHLIGHT of each year in British comics is increasingly becoming BICS that takes place in Birmingham.

With a stellar line-up of international guests already scheduled the October show looks set to be a success once more.

To find out more about plans for the show there is a live podcast with the organisers that can be found at: www.geeksyndicate.co.uk

To order tickets in advance, and it's certainly wise to do so, visit: www.thecomicsshow.co.uk

A JAPANESE manga artist, who honed her skills with the Birmingham comic community,
is making a welcome return to the second city for BICS 2009.

Tokyo born Michiru Morikawa, was a highly successful graduate of the Hi8us Stripsearch course winning an International Manga and Anime Festival award in 2005.

Now thanks to the Sasakawa Foundation, an organisation dedicated to encouraging cultural links between the UK and Japan, Michiru will be launching her new comic Buskers at the British International Comics Show at Millennium Point on October 3 and 4.

Organisers of BIrmingham's own Comic Convention, BICS, are celebrating after securing a £6,000 Arts Council grant.

The grant should be good news for all comic creators, pubilshers and readers as it demonstrates that the medium is increasingly accepted by the arts establishment.

The Arts Council are particularly supportive of the opportunities given to novice artists and writers through the workshops, portfolio reviews and talent searches - which have proved and entertaining part of previous shows.

BICS THE popular UK comic book event is scheduled to return to Birmingham over the weekend of October 3rd-4th.

(Above: Comics International Editor Mike Conroy interviewing international star guest and creator of Hellboy Michael Mignola at BICS 2007).

Formerly known as the Birmingham International Comics Show, the BICS acronym remains, but the event will now operate as the British International Comics Show.

The name change no doubt reflects the fact that as of last year the show took up more floor space than any other comics event in the UK, and with this year's Bristol Comics Expo being temporarily downsized, thus the Birmingham-based event has become Great Britain's primary comics event.

Furthermore, retaining the goodwill of the BICS name as a franchise, but giving it national focus affords greater international attention on the show. This should attract foreign star guests, to whom Birmingham may be far less familiar a city name than London, who would be more content knowing they're flying half way across the world to a nation's main event. Likewise, those wishing to attend the show as visitors from abroad should find it easier to locate for information via the internet etc.

While the business world of the city of Birmingham can happily rejoice in the fact that it holds one of the nation's premier events again this year, that hotels, restaurants, pubs and clubs, and public transport will again be getting an influx of capital coming to a credit-crunch hit second city; one does have to stop and think. Operating under a new name as the British International Comics Show means that, theoretically, in the future the show could take place anywhere!

It is not cheap to put on an event of the size of BICS in a city like Birmingham, and the organisers will continue to be applauded for putting their hands in their pockets and having done so. Despite excellent coverage given the show over the years by all areas of the West Midlands media, and great local interest by the public, BICS has not been afforded any form of assistance by the city's council while other less popular events apparently do. If it came to it, and I hope not, who could blame the British International Comics Show if, one day, it decided to up sticks and take this national event to another town or city.

(Above: Lawrence (Lorenzo) Etherington at the BlinkTwice Comics table during BICS 2007).

I trust this totally speculative scenario on my part never has to be played out. We should remember that Birmingham was the place where the first comics convention in the UK took place, and no doubt one of the first in Europe, and that was back in 1968. It is about time we acknowledged this proud heritage and celebrated the fact, and there can be no better way than by attending BICS 2009 this October.

BICS 2009 will again take place within the city centre, at the Think Tank in Millennium Point. Guests are yet to be revealed but the show promises that it will celebrate: "The best in comics from all sectors of the industry including manga, web comics, pop culture, and the indy press."

For more information on BICS 2009 visit: www.thecomicsshow.co.uk

For information on the Bristol Comics Expo visit: www.fantasyevents.org

The BICS 2007 photos used in this article were supplied via: www.comicshopvoice.co.uk

(Below: BICS receives international recognition, as noted by coverage of the 2007 show in the American publication Wizard).