Erica Henderson Signing In London

I read a lot of comics and graphic novels and one of my favourites is The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Writer Ryan North and artist Erica Henderson have turned what was a bit of a joke character into an excellent heartfelt comic character with a lot of heart. So it with great excitement that I can inform you that Henderson will be signing from 5-7 pm on Friday 11th November at Orbital Comics in London, and this will be followed by an after-hours Director’s Commentary on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up The Marvel Universe.

I've been to a few of these signings and Director Commentaries and I've always had a great time. If you're a Squirrel Girl fan it's a must go! Eat nuts and kick butts guys!

I loves me some Squirrel Girl!

Noelle Stevenson and Kate Leth Signing in Orbital Comics, London

Orbital Comics is hosting a couple of great signings with creator Kate Leth (Power Up, Bravest Warriors, Patsy Walker Hellcat) and Noelle Stevenson (Nimona, Lumberjanes).

On Wednesday, November 11 from 6pm, Kate Leth will be signing for her fans, then afterwards from 7:30pm she will be recording a live episode of the podcast Orbital in Conversation.

Then on Thursday, November 12 from 5.30pm, Noelle Stevenson will be signing and greeting fans, then from 7:30pm she will be hosting a Directors Commentary nights looking at Lumberjanes Volume 2. I've been fortunate enough to attend these commentary nights with Mike Carey (Lucifer, The Unwritten) and Mark Buckingham (Fables, Miracleman) and they offer a real insight into the process of making comics. If you get a chance to go I would highly recommend it!

End of Story for Comic Series Fables

After 13 years Fables, the multi award winning Vertigo series, comes to an end. Mark Buckingham, the artist of the series since the beginning was at Orbital Comics in London signing the graphic novels and comics. It was a pleasure to meet him, he was an affable and chatty guy.

Having read the last graphic novel I can say that it is a fitting end to the long running series and has many emotional beats that bring a closure to proceedings. It is sad to see the series end but with Buckingham moving onto Miracleman with Neil Gaiman it won't be too long until we see his sumptuous art again.

...And they all lived happily ever after

This is my signed final graphic novel.

It was wonderful to chat to Bill Willingham.

Mark Buckingham, Fables Artist, Doing a Signing in London

Fables has been a much loved Vertigo title for over 10 years now and with it's final graphic novel (volume 22) coming out Mark Buckingham is joining people in London to sign off the end. As well as a signing in Orbital Comics on August 1st from 5-7, Mark will be giving away 22 pages of his original artwork from the final comic in a prize draw. As a huge Fables fan I will be there with a few of my favourite trades. Will you? For more details about the event check out the official Orbital Comics website linked below.

My Fables collection. There have been a few offshoots and they are great too!

Mike Carey Signed My Swag

I went down to Orbital Comics near Leicester Square, London to meet Mike Carey, get my comics signed and listen to his directors commentary on the finale for The Unwritten. There was a small crowd of people who were waiting to get their comics signed and a few, including me stayed behind from 7- 8:45 (ish) to listen to the interesting talk about the finale. Mike spoke about the creative process and how he worked collaboratively with Peter Gross, all fascinating stuff for anyone into comics. There was then a question and answer session which for a big fan of of his work, like me, was great. Anyways, he was a thoroughly lovely bloke and I had a wonderful time!

Mike Carey Signing in Orbital Comics, London

Mike Carey, writer of comic books, novels, and films, will be signing comics at Orbital Comics in London. For those who don't recognise the name Carey is the wonderfully talented author of works including Vertigo's Lucifer, Hellblazer issues 175 to 215 and most recently the highly literate The Unwritten. The event, which will run on Saturday 6th June from 6-7pm, will celebrate the release of the final collection of The Unwritten. Afterwards Carey will give a directors commentary on this final piece of work. So if you are free why not head down? I'll be there with a couple of The Unwritten and Hellblazer graphic novels.

Scott McCloud Signing In Orbital Comics, London

I'm very excited to report that comic artist and commentator Scott McCloud will be doing a talk and signing in London at Orbital Comics on Saturday 7th March 2015. McCloud is most recognised for his books on comic critiques such as Understanding Comics as well as creating his own comic works, the most notable being  ZOT! He is  meastro at exploring the comic universe, and analysing it in great detail with meaning and possibilities.

I have already spoken about how his idea of projection makes sense and leads to greater empathy for characters here . I was re-reading Zot! and the humanity in his stories really affected me, particularly the story Normal. At a time where homosexuality was not allowed in mainstream comics due to the comics code censorship, he added the mature theme in a comic book as one of the cast confronts the idea that she may be lesbian. McCloud was way ahead of the curve in the late 80s and early 90s when this particular comic issue came out.

I look forward to meeting him and asking him about his works, the event is free so why not come along? For those still not sure be sure to check out his amazing TED talk below. It might just convince you to come along!

Becky Cloonan Signing in London

Writer and artist Becky Cloonan will be doing a signing at Orbital Comics in London on Wednesday, December 10th from 5:00 – 7:00 PM! 

Cloonan will be signing copies of GOTHAM ACADEMY, BY CHANCE OR PROVIDENCE  and her many other comics. I will be attending as I love her art style and work, her work on DEMO first switched me on to her and I am looking forward to meeting her. Come along if you can!

Jeff Smith Signing at Orbital Comics, London

Jeff Smith is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the comic book series Bone. This series won many awards including ten Eisner Awards and eleven Harvey Awards.  Now you can meet him at Orbital Comics in London, on Monday 20th October 2014 from 5pm onwards. He will be signing comics and graphic novels and meeting his many many fans.

Several years ago I was lucky enough to meet Mr Smith and get him to draw and sign my one edition Bone Collection Graphic Novel in Forbidden Planet. Whilst he was drawing Bone and writing a personal message in my graphic novel, I told him how as a teacher I had many comics in my class to encourage disengaged pupils to be drawn into the fantastical worlds that the comic books offered. Mr Smith was very friendly and encouraging and said he agreed. After meeting him I checked further online and found that he had created many informative educational packs explaining how graphic novels could be used to promote reading. He has created a pack of resources similar to the ones book clubs have where deeper level understanding and discussion of a text was encouraged. With many reluctant readers this pack was invaluable and helped me develop my reciprocal reading approach in my class. This is all by the by but if you are free meet a genuinely friendly and wonderful man who does much to promote literacy across the world. I am in meeting until late unfortunately but I'll be there in spirit!