Free Comics Workshop at Grand Opera House

The creatives behind Northern Ireland’s largest published comicbook are to reunite for their popular comics workshop.

‘Absence’ creators Andy Luke and Stephen Downey have been invited to host a workshop at the ADF’s Bounce! festival when it returns to Belfast this weekend and Andy and Stephen .Bounce! offers a selection of punk folk, rock, theatre and cabaret but also workshops on filmmaking and creative writing. The Absence comixers will be presenting from the Shakespeare Room in the sumptuous Grand Opera House.  All levels of ability are welcome to attend and make a mini-comic, which the ADF are keen to publish after the event.

Previous events have saw participants work on the quirky ‘Beneath The Tide’, and ‘Bacon Sammich of Doom’, both available at Andy’s website, andy-luke.com.

Stephen Downey is best known for the cult series Jennifer Wilde and Noe The Savage Boy with Atomic Diner. His other comics workshop with Cinemagic should be released online next year. For the past few months Andy Luke has been updating his website daily with comics, doodles, photos and short stories to both stave off depression, and celebrate his 40th birthday. His next planned comics project will be a workshop at TitanCon and for Christmas, a Belfast zombie tale, published by Phil Hall, editor of Borderline Press and the late Comics International.

The Comix Workshop runs Saturday 31st August at the Grand Opera House, Belfast. The event is free, but booking is required. To book contact the ADF at info@adf.ie or call (028) 9023 9450.

Access all areas festival tickets cost £20

100th Post: Comics, Comix, Comics

Happy anniversary Belfast Comics. The first post to this blog was set up by Paddy Brown on 3rd July 2009. Get us ones some cake.

First up, The Black Panel and Avalon Arts. From Wednesday Feb 27th, Irish independent comics and strip-zines will begin making their way into displays at the Haymarket Arcade craft shop. First up are Tales From The Void, My First Festival and Downpour, and Belfast comixers in among the pages of Don't Panic!, Romantic Mayhem and Lightning Strike. The permanent display is part of a local authors section and I'll be carrying Belfast Writer's The Ghost In The Glass and Other Stories horror anthology, the poetry of Jim 'Cosmic Nomad' McClean and Southerner Peter Loftus' Survival In A Void. Over 60 titles will be carried on weekly rotation with more on the way. If you're an Ulster author and would like your work stocked, mail drew.luke at gmail, or call in on a Wednesday. [MAP]

UPDATE:

Next up, Will Simpson at the W5 for two months.

"This exhibition showcases some of William's incredible concept artwork for film and television. His original pencil drawings will be on display in our level 5 gallery and the exhibition gives visitors of all ages and backgrounds a truly unique opportunity to see these wonderful images up close."
Read more about it at the W5 website.

Banbridge-based radio show Following The Nerd are an occasional favourite. When presenting content, they've a good track on interviews with international TV and film crews as well as local creative types. The show transmits on a Wednesday night between 9-11pm, with the recording usually going up the week after. Last week they talked to Paul J Holden, and that interview should be in their bountiful archives shortly.

If you can't wait, 'Peej' has a column "on getting the best from the iPad drawing app Procreate" at Infinity, the free digital comics magazine sponsored by Panel Nine. You can download Infinity through here.

Stephen Downey writes about how he is taking part in Creator Owned Day, which is this Friday 1st March. And on Malachy Coney's blog there are some photos of the recent Noe The Savage Boy signing. Paddy Brown grows closer to Page 200 of his epic The Cattle Raid of Cooley in the usual place, and Andy Luke or me releases three issues of digital comic Kick! for sale at 25p each.

Dual identities are commonly exercised by the Northern Irish, so expect a flurry of activity around March, which has been designated Irish comics month. The next Belfast Comics Pub Meet takes place on Thursday 7th at The Cloth Ear from 9pm onwards. You're welcome.

Belfast Convention this weekend

Heroes and Legends takes place at the W5 this weekend. Organised by every convention's favourites, The Emerald Garrison. Guests from the world of comics include PJ Holden, Stephen Downey and John Paul Bove. (Dr. Who, TMNT, GI Joe)
 Will Simpson will also be there, for the beginning of a month long exhibition of his work.
 There's a screening of 'Judge Minty', lots of props, cosplay, Q & As, and Optimus Prime will be doing the rounds talking.
 Admission is standard W5 prices: £7.90 for an adult, £5.90 for a child. I believe that's per day, but there are concessions available for families and season ticket holders.
The con has an SF&F cinema agenda, with some obscure though presumably fan-friendly actors and special effects people. The website contains more on the ten guests and schedule details, although there's a bit of a last minute gather about it. Not as up to the billing of last year's, which a lot of people were kicking themselves for missing.
  http://www.heroesandlegendscon.com/index.php

Pub meet, Noe the Savage Boy and Ennis on Ulster Radio

The comics creator's pub meet is this Thursday at The Cloth Ear from 9pm. Newcomers welcome, no drink minimum, bringing talking points welcome.

To get started, the event is on facebook to pitch the communal ball, and for longer chat, there's also the Facebook group (ask for an invite)

To sate your need further, Marie-Louise Muir interviews Garth Ennis, Malachy Coney and Stephen Downey on Radio Ulster's Arts Extra. Listen to it streaming for the next two days. Alternatively, the show is available for download during the month of February.

A special variant cover is available exclusive to the Feb 9th FPI Belfast signing. Here's a link to that which Malachy talks about at the head of the interview,

via Forbidden Planet International Belfast

The scribe also has a blog were he talks more about Noe The Savage Boy, and other things.

Paddy Brown on University Reading List

University College Dublin's Contemporary English Literature reading list has a seminar on comics, named after Paddy Lynch's Last Bus. Here's how it looks:


“Last Bus”. Patrick Lynch. Last Bus, Issue 1, Summer 2009.
Mr Amperduke. Bob Byrne. Dublin: Clamnuts, 2003.
Ness. Patrick Brown. Belfast: self-published, 2008?
The Monkey Head Complaint. Dublin: downright bockedy, 2009

I've hyper-linked in the shops for each of these. Alternatively you can or your store can purchase them all from Black Panel Distribution in Belfast at http://theblackpanel.blogspot.co.uk

Thursday 4th Jan - Belfast Pub Meets

The comics creators pub meet returns to The Cloth Ear, Waring Street tonight from 9pm with a few festive faces.

The pub meets happen on the first Thursday of the month, right after Late Night Art from 9pm. They're part social, part professional and although aimed at creatives, we don't discriminate.

It's a good spot to share and scope new work, ask and deliver advice and share analysis and passion.