It’s time once again for the best comic convention in the UK, it’s Thought Bubble, this coming weekend in Leeds! This year’s show is a 2 day event across 2 huge halls on Saturday and Sunday and I will be there selling my comics for the full two days. No panels, no workshops, no commissions, just me at a table talking to you guys all weekend.

I’ll be selling Blood Blokes #1, The Everyday Collections and Paper Science 4-6 featuring The King of Things. Stocks of Paper Science 4 are very low so if you’d like all 3 come early! We Are Words + Pictures (publishers of Paper Science) have a table too, so they may have some if I run out. Blank Slate Books will be there as well with their huge UK anthology Nelson (which I blogged about here) so if you a pick up a copy from them I’d be happy to sign it for you.

I’m also doing this:

The comics you can win are The Everyday Collection 3, Glastonbury: A Postcard Book and either Paper Science 5 or 6 (while stocks last). PLUS you’ll win a print of my Graphic Short Story Prize entry ‘Spilt Soda’ (included in the Best Of eBook) AND a Blood Blokes badge AND an Everyday badge! That’s 3 comics, a print and 2 badges for free!

I haven’t even told the creators I’m making Lego versions of about this yet. They’ll know if they are 1 of the chosen 10 on Saturday morning.

Thought Bubble attracts the definitive who’s who of British comics talent and legendary creators from overseas. Have a good look around the Thought Bubble website for all the info and you can see the full exhibitor list for the hall I’m in here.

Just check out out the talent in my aisle, dubbed “Troublemaker Row” by convention organiser Clark. I’m next to Marc Ellerby (I wouldn’t show up otherwise) and Andrew Tunney who are both amazing and I’ll be sharing with the lovely Kayla Marie Hillier. Here’s where you can find me:

Subtle, eh?

I look forward to this show every year, I can’t wait to see you there!

Nelson OUT NOW!

Nelson is undoubtedly the comics anthology of the year. 54 British creators telling one story of the life of Nel Baker. Each creator taking a single day in each year of her life. From her birth in 1968 to the present day, each creator takes the story so far and adds to it in their own way. It’s a unique idea dreamed up by editor Rob Davis and it’s sure to be one of the most talked about books of the year. I mean, just look at the talent involved:

Paul Grist, Rob Davis, Woodrow Phoenix, Ellen Lindner, Jamie Smart, Gary Northfield, Sarah McIntyre, Suzy Varty, Sean Longcroft, Warwick Johnson–Cadwell, Luke Pearson, Paul Harrison–Davies, Katie Green, Paul Peart–Smith, Glyn Dillon, I.N.J.Culbard, John Allison, Philip Bond, D’Israeli, Simone Lia, Darryl Cunningham, Jonathan Edwards, Ade Salmon, Kate Charlesworth, Warren Pleece, Kristyna Baczynski, Harvey James, Rian Hughes, Sean Phillips & Pete Doree, Kate Brown, Simon Gane, Jon McNaught, Adam Cadwell, Faz Choudhury, JAKe, Jeremy Day, Dan McDaid, Roger Langridge, Will Morris, Dave Shelton, Carol Swain, Hunt Emerson, Duncan Fegredo, Philippa Rice, Josceline Fenton, Garen Ewing, Tom Humberstone , Dan Berry, Alice Duke, Posy Simmonds, Laura Howell, Andi Watson, and Dave Taylor.

I am very happy and humbled to say I am one of the creators involved. I have a 5 page chapter in the middle of the book set in 1994 (right at the start of Britpop) when Nel is 26. That’s all I can say, anymore would spoil the whole story, so you’ll have to read the book to find out more.

The book is edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix and is being published by Blank Slate Books. All the profits go to the housing charity Shelter. I feel I have to mentioned the involvement of Kayla Marie Hillier who, when she worked for Blank Slate earlier this year, was responsible for the daunting and never-before-done task of co-ordinating 54 artists, all working for free with busy schedules, on one single narrative project. Hats off to Kayla!

Nelson is available to buy NOW from the Blank Slate website (recently redesigned by my good self). The book will be on sale at Thought Bubble on 19th-20th November in Leeds and there’s a bunch of signings and events happening in the week after that, summarised in the flyer below. My guess is that Nelson will be in most comic and book shops by late November, early December. Just in time for Christmas.

I’ll leave you with the first page of my chapter in the hopes it piques your interest. Enjoy.

Back in January I was thrilled to have my Lego Mad Men featured on Shortlist Magazine’s website. Not long after, the guys there told me the feature had gone down really well and they’d like to commission me to see what else I could do with my minifigure collection. Perhaps recreate some of their covers in Lego? Okay!

I’ve recreated 7 of their past covers using only official Lego minifigures featuring the “uncanny” likenesses of Simon Pegg, Richard Branson, John Hamm, Martin Scorsese, Christian Bale, Paul McCartney and (the one I’m most pleased with) Jimi Hendrix.

See them all over on Shortlist.com, where they say very nice things about me (cheers, guys!) and there’s some extra photos in this Flickr set too.

I shall be there this weekend in the Comic Village next to Marc Ellerby as always (and forever). Blood Blokes #1 is back in print and will available to buy from me there as well as The Everyday Collections and the newest Paper Science, issue 6!

There’s more preview photos of PS6 and a few glimpses of the third part of my serialised children’s story The King of Things over on the We Are Words + Pictures blog.

Meanwhile, work on Blood Blokes #2 is well underway. Page 7 sits on my drawing board as I type this. Proof:

I’m really enjoying bringing the vampire characters to life on the page. It’s typical that I’m getting into the swing of working on this just as there’s two huge comic shows coming up. Pfft tut etc.

Speaking of Thought Bubble (this November), I will be there of course, and keep an eye on this blog for news about my involvement with Nelson from Blank Slate Books and EVEN MORE exciting news!!!

That’s all for now, if you’re at the MCM Expo this weekend, please come by and say hello. Halloween candies appreciated.

The above is a detail of a something I drew up for this:

I think the poster is pretty self explanatory but you can click the image to have a nosey around Orbital’s website or say “I’ll be there” on the Facebook event page. I’m really hoping to make it down at some point during it’s run to see other approaches to self portraits from all those talented folk mentioned above.

And not content with being in one London exhibition I’ve sent some work along to this:

Yep, as well an exhibition in a comic shop there’s one in a record shop too! It’s been put together by We Are Words + Pictures and Sean Azzopardi. The other exhibitors are none other than Marc Ellerby, Jamie McKelvie, Tom Humberstone, Sean Azzopardi, Kristyna Baczynski, Francesca Cassavetti and John Cei Douglas. I have 8 pieces of music related artwork in the show, 7 comics and one illustration.

So, if you’re around London in the month of September and you like comics or music you have a very good chance of seeing some of my original work. And one’s a big drawing of my head! Who wouldn’t like that?

I think it’s safe to say no-one, even the organisers, could have expected how busy it would be. I hadn’t planned to bring a lot of comics with me, I didn’t have anything new, I hadn’t reprinted Blood Blokes in time for the show, or even thought to do so. I considered bringing card to draw Little Portraits on but it slipped my mind and I didn’t even consider bringing flyers for the Manchester Drink ‘n’ Draw that I organise until the morning of the show, by which point it was too late to get hold of some. But none of that bothered me that morning because I fully expected it to be a quiet show, being the first time the MCM Expo had come to Manchester. The late promotion of the event didn’t encourage any of the artists attending either. I wasn’t alone in thinking we’d be twiddling our thumbs for the Early Bird entry time between 9:30 and 11am and then it might get a touch busier later if we were lucky. I couldn’t have been more wrong about how the day turned out.

It got me thinking about what brought about this uncharacteristic pessimism. Part of it is from my role as founder of the Manchester Comix Collective. Aside from the BIG Drink ‘n’ Draw last month which went brilliantly with a great turn out and even won an award as part of the Not Part Festival, most of the things I promote and try to organise through the MCC are met with almost silent response. You’d think in a large city with a lack of comic shows and events, comic fans would be eager for any news or chance to participate in something but over the last year or so I’m not seeing much enthusiasm outside of the small circle of creators, comic shop folk and DnD attendees. So my expectations of the turn out for the MCM Expo were low.

Just the week before I was asked by Alex Fitch of the Panel Borders radio show to round up Manchester comic creators for a group interview about the local scene and how it influenced our work. I managed to rope in John Allison, Joe List and Chris Doherty and over the course of the discussion we touched on the apathy of the public and other creative scenes towards comics in Manchester. We touched on the lack of female creators in the city and the lack of any younger talent coming through. The MCM Expo was brought up and none of us had high expectations for an enthusiastic crowd. As Joe said to me after the Expo “If only we’d recorded an interview about the local scene a week after the show.”

As myself and Marc Ellerby entered the swanky new Manchester Central (previously the G-Mex) that Saturday morning we maneuvered our way around a costumed queue of easily 2000 people who surged into the somewhat undersized hall as soon as the doors opened at 9:30. Our mouths may have been agape. Slightly late we set up as soon as we could and the aisles were packed from the get go. Thousands of cosplayers had turned up in force, with all the gusto and imagination of the London MCM Expo crowds. To my right Marc was shifting comics and t-shirts right from the off and Leigh Gallagher to my left had an ever present queue for sketches that often eclipsed my table. He managed 20+ sketches before breaking for lunch sometime after 12. I instantly regretting not bringing my pad and Little Portraits sign. As the event opened to general entry at 11am, more and more families arrived taking advantage of the free entry for children and low £5 entry fee for adults. They were joined by older comic fans there to see guys like Marc, Leigh, Anthony Johnston and John McCrea. I was shaking my head that I hadn’t brought a stack of Drink ‘n’ Draw flyers, teasingly sat in the Sandbar’s flyer rack not a mile away.

I popped outside around midday to grab some food and to meet Kayla who had kindly brought Marc’s pad of paper from home for me to use for sketches. It was a gloriously hot day and I was stunned to see another thousand or so people queuing in the heat to get into the show, entertained by the now obligatory Darth Vader, Boba Fett and Stormtroopers along with hundreds of brightly coloured cosplayers.

The show remained super busy and crowded until about 4pm. Marc sold out of comics, Leigh got a sore back and I got my act together and did Little Portraits for people. There’s photos of 6 of them in the slideshow below.

In the end I had a great show. I probably made more money than at any other show because I didn’t have to pay for the table, transport or a hotel, so every sale was profit! I’d also like to thank Gary from the Comic Village team for making sure we were okay throughout the day, from introducing himself right at the start to seeing how our day went at the end.

The rest of the evening was a great night too as I’d booked a large table at a chinese for a big group of us and then Gareth at the Lass O’Gowrie had kindly ensured the Snug Room was reserved for us too. Cheers Gareth! Everyone seemed to be having a good time and I’d like to think that everyone left with a good impression of Manchester too.

Marc mentioned that he’d noticed I’d gotten a touch lazy when it came to shows, just coming along and seeing how I’d sell, and he’s right; I’ve been more interesting in seeing my pals than wowing the crowds, at least until I start the big push for Blood Blokes. I was pessimistic about the first big show to come to Manchester in a long time when, as Mr. MCC, I should have been the one person making the very best of it and encouraging others to embrace it too (I did publicise it on the MCC blog and Twitter to little response). Sure, the large amount of cosplayers aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but you can’t deny the positivity, effort and money they bring to such events. Marc noted that these Expos wouldn’t exist without the dedication of the teenagers who dress up and come out to every single show. We’re guests at their show, not the other way around.

I let the apathy towards comics that I and others in the “scene” sensed from the wider populace of the city affect me and influence my own approach to what turned out to be a superb day for comics in Manchester. I am very glad that I was proven wrong. I’d much prefer to try too much and fail than to not bother and be proven right. Next year I’ll be making the Manchester MCM Expo a key event in my schedule of appearances.

To end, here’s a slideshow of my photos from the day including 6 people awkwardly holding the Little Portraits they got from me. Thanks to everyone who stopped by my table, said nice things about The Everyday and picked up Paper Science for The King of Things.

This Saturday I will be attending the first Manchester MCM Expo at Manchester Central. It’s a much smaller event than the gigantic London Expo’s so I’m not sure what to expect, but I hope Manchester’s comic fans will turn up and perhaps some of my mates who finally have the chance to see me at a show in our hometown (hint). There’ll be comics, movie stuff, anime and manga, plenty of sci-fi nerdy stuff, merchandise old and new all over the place and a few famous names doing signings and things, including WARWICK DAVIS! So if you can’t be bothered to get the tram across town for me then at least make an effort for Griphook/Willow/Leprechaun!

I’ll have the usual comics including Paper Science 4 and 5 featuring my comic The King of Things & The Shrunken Giant Penny, The Everyday Collections 3 and 4, the few remaining Glastonbury postcard books and I’ll be prepared to do some Little Portraits if it’s quiet.

I’m also excited for the show and the whole weekend as slinky hips Marc Ellerby is coming to stay with me! He’ll be at the show too, so if me and Professor Flitwick still aren’t enough, come for Marc’s chiseled cheekbones for cryin’ out loud!

After the show, as founder of the Manchester Comix Collective, I’m planning on nominating a venue for the comic crowds to all go along to.

Then the day after the show myself and Marc will be at the (award winning!) MCC Drink ‘n’ Draw, because I organise it though this month it’s hosted by Sandbar’s Dom Harbot, so I can kick back, relax and eat the free pizza.

I hope to see friends and fans alike at either the show, the after party or the Drink ‘n’ Draw! It’s a good weekend to be a comic fan in Manchester for once, make the most of it!

Hello you lot! This weekend, tomorrow in fact, I will be setting off for Birmingham to attend the second annual Birmingham Zine Festival. I’ll be at the Zine Fair (which is probably more comics than zines tbh) from 12pm -6pm on Saturday which is completely FREE (so you’ve no excuses if you live nearby) and it’s followed by a BBQ, a party (£1.50 in) and there’s even a picnic on the Sunday! Really, what’s not to like? Check the site for more details, I’ll be seeing you there!

I even did a highly amusing mini-interview with them for their site. I’ll be selling the usual comics but sadly not Blood Blokes as the first short print run has sold out already(!). I will have plenty of The Everyday Collections, maybe some original art and lots of Paper Science 4 and…

Paper Science 5 arrived just in time for the show and contains Part 2 of ‘The King of Things & the Shrunken Giant Penny‘!

I just had a sit down to read issue 5 and there’s not a story in there I didn’t smile at, they’re all gems. If you haven’t checked out Paper Science yet, get over to the We Are Words + Pictures shop RIGHT NOW and subscribe to get issues 4-7 so you can read not only the whole King of Things story but also superb stories from some of the UK’s brightest talents AND you’ll get them weeks before the shops do. I’d say it was a tremendous and exciting comic even if I wasn’t in it!

Hope to see you at the Zine Fair, I’ll race you to the BBQ. Bagsies on the spicy chicken legs!

It will also be the UK DEBUT OF BLOOD BLOKES #1!!! So if you’ve been eager to get your hands on a copy this is your first chance to get one. I will have Blood Blokes badges too and original art for viewing only. I’ll also have copies of Paper Science 4 for sale, the Stiffs/The Pride preview comic, The Everyday Collections 3 and 4, Everyday badges and all the remaining original art for The Everyday for sale. So pretty much what I had at TCAF.

It’s been advertised that I will be sharing my table with Kayla but unfortunately she has had to pull out for various reasons so I’ll have a big ol’ table to myself, right next to Mister Marc Ellerby (who will have some GORGEOUS prints and T-shirts for sale!) for another installment of The Cadwellerby Show. We will be at tables F6 and F7, and you can download a table plan from the top of this page ‘ere.

I won’t be doing Little Portraits for £5 this time and not sure whether I’ll be doing sketches yet, I’ll have to see what the crowds are like; if it’s busy then no, if it’s dead then sure, why not

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I’ll also be on the Writers Vs. Artists Quiz at 3pm on the Comics Stage on Sunday. The idea is we play one round of Pictionary and one round of Taboo (a word game) to see which creative side of comics is superior. The Writers have an unbeaten record of 3 wins to nothing, so I hope to change that with my inclusion in the Artists team this time. It should be fun.

So come on by and be among the first in the country to read Blood Blokes! See you there!

(The above image is a quick warm up sketch I did of Arianna from Blood Blokes. Readers won’t meet her properly ’til issue 2 however.)