Live Charity Art Auction – Your Chance To Win Original Comic Book Art, Signed Graphic Novels And More
Last year we planned an art auction that sadly did not take place, probably because I didn’t advertise it. So, I’m not making the same mistake twice.
Starting at 4 pm in All-Saints Church, you can get to bid on some great items, donated by many of last year’s guests, with all proceeds going to the Kings Heath Food Bank.
You can get a list of all the items on our official Charity Art Auction page here. Just don’t forget to bring your wallets and help a good cause in the local community.
Kings Heath Comic Con Workshop Schedule Revealed
We pride ourselves on the variety we have to offer to guests of all ages. And this year is no different, with three workshops on offer throughout the day, all to be found in the auspicious All-Saints Church, which can fit up to 300 people. Just like last year we will have three very different workshops that you can read up on on our What’s On page here.
We have Mark MaccPower (organiser of Macc Power comic con in Macclesfield), The Beano’s Laura Howell, returning with her highly enjoyable comic book workshop and JAke Detonator who will be teaching you “How To Draw Star Wars”.
Trader Spotlight: Birmingham’s Finest – Time Bomb Comics And Hardline Comics
Time Bomb Comics
Time Bomb Comics is a Birmingham independent publishing success story. Established in 2007 by publisher Steve Tanner, it has grown from putting out one or two titles to now working with the likes of Gerry Anderson on the official Spectrum comic book, featuring Anderson creations, Captain Scarlet and The Terrahawks, as well as the strange tales anthology series, Brawler and Dick Turpin comics too. In fact, quite the variety of genres and all produced on our doorstep.
This year, Time Bomb Comics will be debuting their newest comic book series, Amnsia Agents #1 by writer Jason Cobley and artist James Gray at our comic convention. You;ll be able to grab the first copies of that, hot off the presses, as well as a whole back catalogue of comic books, which you can check out at Time Bomb’s website: timebombcomics.com. and sign up to their Substack newsletter here.
Hardline Comics
Another local publisher with over a decade in the game, Hardline Comics, returns to Kings Heath Comic Con.
“Hardline Comics is a publisher of comic books, including the popular series Mahoney’s, The Guys and Limits. Our physical and digital books are available for purchase on our website. We have a wide range of characters and stories, from superheroes to horror and everything in between. Our team is passionate about creating exciting and engaging comics that will keep you coming back for more.”
And that team is made up of founder, publisher and writer Richard Carrington, and artists Brian Dawson and Lee Gaston.
Last year, at Kings Heath Comic Con, Richard Carrington debuted his darker, NSFW line of comics, Darkline, with the debut of Vermley Keep, which I reviewed for comicon.con here, and which I wrote at the time was “sensual, seductive and shocking” and a great Hammer House-type of horror comic.
Trader Spotlight: Cinebook – The 9th Art Publisher
With all our special comic book guests announced, it’s time to let you all know who else will be at Kings Heath Comic Con. Today we shine a light on Cinebook, a wonderful publisher specialising in English-language translations of European Bande Dessinée, like Lucky Luke, Valerian, Thorgal and many, many more.
As a kid, I found such graphic novels almost impossible to find in the wild. The odd Lucky Luke here and there, but nothing as exotic as Bluecoats or Blake & Mortimer. And now, you lucky lot get to sift through a HUGE collection of books from some of Europe’s greatest creators. I may be tempted myself, with such a variety of titles and genres to choose from. Needless to say, I’ll be stocking up on some comic books myself.
Here’s more about Cinebooks:
Cinebook, Publisher of the best-selling European comic books for all ages.
“For many English-speaking readers, knowledge of European comic books is limited to popular characters Tintin and Asterix.
Lucky Luke, Iznogoud, Blake & Mortimer, XIII, Valerian, Thorgal,Largo Winch, Spirou & Fantasio, Billy & Buddy, Yakari, the Bluecoats, Yoko Tsuno, Buck Danny, Cedric . . . These European comic book characters, already boasting more than 300 million copies sold, are featured stars in Cinebook’s catalogue.
The comic book and its close relative, the graphic novel, are a highly respected art form in France, Belgium and the rest of Western Europe—so well regarded that Cinebook takes our tagline (“The 9th Art Publisher”) from the classification of comic books as No. 9 on the list of plastic arts in Europe (Plastic Art list: 1st-Architecture; 2nd-Painting; 3rd-Sculpture; 4th-Engraving; 5th-Drawing; 6th-Photo; 7th-Cinema; 8th-Television; 9th-Comic books), In fact, one of every eight books sold in France is a comic book.
Since the end of 2005, Cinebook has worked to become the premier publisher of the Franco-Belgian Ninth Art in English in markets dominated by American superhero comics and Japanese manga.
Cinebook selects series and individual titles based on a number of factors in order to please a wide range of readers—factors such as geographic settings, protagonists’ age and gender, historic themes, genres, etc.”
You can check out their entire catalogue and the kind of albums they will be bringing to the con at their official webpage: cinebooks.co.uk
We have a HUGE Guest Announcement For You
I can’t quite believe this myself, but we have landed one of the biggest names in comics. A creator who hasn’t done a comic book convention since 2018 and has graciously accepted our invitation to Kings Heath Comic Con. After such a successful first year show, we wanted to make the second year something equally as special. And we think we’ve done that. Not only in the calibre of guests we’ve got – some returning faces and some new – as well as the three free workshops we’re putting on, and, of course, the return of everyone’s favourites, the 501st Legion UK Garrison, but now with our final guest announcement. Watch the video, and all will be revealed. For comic book fans around the UK, you do not want to miss this one! Who knows when this person will do another convention again? And we are very privileged to have him at our show. A convention, lest you forget, that puts the focus on comics and a family-friendly day out. And all for FREE! Beat that for battling the cost of living crisis, Andy Burnham.
Skybound’s ‘Terminal’ #1 And IDW’s ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ #300 Blind Bag Opening
I don’t think I’ve bought a blind bag in decades. Maybe not since ‘The Death of Superman’ in Superman #75. But with Kings Heath Comic Con coming up and a few people liking this kind of thing, I thought I’d give it a go with four issues of Terminal #1 from writers Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), Joe Casey (The Uncanny X-Men) and artist Adam Kubert and two blind bagged issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #300.
Funnily enough, I bought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #300 as a last-minute whim. And I’m glad I did, because BOTH issues came up with two very cool variants. But overall, nothing too exciting. And I’m not sure I’d do it again, as it’s a rather expensive thing to do, unless you’re regularly posting these kinds of videos to a large audience. I doubt I’ll be making my £ 30-odd back anytime soon. Although it was the two TMNT #300 I very nearly didn’t buy that were the best haul in terms of value for money! To see those two beauties, you’ll just have to check out the third video below.
But still check out the videos below to see what I pulled.
High Vis X Clangers – Saturday 12th September In Kings Heath Park
Ahead of this year’s Comic Convention on Saturday 19th September, we will be teaming up with local basketball team, Kings Heath’s Clangers. And if it’s anything like last year’s event, it’ll be a great deal of fun for all the family.
The Clangers will be putting on basketball displays and competitions throughout the day while we provide the art, painting across the day and offering up a free kids’ comic book workshop too.
Plus there will be music, food & drink and good vibes!
For more on this free event, check out The Clangers official website here and come on down.
Geeky Brummie Review High Vis Comic Con
As well as posting an awesome preview for our con, local podcasters, Geeky Brummie, also took the time to review it too. Check out another edition of their weekly podcaster below and maybe give them a follow on their official YouTube page here.
It’s thanks to people like Geeky Brummie as well as so many other comic book and pop culture websites out there that people far and wide heard about our event and took the time to travel to Birmingham to visit our city and our first ever comic con. Thanks top you all for your support.
And it’s a Wrap!
What a day! Judging by the number of positive social media posts I’ve seen, I think we did well. And there’s already talk of doing it all again next year. But for now, enjoy this small selection of photos taken on the day by Mitch Schofield. Trust me, there’s more. Lots more.
And now a round-up of a good deal more photos in one nifty video. Why not grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy reliving the day below?
Sorry.. Is The Hardest Word
Yup, we’re sorry to announce that Paul Goodenough and Martin Simmonds have had to pull out of the comic con for personal reasons.
We also have to say that Dead Pixels have had to pull out. But with the weather on our side, comic book creators such as Judge Dredd co-creator, John Wagner, coming and Cosmic Rays playing a charity gig in aid of the Kings Heath Food Bank, plus comic book workshops, a HUGE comic book charity auction and more, there’s still a lot to do.
