Portsmouth Comic Con – an event which the organisers proclaim to be ‘the biggest Comic Con on the South Coast’ – returns to the historic city for a second year, following a headline-grabbing debut last May. That show caught everyone’s attention with a stunning venue, a cracking selection of attractions throughout, and a stellar guest line-up, which included Tim Bradstreet, Shawn Martinbrough, Grant Morrison, Chris Weston, and Walt and Louise Simonson in their first UK appearance in years.
The show returns to the majestic Portsmouth Civic Hall for 2019, taking over the building – and much more besides – over the Bank Holiday weekend of Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May, and brings along an equally impressive line-up of creative talent. Roy Thomas (CONAN THE BARBARIAN, JSA) is the obvious draw (no pun intended), being such an influential figure in comics over his illustrious career; Steve Englehart (AVENGERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA) is an equally impressive guest for fans of classic US comics; Liam Sharp (WONDER WOMAN, THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD) joins the guestlist, fresh off the success of DC Comics‘ THE GREEN LANTERN with Grant Morrison… the list goes on and on, it really is something very special.
Many of these guests will be featured in a series of fascinating panels over the course of the weekend (a couple of which that will be hosted by yours truly!): here’s the confirmed list of these not-to-be-missed presentations:
SATURDAY 4TH MAY 2019
Panel Room 1
- 11AM: DRAWING ‘STAR WARS‘
featuring Tommy Lee Edwards and Russell Walks (Host: Leonard Sultana)
- 12PM: SPOTLIGHT OF ROY THOMAS
(Host: Andrew Colman)
- 1PM: SPOTLIGHT ON STEVE ENGLEHART
(Host: Joel Meadows)
- 2PM: LIAM SHARP TALKS ‘GREEN LANTERN’
(Host: Olly MacNamee)
- 3PM: SPOTLIGHT ON KIERON GILLEN
(Host: Joel Meadows)
- 4PM: WILLIAM SIMPSON TALKS ‘GAME OF THRONES’
Panel Room 2 – University Of Portsmouth Panels
- 11AM: CELEBRATING BRITISH COMICS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
featuring John Caro, Van Norris, Emma Austin with special guest Andy Fanton (THE BEANO)
- 12PM: CHILLS & THRILLS: NEW DIRECTIONS IN HORROR
featuring Emma Austin, Rebecca Janicker, Simon Hobbs and John Caro
- 12PM: ‘WHO WATCHES THE WATCHERS?’: THE IMPACT OF ALAN MOORE ON COMICS AND CULTURE
featuring Tom Sykes, John Caro, David Garland and Van Norris
- 2PM: FROM WONDER WOMAN TO CAPTAIN MARVEL: EMPOWERING WOMEN IN COMICS AND FILM
featuring Jane Steventon, Elena Nikiforova, Coline Lejeune and Ceinwyn Yetton with special guest Alison Sampson (HIT GIRL)
- 3PM: FRAMING FIREPOWER: REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR IN COMICS
featuring Tom Sykes, Olly Gruner, Louis Netter, John Caro and Dylan Pank
- 4PM: UoP STAR WARS DAY
featuring Lincoln Geraghty, with students past and present from the University of Portsmouth (Coline Lejeune, Ceinwyn Yetton, James Lister)
Main Stage
- 11AM: CELEBRATING STAN LEE
featuring Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart. (Host: Andrew Colman)
SUNDAY 5TH MAY 2019
Panel Room 1
- 11AM: 20 YEARS OF IDW
featuring Dirk Wood and Scott Dunbier. (Host: Joel Meadows)
- 12PM: MASTERS OF COMICS
featuring Joel Meadows, Laurence Campbell, William Simpson and Sean Phillips. (Host: Olly Macnamee)
- 1PM: SPOTLIGHT ON JAMIE DELANO
(Host: Joel Meadows)
- 2PM: SPOTLIGHT OF TOMM COKER
(Host: Leonard Sultana)
- 3PM: SPOTLIGHT ON TOMMY LEE EDWARDS
(Host: Joel Meadows)
- 4PM: SPOTLIGHT ON LIAM SHARP
(Host: Joel Meadows)
Panel Room 2
- 11AM: SUNDAY VAULT COMICS
featuring Ram V, Alex Paknadel and Martin Simmons (Host: Tara Ferguson)
- 12PM: ‘THE DEVIL AMONG US’: FROM FOLKLORE TO HELLBOY
featuring Karl Bell, Eilis Phillips, Beatrice Ashton-Lelliott and Calum Kerr
- 1PM: THE POWER OF PIKACHU: POKÉMON AS GLOBAL GAMING PHENOMENON
featuring James Dennis, Lincoln Geraghty, Jane Chandler and Emma Seares
- 2PM; ‘BATMAN AT 80’: WHAT MAKES DC’S DARK KNIGHT SO POPULAR?
featuring Van Norris, Emma Austin and John Caro
- 3PM: ROBOTS, CYBORGS AND AI TECHNOLOGY: IMAGINING THE FUTURE IN SCIENCE FICTION MEDIA
featuring Trudy Barber, Katherine Pertersen, Dylan Pank and Calum Kerr
- 4PM: UoP MARVEL’S AVENGERS: ENDGAME STUDENT PANEL: WHO SURVIVED TO PHASE 4?
featuring Van Norris, w/ students past & present from the University of Portsmouth (Coline Lejeune, Ceinwyn Yetton, James Lister and Elena Nikiforova)
Main Stage
- 11AM: IMAGE COMICS
featuring Declan Shalvey, Tomm Coker and Sean Phillips
That’s one hell of a packed schedule! If you’re heading to Portsmouth Comic Con that weekend, you would be best to make yourself available for as many of these panels as possible – they promise not to disappoint. And, if you’re not able to make the trip down to the seaside, I’m going to be doing what I can to record or video a number of these panels, with a view to uploading them over the weeks to follow.
That being said, there’s going to be a lot to attract the attention of everyone in attendance – and here’s the maps showing the layout of this incredible event:
Don’t get lost, now. And hopefully, our paths will cross while you’re there!
PORTSMOUTH COMIC CON is a jointly organised event, hosted by Portsmouth Civic Hall and put together by Tripwire Magazine, one of the premier websites for comics and pop culture headlines and analysis, presenting the best coverage, interview and criticism for over two decades. Helmed by EIC Joel Meadows and Senior Editor Andrew Colman, Tripwire has established itself as the go-to site for all of your nerdy news needs.
Find out more about Portsmouth Comic Con at their Official Website,
https://portsmouthcomiccon.com/, and follow along with all of their announcements and updates on their social media on Facebook, Twitter. and Instagram.
