I was lucky enough to be asked by Tripwire Magazine‘s EIC Joel Meadows to participate in this years Portsmouth Comic Con, the second year for the show held at the historic Portsmouth Guildhall over the Bank Holiday Weekend of Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May 2019. Joel, Contributing Editor Andrew Colman and the entire Guildhall team put on quite the celebration of comics and pop culture, filling every available square inch of space with artists alleys, vendors, retailers, exhibitions and panels – it was quite the experience!
One of the headlining panels of the weekend was also the official launch of Joel’s new book, MASTERS OF COMICS, a new examination into the working processes of some of the worlds leading comic artists. Readers are invited into the studio spaces of some of the most popular and prolific comic artists in the world. Through dynamic photography and exclusive interviews, MASTERS OF COMICS offers a rare, personal look at these artists’ unique creative environments–spaces in which some of the greatest comics and graphic novels of the last fifty years took shape, including chapters on such legends as Milo Manara (THE APE, CLICK), Mike Kaluta (THE SHADOW), Walter Simonson (THOR, FANTASTIC FOUR), and more.
Comics Journalist Olly MacNamee lead the conversation with Joel and a collection of esteemed comics artists – Laurence Campbell (2000AD, SYNNAMON), Sean Phillips (CRIMINAL, MY HEROES HAVE ALL BEEN JUNKIES) and Will Simpson (GAME OF THRONES) – to talk about how their own process leads and influences their work, about how that workspace has evolved over the years, and how working and talking to other artists has encouraged them to try out new working ideas.
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Thanks to the entire Portsmouth Comic Con team for their help in putting on these panels, and to Joel and Andrew for the invitation to participate.
Portsmouth Comic Con is confirmed as returning to the city’s Guildhall in 2020, over the Bank Holiday weekend of Saturday 2nd / Sunday 3rd May. Find out more about the show at their official website, www.portsmouthcomiccon.com