Countdown to Bristol Comic Expo: 2 Days to Go!

Supposedly there’s only one sleep left until we make the trip down to Bristol for the show. Well, if I have my way there’ll be TWO sleeps - I plan on an afternoon nap tomorrow to prepare me for Friday night in the bar.

Over the last few days I’ve written about all the things I’ll have for sale at the Bristol - comics: Sugar Glider, Sugar Glider Stories, A4 Comics presents…, Lily and Danel: Adventurers, and badges: Sugar Glider 4-badge pack, Sugar Glider Vigilance badge.

But today I’m going to be writing about something that’s completely FREE.

The What’s the point in small press superheroes? panel will take place on Saturday featuring Paul Grist (The Weird World of Jack Staff), Graham Pearce (Sgt Mike Battle), Matthew Craig (Trixie Biker) and…well, ME (Sugar Glider)! I suppose I should also mention the lovely host of the panel too - Stacey Whittle (Small Press Big Mouth).

Since getting involved in small press comic publishing, I’ve felt a fair bit of animosity towards mainstream superhero comics. Something I’ve found a bit weird, as these comics can be just as relevant and artful when done correctly as anything in the other genres.

Then when I started working on Sugar Glider, I felt a general “why bother?” from some of my peers. There was, perhaps, something to justify about adding another superhero to the massive roster already in existence.

That and some of the comments in a review we got for the first issue of SG (a review I largely agreed with or, at least, understood) helped inspire this panel.

As host, Stacey was the obvious choice. She is the queen bee of small press comics (consuming them, talking about them and - soon - editing them). Plus, I know she doesn’t have any real interest in superhero books. She won’t always have to play devil’s advocate - some of what she asks/argues will be based on her real feelings and concerns. Plus, she’s an engaging personality with the ability to keep the panel travelling along at a nice pace while still including the audience’s questions.

Paul is an Image Comics creator working on a superhero book. If I’m right about the way Image works, the system is somewhere between self-publishing and mainstream, which will give Paul a unique perspective on the topic. Not to mention the fact that he put out the first 12 issues of Jack Staff through his own Dancing Elephant Press.

Graham Pearce has been making Sgt Mike Battle for around 10 years now. I’d never really thought of his comic as a superhero book but it seems that everybody else does. However, being a parody of superhero comics - Graham also has a nice take on the genre and the issues we’ll be discussing.

Matthew Craig is another small press veteran publishing superhero books like Trixie Biker that deal in believable characters, fantastical situations and a healthy dose of comedy and fun.

In that respect, Matthew’s comics are probably the most closely related to mine, Sugar Glider. Although there is still a difference in our superhero output and I think that comes down to the tone of the books.

So, there we go - 4 superhero comic creators with different perspectives on their work and the topic we’ll be discussing and a fantastic host. Why would anybody miss out on this panel?

What’s the point in small press superheroes? takes place in Mercure Hotel’s Panel Room 1, at 1pm on Saturday.

Tomorrow I’ll be posting about other people’s comics you should be picking up at the convention.