COMIC CON
STARS AND STRIPS
Rowena McIntosh takes a look at some of the most exciting guests heading to this year’s Glasgow Comic Con
G lasgow Comic Con is renowned for curating an impressive lineup of creators, from comic heavyweights working for Marvel and DC Comics, to indie successes and a dedicated strand of break-out talent. The two-day Con is the bustling hub of the wider Glasgow Comic Festival, which features superhero i lm screenings, Glasgow Zine Fest, comic launches, the SICBA awards and talks which cover publishing, feminism in comics and the journey to creating a comic. Last year the event drew a record audience of 10,000, so for 2016 the Con has moved into a larger space with Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall welcoming more artists, writers and creators, as well as more fans of all things comic. Here are some top Con artists to look out for . . .
KATE LETH The Canadian comic writer and artist is the author of the Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat! series for Marvel Comics, as well as titles including Bravest Warriors and Edward Scissorhands. She’s written three of the seven Adventure Time graphic novels and this year took over as writer for cult horror comic Vampirella. Leth also runs the podcast LESS THAN LIVE with KATE OR DIE where she interviews fellow comic creators, and she’ll be DJing at the festival’s summer party too.
DAVE GIBBONS A giant in the UK comic scene, Gibbons is best known for his collaboration with Alan Moore on the 12-issue series Watchmen, now one of the bestselling graphic novels of all time and adapted for the screen in 2009. An artist, writer and sometime letterer, his impressive back-catalogue includes work on 2000 AD, Green Lantern and Doctor Who. He’s also an ambassador for the genre and in 2014 was appointed the UK’s i rst ever Comic Laureate. NEIL SLORANCE An illustrator and comic artist from Glasgow, Slorance is the co-creator and artist for all four issues of Dungeon Fun, an adventure comic about a young girl called Fun battling all sorts of mythical creatures, with plenty of hilarity along the way. Together with writer Colin Bell, he’s also created The Amateur
Astronomer’s Journal and draws for the Doctor Who Twelfth Doctor comics. Slorance has a great talent for live drawing, covering events from the Scottish elections to Eurovision. MARGUERITE BENNETT Bennett writes for a multitude of comics including female superhero series DC Comics: Bombshells, which features an epic cast of Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batwoman, Stargirl, Aquawoman and more; DC’s Batgirl; Dynamite Entertainment’s Red Sonja; and Marvel’s Angela: Queen of Hell. In 2015 she published her i rst ongoing creator-owned comic with artist Ariela Kristantina. InSeXts is an erotic horror story about a pair of female lovers from the Victorian era who transform into bug-like monsters before going on a killing spree.
CLARE FORREST The Glasgow-based illustrator is the creator of The Mighty Women of Science, a beautifully illustrated alphabet book championing the women who have changed the face of science. Forrest hosted last year’s Big Comic Draw and will be in residence again for the Big Science Comic Draw. She’s also responsible for this year’s eye-catching Glasgow Comic Festival poster, a Where’s Wally?-style gathering of comic strip icons: oh wait, is that a Storm Trooper in a jumper? JOHN FARDELL The British cartoonist created two of Viz’s longest- running strips: The Critics (about a pair of elitist art commentators who frequently mistake everyday objects for modern art) and The Modern Parents (a satirical look at a pair of middle-class parents and their quest for ethical living). He’s also the writer and artist for several intricately-detailed children’s picture books, including The Day Louis Got Eaten, and a series of adventure novels for young readers set in a host of exotic locations.
Glasgow Comic Festival, various venues, Tue 28 Jun–Sun 3 Jul; Glasgow Comic Con, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sat 2 & Sun 3 Jul.
2 Jun–1 Sep 2016 THE LIST 37