Renfrewshire Libraries will again be celebrating Will Eisner Week this year with a great line-up of online talks creators such as Canadian/British cartoonist Matt Smith and comics educator, creative partnership Bryan Talbot and Mary Talbot, and artists Gary Erskine and Cam Kennedy.
Will Eisner Week is an annual worldwide series of events, held from 1st – 7th March, in libraries, schools, museums, comic shops, book shops, and other venues – celebrating comics and sequential art, graphic novel literacy, free speech, and Will Eisner’s legacy. Will Eisner (1917 – 2005) was a highly innovative and creative artist and writer who pioneered in the field of comics and graphic novels. He strongly advocated for the inclusion of graphic novels in library collections and sequential art on museum walls.
This is Renfrewshire Libraries fifth year of participation in the event and most of the talks will be presented on their YouTube channel, with workshops on Zoom. Here’s the full line-up of online events.
Matt Smith – Monday 1st March 11.00am – 12 noon + 2.00 – 3.00pm
Matt Smith is a Canadian/British cartoonist and comics educator, who has lived in countries all over the world but currently lives in Renfrew with his wife and two cats. He is best known for his autobiographical Smith vs Smith series, which includes his latest graphic novel, You’re Stuck With Me Now, the true story of how Matt met his Scottish wife while teaching in Kuwait and how she tricked him into becoming a cat guy. Matt’s workshop will help the participants to understand the building blocks of comics as well as how to bring characters to life, in order to create a one page comic by the end of the session.
The only materials needed are a few sheets of A4 paper and a pencil. A rubber, ruler, sharpener and black felt tip would be helpful but not essential.
The workshops are one hour long and will be conducted over Zoom. They are recommended for ages 5 – 8 years. To register for Zoom workshops, check out this page and follow the “More” links to reveal registration links
Bryan Talbot and Mary M. Talbot from 6.00pm on Monday 1st March
A discussion between Costa Award winners Bryan and Mary Talbot and comic historian John McShane.
Bryan Talbot is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and its sequel Heart of Empire, the Grandville series of books and his time as an artist on series such as “Nemesis the Warlock” for 2000AD. His collaboration with his wife, Mary M. Talbot, to produce Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes, won them both the 2012 Costa biography award.
• The YouTube link for this event will be available below from 6.00pm on Monday 1 March 2021
Gary Erskine – Tuesday 2nd March 11.00am – 12 noon, 2.00 – 3.00pm and 6.00 – 8.00pm
Join Marvel Comics artist Gary Erskine for a free online Character Design Workshop. These self-contained workshops provide the basic building blocks to help inspire budding artists to design their own characters for a comic book or game. It will offer tips on how to bring your characters to life and help design your own hero/villain/monster/alien/robot’s costume with colour and textures.
Gary has worked for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, 2000AD, Dark Horse Comics and many others. He has also contributed to licenses including Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Terminator and Transformers as well as storyboarding for the games industry including Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned.
The only materials needed are a few sheets of A4 paper and a pencil. A rubber, ruler, sharpener and black felt tip would be helpful but not essential.
The workshops during the day will both be one hour long and will be conducted over Zoom. They are recommended for ages 8 – 12 years.
The evening workshop will be 2 hours long and will also be conducted over Zoom. This workshop is for ages 16+. To register for the Zoom workshops, check out this page and follow the “More” links to reveal registration links
Kev F Sutherland – Wednesday 3rd March 10.00am – 12 noon plus 2.00 – 4.00pm
Kev F is a comic writer and artist best known for his strips in the Beano. He’s worked from everyone from Marvel to Viz, Red Dwarf to Doctor Who. He’s recently published three Shakespearean graphic novels Findlay Macbeth, The Prince Of Denmark Street, and The Midsummer Night’s Dream Team.
By the end of Kev’s workshops, the group will have produced a comic containing a strip by every participant!
The only materials needed are a few sheets of A4 paper and a pencil. A rubber, ruler, and black felt tip would be helpful but not essential.
The workshops will be two hours long and conducted over Zoom. They are recommended for ages 8 – 12 years. To register for Zoom workshops, check out this page and follow the “More” links to reveal registration links
Metaphrog – Thursday 4th March 11.00am – 12 noon and 2.00 – 3.00pm
Metaphrog have been creating comics and graphic novels since 1996. Their graphic novels have received international acclaim and multiple award nominations, including three for the Eisner Awards, and Louis – Night Salad was also Highly Commended for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards 2011.
VIZ Q&A – Friday 5th March from 7pm
In a pre-recorded interview, Simon Thorp and Graham Dury, of legendary comic Viz, will answer questions submitted by the general public. This event will be hosted by John McShane.
• Watch this event on the Renfrewshire Libraries YouTube channel from 7.00pm on Friday 5th March 2021
Cam Kennedy – Saturday 6th March from 6.00pm
Scottish comic artist legend Cam Kennedy will be discussing his 40+ years career with comic historian John McShane . Cam is best known for his work with 2000AD, as well as producing art for DC Comics and Marvel.
• To register for Zoom workshops, check out this page and follow the “More” links to reveal registration links
• Will Eisner Week is Held Every March, celebrating Comics, Graphic Novel Literacy, Free Speech, and the Legacy of Will Eisner, in Schools, Universities, Libraries, Museums, Bookstores, Comic Book Shops, and Other Venues. For Information about Organising an event, head over to this page, part of the official Will Eisner web site at willeisner.com
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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