Following the success of its debut event, High Vis Festival has announced the return of Kings Heath Comic Con for a second year – with several guests already lined up.
Held in the birthplace of the UK comic convention, Kings Heath Comic Con was founded with a clear and passionate focus: to celebrate comic books and the creators behind them. With great positive feedback from both creators and fans alike from across the UK, the event will return in 2026, and the team are hoping to make it even bigger and better.
The convention will once again take place at the All Saints Centre in Kings Heath on Saturday 19th September 2026.
Building on last year’s success, attendees can look forward to a full day of workshops, anime film screenings, signings, a larger trader hall, a charity auction -c supporting our charity of choice, the Kings Heath Food Bank – and new for this year, comic book creator panels. All of this is available for just £10 admission, with free entry for children under 15. Tickets are on sale now.
The first wave of confirmed guests are returning creators Will Potter (CUD, Geezer), Paul McCaffrey (2000AD, Anno Dracula – 1895: Seven Days of Madness) and Beano artists Hunt Emerson (also well known for his work for Knockabout Comics and a variety of graphic novels), Laura Howell (Minnie the Minx, Lew Stringer (also the creator of much-loved indie characters Brickman and Combat Colin), and Kev F Sutherland (Romeo & Juliet); 2000AD artist Ian Richardson; and film/TV actor Nick Owen (Star Wars: Andor).
An already impressive Artists’ Alley with many more announcements to come over the coming months.
As ever, we can’t do it without support from our friends and valued partners, Enjoy Kings Heath, and for 2026, we are proud to be supported by The77, who will help grow this show with an exciting lineup of comic book creators they’re planning on bringing to the convention.
Kings Heath Comic Con remains dedicated to delivering an accessible, creator-focused celebration of comics at the heart of the community.
For announcements and breaking news follow High Vis Comic Con on Instagram or Facebook at High Vis Festival.
• High Vis – Kings Heath Comic Con 2026 | 10.00am – 9.00pm 19th September 2026, All Saints Centre, 2 Vicarage Road, Kings Heath | Tickets available here
Enquiries into booking a table can be made by emailing us at the following: info.highviscomic-con@gmail.com
The Comic Guests…
William Potter is a talented and versatile author of children’s and adult non-fiction and comic books. His comic book oeuvre includes well-known properties such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Sonic the Comic. He has also successfully kickstarted the creator-owned comic Geezer in collaboration with Philip Bond.
Hunt Emerson is a cartoonist living and working in Birmingham. He was closely involved with the Birmingham Arts Lab of the mid-to-late 1970s, and with the British underground comics scene of the 1970s and 1980s. Rip Off Press published his Thunderdogs title; while Don and Maggie Thompson included him in their mini-comic series, for which he created Calculus Cat. Emerson’s art also appeared in the U.S. underground/alternative anthologies Commies from Mars and Eclipse Monthly. His graphic novels Lady Chatterley’s Lover, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Casanova’s Last Stand and other adaptations of classic novels and tales have been sold in numerous countries, and translated into several different languages. For over 30 years Hunt Emerson’s strips and illustrations have graced the pages of Fortean Times, a magazine of occult and unexplained phenomena, while his pornographically humorous Firkin the Cat (written by Tym Manley) has appeared in hundreds of Fiesta magazines.
Laura Howell is a comic artist, occasional writer and educator working in Birmingham. She turned pro in 2006 after eight years working as an editor in children’s publishing but, like almost all cartoonists, had been drawing for as long as she can remember. She was the first female artist to produce a regular strip in BEANO in its 80+ year history, and also the first woman to draw for Viz. From 2015-2016 she was the lead artist for BOOM! Studios’ monthly Regular Show comic, and also drew two original Regular Show graphic novels – Wrasslesplosion and The Meatening – in 2017 and 2018
Paul McCaffrey’s first comics work was for Omnivistascope and since then he has drawn strips for IDW, DC Comics and Marvel Comics.
He co-created “Fawkes of the Air Ministry” for David Lloyd’s Aces Weekly and drew Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula 1895 for and Adler, written by Lavie Tidhar, for Titan Comics, as well as a number of covers.
Ian Richardson is a comic book penciller, inker and cover artist, best known for his work across several publishers, working on titles from 2000AD, Image Comics, Marvel UK/Panini, Dark Horse Comics and Zenescope Entertainment, among others.
Like many British comic artists, Ian’s first professional comics work was for 2000AD, working on various “Future Shocks”, “Judge Dredd” and “Sinister Dexter” stories. before moving onto Image Comics drawing the Noble Causes series, alongside writer Jay Faerber and penciller Andres Ponce.
Lew Stringer is an ace artist/writer of humour comics and have worked professionally in the industry since 1983 on comics such as BEANO, VIZ, Buster, The Dandy, Toxic, Doctor Who Magazine and many more as well as self publishing his own comics Combat Colin, and others.
Kev F Sutherland is a comic book writer and artist for many years, working for everyone from BEANO to Marvel Comics, via Doctor Who Magazine, Viz magazine, Red Dwarf Smegazine, Zig & Zag’s Zogazine and a hundred titles you may never have heard of. His debut graphic novel, Findlay Macbeth, came out in 2020, followed by several other Shakespeare adaptations with a twist, including Prince Of Denmark Street and The Midsummer Night’s Dream Team. His collection Comic Tales From The Bible was published in 2022.
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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: British Comics, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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