Organisers Wicked Comics have announced a slew of guests for the eighth Malta Comic Con, taking place Saturday 3rd – Sunday 4th December at the south end of the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre (MFCC) in Ta’ Qali.
I was privileged to be at MCC last year and it’s a great event, not just for the friendly atmosphere but the chances for attendees to not only find out more about how to create comics but also simply meet and mingle with comic creators. Cosplay is a big thing at the event – and brilliantly done – and there’s a thriving gaming community on this popular Mediterranean island, too.
There are special travel packages on offer (for both fans and creators) that make this opportunity for some winter sun a powerful attraction!
Joining guests already announced – 2000AD’s Tom Foster, David Hitchcock, Roger Langridge and Collette Turner – are Sean Azzopardi (Necessary Monsters), Cliodhna (The Strumpet), PJ Holden (2000AD, “Judge Dredd”), John Fleming (Badassical), Aris Labos (Mr. Bleak: Candlelight Thoughts), Andreas Michaelides (Last Flight of the Swordbreaker), Guillermo Ortego (X-Factor), Tim Perkins (Worlds End) and You-Tuber Mr. Massy 81.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be visiting Malta for the first time as a guest of the show,” says PJ Holden. “I’ve heard such wonderful things about it from previous guests!”
“I am really excited to be attending MCC 2016,” says Sean Azzopardi, a regular guest of the event. “It’s a brilliant, friendly convention run by an amazing group of people.”
“Jack Kirby welcomed comic fans to see The Greatest Show Off Earth in Mister Miracle Issue 11. I would like to invite you to see The Greatest Show on Earth at Malta Comic Con 2016. Don’t ask – just come along!” enthuses Tim Perkins, who has run some brilliant comics workshops at the event for several years.
Sean Azzopardi
Sean Azzopardi is a London-based cartoonist who has attended a variety of comics related events, both locally and internationally. He has also been involved with collectives and was a founding member of London Underground Comics, and is currently involved with The Crouch End Festival. He also organised and curated CECAF, Crouch End’s first cartoon festival.
Sean has produced numerous mini comics and books for his Phatcomics imprint, including acclaimed titles such as Ed, Twelve Hour Shift and Dark Matters. Away from self-published titles he is working on Volume 3 of Necessary Monsters (First Comics) and has been awarded an Arts Council grant to work on his first graphic novel, The voice of the Hall.
• More about Sean on the Malta Comic Con web site here or visit his official web site: http://sean-azzopardi.com
Clíodhna is an animator, illustrator, and occasional Comic Book Tourist, with a first name that few people outside of Ireland can pronounce or spell. Her parents named her after a lifeboat on the Aran Islands where she was born for which she feels slightly jibbed as boats are usually named after people not the other way round.
She studied animation at Ballyfermot College in Dublin and comics at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her film credits include The Secret of Kells and The 99 Unbound and she has contributed to several comic book anthologies including War: The Human Cost, Ink+paper and The Whores of Mensa as well as editing the charity anthology, I’m sorry I can’t take your call right now but I’m off saving the world.
• More about Clíodhna on the Malta Comic Con web site here or visit her official web site: www.ztoical.com
John Fleming
John Fleming is a Canadian writer, educator and makeshift letterer. He’s written everything from novels to absurdist theatre, but comic books, that’s been exciting. In 2016 he joined with a strong international team to develop and begin publishing the independent comic series Badassical.
While new to the industry he’s seeing positive development of his work and an awesome fan base on the rise. Along with artist Collette Turner, John will be promoting the first issue of his new project Badassical during the Malta Comic Con 2016.
• More about John on the Malta Comic Con web site here or visit the Badassical Facebook page
PJ Holden
PJ Holden is a UK-based comic artist who’s been working for 2000AD since 2001, drawing hundreds of pages of “Judge Dredd” as well as “Rogue Trooper”, “Sinister Dexter” and many others. He’s also worked with Garth Ennis on Battlefields for Dynamite, Rob Williams on Robocop/Terminator and co-created, with Gordon Rennie, the brilliant Dept of Monsterology and, with Simon Spurrier, Numbercruncher.
• More about Paul on the Malta Comic Con web site here or visit his official web site: www.pauljholden.com
Aris Labos
Aris Labos says he draws because he has no choice. During the day he works as a journalist on Greek television. During the night he quenches his addiction for art in papers, inks and watercolors, deep in his underground shelter, on the second floor of his flat.
Apart from applied arts, he has studied political science and public administration, as well as journalism.
His first self-published comic was The Southern Death-Style in 2010. A few years later, he met the mysterious poet Hector Bleak and in the winter of 2015 they self-published the mini graphic novel Mr. Bleak: Candlelight Thoughts, which he will be promoting during the Malta Comic Con. A year later he drew the horror comic Black Light, written by Elias Katirtzigianoglou and published by Comicdom Press.
He has also illustrated the pages of The Addiction of Christian Ambrose series of books, written by Andreas Michaelides and published by the Nightread imprint of Ars Nocturna. Every Thursday he publishes an episode of his personal webcomic series, The Metalheads, on the Socomic.gr site. He is also the lead singer of the heavy rock band Deathcrop Valley.
• More about Aris on the Malta Comic Con web site here or visit his official Facebook page
Andreas Michaelides
Words are the one true love of Andreas Michaelides – what they mean, the way they change, the stories they tell. Born in Greece in 1982, he has worked as a columnist, journalist and photographer; he has written detective stories and surreal tales, which have been published in various Greek anthologies and newspapers.
For the past ten years, he has worked as a translator for Greek publishing houses, such as Alexandria, Polis and Metaichmio (having translated in Greek anything from popular science and history books, to Andy Lane’s Young Sherlock Holmes series, George R.R. Martin’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Joe Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea Trilogy, among others). In 2010 he entered the world of oral storytelling, as well as writing fables for an adult audience. His first two solo books were published in 2016: Tales From the Anvil of Songs by Mamaya and Love in Fhtagn, the first novelette in The Addiction of Christian Ambrose series (Nightread imprint of Ars Nocturna and illustrated by Aris Lambos).
His relationship with comic books has been as wacky as his personality: from 2003 to 2006 he put out a Greek fanzine called Mangaijin, in collaboration with artist John Dalkides. In 2005 he started writing articles about comics as a member of the Comicdom.gr team (the same team responsible for Comicdom Con Athens). In 2014, he started writing for comics per se: from 2014 to mid 2015 he co-created and wrote Botch! with artist Maria Kouloubaritsi – a gag comic and webcomic presenting the (mis)adventures of a group of gamers. Also in 2014, he began collaborating with artists Valia Kapadai and Pavlos Pavlidis, eventually forming the LarLarLar Comics collective. Together they have put out a number of projects in a range of genres, such as mythology (Nekyia, Mythlegendry), science fiction (Last Flight of the Swordbreaker), adult parody (Tit Quest of Unknown Cuntath) and, recently, historical fantasy (Iasis).
He is also a founding member of the Greek Club of Crime Writers, as well as the Storytelling Cooperative, “Mythologion” and is currently involved in a number of projects, from translation, to writing – both for comics and not –, to storytelling performances, mystery games and educational workshops which combine literature with science.
• More about Andreas on the Malta Comic Con web site here or visit his official web site: lar3comics.wordpress.com
Guillermo Ortego
Born and raised in Madrid and currently living in London, Guillermo Ortego has been inking comic books and illustrating books and magazines ever since he completed a degree in History in 2009.
On inking duties he has worked for American publishers like Marvel, DC, Valiant and Dynamite Entertainment. Throughout the years he has collaborated with renowned pencillers as Jim Cheung, Emanuela Lupacchino, Ardian Syaf, Mikel Janin, Paco Díaz and Robson Rocha and on books like X-Factor, Avengers, Original Sin, Superman Unchained, Justice League Dark, Grayson, Earth Two: World’s End and Batman Eternal.
On the illustration front he provided regular illustrations for Mediapunta Magazine between 2008 and 2014, as well as producing a series of portraits for Everest’s official Real Madrid biography collection. You can also find Guillermo’s artwork on the anthology Nueve Preguntas, Dibbuks (2012) and in The Organ Grinder (2014) by Canadian publisher 7th Wave Comics.
More recently, he has produced work for the Spanish newspapers Marca and El Mundo, illustrating covers and interiors for their daily newspaper and their magazines Metropoli and El Papel, as well as for the literary journal Firewords Quarterly and the publisher Graphiclassics.
• More about Guillermo on the Malta Comic Con web site here or visit his official web site: willortego.com
Tim Perkins at the 2015 Malta Comic Con. Photo: John Freeman
Tim Perkins is an award winning comic illustrator and writer and now graphic novelist based in England and has worked for over 30 years on comics as diverse as Dark Dominion, Transformers, Thundercats, Doctor Who, “Judge Dredd”, Dreamstone, Earthworm Jim and Hot Wheels for such illustrious giants as Marvel, DC, 2000AD, Defiant, and Tekno, amongst a great many others.
He also works as a concept artist, designer and writer in the worlds of themed rides and attractions and animation, as well as lecturing about comics, storytelling and creativity. He is also founder and lecturer on the Fantasy Art Unlimited art course and is company director of Wizards Keep Publishing, the publishing imprint of Wizards Keep Limited. His “Science Fusion” graphic novel Worlds End Volume 1 – The Riders on the Storm was the first major publication from the company and he’s currently producing the artwork for the second volume, Worlds End – Volume 2 – A Hard Reign’s Gonna Fall.
Artwork from this second volume will be on show at this year’s convention along with the hard backed copies of the first volume, the Worlds End Colouring & Storybook, Worlds End Volume 2 Ashcan and The Dinoswords.
Tim is also co-creator – writer/artist on Creative Curriculum Comics, a syllabus based, comic strip and activity comic, created as a teaching aid for teachers.
• More about Tim on the Malta Comic Con web site here or visit his official web site: www.wizards-keep.com
• Check the comics out here at www.direct-ed.co.uk/creativecurriculumcomics
Mr Massy 81
Born in Milan on the 16th May 1981, but brought up in Monza, Mr Massy 81 has always been creative especially in art and writing, later on he started to paint and sculpture. He started to play the drums and then singing in a band of the melodic death metal genre for 5 years, with various experiences in live concerts. He graduated in graphic design and publicity design and works as a freelance designer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZnJRIjh-h8
In 2010 he made an account on You Tube but it was in the year 2011 that he made his first video, a parody of the Daitarn 3 anime opening theme, renaming it “Autan”, which was a great success and was praised by quelli dello zoo on Radio 105, a popular Italian radio station. From then onwards he decided to continue entertaining with his videos which vary from musical parodies, critics and ironic summaries on anime who made him popular with the public.
• More about Mr. Massy on the Malta Comic Con web site here or visit his official YouTube channel
Wicked Comics have designed a number of packages for fans wishing to travel to the Malta Comic Con from abroad, which include heavily discounted accommodation rates and local transport from hotel to convention centre. Similarly Wicked Comics have a number of packages tailored for foreign creators who wish to exhibit at the Malta Comic Con including heavily discounted tables. Wicked Comics can be contacted on info@maltacomic-con.com
• More information on these packages can be found here for creators and here for fans
• More details can be found on the Malta Comic Con website: www.maltacomic-con.com and all announcements can be followed on the Malta Comic Con Facebook page
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: British Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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Thanks for the coverage, John. Are you along for this one ?
Not this year, but hopefully at some point