Backwards Burd Head To Belfast for May MCM Convention

By John Freeman on April 19, 2015

London comics group Backwards Burd is heading to Belfast on the 2nd – 3rd of May, spreading their slothy goodness at the King’s Hall Complex MCM convention. The quartet of Sajan Rai, Daniel de Sosa, Siobhan Alcaide and ShaneMelisse have spent the past three years barrelling around the UK with their catalogue of surreal, offbeat, and often offensive zines and graphic novels.

The team will arrive off the back of two successfully Kickstarted comics – F**k You Kitty Jenkins and Oi! Tales of Bardic Fury, both available as electronic and print editions.

(Daniel seems to be adab hand with Kickstarter, having just successfully gained backing for some new “Sloth” t-shirts, which will join his other designs here on Redbubble soon).

Jenkins is a compiled anthology about an inter-dimensional three-eyed cat that sends people on unwanted spirit quests, resulting in assorted psychological and scatological consequences. The graphic novel showcases the range of Backwards Burd’s artists, from Rai’s otherworldly scenery, to Melisse’s dramatic compositions.

De Sosa’s recently-released Oi! is a fantasy comic about rock star bards and hippy cult leader druids in ancient North Ireland. It has been described by one critic as a “hysterical combination of Asterix and Father Ted“.

Also being showcased are Sajan Rai’s cult-favourite Brocko ‘N Frens, “butt-clenchingly funny” (Hannah K Chapman, Off Life) stories of high-school escapades, Siobhan Alcaide’s Stories About You + Me, a sugar-coated diary comic dealing with the oddities of retail work. Shane’s Pickles and Chips is a surreal and quinticentially British tale about odd-couple twins enrolled in the same college.

<br /> <br /> • For more about Backward Burds visit http://backwardsburd.bigcartel.com or http://childishbuttvomit.bigcartel.com

• You can also find them at www.backwardsburd.com or follow them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter @BackwardsBurd

John Freeman

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.