Comico 2018 is Bradford’s first dedicated comics and manga weekend and will be held at University of Bradford, alongside the annual Bradford Literature Festival (29th June – 8th July 2018).

Comico will combine a traditional convention setup with specially curated events, exploring comic traditions from around the world including manga, graphic novels, science fiction and gaming.

It will include an ‘Artists’ Alley’ where authors, artists and comic creators can share and sell their work, as well as dedicated space for the sale of merchandise and collectables.

This year’s Bradford Literature Festival, hailed as one of the most inspirational festivals in the UK, will feature over 300 events packed into iconic venues across 10 days. The event celebrates the written and spoken word in all its wonderful formsand offers a line up that includes world-renowned authors, poets, musicians and artists, all sharing their expertise and passions with you, the audience

Here’s the list of Comico 2018 exhibitors confirmed so far:

Anthony Johnston

Antony Johnston is a New York Times-bestselling graphic novelist and author of more than forty books, including The Coldest City, which became the hit Charlize Theron movie Atomic Blonde.

His latest thriller, The Exphoria Code, examines the dangerous cutting edge of drone technology. He lives and works in England.

Louis Netter

Louis Netter is an illustrator, animator, designer and academic whose work has been exhibited, published and screened in the USA and the UK. Current work is in experimental graphic novels and reportage drawing. Artwork held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Library of Congress among others.

Abi Watson

Abi is a UK based illustrator. She specialises in comics and character based illustration. She enjoys small dogs, bad movies and cool socks, dislikes using capital letters and writing about herself.

Amber Kaplan

Kooky Creative, print gremlin, cut ‘n’ paste experimenter, digital trickster, chronic doodler and village witch. Amber Kaplan’s work is a rough and tumble, experimental medley of media including print, paper-cut /collage, and some digital fiddling mixed with her love of music, film, makeup, monsters, and all things downright weird.

Alfie Gallagher

Alfie is an illustrator, comic artist and creative. He has had comic material published through Aces Weekly, FutureQuake publishing and also his own self-published material ‘Charlatan Tales’ amongst others.

He has also been involved with successful Kickstarter campaigns ‘Debris’, ‘Latin Drawn & Quartered’ and ‘EIR’ with writer Ryan K Lindsay.

Darius Cummings, Red Tempo

Red Tempo is a comedic fantasy adventure set within a magical and colourful world, about a teenager hidden away from his surroundings. At the age of sixteen on the world of Terradopia, Red Tempo is given the opportunity to escape and learn about the world around him. Creatures beyond one’s imagination roam the lands, magic blends with the human soul to create superior powers, and technology grows stronger with each passing day…

Edalie Roberts

Edalie is a 2D illustrator and owner of Give Me Space, specialising in cute and bright posters! She loves anime, gaming, and offers on the day sketch commissions.

Eleanor Hollindrake

Eleanor writes fun comics about the Adventures of Dragon Mouse and their friends the Mythical Mice. They are silent, so are suitable for people of all reading abilities. She also knits toys so you can have your very own Mythical Mouse to take on adventures.

Emma Reynolds

Emma is a freelance character designer, illustrator and designer for animation based in Manchester. Passionate about storytelling and creating unique characters, Emma makes picture books and comics. She is inspired by nature, seeing the magic in the everyday, and bringing characters to life.

Gareth Brookes

Gareth Brookes is a graphic novelist and textile artist. He studied at the RCA and has created two graphic novels; The Black Project and A Thousand Coloured Castles. His work has also appeared in Kus and ArtReview.

Known for his unusual processes, materials he uses have included embroidery, crayons, pressed flowers and fire.

Good Comics

Good Comics is a UK-based micropublisher of comics and zines run by Paddy Johnston and Samuel C. Williams. Their collection of comics includes The Times I Knew I Was Gay, Human Garbage, and At War with Yourself.

Jed McPherson

Jed McPherson is a writer. He’s known for his serial killer book Jacob which he assures us is 100% not autobiographical and Deadbeat about a deadbeat dad who tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter through armed robbery.

Jennie Gyllblad

Jennie is a full-time comic creator in the UK independent scene. She paints traditionally, using mostly watercolour, gouache and ink.

Ken McFarlane

Ken McFarlane is an illustrator and comic artist based in Leeds who graduated from Leeds College of Art in 2012. A versatile artist, Ken is influenced by both Western and Eastern Pop-Culture, video games, and kawaii style.

Lewis Campbell, LostMonkeyArt

Lewis Campbell is an illustrator and artist who has a variety of specialisms from pen and ink drawings to large painted murals and canvases. He aims for his art to make the viewer believe that the otherworldly is just around the corner by using dark details and intricate landscapes to create highly energetic images.

Lyndon White

Lyndon is an illustrator, writer and comic artist, working with a variety of publishers such as Disconnected Press, Blue Fox Comics and Hellbound Media. On occasion, you’ll even find him teaching comics.

Outside of comics he produces artwork and designs for music bands, book covers, textile illustration, and concept work.

Rob Jackson

Rob Jackson is a cartoonist from Bolton. He has been self publishing his comics for over ten years and appeared in various anthologies and collections. His comics include ‘Corporation Pop’, the ‘Volunteers’ series, ‘The Storytellers’, ‘California’, ‘Slaves of the Megapode’ and Gin Palace’.

AmberDust and Zara Zukinee, Wine and Zine

The Wine and Zine Collective is a collaboration between five friends who met while studying Animation at University in 2009, and have since spread across England and Wales on our individual journeys creating art, comics and animation, though we always find time to catch up with a glass of wine!

• Bradford Literature Festival is online at www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk

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. Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Explorer (previously known as Star Trek 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: downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events

Tags: Bradford Literature Festival, Comico 2018, downthetubes News