It’s Official: BICS is back for 2010!

By John Freeman on March 15, 2010

The British International Comic Show – Britain’s largest and most popular event devoted solely to comics and graphic novels of all kinds – returns to Birmingham in October, with a truly international flavour as the organisers welcome renowned creators from as far a field as America, Japan and Europe.

Over the weekend of October 16th – 17th at the state of the art Think Tank, Millennium Point in Birmingham, organisers tell us visitors can look forward to a full program of events celebrating the medium of comics and manga including panels, competitions, book launches and a huge trade fair featuring the UK’s most well known publishers and dealers.

This year, the guest list includes the complete creative team from DC Comics imprint Vertigo’s runaway success Unwritten including award winning illustrator Yuko Shimizu, writer Mike Carey and penciller Peter Gross. There will also be a special appearance by artist Jimmy Broxton as visitors have the chance to take part in an exclusive Unwritten panel at the show.

Vertigo editor Pornsak Picheshote will also be at hand conducting portfolio reviews and taking part in events.

Other big names flying in from across the world include Turkish creator Mahmud A Asrar and USaSuperstar Tommy Lee Edwards, whose work can be seen in the new Jonathan Ross-penned series Turf.

Along with a whole host of UK creators such as Duncan Fegredo (Hellboy), Alan Davis (X-Men), Charlie Adlard (Walking Dead) and Sean Phillips (Criminal) to name just a few – BICS 2010 surely boasts the most diverse and impressive guest list of any UK event.

• To find out more, book tables or tickets or to keep up with all the latest updates visit the official website at: www.thecomicsshow.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. 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.