James Bacon and Richard Sheaf report on the recent Lawless event in Bristol, which was absolutely crammed with comics and their creators…
Lawless, an annual 2000AD-inspired comics gathering, the latest event held recently in Bristol, continues to exceed expectations. Not only in terms of its panels, but because there was just so much incredible comic art available to purchase, too.
Comic creators are very tuned into sharing their work, and making it available for sale to fans – and it was clear at Lawless that this was not only appreciated, but based on how busy the event was, such sharing is a major part of its ongoing continuing success.
Colin MacNeil, for example, had a wonderful stack of “Judge Dredd” pages and to see the detail, especially large splash pages featuring his incredibly well drawn architecture, capturing the essence of Mega City so well, was amazing.
Brian Bolland had a large amount of items available for fans: posters, graphic novels, prints, and even of his own contributor copies of Camelot 3000 from the 1980s, which looked to be in mint condition. He also had a lovely selection of preliminary covers and some sketches that were done prior to the con, and as one might expect, his Joker sketches just keep selling.
Alan Davis also had a lovely selection of sketches and preliminary work available, and the event was just an incredible opportunity for fans to meet an artist who, at an American con, would normally have a very long line of people in his queue.
To find a piece that one hadn’t anticipated on finding or seeing one’s favourite artist do a rendition of a character that resonates and being able to purchase it, it’s superb.
Dylan Teague was doing some incredible coloured work. He is so dynamic, and a Nemesis the Warlock themed triptych he’d advertised on Facebook didn’t last long once the doors had opened. John Higgins, who is so affable and pleasant, was continually busy and creates phenomenal sketches but has a fab system!
Patrick Goddard had both “Nina Petrova” pages from Battle and “Rogue Trooper” pages for sale, while Henry Flint had “El Mestizo” from Battle and “Judge Dredd” pages from 2000AD. Like a number of creators, Henry was also drawing sketches, that were very reasonably priced, and I was very happy to take away an “El Mestizo” sketch for £20.
David Roach not only had an incredible selection of his own artwork, but he had brought some other pages to sell, including some Carlos Ezquerra “Strontium Dog” pages which created a considerable amount of interest. Like other creators, David was also selling original art that hasn’t even been published (or announced!) yet so this really is your best opportunity to get in first for this art.
There was also time made to chat, of course. A great time was had in the bar on both Friday and Saturday nights, affording ample opportunity to talk to favourite creators. All the artists and writers were engaging: I especially found Deborah Tate, talking about her time at Marvel UK very interesting to hear about, and Alan Davis is, as ever, both erudite and so thoughtful. But having spoken to so many, all were a delight. I never expected to talk about lambing so much with a comic artist, but that’s the joy of Lawless!
The Lawless panels always offer an interesting mix of creators, talking about a range of subjects. This year, to make up for not having an exhibition of original comic artwork, the space given for panels doubled! Truly there is too much to do at Lawless.
The main panel room continued to be its traditional large space with big name guests. The smaller panel room offered a smaller, more intimate space without the traditional “long form” interview: instead, it offered fans an opportunity to ask more questions themselves. It was definitely a good approach to offer different formats in the different rooms, but it also meant talks/panels clashed.
It’s always good to see new attendees amongst the familiar faces and this year was no different. Hunt Emerson made his debut appearance and put his ace cartooning skills to good use in the “draw off’”competition, on Saturday afternoon – congrats to Hunt for winning! Aly Fell was a name that was very familiar to me, but I’d never met him in person, so it was great to see him. He seemed to be very busy, and blown away by how much importance all the attendees placed on the actual art, a proper ‘comic con’!
A shout out, also, to some new inductees into the Lawless hall of fame – Simon Bisley, Glenn Fabry and Alan Davis.
The trader room was also busy all weekend – again, there was vintage British comic art for sale, Clint Langley and Henry Flint were signing and sketching furiously, Dave Broughton was selling copies of the latest issue of the always brilliant Shaman Kane, Time Bomb Comics were there, Zarjaz was there, and there were dealers selling 2000AD comic, back issues and merchandise from the last (nearly) 50 years.
All of this is just a flavour of what’s was going on the weekend, but it’s also worth a shout out for just how friendly and welcoming Lawless feels. It’s always good to meet old friends but I always come away having added about five new friends to the list of people I’ll be looking forward to seeing next year.
One learning that’s come from the weekend was the importance of clear signage in regards to prices for signatures! The fans who attend these events are happy to spend their money, and when one is buying art, or a sketch, enquiring is natural, but a single artist surprised fans by charging for signatures, a new departure that occurred for the first time at Lawless. No one begrudges that; indeed all the surprised fans paid up, but the price needs to be clear before said comics or Con Programme are signed, to avoid unfortunate awkwardness and embarrassment.
Lawless is a smaller con, and so full of spirit, kindness and well meaning, fans flock here to find art, original pages, covers, sketches, prelims, prints as well as getting their comics signed and meeting, listening and when socialising with some of the greatest comic artists and writers in the land.
I can’t wait for next year, meeting fans annually here is superb, although it was good to learn that many are going to be going to Enniskillen Comic fest, and then the next Commando Swap meet in Stoke and London Comic Mart, hoping to connect sooner. The calendar is definitely full, but discerning fans recognise stellar guest lists when they see them!
Su Haddrell and the team did a superb job. This is a smooth running con, the cosplay, the panels, the overall atmosphere, it was all very well done.
• Lawless Comic Con is on the Web: lawlesscomiccon.co.uk | Facebook | YouTube
Full disclosure – Richard Sheaf was provided with a press pass for Lawless 2025
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Richard Sheaf is a longtime contributor to downthetubes and has written for numerous magazines about British comics.
Categories: 2000AD, British Comics, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, Features, Reviews
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