Comic Events in Scotland: Review of 2008
by Jeremy Briggs

Originally published in the second Hi-Ex Convention Brochure in February 2009.

Last February, despite nature's best efforts to scupper the event with heavy snow, people came out to the inaugural Hi-Ex. No doubt for many Inverness residents it was their first experience of a event focussing on comics and it proved more successful than could ever have been expected. However it wasn't the only comics related event that members of the Scottish public could attend in 2008...

JANUARY
Writer Alan Grant gave one of the Edinburgh Lectures run by the University at the Surgeon's Hall. He was interviewed by crime author and comics writer Denise Mina and spoke of his career writing for British and American comics.

Meanwhile writer Ferg Handley, having brought Spider-Man to Edinburgh in Panini's Spectacular Spider-Man issue 162, did a signing in Edinburgh's Deadhead Comics.

FEBRUARY
While the local attendees probably wondered what all the fuss was about, those coming from further a field battled with public transport delays, cancellations and a ridiculous amount of snow on the A9 trying to make it to Inverness for the inaugural Hi-Ex Comics Convention. Glasgow's GLASCAC and Dumfries's Moniave comics festivals finally had a modern successor which raised money for the Children First charity. (read the DTT review here)

Meanwhile in Edinburgh Alan Grant and artist Cam Kennedy's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was released as the 2008 One Book - One Edinburgh graphic novel. As with the Kidnapped graphic novel the previous year there were various tie-in events with Grant, Kennedy and the book's colourist Jamie Grant appearing at the book launch while the National Library Of Scotland promoted the book's release with a talk from Grant and Kennedy.

MARCH
...was a quiet month which gave us all a breather before...

APRIL
The National Library Of Scotland Local Heroes comics exhibition began in Edinburgh. Curated by John Birch, the exhibition put on an impressive display of books comics and original art including the entire 63 pages of Cam Kennedy's painted art for the 2007 Kidnapped graphic novel. The museum ran a wide range of tie-in events from interviews with artists Frank Quitely and Gary Erskine, DC Thomson's managing editor David Donaldson, and John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs of Glasgow's Metaphrog showed children how to create a comic.

The Glasgow Hillhead Comic Fair returned to Hillhead library.

MAY
The Local Heroes exhibition and its events continued while the Eagle Society, who celebrate the original 1950s and 1960s Eagle comic which originated familiar characters such as Dan Dare and Captain Pugwash, came to Edinburgh to hold their annual meal amongst a weekend of events and talks.

The third Prestonpandemonium comic mart took place on a hot day in Prestonpans as part of the 3 Harbours Festival and raised money for Burma Cyclone Disaster Relief.

Hi-Ex organiser Vicky Stonebridge gave a workshop on creating Manga style comics in Eden Court in Inverness.

JUNE
Taking over from the Biff! Bam!! Crikey!!! academic conference in 2007, Dundee University's Dr Chris Murray held a Comics Day of lectures during the Dundee Literary Festival. Artists Jim Glen and Bryan Talbot gave talks along with graphic novelists Metaphrog and comics historian Paul Gravett. Meanwhile in Melrose, on the same day, Alan Grant was interviewed by author Ian Rankin at the Borders Book Festival.

JULY
Dundee University's Lamb Gallery put on the official Beano 70th Anniversary exhibition with old issues, merchandise and lots of original artwork on display. The University held a formal opening event for the exhibition with talks from exhibition curator Matthew Jarron, lecturer Dr Chris Murray and current Beano artists Laura Howell and Gary Northfield. The event culminated in a gallery talk by former Dandy editor and DC Thomson's archivist Morris Heggie helped out by Beano artist David Sutherland and current Beano editor Andy Digby.

The Forest Café in Edinburgh held the inaugural Edinburgh Zine Fair catering for small press comics and fanzines.

AUGUST
With the Beano exhibition continuing in Dundee, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which had dabbled with graphic novels in 2007 made them a major part of the programme. Artist and writer Bryan Talbot gave a graphic novel masterclass as well as a talk with the ubiquitous Alan Grant and artist/writer Hannah Berry. Paul Gravett returned to Scotland and hosted a talk on Manga with Manga Shakespeare artist Robert Deas and publisher Emma Hayley. Guardian artist Posy Simmonds gave a talk on her work and graphic novels while Barry Appleby from the Beano entertained his audience by sketching Dennis The Menace and Gnasher while he was talking.

Separate from the Book Festival, artist/writer Bryan Talbot did a signing of his graphic novels in Edinburgh's Deadhead Comics.

The Collectormania event in Braehead near Glasgow included a large number of comics dealers and comics related cosplayer costumes amongst its many attractions.

SEPTEMBER
The second Hillhead Comic Fair of the year took place in Glasgow.

OCTOBER
Coatbridge born writer Mark Millar, who has worked on American Spider-Man and Superman comics and whose title Wanted was turned into an Angelina Jolie film, was interviewed in Airdrie Library as part of Words 2008, the North Lanarkshire Festival of Books and Writing.

Scotland's adult themed humour comic Wasted was launched with a signing session by writer Alan Grant and artists Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant in the Forbidden Planet International store in Edinburgh.

Also in Edinburgh, Jim Stewart did a signing of his similarly styled Ganjaman Presents small press comic at Deadhead Comics.

In Dundee Dr Chris Murray gave a talk to the Abertay Historical Society on DC Thomson's superhero characters of the 1930s and 1940s entitled The Forgotten Heroes of Beanotown, while Dr Lawrence Grove gave a talk at Dundee University on the French style of Bande Dessinee comics amusingly entitled Sexier Than The President's Wife.

Meanwhile in the Borders, Metaphrog gave a graphic novel workshop as part of the Milgnavie Storytelling Festival.

NOVEMBER
Auchinawa, Scotland's largest anime and Japanese culture event, which obviously includes Manga comics, took place at the Glasgow airport Holiday Inn. The convention was so popular that it sold out its 300 spaces in 9 days flat and, remarkably, had a waiting list of over 150 people for any cancellations.

Metaphrog were on the road again giving a graphic novel workshop at the Imprint Book Festival in Kilmarnock.

DECEMBER
Collectormania returned for its second event of the year in Braehead with its now usual mix of comics dealers and comics related cosplayer costumes.

• The review of Scottish comics events in 2009 is here and in 2010 is here.