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| The first two COMICA festivals at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts were held over the summer for an intense 10 days in 2003 and 2004 with a stellar guest list including Charles Burns, Chris Ware, Joe Sacco, Seth, Craig Thompson, Lewis Trondheim, David B. and many more. Since then, a number of one-off COMICA events have been staged, such as Philip Pullman talking to Art Spiegelman and a Manga Live! season. In 2006, the Festival returns with a variety of events taking place throughout the month of October.
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The Independent Sunday Review: Special Comic Themed Edition As media partner for the Comica festival and to preview some of the guests and events, The Independent is publishing a special comics-themed edition of their Sunday Review, edited by Tim Lewis with assistance from Comica director Paul Gravett. As well as a cover-featured interview with Marjane Satrapi, a profile feature on Alan Moore, Melinda Gebbie and Lost Girls, an interview with Kevin Smith, and a preview of Guy Delisle's Pyonyang, almost all of the magazine's other regular departments will be comics-themed: Nick Abadzis illustrates the Food feature; Barnaby Richards does Gardening: Simone Lia does the Restaurant review; Neal Fox covers London Fashion Week; Paul Gravett provides the week's world map on comics; Tom Gauld and Simone Lia are the guests in the How We Met column; Matt Broersma illustrates Dom Joly's Mexican travelogue; and a one-page surreal vignette by Michael Kupperman. If that wasn't enough, the issue also launches the Sunday Review's ongoing weekly serialisation of the complete comic entitled Building Stories by Chris Ware. While this appeared last year in the New York Times Magazine, this version will be unedited and uncensored, as Ware intended it. When: Sunday October 1, 2006 |
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The Official UK 24 Hour Comics Day Kick-Off |
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24 Hour Comics Day 24 Hour Comics Day Photos: Just One Page Thirty artists took part and created the following 24 Hour Comics:
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Comica Demos & Workshops Meet UK cartoonists, individuals, groups and collectives, and learn their techniques from manga to graphic novels in a series of masterclasses, live demos, jam sessions and workshops for adults. Detailed programme of the day and booking to follow online. This is an official The Big Draw event. Where: Brandon Room, ICA When: Saturday 7 October 2006, noon to 7pm |
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From Pyongyang to Shenzen: A Cartoonist Abroad
(2-3pm) What do you do if you're posted alone to North Korea and then China to supervise animation productions? Isolated French-Canadian cartoonist Guy Delisle seized the opportunity to record the baffling everyday strangeness and unsettling hidden facets of these little-understood societies. He talks to novelist Michel Faber about creating his secret graphic diaries as a fresh form of insightful travel-writing and reportage based on acute observation. Guy Delisle will be available to sign copies of hs books Pyongyang and Shenzen from 3.00pm to 3.30pm in the ICA Bar. More... |
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Manga: Not Made in Japan (3.30-4.30pm) |
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The Universe According to Steven
Appleby (5-6pm) |
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Comica Demos & Workshops Meet UK cartoonists, individuals, groups and collectives, and learn their techniques from manga to graphic novels in a series of masterclasses, live demos, jam sessions and workshops for adults. Detailed programme of the day and booking to follow online. This is an official The Big Draw event. More... Where: Brandon Room, ICA When: Sunday 8 October 2006, noon to 7pm |
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Crocs
In Frocks - or The Knitting
Pattern Atrocities Production kindly supported by: Where: Theatre, ICA
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Crocs In Frocks - or The Knitting
Pattern Atrocities Combining projections, physical theatre, dance and original music, Crocs adapts cartoonist Steven Appleby's inner world to the stage for the very first time. Where: Theatre, ICA When: Monday 9 October 2006, 8pm (approx. 2 hours) Tickets: £12, £10 Concs, £8 Members |
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Alan Moore & Melinda Gebbie: Lost Girls They guided us through Wonderland, Neverland and the Land of Oz. Now Alice, Wendy and Dorothy have grown up and are ready to guide us through the realms of sexual awakening and fulfilment. Told by one of the most influential writers in the history of comics, Alan Moore has brought us such groundbreaking graphic novels as V For Vendetta, From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Lost Girls is illustrated by Melinda Gebbie, creator of Wimmen's Comix and Tits & Clits. Alan and Melinda will be in conversation with comedian, author and comic fan Stewart Lee. Lost Girls is for adults only. In collaboration with Blackwells. More... Where: Logan Hall, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London When: Thursday 12 October 2006, 7pm Tickets: £8, Concs and Members £6 |
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Ben
Katchor: Tales of Cities |
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Film: The Mindscape of Alan Moore A unique opportunity to go one-on-one with Alan Moore, writer, artist, performer, shaman and critically-acclaimed creator of comic books and graphic novels. Panel Discussion with the director DeZ Vylenz and Moore's collaborators, this extended filmed interview invites the viewer deep into Moore's world, with the writer himself guiding us from his Northampton childhood, through a career which revolutionised the comic-book medium and into his private world of magic, spirituality and science. Screenings celebrate the movie's release on DVD and extracts from the extras will also be shown. More... Dir: DeZ Vylenz, UK, 2003, 80 mins. Where: Cinema 2, ICA When: Saturday 21 October 2006, 6.30pm Tickets: £8, £6 Members |
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Film:
Moomin Memoirs |
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Film: The Mindscape of Alan Moore A unique opportunity to go one-on-one with Alan Moore, writer, artist, performer, shaman and critically-acclaimed creator of comic books and graphic novels. Details as per 21 October above. More... Where: Cinema 2, ICA When: Sunday 22 October 2006, 6.30pm Tickets: £8, £6 Members |
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Alison
Bechdel: Family Secrets |
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Film: Tick Tock Lullaby, Special Preview A first-person film following the quest of cartoonist Sasha (played and drawn by director Lisa Gornick) who can't decide whether she wants to be a mother or not. This is a wry comedy about one of life's biggest decisions and how the more you have to think about it, the harder it is. More... Dir: Lisa Gornick, UK, 2006, 73mins Where: Cinema 2, ICA When: Monday 23 October 2006, 9pm Tickets: £8, £7 Concs (no concs weekends), £6 Members |
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Ripping Yarns & Wizard Wheezes Comic Anarchy rules in the UK, from Victorian reprobates to Millennium rebels, and is celebrated by Comica director Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury, co-authors of Great British Comics, launched here. Accompanied by images of rare original art, archive photos and film clips, their discussion demonstrates how comics have been a part of our daily life and national psyche, and still are today in graphic novels, small presses and webcomix. More... Where: Nash Room, ICA When: Saturday 28 October 2006, 2pm Tickets: £8, £7 Concs, £6 Members |
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Special Halloween
Event: Tara McPherson & Guests Tara McPherson will be talking about and signing copies of her new book Lonely Heart at Foyles Bookshop, in association with the 25th Anniversary of Titan Books. Paul Gravett (Great British Comics) will host a discussion with Tara and special guests David Lloyd (Kickback) and Mike Carey, to be followed by book signings. More... Where: Foyles Bookshop, Charing Cross Road, London When: October 31 2006, 6.30pm Tickets: £5 |
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Film Double Bill:
Creepshow & Peter Jackson's Meet the Feebles Zombie fathers, space fungus, caged creatures, walking dead and cockroach phobia are amongst the shockers in this terrific tribute to the ghoulish EC Comics of the 1950s. Marking the first association between iconic director George A Romero and top terror novelist Stephen King, this five-part anthology is scary, stylish fun. Dir George A. Romero, USA 1982, 120 mins, cert 15. Where: Cinema 1, ICA When: Tuesday 31 October 2006, 9pm Special Double-Bill Ticket Price: £12 (no concessions) |
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Scott McCloud: Meet & Greet Scott McCloud, American comics guru, author of the graphic novel Zot! and the acclaimed explanatory manuals in strip form Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics, hits London with his latest book, Making Comics. Here's your chance to meet and greet McCloud in a special bookshop signing and reception. More... Where: ICA Bookshop When: Wednesday 8 November 2006, 7pm |
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Marjane Satrapi In Conversation: From Paris To Persepolis Few Iranian storytellers have conveyed the humanity and humour of their country so vibrantly as Marjane Satrapi. Making her long-awaited first visit to the UK, she discusses Persepolis, the autobiographical graphic memoir of her Iranian childhood living under the Ayatollah's regime, which has sold half a million copies and is being taught at West Point, and about her life now as a French citizen. She will also be launching her new graphic novel, Chicken With Plums. More... When: Saturday 25 November, 2006 at 4pm Tickets: £10, £9 Concs, £8 Members |
| In addition to the annual Comica Festival, additional one-off events take place throughout the year. Visit the Events listings for details of the next Comica event. | |
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New Statesman |
The following article appeared in the New Statesman on 23 October 2006 and was written by Sam Alexandroni who attended the 24 Hour Comic event at the ICA. On 6 October, some of the UK's sharpest cartoonists gathered at the Institute Of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London for a unique test of creativity and endurance: a 24-hour comic marathon, during which each artist was challenged to create a spontaneous 24-page story. Among the participants were David Simonds representing the New Statesman, Steven Appleby, the crew from Le Gun magazine, Matilda Tristram from Bad Idea magazine and four or five Japanese manga artists. While some of the participants opted for tales of rapacious landlords, sci-fi adventure or, in the case of Steven Appleby, a story about a mind-reading evangelical murderer, our David embraced the big picture. "I'm charting the history of evolution from the Big Bang to George Bush," he said, explaining: "It begins and ends in darkness." The event, which was part of a season at the ICA celebrating comic art, took place simultaneously in 58 locations across 17 countries, with participants from as far afield as Indonesia, Serbia and Brazil, who contributed by blog on www.24hourcomics.com. Six hours in, David was bearing up well: "Just got to keep going," he told me between brisk pen strokes. "If I get RCI - repetitive comic injury - I shall send the bill to the New Statesman." |
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