Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: fcbd, free comic book day, london, may 2023, mcm, things to do, things to do in london

Things To Do In London If You Like Comics in May 2023 – FCBD to MCM

The new edition of Things To Do In London If You Like Comics for May 2023, as MCM London Comic Con and Free Comic Book Day come to town.

The new edition of Things To Do In London If You Like Comics for May 2023, as MCM London Comic Con comes to town at the end of the month, while Free Comic Book Day starts at the beginning. But what else? Lots of signings, and not just for Bryan Talbot, school workshops, a trans graphic novel speaking event, and a musical based on Doonesbury.

Thursday, 4th of May

Troopers Soho, from 7pm. Those who know, know.

Friday, 5th of May

Aesthetes Attack Angleterre: Trans Graphic Novels and Queer Writing AS Common Ground,  UCL, Euston  5-7pm,
Trans writers Cat Fitzpatrick and Bishakh Som read from their award-winning works and engage in a lively Q&A about trans and queer writing. Cat Fitzpatrick will read from their Lambda Literary Award-nominated The Call-Out; "A fast-paced, debut tragicomedy of manners written in verse about queer (mostly trans) women that is funny, literary, philosophical, witty, sometimes bitchy and sometimes heartbreaking." Bishakh Som will read from Apsara Engine, winner of the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for best LGBTQ+ Comics; "By turns fantastical and familiar, this graphic short story collection is immersed in questions of gender, the body, and existential conformity."

Doonesbury (A New Musical) by Garry Trudeau from Goldsmiths University 3rd years, University of London, New Cross 2-5pm, Free
Based on Garry Trudeau's comic strip, Doonesbury A New Musical follows his characters through to graduation and a house eviction. Book and lyrics by Garry Trudeau, Music by Elizabeth Swados.  This amateur production is presented through a special arrangement with Concord Theatricals;

Doonesbury (A New Musical) by Garry Trudeau from Goldsmiths University 3rd years, University of London, New Cross , 6-9.30pm, Free

London One Piece Anime and Manga Meetup Group, Meltdown London, 342 Caledonian Road, 7.15-9.15pm.
"Come join us to talk about the latests One Piece episodes, Chapters, Theories, Projects, Games and more at London Meltdown Bar. After you are invited to stay at Karaoke Night and have fun!"

Saturday, 6th of May

The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Not comic books but it will clash with:

Free Comic Book Day, Gosh Comics, Berwick Street, Soho

• 10-11am, we welcome our friends over at Bog Eyed Books who'll be running a workshop with Tor Freeman, Alexander Matthews, Gary Northfield and Woodrow Phoenix.
• 11am-Noon, we've got a workshop with Alexis Deacon, creator of the wonderful Curse of the Chosen series from Flying Eye Books.
• Noon-1pm we welcome the talented Takayo Akiyama, who drew the wonderful series of educational Thames & Hudson books entitled So You Want to be a…
• 1-2pm signing with Ram V.
• 2-3pm Best Of 2000AD signing with Ian Edginton and D'Israeli
• 3-4pm signing with CROM.
• Lcal artists decorating our windows with paintings of the comic characters that they grew up with, Yetunde Ekuntuyi, Clio Isadora, Shane Melisse, Olivia Sullivan, Claude TC and Yoyo the Ricecorpse.

Free Comic Book Day, Forbidden Planet, Shaftesbury Avenue, Covent Garden
Forbidden Planet giving away a Golden Gift Bag to one lucky customer at each of FP's stores. "This special Grab Bag will contain each of this year's Free Comic Book Day titles PLUS a rare variant edition comic."

Free Comic Book Day, Mega City Comics, Camden.
Free comics, offers and limited time deals – there WILL be something for everyone. With any purchase, you'll be able to grab any of these (and more!) comics available on the day.

Free Comic Book Day, Piranha Comics, Kingston.
4 free comics to every group that come in

Free Comic Book Day, Piranha Comics, Bromley.
4 free comics to every group that come in

All About The Ink! finissage party for Mark Stafford's curated exhibition at the Bookery Gallerie, Marylebone.

Doonesbury (A New Musical) by Garry Trudeau from Goldsmiths University 3rd years, University of London, New Cross 2-5pm, Free
Based on Garry Trudeau's comic strip, Doonesbury A New Musical follows his characters through to graduation and a house eviction. Book and lyrics by Garry Trudeau, Music by Elizabeth Swados.  This amateur production is presented through a special arrangement with Concord Theatricals;

Doonesbury (A New Musical) by Garry Trudeau from Goldsmiths University 3rd years, University of London, New Cross , 6-9.30pm, Free

OverBoard London – games, films, comics & geek culture, The Thirsty Bear, 62 Stamford Street, Southwark, 2-8pm
If you're looking for a laid-back Saturday playing some board games and talking nerd stuff in a pub with some awesome people, this is the meetup for you! Whether you're new to London or just want to get some long-lost in-person socialisation, we're a friendly community and welcome you all.

Sunday, 7th of May

London Comic Mart April 2023
The London Comic Mart; an established event that's been running for over 30 years in one form or another, longer than I have been in London. The Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way, 11-4pm, £5 before noon, free after.

AniManJa Art Club (Manga Workshop) 2-5pm. The Bar@TCR, 183 Tottenham Court Road
Welcome to AniManJa Art Club! If you're interested in drawing, in particular drawing Anime/Manga characters, feel free to sign up.

Monday, 8th of May

Comics, Poetry and Badge-Making, Fellowship Square, Walthamstow, Free
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Poetry Jenga
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM "Origins" creative writing workshop
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM Make a mini silent Comic

Friday, 12th of May

Mary & Bryan Talbot present Armed with Madness-The Surreal Leonora Carrington, Cartoon Museum, Wells St, Noho, 6-8pm
Join Mary & Bryan Talbot as they discuss their latest graphic novel looking at the life of Surrealist, Leonora Carrington! Reluctant muse and feminist champion… society heiress and rebel refugee… the last of the Surrealists: Leonora Carrington played many roles in her long and extraordinary life. Renouncing her privileged upbringing in pre-war England for the more exciting elite of Paris's 1930s avant-garde, she comes to rub shoulders (and more) with the likes of Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, and Salvador Dalí, after embarking on a complicated love affair with Max Ernst. But the demons that have both haunted and inspired her work are gathering, and when the world goes mad with the outbreak of war and the Nazi invasion, Leonora's own hold on reality collapses into a terrifying psychotic episode of her own. Eventually fleeing war-torn Europe, she emerges into a new and richly creative life in Mexico City, establishing herself as a prodigious painter, writer, and advocate of women's rights. This new work by the acclaimed partnership of Mary M. Talbot and Bryan Talbot celebrates the life and career of a truly remarkable woman – and artist. All tickets include entry to the Museum.

Saturday, 13th of May

Bryan Talbot and Mary M. Talbot signing Armed With Madness! -The Surreal Leonora Carrington at Gosh Comics, Berwick Street, Soho from 1-2pm.
The Talbots are back and they're launching a brand new graphic novel from SelfMadeHero, Armed With Madness!  Mary and Bryan are the beloved wife and husband duo, collaborating on books such as Rain and Sally Heathcote: Suffragette. Their latest venture together, Armed With Madness: The Surreal Leonara Carrington, documents the illustrious life of the influential surrealist.

Andy Diggle Signing The Expanse: Dragon Tooth, Forbidden Planet London Megastore, Covent Garden, 1-2 pm.
"Picking up after the final season of the acclaimed and beloved sci-fi series and filling in the missing years between The Expanse: Babylon's Ashes and The Expanse: Persepolis Rising, the secret history of your favorite characters are revealed for the first time!"

Writing for Comic Books and Graphic Novels with Tony Lee, Raindance Film Training Centre , Charing Cross, 10-5pm
Have you ever considered how Comic Book or Graphic Novel can help scriptwriters? Do you think your novel or film screenplay could be adapted into a graphic novel? Does your project have a Transmedia element that could include a digital or webcomic? In this unique workshop, #1 New York Times Bestselling List and Eagle Award winning comic book and graphic novel writer and screenwriter Tony Lee (Doctor Who, Superboy, 2000AD, Spider Man, X-Men, Battlestar Galactica) takes you through the steps to turn your idea into a comic book or graphic novel and the steps you need to take to get yourself published, in a revised for 2021 version of his acclaimed one day masterclass.

OverBoard London – games, films, comics & geek culture, The Thirsty Bear, 62 Stamford Street, Southwark, 2-8pm
If you're looking for a laid-back Saturday playing some board games and talking nerd stuff in a pub with some awesome people, this is the meetup for you! Whether you're new to London or just want to get some long-lost in-person socialisation, we're a friendly community and welcome you all.

Wednesday, 10th of May

Reads May, Gosh Comics, Soho, 7pm
Our Manga Spring might be over, but that doesn't mean we haven't got plenty of hot books coming up on our to Reads list. So, as the season shifts and the weather warms up we'll be nesting down with CUCKOO by writer/artist Joe Sparrow. Dorothy Weaver is an anxious 19-year old still living at home with her mother and failing her a vocational art course, when memories of a mysterious childhood event start to resurface. Something about a meteor in the garden. Now, she and others have begun manifesting strange powers. But are they a gift or a curse? Psychic phenomenon or mass delusion? Either way, Dorothy is changing… but into what? As always this book is available from our best book buds as Gosh with the discount code READSMAY23. See you all in a few short weeks for all that comic book chat you just can't do without

Sunday, 14th of May

Brentwood Comic Con and Toy Fair, The Brentwood Centre, Pilgrims Hatch, 10-4pm.

Thursday, 18th of May

Jurga Vilé and Lina Itagaki present Siberian Haiku, with Rachael Ball, Ladeez Do Comics, Cartoon Museum, Wells St, Noho, 6-7.30pm
Join Jurga Vilé and Lina Itagaki in conversation with Rachael Ball from LDComics about their graphic novel Siberian Haiku. June 1941. A quiet village in Central Lithuania awakes to the arrival of the Soviet Army. Young Algiukas's family is given barely ten minutes to pack before being herded onto a crowded freight train bound for the snowy plains of Siberia. Leaving behind the fertile agricultural lands of rural village life, they are forced to adapt to living in these brutal new conditions. Whilst this life quickly becomes a battle for survival against hunger and the relentless cold, Algiukas learns to escape the daily rigours through the inventive power of his imagination, with the help of pencils, paper and a book of Japanese haiku poems.  Based on the true story of her father, writer Jurga Vilé, along with artist Lina Itagaki, offers an unforgettable tale of a childhood in exile. In the process, they shed light on one of the darkest periods of European history that, seen through a child's eyes, underlines the courage of human endurance. Siberian Haiku has won a number of European awards as well as becoming a bestseller in Lithuania.

Friday, 19th of May

London One Piece Anime and Manga Meetup Group, Meltdown London, 342 Caledonian Road, 7.15-9.15pm.
"Come join us to talk about the latests One Piece episodes, Chapters, Theories, Projects, Games and more at London Meltdown Bar. After you are invited to stay at Karaoke Night and have fun!"

Fandorica Geek & Sci-Fi/Fantasy Meetup. The Mad Hatter 3-7 Stamford Street, Southwark, 2-11pm.
"The IN-PERSON Fandorica returns for its 17th Anniversary on Friday 19th May 2023 from 6pm onwards. This will be our third In-Person meetup since COVID paused our live venue events back in early 2020, and it follows our highly enjoyable IN-PERSON Fandorica meetups this year. So please do join us for what will hopefully be a day long remembered! We plan on being there till late. So if you can't pop along at the start, then join us when it's convenient for you! It'll all be very relaxed with a welcoming atmosphere. The idea is simply to bring people who have a shared love of all things geek together for a good time! It's all about meeting people and making new friends! Trust me, you won't need an encyclopedic knowledge!"

Saturday, 20th of May

Peter Hogan signing Resident Alien Omnibus, Gosh Comics, Berwick Street, Soho from 1-2pm.
Resident Alien is the adored sci-fi murder mystery that has won the hearts of a new generation since it's acclaimed TV adaptation on SYFY. This second omnibus collects the latter 3 volumes of the main series, plus the Free Comic Book Day short story. For fans of the show and for fans of excellent comics in general, this omnibus edition is a great way to read this classic series.

Ram V Signing The Vigil, Forbidden Planet London Megastore, Covent Garden, 1-2 pm.

OverBoard London – games, films, comics & geek culture, The Thirsty Bear, 62 Stamford Street, Southwark, 2-8pm
If you're looking for a laid-back Saturday playing some board games and talking nerd stuff in a pub with some awesome people, this is the meetup for you! Whether you're new to London or just want to get some long-lost in-person socialisation, we're a friendly community and welcome you all.

Sunday, 21st of May

Manga Club! TCR Bar, 183 Tottenham Court Road, 1.30-3.30pm.
"If you love manga then please join us for our weekly manga meetups, where we basically just sit, chat and read manga! We will not focus on one specific book/comic like a typical book club. In this meetup, you can BYOM (bring your own manga) or read one from the selection we will bring. See this as an opportunity to discover, recommend or simply enjoy Japanese comics with like-minded people!"

Friday, 26th of May

MCM London Comic Con, ExCel Centre, 10-6pm.
ReedPOP's London comic convention, the biggest in the UK.

Saturday, 27th of May

MCM London Comic Con, ExCel Centre, 10-6pm.
ReedPOP's London comic convention, the biggest in the UK.

Comic Book Making: Kids Workshop, San Mei Gallery, Loughborough Road, Brixton, 10am-Noon.
Join us at San Mei Gallery for a free crafty comic book making session! This workshop is aimed at 5-11year olds. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

OverBoard London – games, films, comics & geek culture, The Thirsty Bear, 62 Stamford Street, Southwark, 2-8pm
If you're looking for a laid-back Saturday playing some board games and talking nerd stuff in a pub with some awesome people, this is the meetup for you! Whether you're new to London or just want to get some long-lost in-person socialisation, we're a friendly community and welcome you all.

Sunday, 28th of May

MCM London Comic Con, ExCel Centre, 10-6pm.
ReedPOP's London comic convention, the biggest in the UK.

Tuesday, 30th of May

May Half Term Comic Club Age 7-14, Fortismere School, Tetherdown £80

1. INTRODUCTION: Overview of comics and cartoon history and how they been used as tools for storytelling and communication over the years.
2. BASIC ANATOMY: Showing how the human body works and is designed to move.
3. CHARACTER DESIGN: How to work up designs for different types of characters and how they fit into the stories you want to tell.
4. STORYTELLING: Overview of comics storytelling, layout and structure.
5. SCRIPTING & LETTERING: A look at the basics of comics scriptwriting and how to produce clear lettering by hand for comics.
6. COLOURING: An exploration of different colouring techniques (including, if possible, computer colouring).
7. COMIC STRIP: Using the skills gathered so far, students will work on their own comic stories.
8. COMPLETE FINISHED COMIC: By the end of the course each student will produce their own complete 8 – 12 page comic strip.

Wednesday, 31st of May

Half Term Workshop – Create a Comic Strip, Cartoon Museum, Wells St, Noho, 11am-12.30pm.
Learn how to design your own cartoon characters and then draw them in a one-page comic strip story. Study best ways and bad ways to draw pictures for comics, and how to do proper speech bubbles. Great for beginners, and fun for those with a little more experience. Workshops are for children aged 8-14 and cost £12 per person attending.

May Half Term Comic Club Age 7-14, Fortismere School, Tetherdown £80

Ongoing Exhibitions

Gerry Anderson's Century 21, until 4th of June, The Cartoon Museum, Wells Street, Noho.
Gerry Anderson revolutionised the world of puppetry with his advanced technique of Supermarionation in the 60s but his innovation didn't stop there. To capitalise on the nationwide obsession with this new and interesting style of television, the weekly comic in a newspaper format TV Century 21 was launched! This exhibition at the Cartoon Museum will take visitors back in time to a more magical period of retro-futuristic glitz, glamour and adventure, showcasing classic comic artwork based on the worlds of Gerry Anderson. It's an opportunity to relive the nostalgia of crowding around worn-out comics and dodgy TV sets, and to pay homage to the man who raised generations of children from the 60s to the 2000s on tales of science fiction and intrigue.

All About The Ink! exhibition at the Bookery Gallerie, to the 6th of May, 20 Church Street, Marylebone.
An exhibition of contemporary cartooning and comics art. The show will be a cavalcade of inky splendour, hanging original works by over 20 cartoonists, alongside digital displays of works in progress, coloured finishes and short films. We hope to communicate the breadth of creativity bubbling away in the medium, with an emphasis on the British small press and overground comics scenes, from autobio to art to abstract, funny to creepy to thrilling, A celebration of the joy of people moving ink and graphite and pigment around on paper, during an age where the screen is conquering every aspect of our creative lives, and AI is reaching for us all with its wonky malformed fingers. From amateurs to veritable ink royalty, it's all on the walls, the beautiful, the beguiling, the wistful and weird. Featuring Rachael Ball, Hunt Emerson, Lucy Sullivan, Bryan Talbot, Krent Able, Ed Pinsent, Sarah Gordon, John Paul Milne, Rob Davis, Jason Atomic, Sean Azzopardi, Oscar Zarate, Fraser Geesin, Kate Charlesworth, Shaky Kane, David Hine, Douglas Noble, Julian Hanshaw, and Jenny Robins.

Norman Thelwell Saves the Planet to September 3rd, The Cartoon Museum, Wells Street, Noho.
Published in 1971, The Effluent Society by Norman Thelwell spoke about modern life and how the progress of humanity has led to us having an impact on the world. Many climate experts have struggled to instill the same love for our natural world that his work was able to. In his own words: 'I was a sort of an unofficial country cartoonist, doing funny drawings that involved birds, cattle, pigs and poultry. One day I did a pony drawing and it was like striking a sensitive nerve. The response was instantaneous.' Thelwell's love for the countryside was front and centre in The Effluent Society and his opinions were quite forward-thinking. His words and art read as a hilarious but heartfelt message to look after the spaces we love and the world we live in, and in many ways predicted the issues that we face in 2023 and beyond. The Cartoon Museum is celebrating this important work in 2023 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Thelwell's birth and Methuen Publishing re-releasing the book over 50 years since it was first written. This year, The Cartoon Museum takes the torch that Thelwell was trying to pass on. There's a fine history of cartooning being used for public messaging whether that be for health of the body, mind or planet. That's because where some more scientific communication may be harder to decipher, cartoons are and always will be accessible and engaging. We've come together with a number of modern day cartoonists and environmentalists to create art and messages about what needs to be done to support climate recovery and carbon neutrality across Britain and the world. We will display their work alongside alongside a bounty of original Thelwell cartoons, plus some of his countryside watercolours and original art materials and references, to inspire the next generation of doodlers and "direct-actioners" to pick up their notebooks and make a change. Because we think Thelwell was right. And we believe he, and you, could save the world. We've also used this opportunity to change how we do things here in The Cartoon Museum. So far, we have:

• Elected a Green Guardian for the museum!
• Been selected to participate in London Mayor Sadiq Khan's Business Climate Challenge!
• Used a carbon tracker to see how much effect on the planet each of our exhibitions is making!
• Designed the exhibition with sustainability in mind, using as many recycled or re-used materials as possible!

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