Guests & Talks 2021

2021 was our first year and we were very excited to welcome some industry titans to our festival. Each guest was invited to give a talk to impart some of their expertise and we were very honoured they all said yes.

  • 11:00 – Sophie Iles – Writing LGBTQ+ Characters
  • 12:00 – A. W. Crowe – Graphic Activism: The Power of Comics
    (Content warning: Talk includes hate-crime, sexual violence and injustices)
  • 13:00 – Shazleen Khan – Sequential Art, On Screen: Making Comics for Web and Mobile
  • 14:00 – Joe Glass – The Pride and LGBT Visibility in Comics
  • 15:00 – Sarah Millman – Creating a Successful Crowdfunder

Sophie Iles – Writer and Illustrator

Sophie is a writer and illustrator with a love for Dr Who, Arthurian legends and Dungeons and Dragons. They have worked with Big Finish Productions, 18th Wall Productions and Doctor Who Magazine as well as several charity anthologies and zines. Sophie will be running a workshop on creating stories for queer characters which can be transferred to both stories and roleplay games.

A. Wolfgang Crowe – Illustrator and Comic scholar

Along with our guests, we are excited to also be hosting A. Wolfgang Crowe’s talk ‘Graphic Activism: The Power of Comics. In this talk, he will be discussing the history and use of images and sequential narrative as a force of positive change. From unheard stories to political satire, this talk remarks on how we can make light of injustices and trauma through image and culture. 

(Warning) this talk will discuss Hate-crime, sexual violence, and injustices.

Shazleen Khan – Illustrator, Writer and Designer

Shazleen is an award-winning illustrator, writer and designer specialising in comics and narrative work. They’re comic BUUZA!! recently completed a highly successful Kickstarter for its 3rd volume. They have worked with First Second, Bloomsbury and Glasgow Comicon to name a few. They will be sharing their knowledge on creating narrative comics for the web and mobile apps.

Joe Glass – Comic Writer

Joe is a comic writer, known for his ComicXology Originals The Pride as well his other titles Acceptable Losses and Glitter Vipers. He recently released the Omnibus for The Pride which you can pick up in your local comic shop today! He is also an avid activist for LGBTQ+ inclusion and representation within media. Joe will be giving a talk on his work and his knowledge of LGBTQ+ representation within comics.

Sarah Millman – Writer, Illustrator, Editor

Sarah Millman aka Milmo is mostly known for her independent comic NPC Tea, which recently completed a successful Kickstarter for its first full volume. She has also worked for clients such as Rebellion, The Beano and Big Punch Studios. With oodles of experiences under her belt, Sarah will be giving a talk on how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign for your project.