Bristol, you were great!

Last weekend saw Disconnected Press at our third Bristol Comic Expo.

Bristol 2012 was the site for launching our first comics – Disconnected Vol 1 and Lost: Boys. We got such a warm welcome and a positive reception from people that it’s been a delight to go back each subsequent year.

We did the maths yesterday and realised that – in our two years of existence – we have produced seven books and worked with 38 creators. It seems a lot longer than two years (in the nicest possible way), and we’re truly proud to have worked with some great people, a number of whom are embarking on professional comics careers with major publishers (details soon – can’t let cats out of bags) and all of whom have gone on to produce great work within the UK small and independent press. At some point, I promise to do a “where are they now?” blog…

This year, we introduced Bristol Comic Expo to Disconnected Vol 3, Do Aliens Play Basketball? and the inimitable Sentient Zombie Space Pigs. The Pigs are on their second print run and are our best-selling comic to date (and don’t worry, folks, Issue 2 is due out in August. And we can confirm there will be four issues in total. And that the price per issue will never go above £1 plus postage. Phew.).

For some reasons, they also let both Conor and I speak to people this year. I had the great honour of interviewing Arthur Suydam – the Zombie King – who produced much of the great artwork associated with Marvel Zombies and has some stunning zombie riffs on classic American art. And I said my bit in the Small Press: Passion or Pain panel, where I talked getting started, marketing, motivation, digital, and purple porcupines with Nich Angell, Jess Bradley, Jon Lock and Ian Matthews. Conor for his part spoke in the panel on panels (very meta) – talking technique, page layout, panel design and the importance of white space with Ian Matthews and others.

Next official stop for the Disconnected wagon is Melksham at the end of August; however, we’re looking at convention opportunities before that and we will have BIG NEWS about a new book very soon indeed….