With its roots firmly based in comics, Portsmouth Comic Con welcomes the finest artists and writers from across the industry to be a part of its stellar Artists Alley line-up each year, giving fans the chance to delve behind the scenes and meet the creators of some of their favourite works.
Further to two the guest artists already announced – Neill Cameron and Ramzee – Portsmouth Comic Con has added five further comic artists to this year’s line-up: Sophie Cowdrey, Shaky Kane, Ant Williams, Peter Hogan and Frazer Irving. All five will be appearing in Artists Alley at Portsmouth Comic Con on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th May at Portsmouth Guildhall.
Portsmouth-born Sophie Cowdrey works professionally as a graphic designer and illustrator. She has gathered an array of film and TV credits since starting out in 2018, from Sex Education to Jurassic World Rebirth, the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials and the new series starring Ncuti Gatwa. Her graphic design work is extensive, from illustrating huge puppet theatres to far-future spaceship maps and diagrams, to 1960s posters and ephemera. Her illustration work includes poster artwork for Lucasfilm, Marvel and Bethesda, concert tour posters, and a long-standing collaboration with BBC Studios providing colourful steelbooks for Doctor Who. Sophie was born in Portsmouth and lived in neighbouring Havant growing up.
During the 1990s Shaky Kane‘s work found a home in a whole host of British comic strip publications, including Deadline, Revolver, Judge Dredd the Megazine, and 2000AD. Returning to comics in 2010, Shaky collaborated with writer David Hine on the highly acclaimed The Bulletproof Coffinseries for Image Comics. Finding a new readership and a reappraisal of his art, he has contributed artwork for a number of comic book publications, including The Bulletproof Coffin Disinterred, Cowboys and Insects, Elephant Men, The Beef, Last Driver, That’s Because You’re A Robot with David Quantick, Cap’n Dinosaur, and Weird Work.
More recently Shaky has teamed up with Vice magazine regular Krent Able on the oversize anthology Kane and Able, as well as The Man From Maybe with rising star Jordan Thomas. True to his early artistic inspirations, Shaky continues drawing for independent publications to this day and is regularly published on both sides of the Atlantic.
Ant Williams grew up obsessively reading comic books and drawing endlessly, which has happily led to a successful 35+ year career as an artist, illustrating a who’s who of characters for Marvel, DC and many other comic-book publishers. His work has featured prominently in exhibitions of comic book art, and his career has spanned everything from setting up his own studio, The Comicstripper, to developing in-house character-based IP for license. It also included an eight year detour to Florida – helping to populate a groundbreaking wearable AR technology with real-time always-present creative content, starting with comic books.
Ant returned home to Wales when COVID-19 happened, where he is now about as far away from the world of technology as you can be. Back at the drawing board, he has rediscovered the thrill of challenging himself creatively, creating characters, worlds and stories.
Peter Hogan is best known as the writer and co-creator of Resident Alien from Dark Horse Comics. The ninth volume of this, The Book of Changes, will be published later this year.
The comic has also been adapted into a highly successful TV show, which has just finished filming its fourth season. Peter began his comics career as editor of cult British comic magazine Revolver in 1990–1991, before working for 2000 AD, American comic book publishers Vertigo, America’s Best Comics and Dark Horse Comics.
Frazer Irving is one of the most unique and exciting comic book artists in the world. He first made waves at 2000AD, drawing an iconic Judge Death as well as stories like Necronauts and Storming Heaven. He then went on to win multiple British Comics Awards (‘Best Newcomer’ and ‘Best Graphic Novel’) before finding fame in the US with DC, working on Klarion the Witch Boy, Batman and Robin, and SevenSoldiers, all with Grant Morrison. He’s also drawn comics for Marvel (including memorable runs on Iron Man and X-Men), Mad Cave, and Wizards of the Coast, as well as providing the cover artwork for the new Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio show.
The Artists Alley is just one feature of the largest family-friendly Comic Con of its kind, which presents the best in comic, film, TV and pop culture entertainment in a fully immersive and fun day out for all!
With a Star Trek Zone and immersive Star Wars Experience – to celebrate May 4th – already announced, more guests and experiences are due to be revealed over the next few months.
Visitors will be able to explore the biggest franchises around through interactive experiences, displays, exhibitions, workshops and fascinating panels and discussions. Plus, enjoy the colourful cosplay parades and interactive fun, including retro and board gaming, and shop an incredible selection of merch.
Early bird tickets are on sale until the end of February and selling fast at: www.portsmouthcomiccon.com. After this date the prices will rise, so don’t delay and get your tickets today!
Follow Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok for more announcements as they happen.
