Geek Syndicate have scooped us all yet again with this year’s Bristol Comic Con and Bristol Small Press Expo’s Panels and Talks schedule.

I am very fortunate this year to be appearing on two panels, one at 12:00 and another at 13:00 on Saturday.

At 12:00, I will be taking to the stage alongside Gavin and Dan from The Sidekick cast for a panel called “Signs and Portents”, based loosely on my new graphic novel “The Dark”. The official blurb is as follows:

What do William Blake, symbolic code breaking, aura reading, Byron, Howard Hughes, numerology, World War Two poetry, and cutting edge science all have in common?

Find out as Gavin Jones and Dan Marshall (of The Sidekick Cast) probe the mind of Markosia word smith Chris Lynch and find out about his latest projects, including the critically acclaimed sci-fi thriller “The Dark”, available in a limited edition Expo Exclusive edition this weekend.

Then, at 13:00, I will be sitting down for a “fireside chat” with the Orang Utan Comics crew and the inimitable Scott Grandison for the “Comic Book Outsiders” panel …

Orang Utan Comics and Monkeys With Machineguns are successful small press studios putting out high-quality content for the last five years. Join them as they discuss their experiences in the business so far, give advice to others looking to produce their own titles and their view of the future for small press and independent comics in a world where digital distribution is becoming increasingly important.

Hosted by Scott Grandison of the Comic Book Outsiders podcast.

I will be flying solo this year as Stu.Art, the taller and some say better looking half of MWM, isn’t able to make it to Bristol this year. Still, I’m sure I’ll hold my own!

I haven’t been on a panel since the very first Birmingham Comic Show when I sat on the Horror Comics Panel. Anyone who was at that event might remember be likening the realistic horror of The Walking Dead to Frank Butcher turning up naked on Pat’s doorstep in Eastenders. In context, I was talking about “the horror of the real” and how brilliantly I think Walking Dead portrays the reactions of the human survivors. I think Charlie Adlard is still avoiding me though.

If you want a sampler of the sort of nonsense that I try to pass off as intellectual discourse, even some kind of pseudo-science at a push, you can delve in to the archives of yesteryear with “An Evening with Monkeys with Machineguns” and my guest appearance on “The Orang Utan Comics Round Table” from Bristol 2009.

I apologise in advance to all concerned.

The good, good people of Waterstones will be letting me loose in their Cribbs Causeway store on April 24th at 1pm.

This is the first time I have signed in a “mainstream” book store as opposed to a specialist comic store or a convention; I’m really looking forward to introducing some non-comics fans to The Dark as well as meeting up with any comics fans who come by.

There are some details of the signing up on the Waterstone’s website and, of course, there is a Facebook event if you want to sign up.

It’s that most vital of things … the home town signing! Chris will be Forbidden Planet, Cardiff, from 5pm to 6pm to sign copies of The Dark. Terror abounds as I face friends and family in my “professional” capacity as the mind behind the book, so any and all support is greatly appreciated!

Many thanks to the guys at Forbidden Planet for squeezing this into their busy signings schedule. If you are interested, please sign up for our Facebook Event so that they now how many people to expect. (Not that selling out in my home town would not be cool.)

For the hardcore, rumours abound of an  “after party” in one of Cardiff’s many fine hostelries … keep your ear to the ground for information on the night.

I will be appearing at Ace Comics in Richmond, along with Huw J and Harry Markos, to sign copies of The Dark on March 20th. Ace are already offering copies of The Dark at a discount price with free shipping via their website.

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The signing will run from 12:00 – 15:00, so hopefully I will have plenty of time to talk to everyone who comes in. Podcasters and bloggers are welcome to get in touch in advance to arrange interviews before, during, or after the session.

Other than for conventions, this is my first ever signing outside of good old Cardiff, so fingers crossed for a good event!