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 Geek Syndicate team of Barry Nugent and Dave Monteith talk about The Dark in the latest episode of the fantastic “Geek Syndicate” podcast.

Click hear to listen to Geek Syndicate Episode 144

It was great to hear such positivity about the story, the ideas in The Dark, and the twisting plotlines. Barry has only had the first three chapters to read so far, and I’m really looking forward to hearing what he has to say when he reads the final chapter in the trade.

Would you buy a used comic from these people?

Yep, BICS rocked. It rocked in a very special way.

To steal a trick from Nick Horby here, in no particular order other than the order that my brain spewed them forth, are my favourite moments:

1. Getting a trading card of “The Dark” from Sy Wyatt
2. Almost making Amy Liff faint/vomit/both with an impromtu rendition of the classic children’s showtune “Tranny Wingman”.
3. Sharing Supernatural love with The Nuge
4. Getting the original art for my “Fictionalist” avatar from Rob
5. Making Stuart admit that I loved Supernatural first, that he mocked my Supernatural love, but he is now addicted to it
6. Carpet Jaeger-bombing as many people as possible in a sudden burst of prodigious drinking
7. Seeing a giant Optimus Prime figure
8. Selling off the remaining stock of MWM #1, MWM #2, and MWM Live!
9. Finding out how many people actually liked MWM Live but getting away with not having to do it again
10. Spilling scalding hot tea down myself whilst pitching
11. Meeting Neal and the ironically named “Little Fat Mikey”
12. The water colour of The Dark from Valia
13. Terrifying Mr. Cola with my second rendition of “Tranny Wingman”
14. Sharing table space with the hardcore crew of Orang Utan Comics and David Wynne.
15. Free hotel WiFi
16. Marveling at the talents of my partner in crime Stu.Art as he sketched up a storm
17. Freaking out David Wynne with a “I wanna sex you up” duet with Ian Sharman

And the truth is, this list could go on and on. I sang at least three others songs for starters and I still haven’t listed the fun times with the Mighty McAuliffes, the numerous (by which I mean 2) Staceys, Monts tales of Merlin, Belgian Dave, Ryan and Orko (virtually cannon fodder to my J-Bombs, bless their young hearts), wonderfully erudite exchanges with Scott Grandison, comedy ranting like a lunatic at Jimmy Bott, … and even as I try to draw this paragraph to a close I am sure I am missing someone or something vital. Probably more than one.

To put it as simply as I can 48+ hours of unadulterated comics is good, 48 hours of comics with this company is simple unbeatable. Except perhaps by 72 hours.

The Mighty Barry Nugent has given us his thoughts on “The Dark”

The Dark has echoes of the Matrix about it but rather than having to sit in a chair with a bloody great spike getting rammed into the back of your skull you just need a slick black ‘Darkman style’ overcoat and a smart ass AI construct called Howard Hughes.

Look past the technology on show in the comic and you get a classic origin story involving a guilt ridden scientist trying to right the wrongs of the world while trying to atone for his own personal sins.

The art was solid and combined with snappy dialogue made for some cool fight scenes. I specially liked the loading of different skills sets on the fly to deal with the appropriate situation and be able to fire ‘pure information’ darts at people.

The plot was solid and I loved the idea of ‘liquid information’ and as is the case with so many revolutionary ideas how easily  this technology  can be corrupted.

Overall I thought the Dark  was a great, fast read and I’m looking forward to seeing how the story develops.

Click here to read Barry’s review in full

The Geek Ninjas of Geek Syndicate have broken some exclusive news on the dates, line up, venues, etc. for the 2010 Bristol Comic Con.

The con will run over 3 days this year; 21 – 23 May to be precise; and will be spread between the Ramada and Mercure Hotels. This year’s double con (the seperate but affiliated Bristol Comic Con and Bristol Small Press Expo) also appear to have merged to create this single super-sized convention.

Also, there’s some guy called Chris Claremont coming.

Exciting news for the return of our of the UKs best conventions!

Listened to Kryptographik Episode 30 today, featuring Barry “Nuge” Nugent of Geek Syndicate and Fallen Heroes fame. Barry talks candidly about his creative process, the joys and perils of self publishing, and his TV deal for Fallen Heroes.

A fascinating episode, well worth your listening time.

The last, I think, of our podcast appearances from the Bristol Con 2009 is featured in Comic Book Outsiders Episode 46.

Chaired by Scott, from Comic Book Outsiders, the Orang Utan panel metamorphosed in a round table discussion on indie comics that also features Stu and I, and the guys from Geek Syndicate.

It’s somewhere in the region of 45 minutes of unplanned, unscripted, but hopefully insightful and amusing banter between the two studios as we share war stories from the world of small press comics.

Particularly worth listening out for are the moment where I blantantly repeat myself and then shamlessly deny it, and the moment that Pete Rogers confesses that the biggest hurdle Orang Utan Comics face is Monkeys with Machineguns .

For the benefit of the tape, I think he just means that we’re both tall.

Many thanks to Scott for chairing the panel and special thanks to Peter Rogers and Ian Sharman for sharing their panel with us … absolute gentlemen as always.

Barry and Dave, the Geek Syndicate, very kindly made mention of Monkeys with Machinegun’s MWM Live! mini-event at the Bristol Small Press Expo in Geek Syndicate – Episode 119.

I must admit, I was a bit concerned about words in these guy’s mouths when I wrote “Scott vs. Geek Syndicate” for Scott from Comic Book Outsiders, but it seems to have gone down well. Writing dialogue for fictional people is much easier, as they rarely come back to you and want to talk about it …

The tables are turned on Barry and David as Geek Syndicate are interviewed at the Bristol Comic Con. A great insight into how one of UK geekdom’s most popular podcasts got started, with the added value of Barry looking a little bit sinister in the early moments

An excellent, albeit short, interview with Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill by the guys from Geek Syndicate is now now available online.

Alan’s advice? “Self publish“. Phew, glad I was on the right track!