Best of 2000AD signing at Gosh

Don't forget that this is today! Note that Jamie McKelvie is no longer attending. Also, Adam Sherif has posted to say that they'll be asking folks attending to wear masks. Have a great day everyone!

To celebrate the launch of Best of 2000AD Gosh comics have announced a 2000AD themed signing on 24th September...great looking line-up - especially a rare chance to see Arthur Ranson.

As far as I'm aware Arthur's last signing appearance was at (the much missed) Orbital comics on October 5th 2018.

You can find all other mentions of Arthur on the blog here

Best of 2000AD signing at Gosh

To celebrate the launch of Best of 2000AD Gosh comics have announced a 2000AD themed signing on 24th September...great looking line-up - especially a rare chance to see Arthur Ranson.

As far as I'm aware Arthur's last signing appearance was at (the much missed) Orbital comics on October 5th 2018.

You can find all other mentions of Arthur on the blog here

Cartoon Aid - the big book (part 5)

I've looked before at publications associated with the Cartoon Aid charity (like Band Aid but with more cartoons and less Bob Geldof) - if you missed them they are as follows...

a). the Olympic book is here
b). Bryan Hitch's work in the Kidz book is here
c). Mike Collin's work in the Kidz book is here
d). Terry & Sheila Bave's work in the Kidz book is here
e). Simon Donald's work in the Kidz book is here
f). Cartoon Aid auction at Sotheby's & a festival in Margate is here

g). Waddington's jigsaw (from the Margate festival is here)

h). Scare Bears monster party book is here 

i). a REALLY big tome called Cartoon Aid here 

I've started looking at some of the contents of this big book, so far I've looked at Asterix (here and here) and then I've found that there is some DC Thomson material in there (here) and then I've found some Achille Talon (here) and now it's the turn of Look-In

Here are 4 pages reprinted from the pages of Look-In - script is by Angus P Allan and art is by Arthur Ranson

Strips 78 - the 2000AD contributors

I've been looking at various comic conventions recently (for a complete list check out the bottom of this post) and I recently looked at 'Strips 78' here - I noticed that there were a number of contributions from 2000AD artists so I thought I'd gather that all here for your benefit....

I'd be interested if anyone could tell me if the pictures by McMahon and Ranson relate to any particular stories that they've come across - thanks!

Brian Bolland

John M Burns

Mick McMahon

Arthur Ranson

Kev O'Neill

Dave Gibbons

If you're interested in other comic brochures then check out my other posts on the subject...

Bristol comic expo (2004-2014) is here

London comic festival 2003 is here
Kev Sutherland festival original art is here
A 'Lawless 2019' miscellany is here
Boys and Girls exhibitions of the 1950s and '60s is here
Glasgow comic art convention is here
Edinburgh art convention is here
Hi-Ex convention is here

UKCAC - part 1 - is here
UKCAC - part 2 - is here

UKCAC - part 3 - is here

BICS convention is here

Glasgow comic con is here 

Kapow! con is here

British comic conventions, 1970-76 is here

British comic conventions, 1977-81 is here

A miscellany is here 

BEM 36 - an interview with Arthur Ranson

From the final issue of comics magazine BEM (#36) here's an interview with Arthur Ranson...

Day of Dredd signings in London & Eastbourne today

This is today folks, don't forget!

Gosh! comics (here) have announced a pair of great Judge Dredd themed events for the 'Day of Dredd' on 7th September...let's see what they have to say about this all...

Saturday the 7th September is officially The Day of Dredd, and to kick it off Ned Hartley will be here from 10.30am-12.30pm to hold a special kids drawing workshop celebrating the world of Cadet Dredd, the young readers version of Dredd introduced in the recent 2000AD Regened specials!

Since bursting into our cultural consciousness from the pages of 2000AD Prog #2, Judge Dredd has been possibly one of the greatest mainstays of British comics. A versatile storytelling vehicle, Joe Dredd (and more importantly the world of Dredd) is capable of carrying narratives as broad or serious as the creator wants them to be. From hilarious satire, through nail-biting adventure, to heartfelt drama, the character can shoulder it all, sometimes even in the same story. From the outside it might look like a mindless action spectacle, but once you’ve been drawn into the madness of Mega-City One it’ll never leave you. We all have our favourite era of Dredd!

One of the biggest issues 2000AD has had in recent years (one shared by most established comics publishers) has been bringing in younger audiences. In an attempt to address this, Rebellion have introduced 2000AD Regened, stories featuring younger versions of some of their most popular characters speaheaded, or course, by Cadet Dredd. While all the elements remain recognisable to long-time fans, there’s a lighter touch to proceedings in order to appeal to a new audience of fans as we follow the adventures of Joe Dredd, judge in training.

Ned Hartley did an excellent job of helming our Rebellion-themed drawing workshop on Free Comic Book Day, and he’s back to do it all over again! He’ll take kids through prepared drawing and storytelling materials to bring their own stories of Mega-City One to life! No need to book tickets, just come along and grab a seat at the table (though there may be a short wait for a vacancy, and of course we ask that parents be considerate of kids’ time at the table). Saturday the 7th September, 10.30am-12.30pm: be there, creep!

Saturday the 7th September is officially The Day of Dredd, and we’re capping it off with a Mega-City mega-signing! Dan Abnett, John Higgins, Sally Hurst, Mick McMahon will all be here to sign from 1-2pm! I've been advised that Arthur Ranson will no longer be able to attend this.

Since bursting into our cultural consciousness from the pages of 2000AD Prog #2, Judge Dredd has been possibly one of the greatest mainstays of British comics. A versatile storytelling vehicle, Joe Dredd (and more importantly the world of Dredd) is capable of carrying narratives as broad or serious as the creator wants them to be. From hilarious satire, through nail-biting adventure, to heartfelt drama, the character can shoulder it all, sometimes even in the same story. From the outside it might look like a mindless action spectacle, but once you’ve been drawn into the madness of Mega-City One it’ll never leave you. We all have our favourite era of Dredd!

And so how better to recognise Dredd’s continuing appeal than a signing featuring creators past and present? We were very keen to do something special to mark the Day of Dredd, so we’ve assembled a veritable murderer’s row of talent for this very special signing. It’s a rare thing to see so many top Dredd talents together in one place, so don’t snooze on this one! Be here, 1-2pm, Saturday September 7th: the Day of Dredd!

There's also this at Scorch comics in Eastbourne - website is here

and they've laid in stocks of old progs...

And over at Orbital comics they've got a Judge Dredd 'art jam' (details here) from 2-6pm today.

Day of Dredd @ Gosh comics

Gosh! comics (here) have announced a pair of great Judge Dredd themed events for the 'Day of Dredd' on 7th September...let's see what they have to say about this all...

Saturday the 7th September is officially The Day of Dredd, and to kick it off Ned Hartley will be here from 10.30am-12.30pm to hold a special kids drawing workshop celebrating the world of Cadet Dredd, the young readers version of Dredd introduced in the recent 2000AD Regened specials!

Since bursting into our cultural consciousness from the pages of 2000AD Prog #2, Judge Dredd has been possibly one of the greatest mainstays of British comics. A versatile storytelling vehicle, Joe Dredd (and more importantly the world of Dredd) is capable of carrying narratives as broad or serious as the creator wants them to be. From hilarious satire, through nail-biting adventure, to heartfelt drama, the character can shoulder it all, sometimes even in the same story. From the outside it might look like a mindless action spectacle, but once you’ve been drawn into the madness of Mega-City One it’ll never leave you. We all have our favourite era of Dredd!

One of the biggest issues 2000AD has had in recent years (one shared by most established comics publishers) has been bringing in younger audiences. In an attempt to address this, Rebellion have introduced 2000AD Regened, stories featuring younger versions of some of their most popular characters speaheaded, or course, by Cadet Dredd. While all the elements remain recognisable to long-time fans, there’s a lighter touch to proceedings in order to appeal to a new audience of fans as we follow the adventures of Joe Dredd, judge in training.

Ned Hartley did an excellent job of helming our Rebellion-themed drawing workshop on Free Comic Book Day, and he’s back to do it all over again! He’ll take kids through prepared drawing and storytelling materials to bring their own stories of Mega-City One to life! No need to book tickets, just come along and grab a seat at the table (though there may be a short wait for a vacancy, and of course we ask that parents be considerate of kids’ time at the table). Saturday the 7th September, 10.30am-12.30pm: be there, creep!

Saturday the 7th September is officially The Day of Dredd, and we’re capping it off with a Mega-City mega-signing! Dan Abnett, John Higgins, Sally Hurst, Mick McMahon and Arthur Ranson will all be here to sign from 1-2pm!

Since bursting into our cultural consciousness from the pages of 2000AD Prog #2, Judge Dredd has been possibly one of the greatest mainstays of British comics. A versatile storytelling vehicle, Joe Dredd (and more importantly the world of Dredd) is capable of carrying narratives as broad or serious as the creator wants them to be. From hilarious satire, through nail-biting adventure, to heartfelt drama, the character can shoulder it all, sometimes even in the same story. From the outside it might look like a mindless action spectacle, but once you’ve been drawn into the madness of Mega-City One it’ll never leave you. We all have our favourite era of Dredd!

And so how better to recognise Dredd’s continuing appeal than a signing featuring creators past and present? We were very keen to do something special to mark the Day of Dredd, so we’ve assembled a veritable murderer’s row of talent for this very special signing. It’s a rare thing to see so many top Dredd talents together in one place, so don’t snooze on this one! Be here, 1-2pm, Saturday September 7th: the Day of Dredd!

Maze World art by Arthur Ranson - part 2

Further selection of Arthur Ranson's Mazeworld art... 

Elvis Presley original art from Look-In by Arthur Ranson

At London's Orbital Comics there's the chance (if you've got, IIRC, £400 burning a hole in your pocket) to get hold of some original art from Look-In by legendary artist Arthur Ranson - here's his take on Elvis Presley

The Beatles - Arthur Ranson original art

Original art from Look-In by Arthur Ranson - currently on sale at £600 (IIRC) at London's Orbital Comics

Maze World art by Arthur Ranson - part 1

Maze World pages from 2000ad courtesy of the pen of Arthur Ranson - currently for sale at (IIRC) £400 a page at London's Orbital comics.

Arthur Ranson @ Orbital Comics

A few images from Friday night's signing with Arthur Ranson at London's Orbital comics

Arthur (in grey top) chatting to a fan as the rest of us in the queue look on enviously

Arthur signing away...

Print for sale...

It was the longest queue I can recall at an Orbital Comics signing (the bloke in front of me had come from Wolverhampton for the afternoon just for this).

Arthur Ranson is at Orbital Comics tonight!

Don't forget that the signing and launch of 'The Art of Arthur Ranson' is tonight!


Updated information is shown thus

Orbital Comics are holding an exhibition, signing and launch for 'The art of Arthur Ranson'.  It's now been revealed that the exhibition spans Arthur's illustrious career. From his early biographical strips of The Beatles and Elvis Presley which featured in cult seventies British pop culture magazine Look In, moving on through beautiful fully painted pages from 2000 AD's PSi Judge Anderson, to covers and pages featuring other Ranson creations Button Man and the aforementioned Mazeworld

As previously mentioned Orbital have also announced that to further mark the occasion, renowned fine art print house Blacklist Editions will be producing two limited edition prints featuring Psi Judge Anderson exclusive to Orbital. Details as follows:
Acrylic Screen Prints

1: One colour; 

2: CMYK 4 colour separation

on 310 gsm Southbank Paper

70cm X 50cm
Edition of 50
Signed and numbered

Orbital have now announced that in addition, Arthur has furnished us with dozens of recent sketches featuring his own creations as well as other comic characters, all of which will be available to purchase.


As you'll see from the above poster the signing & launch are on Friday 5th October and the exhibition runs for a month. Sounds good - see you there?

Arthur Ranson - exhibition, talk and limited edition print now announced

Orbital Comics are holding an exhibition, signing and launch entitled 'The art of Arthur Ranson'.

The art on display will cover the whole range of Arthur's illustrious career.

Orbital have also announced that to further mark the occasion, renowned fine art print house Blacklist Editions will be producing two limited edition prints featuring Psi Judge Anderson exclusive to Orbital. Details as follows:
Acrylic Screen Prints

1: One colour; 

2: CMYK 4 colour separation

on 310 gsm Southbank Paper

70cm X 50cm
Edition of 50
Signed and numbered

As you'll see from the above poster the signing of the new edition of Mazeworld & exhibition launch are on Friday 5th October and the exhibition runs for a month. Sounds good - see you there?

Arthur Ranson book, signing and exhibition announced

Orbital Comics are holding an exhibition, signing and launch entitled 'The art of Arthur Ranson'.

The art on display will cover the whole range of Arthur's illustrious career.

As you'll see from the above poster the signing of the new edition of Mazeworld & exhibition launch are on Friday 5th October and the exhibition runs for a month. Sounds good - see you there?