2D - Northern Ireland Comics Festival

[Paul (ral)]

This convention/festival has been going for a few years now and this year I will be going for the first time.

It's my first convention so I am pretty excited! It's great to see something like this in this part of the world.

2D, The Northern Ireland Comics Festival, returns in 2011 and will take place from the 2nd – 4th June in the Verbal Arts Centre and other locations here in Derry/Londonderry, N. Ireland. The festival is organised by the Verbal Arts Centre, an educational charity, and is a celebration of comic book culture.

It will feature an exhibition, workshops, signings, sketching, panel discussions and portfolio review sessions. The workshops will be held mainly on Thursday and Friday in the Verbal Arts Centre; panels will be held in a local bar on Friday and Saturday evenings and the festival will culminate on the Saturday with the Open Day. There will be a closing party on Saturday night to round things off.

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE OF CHARGE.

www.2dfestival.com

TABLE SPACE IS FREE FOR EVERYONE

The 2D festival is different from most comic conventions as it is a completely free event offering free admission to workshops, panels, open day and all other related events. By making all parts of the event free of charge, the Centre is trying to make the festival as accessible and inclusive as possible, continuing its work in promoting comic book culture and celebrating the artform. The festival has become an important part of the North West’s cultural calendar and has been heavily featured in the city’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2013.

Their website hasn't been updated for this year yet but so far guests include:
Mark Chiarello - Batman/Houdini The Devil's Workshop
David Hine - The Joker's Asylum: "Two-Face", The Brave and the Bold #19-22, Detective Comics #864-#870
Dave Taylor - Shadow of the Bat, World's Finest
William Simpson - Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight

[Paul (ral)]

I attended the 2D Festival today.

It was my first comic convention. It was small in size but none-the-less brilliant. I chatted with some artists who work/worked on Batman including Will Simpson, David Hine and DC's VP of Art Direction & Design Mark Chiarello. All the guys were so cool, chatted for a while and signed my comics for me.

The photos are here http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.230004200343010.74997.120792104597554

[gordonblu]

That's really cool!

[The Dark Knight]

Sounds like you had a great time.

[Paul (ral)]

I also got arrested by Imperial Forces...and then asked if I would like to join the company after talking props and costumes for a while.