President Mike Perkins For Contern 2017!
by Olly MacNamee
Being the only Brit (I think) here at Comicon.com HQ, I will be banging on from time to time about comics, events and cons over the side of the pond. And, unlike the rest of the UK, I won’t be leaving Europe anytime soon, not when Marvel’s Mike Perkins (and one of our own) has been invited to be this year’s Contern Festival President.
Finally, a President I can believe in.
So, while this time of the year will see many comic book fans turning our attention to the summer and America’s heavy comic con schedule there is the odd event happening over in Europe too. And, if you would care to turn your eyes, for a moment, over to the European continent you will find the 24th International Contern Comic Festival will be celebrated across the weekend of July 15th and 16th with Mike Perkins (Iron Fist, Captain America, Carnage) as this year’s presiding President. Having Mike as the President will ensure that there will be a healthy focus on American comics as well as the European ‘Bande Dessinée’ tradition, of course.
This year, President Perkins will be overseeing more than 50 comic book creators such as The Walking Dead’s Charlie Adlard, Dr Who’s Mike Collins and Barry Kitson (JLA: Year One). Local artists, such as Lucien Czuga, Pascale Velleine, Marc Angel, John Rech will also be present, making this a truly international festival in its make-up.
What’s also rather novel about this festival is that it will be shutting down Contern town centre to all traffic allowing visitors to stroll around and make something of an adventure of it. Something akin to the UK’s own Lakes International Comics Festival (which I will be reporting from in October), but without the tax breaks I imagine.
Here’s what Mike ‘President’ Perkins had to say of this prestigious role:
“As part of my self-imposed purview as President of the Contern Festival for 2017 I’ve attempted to open up the field of comics and shed a light on its accompanying multi-genre applications. I’ve been able to invite some of my fellow creators who are not only associated with comics but also with TV and film, whether through the success of their own creations in the case of Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead) and Mike Carey (Lucifer, The Girl With All The Gifts), working on storyboards of TV shows such as Will Simpson (Game of Thrones) and the already invited Mike Collins (Doctor Who) or working on characters connected to the silver screen including Alain Mauricet (Harley Quinn), Barry Kitson (Batman, Avengers) and Mario Alberti (X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man). By doing this it’s my intention to show that whether comics are seen as a monthly 20 Page installment, a more substantial bande dessinee or even solely through the moving image there is a true passion and creativity involved and a love for the medium, whatever we refer to it as, that keeps us involved and moving forward.”
To find out more (prices, opening times, etc) do click here.
