By Sam Hurcom

If you are an independent comic writer or artist attending a comic convention to promote your latest project, your time is essentially spent acting as a salesman and publicist. The success of your weekend all hinders on a good looking trade stand and (perhaps more importantly) the perfect sales pitch. It’s not always easy to set yourself above the vast number of likeminded writers and artists who are all equally desperate to promote their work and grow their fledgling fan base. Harder still is the task of convincing those comic book enthusiasts you do speak to, that your work is as entertaining and enjoyable as the mainstream titles from the likes of Marvel and DC. Faced with the choice between the latest Batman or a relatively unknown comic that may never exceed issue one, most will inevitably choose the former over the latter. Which in some cases, is a really great shame.

Case in point… recently I attended the MCM Comic Convention at the Excel centre in London. Amidst the myriad of action figure stands, t-shirt counters, anime inspired cuddly toy merchants, cosplay accessory retailers, comic book vendors and video game demo areas, was the Comic Village. Here the aforementioned comic writers and artists patiently waited whilst swathes of comic and anime fans perused their work, thumbed through their selections and maybe purchased an issue or two. Along the endless rows of tables was as diverse a selection of individuals as you can imagine, each presenting ideas and concepts completely different from one another. From children’s book illustrators, to satirical magazine cartoonists, everybody had something exciting to shout about.

By Jacob H Baxter

Being a lifelong Marvel fanboy and turning 10 years of age in 1991 when he debuted, I was instantly hooked on Deadpool. Wade Wilson is basically Marvel's answer to Bugs Bunny, mixing over the top violence with slapstick humour. I've always been fond of humour and, much like The Merc With The Mouth, have often employed its use when dealing with the trials and tribulations of this world. He really resonates with my inner psyche.

Another thing that I am fond of is collections and trade paperbacks. I'm a little obsessive and compulsive when it comes to collections. A quick evaluation of my “Shrine of Transformers,” two bookcases full of action figures in my “man-cave” room here at home, will prove that. Additionally, not knowing the end of a story arc or having a complete set of issues within a story arc will drive me absolutely daft. So, the collections and trade paperbacks are an excellent way to eliminate this problem.

By Emlyn Roberts-Harry

Hellblazer was one of the most beloved comics that DC Vertigo published. It was never a huge seller, but it was consistently popular for 300 issues and, along with the title it spun out of, Swamp Thing, helped pave the way for mainstream comics aimed at an adult audience. It's one of my personal favourites, and like so much of Vertigo's early output, it's a great example of how to do horror well in comics.

One of the best things about Hellblazer was that, while it was technically set in the DC Universe, it was for all intents and purposes completely separate. It took the weird little occult corner established by Swamp Thing and walled it off from the rest of the universe, and as a result it took place in a world that was clearly meant to be - and was recognisably - our own. It was frequently satirical and blackly funny, with the third issue featuring demonic yuppies who were huge fans of Margaret Thatcher.

By Aaron Nash

With so many vampire comics, books and films doing the rounds these days, it’s hard to know where to start with what’s good and what’s bad. That’s why I decided, this Halloween I would look at the comic adaptation of one of the finest and most original vampire tales from the last century.

I am Legend by Richard Matheson has been one of my favourite novels ever since I read it in my early teenage years and as such I have always wondered what a good visual adaptation would be like. After going through three film adaptations, each varying in quality, I happened upon the 1991 comic version by Steve Niles (of 30 Days of Night fame) and Elman Brown, an artist I had never heard of. Being a big fan of Steve Niles, I thought I’d give it a go and see if it did the original novel justice.

By Sam Hurcom

So, I have a bit of confession to make… I never really bother with Halloween. It’s just not a holiday my family ever took any notice of when I was younger. As a teen, every Halloween party I ever went to was a big bust and my friends and I weren’t exactly the types to go round trick or treating. But when I think about it, there’s a lot about Halloween that’s very similar to comics. Halloween is traditionally seen as an American holiday (let’s be honest, the birth place of all great comics). There’s a lot of Halloween characters with supernatural powers and abilities (just like 99.9999% of all comic book heroes). Halloween is celebrated by dressing up in funny costumes (cosplay anyone?). And well, Halloween involves lots of sugary sugary snacks (and who doesn’t like munching on Smarties when they’re reading their weekly fave?).

By Jacob H Baxter

Tabatha is a comic title by British company T Pub/Neil Gibson Comics. I really enjoyed this book on so many different levels. Works like this are becoming more and more rare these days. But, every once in a while, like a diamond needle in a haystack of coals, one like this turns up.

The story is a very deep and layered interwoven work. It almost brings about a feeling like one is reading the literary incarnation of Quentin Tarantino's cinema efforts. Yes, I said it. It's that good and well thought out. Great attention to detail was shown in this tale. It's loving craftsmanship at its best.

By Sam Hurcom

This month saw the eagerly anticipated Guardians 3000 hit the stands – a narrative set in the year 3014 and focusing on the members of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team. Any fans of the current Guardians run (written by Brian M. Bendis and starring Starlord, Gamora et. al) were treated with a sneak peek of the new 3000 series in the special, double sized anniversary issue #14 (along with a rather sweet Groot origin story entitled Groot’s Tale, written by Andy Lanning).

Amidst the dystopian setting of a Badoon Brotherhood occupation on Earth, Guardians 3000 begins in the squalor and fear of a human slave camp. The narrative opens from the perspective of a young girl, Geena Drake. Geena is rescued when the slave camp is destroyed by the mystic group known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. The survivors are told of a human resistance movement beyond the controlled territories of the Badoon; Geena however is singled out as a figure of great importance. The initial preview story ends with Geena being invited to join the Guardians in the struggle for Earth’s future, though her role and significance is completely uncertain.

By Aaron Nash

For years I’ve had this book sitting on a shelf and I never got round to reading it until recently. I had previously seen the film based on the comic, but I finally thought it time to read the original source material.

I’ve always been interested in ‘what would I do?’ type situations in life. When you see news reports and try and picture yourself in the place of the bystanders or the people involved. You always like to think you would know what to do when thrown into an extraordinary situation but, in all honesty, you never know what you’d actually do without being there.  This is summed up perfectly in the introduction to the version of A History of Violence that I read. The intro was written by the book’s author John Wagner, and it instantly grabbed me and started making me think. 

By Emlyn Roberts-Harry

As the back cover blurb helpfully tells us, Grant Morrison is "possibly the greatest of contemporary superhero storytellers". Whether you agree with that sentiment or not - his work can be quite polarising - there's no denying that he knows the genre about as well as anyone currently working. So, a book by him about the history of superhero comics, which also serves as (the first volume of?) his memoirs, was always going to be an intriguing prospect, and Supergods doesn't disappoint.

It's everything you'd expect from something by Morrison: packed with rich detail, fascinatingly multi-layered, hugely entertaining and, yes, more than a little self-indulgent. For Morrison devotees, and they are many, Supergods is a must-read, and even for those not too sold on his work (such as myself), it's still very highly recommended. If you have any fondness for superheroes at all, there will definitely be a lot here for you to enjoy.

By Sarah Wagner

I’ve been trying to get my mitts on the Musomic app for ages. Being a huge fan of comics and loving writing (but with zero artistic ability), it looked like the perfect app for me. And after I saw it demoed by Ian Crowford, Musomic’s creator, at July’s London Film and Comic Con, I knew I had to have a go.

Currently available on iPad, iPad Mini and Air, this digital comic app is swiftly becoming hugely popular in the comic world (it’s even been featured on the BBC). As a fairly recent convert to android however, I’ve struggled to get hold of it – where’s a free iPad when you need one?