Malta Comic Con celebrates 10 years! What’s on?

[ 0 ] 02/10/2018 | liza

The Malta Comic Con is a fantastic opportunity for our children to learn more about comics but also to meet new like-minded people and make new friends. I have always been a fan of comics and I still read them now that I have grown up. I remember these were the only kind of books I read during the long, lazy, hot, Mediterranean school summer holidays. These were also my ‘go to’ books with my breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays during the scholastic months and I hope my children will grow to love them, too. I volunteered a few years back to one of the Malta Comic Cons and I met the lovely team behind this. Fun, interesting, awesome people! Fabio Agius, the president of the Malta Comic Con, was kind enough to dedicate some time to us and answer to some questions about this year’s very special event. Malta Comic Con 2018 will take place 3 & 4 November 2018 at MFCC Ta’Qali and you can order your tickets already now here.

It’s been 10 years since the very first Malta Comic Con. How did it all start?

In the beginning (sounds like a the opening of the Genesis), we already did a comic convention type of event called The Big Bang which was a gathering of Maltese comic artists and friends hosted at St James Cavalier. Though the attendance was small it was a success and it was a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and make new friends. Some months later we went, as a group of friends, to a Comic Convention in Bristol where we made contacts and friends with foreign artists and on our trip back we came up with the idea that we had the potential of hosting a small Comic Convention in Malta. Thus the planning for the first Malta Comic Con was born.

This year’s Malta Comic Con is a special one. What should we expect from you guys?

This year is our 10th anniversary. We have extended our guest lineup. varying from the various aspects of pop culture – comic artists, writers, film sculptors, gaming producers and also movie actor. We have new faces in local talent varying from artists, writers and cos-players to new retailers. Marking this special occasion we are issuing an art book in collaboration with Heritage Malta which consists of a collection of artworks from artists both local and foreign which participated in our past Malta Comic Con editions.

Local and foreign guests. Who’s joining this year?

The list of guests joining us this year is quite a long one. I suggest fans to visit our website and social media to keep themselves updated. One of our special guests is actor Mark Ryan, known mostly for starring in the series Black Sails and the Transformers franchise who is coming to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Another is the Darth Vader mask sculptor Brian Muir. There is also high profile comic artists that worked on the Beano, X-men and manga comics.

Any events for our young ones?

We always do our best to cater for a public of all ages we have workshops and talks for everyone. Tim Perkins like every other year does a children oriented workshop. We have games and freebies for the young audience and we are also introducing a kids area where children can do crafts and games. So parents can be assured that they will have good quality time with their family.

The use of comics as an educational tool. Please elaborate further.

Speaking for myself, comics were the first medium that introduced me to the word of literature. What better way than learning how to read with picture stories featuring your favourite Superhero or character? Even some schools and printing presses rode the tide and are printing text books in comic book format. I always recommend strongly to parents with children of young age to start buying comics for them. They are colourful, fun and rated for each age group.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I would really like to invite people that love the genre or that are curious about it to come at our event join the fun and spend some quality time with family and friends.