Birmingham Comics Show actually re-named itself the British International Comics Show this year, which was a bold statement of intent, if slightly ambitious.

They certainly had some top tier guests, managing to entice Michiru Morikawa from her native Japan, as well as David Lloyd of V for Vendetta fame, Howard Chaykin, Mark Buckingham and Bryan Talbot. However, the Convention Party left a lot to be desired, with the bar not open at the time indicated and some DJs who had clearly not been briefed on the preferred music of comic geeks. Most people scurried back to hotel bars and pubs long before the end of the night, keen to get away from the R&B awfulness of it all.

The chaps from Geek Syndicate podcast appeared and ran a somewhat fraught panel on '70 Years of Marvel Comics'. Howard Chaykin was mysteriously absent, and so Monts and Barry recruited one of the crowd to stand in. Unfortunately two of the panellists seemed wildly uninterested, but I won’t name names. Despite this Monts assures me they won some new listeners, which is testament to how hard they worked to keep the panel going.

The Cosplay competition was handled on Saturday evening by long time collaborators and comic desperados Tony Lee and Dan Boultwood, who may have had one absinthe too many. The jokes were perilously near the knuckle for a family-friendly comic show. Perhaps a career in stand up beckons for Mr. Boultwood - but only in strictly over 21 establishments.

The exhibitor’s hall was full of a good mix of indie and small press, alongside more established names like 2000AD, Gosh Comics and Forbidden Planet. John McCrea and Lee Bradley cheerfully sketched up a storm in the middle of the hall, as Gary Leach and Charlie Adlard gave spontaneous portfolio reviews.

In the creator’s hall Bryan Talbot signed and signed and signed some more, while the effervescent Gary Erskine sketched away amiably.

Special mention should be made of indie press comic Fetishman (it’s not porn, it’s a comic!). Geof Banyard has compiled nine issues of BDSM-flavoured chuckles, and had some cool merch and original art too.

Overall there seemed to be less at BICS this year than in 2008. The 2000AD Future Shocks pitch was conspicuous by its absence, and there were less stalls and tables; unsurprising, perhaps, given the economy. That said, the Comic Show was a great event with only a few misfires, and it boasted all the random, sometimes kooky, always geeky fun you’d expect. Den Patrick