Five things to do this summer...
1 Dress up as a superhero
Although that's not strictly compulsory at the Glasgow Comic Con at the CCA this coming weekend. You can just go along and catch the guests. Mark Millar, Cameron Stewart, David Lloyd, John Higgins, Sean Phillips and 2000AD giants John Wagner and Alan Grant are all due to appear. Oh and Shaky Kane. We love Shaky Kane.
And by the way if you want to turn up in your favourite Batman outfit who's going to stop you?
Glasgow Comic Con takes place at the CCA this weekend. For more details visit gccon.wordpress.com/
2 See a movie
Like the Phoebe Gloeckner autobiographical graphic novel it is based on, Marielle Heller's new film The Diary of a Teenage Girl is an at often provocative, uncomfortable watch. No surprise perhaps given that its subject is a teenage girl's discovery of her sexuality. But powered by a knock-out performance by Bel Powley as Minnie - the teenage girl in question - this is a charged film that isn't knocked off course by a couple of bum notes (let's overlook an ending that tries to tidy up the emotional messiness that's gone before). Easily up there with Ghost World as one of the best graphic novel adaptations ever.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl goes on general release on August 7.
3 Rave about Simon Gane
For years Simon Gane has been a name to drop (try to find a copy of Paris, a romantic comedy written by Andi Watson he supplied pencils for). But now, with his gorgeous art on Image Comics kind-of-superhero comic They're Not Like Us, written by Eric Stephenson, he's finding a new audience. And deservedly so. This is as good as mainstream comic art gets.
They're Not Like Us, volume 1 is published by Image Comics on July 21.
4 Go to the book festival
The Edinburgh International Book Festival continues its commitment to the graphic arts with its Stripped strand this August. Among this year's guests are Rob Davies, Karrie Fransman, Steve Bell, Darryl Cunningham and bright new star Evie Wyld.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival begins on August 15. For more details visit edbookfest.co.uk
5 Reading a book about books
Glasgow-based cartoonist William Goldsmith returns this August with The Bind, which centres on brothers Victor and Guy Egret who are in the business of ruining the family business which just happens to be a prestigious bookbinding firm in Edwardian London. Goldsmith first made a splash with his graphic novel Vignettes of Ystov, set in a fictional Eastern European town inspired by old Soviet magazines. This looks just as good.
The Bind is published by Jonathan Cape on August 6.
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