Comica MangAsia - May 2013

Date: 2013 April 27 14:37

Posted by Joe

The good folks from the Comica Festival have sent us details of their latest event aimed at anime and manga fans in London. The Comica MangAsia is set to run on Saturday 18th May 2013 at Asia House in London. The fun starts at 11am and ends at 4:30pm.

The event includes talks and panels with anime and manga expert and writer Helen McCarthy. Sarah Rundle introduces Kamishibai, a form of traditional Japanese paper based storytelling.

Cosplay experts Emily Bastian and Adelaide Filippe will be there running a cosplay workshop. Plus Japanese manga artist Inko will be running a manga masterclass for those aged 16+.

Throughout the day there will be a free comic fair along with a tea room.

As always with these events, we advise booking in advance to avoid disappointment.

Full Story

Press release as follows:

NEWS FROM COMICA FESTIVAL!

Friendly greetings,

Thanks to all of you who came last Friday and Saturday to our Comica Festival events in the Platform Theatre, and adjacent spaces, at Central Saint Martins, near King's Cross, London - take a look at some of the photos here. Here's news of our next exciting event in association with another wonderful cultural venue, Asia House, and themed around Japanese and Asian comics.

COMICA MANGASIA COMES TO ASIA HOUSE SATURDAY MAY 18th!

There's no stopping Comica, after the tremendous success of our debut two-day Spring Festival at Central Saint Martins. We have been collaborating with our friends at Asia House in London to bring you Comica MangAsia, a Saturday of talks, workshops, panels, kamishibai paper theatre, cosplayer activities and a Free MangAsia Comiket Fair, all on the theme of manga and Asian comics. This marks the very first time that comics have been included as part of Asia House's prestigious Festival of Asian Literature.

TALKS & PANELS WITH HELEN McCARTHY, SARAH RUNDLE & MORE!

Comica MangAsia takes place in the three beautifully re-appointed Georgian Fine Rooms of Asia House, not far from Oxford Circus, Regent's Park and Great Portland Street tube stations. In Fine Room 1, we're offering you three fascinating talks starting at 12.30pm. Award-winning expert and Osamu Tezuka biographer Helen McCarthy joins us live from the USA via Skype to guide us through the fascinating migrations and colonisations of comics art across Asia, from manga and anime in Japan to other popular graphic forms in China, Korea, Malaysia and elsewhere. Then Sarah Rundle will introduce us to Kamishibai or paper theatre, entertaining picture-based stories performed live by bicycling Kamishibai men, touring Japanese villages selling sweets, and present her own re-tellings of a variety of traditional stories. And thirdly and finally, Comica Festival co-director Paul Gravett hosts a lively panel discussion with Kripa Joshi (Nepal), Yishan Li (China), Tim Yu (Taiwan) and Canan Marasligil (Turkey), exploring the connections and differences between different Asian traditions of comics.

You can book an Afternoon Pass for all three talks for only £12, or Concessions £10 or Friends of Asia House £8. Book now on Eventbrite.

COSPLAY AND MANGA WORKSHOPS WITH EMILY BASTIAN AND INKO!

We're also presenting two brilliant Workshops in Cosplay and Manga! Emily Bastian (veteran cosplayer and UK organiser for the World Cosplay Summit) and Adelaide Filippe (cosplayer and professional prop maker / creature artist) lead a three-hour, hands-on workshop where you can have a go at creating your very own cosplay accessories! They'll be taking us through the basics of putting your own brilliant cosplay costume together - including an introduction to sewing, prop making, wig styling and traditional Japanese clothing. You'll have a chance to try some of the techniques hands on - bring along your own projects or have a go at making your own cosplay accessories using the materials provided! Everyone who takes part in the workshop will receive a worksheet and fabric sample pack to take home with them. This workshop runs from 1.45 to 4.30pm in the Studio.

Cosplay workshop tickets £10, Concession £8, Friends £7. Tickets can be booked here.

The second Workshop in Fine Room 3 is a Manga Masterclass for 16+. an ‘Inko-redible’ opportunity to learn how to improve your drawing and storytelling from Inko, the popular, widely published Japanese manga artist. Inko has created 19 manga posters for the Embankment tube station in London, and has collaborated with David Blandy on comics, film and animation projects. She recently illustrated the manga Ketsueki written by Richmond Clements (Markosia). Numbers are limited. You are welcome to bring your own manga projects. Art materials supplied.

Manga Masterclass tickets cost £20, Concessions £15, Friends of Asia House £10. Book your places now here!

PLUS FREE MANGASIA COMIKET FAIR, AND TEA ROOM TREATS!

Also throughout the day from 11.00am to 4.00pm, you can visit our MangAsia Comiket Fair in Fine Room 2 and meet and buy from Asian comics creators and other exhibitors offering their books, posters, original art, personal commissions, cosplay accessories and more. There's delicious catering in the venue too, in Mackwood's Tea Room, offering English afternoon tea treats alongside Asian main courses – curry of the day, sweet and sour chicken, stir fried noodles – and café staples like sandwiches and jacket potatoes. Look out for a Maid cosplayer to welcome you!

When: Saturday May 18th, 11.00am to 5.00pm.

Where: Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London W1G 7LP.

Whether you already love manga, anime and other kinds of Asian comics or you're curious and want to discover and explore these rich traditions and vibrant cultures for yourself, don't miss the first Comica MangAsia at Asia House. It's going to be a really enjoyable and memorable day, so see you there!