Wicked Comics are proud to announce that pop culture king Chris J. Thompson (The Orbiting Pod), illustrator and storyboard artist Gabriel Hardman (Secret Avengers), writer Corinna Bechko (Star Wars: Legacy), Maltese but London based actress Marama Corlett (Sinbad) and independent creators Paulina Vassileva and Manos Kotsifakis (Game Lost) will be joining Yishan Li, Rufus Dayglo, Andrew Wildman, Guillermo Ortego, Steve Scott, Mickey Lam, Mike Collins, Cliodhna, Dave Taylor, Christian Ward, John-Paul Kamath, Michael Dialynas, Lew Stringer, Daniela “Iella” Attard, Mario Alberti, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Gordon Rennie, Emma Beeby, Richard Starkings, Tim Perkins, Sean Azzopardi El Torres, Amigo Comics, Jenika Ioffreda, Stephanie Cooke, Gianluca Maconi, Mike Lawson, the School of Bitches, Marianne Galea, JL Mast, Dave Lung, Luciano Regazzoni, Grafimated Cartoon, Clint Langley, Tasos Anastasiades, Yannis Roumbulias and Manos Lagouvardos to complete the guest list for the Malta Comic Con (MCC) 2014 which will be held on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th November at St. James Cavalier (all floors), Valletta, between 10am – 6pm on Saturday and 11am – 7pm on Sunday.
“The venue, the politeness, the hospitality… we have nothing in the UK to compare, and this is all attributable to a small group of enthusiasts with a passion for their island and for comics. It is fantastic for Maltese fans and emerging comic talent alike. I wish everyone involved great success for the future and hope one day to return to the Malta Comic Con, and to what I expect will be a thriving enterprise”. (Liam Sharp, 2011)
Chris Thompson:
Chris Thompson is an internationally-recognised comics retailer, journalist, podcaster and speaker who has attended and spoken at conventions across three continents. You can hear him on The Orbiting Pod & Pop Culture Hound podcasts; see his work at First Comics News, Bleeding Cool & various other sites; and follow him via Twitter @popculturehound.
http://maltacomic-con.com/guest/25
http://www.popculturehound.com
Gabriel Hardman:
Gabriel Hardman is the co-writer and artist of INVISIBLE REPUBLIC from Image Comics. He’s also co-written (with Corinna Bechko) and drawn SAVAGE HULK for Marvel Comics, STAR WARS: LEGACY for Dark Horse Comics, and PLANET OF THE APES for Boom! Studios. He has drawn Hulk, Secret Avengers and Agents of Atlas for Marvel as well as the OGN HEATHENTOWN for Image/Shadowline. He’s worked as a storyboard artist on movies such at INTERSTELLAR, INCEPTION, TROPIC THUNDER and X2.
http://maltacomic-con.com/guest/103
http://www.gabrielhardman.com
Corinna Bechko:
Corinna Bechko has been writing comics since her horror graphic novel Heathentown was published by Image/Shadowline in 2009. Since then she worked for Marvel, Boom! and Dark Horse, among others, on titles such as Planet of the Apes, Star Wars: Legacy, and Savage Hulk. She was recently short-listed for the Aeon Award for her prose short Sooterkin. She is a zoologist by training.
http://maltacomic-con.com/guest/96
http://thefrogbag.blogspot.com
Marama Corlett:
Marama Corlett is a Maltese actress who began her career as a professional ballet dancer before focusing on her acting. Marama’s first role was in ‘The Devil’s Double’ in 2010 directed by Lee Tamahori. She went on to perform in the West End 2011 production of ‘The Children’s Hour’ directed by Ian Rickson (Jerusalem), opposite Keira Knightley. Marama played Rina in the television drama ‘Sinbad’ for Sky Atlantic and on SyFy in the US. Some of Marama’s most recent work is ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ playing the role of Pit Boss. She will also be appearing in feature films ‘Desert Dancer’ alongside Freida Pinto,’The Goob’ with BAFTA winner Sean Harris out next year. Other work includes the role of Betty Parris in The Old Vic theatre production of ‘The Crucible’ alongside Lord of the Rings star Richard Armitage and will be seen playing SIA in ‘The Dovekeepers’ on CBS 2015.
http://maltacomic-con.com/guest/104
http://www.maramacorlett.com
Paulina Vassileva:
Paulina is an illustrator of varied interests. While she holds a degree in Graphic design and Creative studies, when it comes to drawing, she is mostly self-taught. Her educational experience has led her to believe it is essential for artists to have a working knowledge of as many disciplines as possible as creative media feed off of each other.
At the moment she is working on a range of private commissions and unannounced projects. In the meantime, she is also exploring the world of sequential story-telling with two personal creator-owned projects of her own, due to come out early next year. While not much can be revealed about them yet, it can be said that they are on opposite ranges of the spectrum, visually and conceptually: one being targeted at children with a predominantly cartoony style and the other being targeted at adults and visually more expressive and experimental.
Paulina is excited to attend the Malta Comic Con for the first time and answer any questions about her creative pursuits.
http://maltacomic-con.com/guest/102
https://www.pauscorpi.deviantart.com
Manos Kotsifakis:
Manos Kotsifakis was born in the Island of Crete in Heraklion, Greece 1987. He has a degree in Bachelor of Arts (Honour) in Sketch -Comic-Cartoon from AKTO Art & Design College. The love for comics and cartoons began, watching too much cartoons, reading Asterix and playing video games. After finishing his studies in AKTO and completing his military service he worked for 2 years (2010-2012) in ”Parapolitika” newspaper as a political and sport cartoonist. From 2010 onwards, Manos joins with other comic artists in the Annual Greek Comic Convention in American-Hellenic Union in the fanzine section:
-Dark Side of a Shadow (2010)
-Crew of Awesome (2011)
-Crew of Awesome Land (2012)
-Sir Com (2013)
(All fanzines are in Greek)
Manos was working with “inStorium Games” as a character designer and concept artist for a mobile game named “Cannon Penguins”. His latest creation is the online web comic “Game Lost” an adventure about a guy who’s been sucked by his video game console…
“Game Lost” can be found on Facebook’s online magazine “Comic Book bubble”.
http://maltacomic-con.com/guest/108
http://supermanosbros.deviantart.com
“Having attended all the Malta Comic Conventions except for the first one, Chris Thompson is not simply considered as an esteemed guest we look forward to meeting each year but also a valuable component of the Malta Comic Con. In fact it was through his intervention and the cooperation of Julien Schantz and the rest of the crew behind the awesome Lille Comics Festival with whom we’re partnering this year that we’re able to welcome Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Beckho to our show. Having worked on a number of popular titles such as Planet of the Apes and Savage Hulk this creative duo will surely strike a cord with the local comic fans. Furthermore, no self-respecting movie fan can afford to miss the chance to meet Gabriel Hardman who has worked extensively on blockbusters such as Inception, the Dark Night Rises, Tropic Thunder and X2. And speaking of movies we’re delighted to welcome rising Maltese actress Marama Corelett home. Having had the pleasure to meet Marama who has shared the stage with Keira Knightly at the London’s West End, appeared in Devils Double, the television drama Sinbad (both shot in Malta) and recently in Guardians of the Galaxy, I’m sure her presence at the show, will help inspire others to follow in her footsteps. We’re also excited to welcome Paulina Vassileva and Manos Kotsifakis whose distinct style is sure to appeal to a lot fans. The presence of these fine folk as well as that of the other guests has us all enthusiastically looking forward to the Malta Comic Con 2014 and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their participation and look forward to hosting them here” said Chris Le Galle co-founder of Wicked Comics.