Posted in: Comics | Tagged: london, things to do, things to do in london

Christmassy Things to Do in London with Comic Creators Tonight

As the festive season is upon us, everything is kicking off comic book style in London. Yesterday saw signings at Taschen from Jamie Hewlett, and the day before from Paul Oakenfold and from the White Noise Ram V and Dearbhla Kelly at Forbidden Planet.

But tonight also involves comic creators going beyond comics.

Orbital Comics have a Private View for their new Jack Kirby Consciousness exhibition, launching tonight – give them an e-mail and chance your arm.

In a special tribute to the Jack Kirby centennial, Orbital's gallery is about to take a ride along the rainbow bridge!

We've invited a slew of amazing artists to contribute their own Kirby-inspired creations to our exciting end-of-year show; from Kirby Krackle to Kirbytronics, the mighty architecture of Asgard and more!

The exhibition runs from 9th December to 14th January, with a special private view event after hours on Friday 8th December

Expect a lot of special guests tonight.

Kieron Gillen will be DJing in Dalston for the Marioke Christmas Party. Tickets are £8 in advance, £10 on the door if there are any left.

What is Marioke? It's London's favourite / only videogame karaoke night. We've rewritten 400+ pop songs to be about videogames and each month we sing them with a crowd of brilliant people at our monthly residency at the brilliant Loading Bar in Dalston.

Never been to Marioke? Bring some friends and make this your first! Or come alone if you want: there's no forced fun and everyone's welcome, whether you lurk at the back or lead the singing from the stage. Signups start at 7.30pm, first song is 8pm-ish, last song is around 10.30pm.

Usual Marioke rules apply: APPLAUD FOREVER, SING ALONG, NO-ONE. DIES. ALONE.

The final Marioke of 2017 is almost upon us. But don't be sad because this one is super special: the MARIOKE CHRISTMAS PARTY.

What's different about Christmas Marioke? SO MUCH! For a start there are 30 or so new songs that only come out this time of year! But then there's the Marioke Carol Concert; the Christmas Cocktails; the Secret Santa; the Christmas single launch; the post-Marioke dancing; and the yearly chance to sit on Father Christmas's knee, hold him close and find out if you've been naughty or nice.

Also tinsel, mistletoe, fake snow, the lot.

The other difference is that this is a TICKETED EVENT. Tickets are £8 and there might be a handful on the door at £10 too but we wouldn't chance it.

But that's not all. Gosh Comics on Berwick Street, Soho is hosting a Christmas Party themselves with the Avery Hill graphic novel publishers, to launch It's Cold In The River At Night by Alex Potts, starting at 7pm.

We've got the good folks of Avery Hill joining us for their Christmas party and the launch of Alex Potts' new book, helping fill the Gosh halls with festive spirit! Join us on the 8th of December at 7pm, and kick off the season Gosh-style!

It's been a great year for Avery Hill. 2017 saw them publish of a number of stand out books, including a new edition of Tillie Walden's magical realist love story I love this part, the absorbing Something City by Ellice Weaver and  the Ignatz Award-nominated Deep Space Canine with Comic Book Slumber Party, among others.

Now, to round the year off, Alex Potts' much-anticipated new work It's Cold in the River at Night takes an end-of-year bow.

And if that's not an impossible dilemma to choose between, this clinches the impossibility. Leah Moore and John Reppion are two of the hosts for Ghost Stories For Christmas at Bethnal Green Working Men's Club tonight.

Which, if the good lady wife wasn't at her book group tonight, I would be there already, lining up.

Ghost stories and tales of "survival of the human personality" have been a long-standing Yuletide tradition and with the contributions of Victorian writers such as Charles Dickens they grew to great popularity during the late 1800s. Which happens to be our favourite era!

The tradition was most enthusiastically embraced by Cambridge historian M.R. James who wrote a new ghost story each year and on Christmas Eve would read it to a select group of students.
James' best known stories include Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book (1895), in which an ancient holy book brings forth a demonic presence, first announced by a hand covered in

…coarse black hairs, longer than ever grew on a human hand; nails rising from the ends of the fingers and curving sharply down and forward, grey, horny and wrinkled.

So, in that "spirit", Ghouls' Night Out is inviting you to join us at Bethnal Green Working Men's Club for a spectre-inspired evening of film, storytelling, and music.

***Presenting***

THE MEN THAT WILL NOT BE BLAMED FOR NOTHING are London's punk-rock Victorian obsessives. One of the best live bands in the world, tonight they present a stripped-down-and-spooky set of their ghostlier songs.

A special appearance by an award-winning, best-selling AUTHOR who happens to be in town filming an adaptation of one his best-loved works. Seriously. You really do not want to miss out on this.

Ghost story reading, comedy, and music from award-winning comedian, musician, and occultist ANDREW O'NEILL.

A figment from a nightmare who's part JOHN-LUKE ROBERTS' dad, part vampire, and part calamari. He keeps getting accidentally booked for comedy and so does what he thinks that is.

LEAH MOORE, and her husband JOHN REPPION have produced two chilling but beautiful comic book adaptations of M.R. James' stories. Leah will be talking about their adaptation and presenting her unique insight into the man behind the tales.

A bewitching performance by CHARLIE BOUQUETT who specialises is circus freakhow, cabaret, and fire performances as well as making up one-fourth of the infamous cabaret collective The Late Night Shop, best known for their "deliciously dark and saucy brand of entertainment".

Ghostly songs and murder ballads from banjo-playing Australian comedian ALICE REBEKAH FRASER. Alice does reliably silly, unpredictably meaningful, narratively unorthodox, gut-punch comedy.

ELEANOR MORTON is a Scottish stand-up, writer and actor. She is also a performer with the award nominated London comedy groups Weirdos and Comedian's Cinema Club. Recently she supported Stewart Francis on his Pun Gent tour, and Frankie Boyle on his Hurt Like You've never Been Loved tour.

WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU (1968, 42 mins): A masterpiece of economical horror that remains every bit as chilling as the day it was first broadcast, this was the first of the M.R. James adaptations to feature in the BBC's seasonal schedules during the late 1960s and into the 70s.

Doors open at 7:30
Open till 2am
ADVANCE TICKET PRICE: £6
DOOR PRICE: £8
AGE LIMIT: 18+
*There's a mandatory £1 bag check – if you have a large bag (over a4 size), so please come with change or travel light.

And I understand that the "award-winning, best-selling AUTHOR who happens to be in town filming an adaptation of one his best-loved works" is exactly what such good omens might imply it is. Consider this a Bleeding Cool tap on the nose saying "you ain't seen him, roight?" but do feel free to send me photos of the night…

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