Bambos Georgiou, Sheffield Comics Network
Bambos Georgiou is a comic book creator who not long ago made the move to Sheffield. Across three decades Bambos has worked on many of the best-loved comic series, including Spider-Man, Dr Who and Wallace & Gromit, as well as with giant publishers DC and Marvel.
On moving to Sheffield, Bambos set up Sheffield Comics Network and Micro Comic Con, which has its next iteration on 16 February at Tonearm Vinyl in Walkley. The man himself told us more.
How did comics first become a part of your life?
I would have been five years old when I got a comic called TV21 based on all the Gerry Anderson Supermarionation shows like Thunderbirds and Stingray. I couldn't speak English at the time because my Mum only spoke Greek to us, but I just loved the artwork. Wanting to find out what the characters were saying incentivised me in my remedial reading class and I made rapid progress, so comics were a very positive early experience for me. I guess you could say that they taught me how to read.
[Comics] taught me how to read
What is the purpose of Sheffield Comics Network?
To promote comics in Sheffield and hopefully give people a positive experience when they come into contact with comics. It's also a way for the comic creators in Sheffield to get together and share their experiences and knowledge, and to collaborate on projects or at events.
What else are you working on in the city?
I've just finished a workshop with teenagers which was organised by Ruskin In Sheffield and Walkley Carnegie Library. Some of them were comic or Manga fans already, but some were just interested in art. I've also been facilitating comic workshops in libraries around Sheffield for younger children with a local illustrator called Ed Syder. This was part of the Reading Pictures: Seeing Stories Festival and I was amazed at how open young children were to creating comics. They just got it right away.
Comics are such a simple medium
Your career has spanned everything from writing and editing to drawing and inking. Which particular discipline is your 'first love' and are there any comics you've worked on that you're particularly proud of?
Thanks for calling it a 'career'. My first love is probably just doing the whole thing. That's how I started out, producing a fanzine. Comics are such a simple medium that one person can do the whole thing.
I realised recently that I've actually worked on lots of my favourite comics or characters. The ones that stand out for me are 2000AD, Conan, Shang-Chi, Spider-Man and The Beano. I even worked on a revival of TV21, which was a giveaway with a box set of Gerry Anderson DVDs.
One of my proudest achievements would be the co-founding with David Lloyd of Aces Weekly, an online comic that has been paying creators for six years now. That's some achievement for an online publication and for a comic. Most independent comics don't pay creators. They just see themselves as a showcase for Marvel and DC to spot new talent.
Tell us about the upcoming Micro Comic Con.
It's on Saturday 16 February, from 12pm till 5pm, at Tonearm Vinyl on South Road in Walkley. It's a chance for local creators to display and sell their comics and prints, and for people to come along and chat to those creators. It's very informal and [Tonearm owner] Scott McMullin lets us take over his record shop for the day.
Now that the San Diego Comic Con owns the phrase 'Comic Con' though, I'll be calling it a Comic Micro Con just to be on the safe side!
Sam Walby
