Geek Syndicate have scooped us all yet again with this year’s Bristol Comic Con and Bristol Small Press Expo’s Panels and Talks schedule.

I am very fortunate this year to be appearing on two panels, one at 12:00 and another at 13:00 on Saturday.

At 12:00, I will be taking to the stage alongside Gavin and Dan from The Sidekick cast for a panel called “Signs and Portents”, based loosely on my new graphic novel “The Dark”. The official blurb is as follows:

What do William Blake, symbolic code breaking, aura reading, Byron, Howard Hughes, numerology, World War Two poetry, and cutting edge science all have in common?

Find out as Gavin Jones and Dan Marshall (of The Sidekick Cast) probe the mind of Markosia word smith Chris Lynch and find out about his latest projects, including the critically acclaimed sci-fi thriller “The Dark”, available in a limited edition Expo Exclusive edition this weekend.

Then, at 13:00, I will be sitting down for a “fireside chat” with the Orang Utan Comics crew and the inimitable Scott Grandison for the “Comic Book Outsiders” panel …

Orang Utan Comics and Monkeys With Machineguns are successful small press studios putting out high-quality content for the last five years. Join them as they discuss their experiences in the business so far, give advice to others looking to produce their own titles and their view of the future for small press and independent comics in a world where digital distribution is becoming increasingly important.

Hosted by Scott Grandison of the Comic Book Outsiders podcast.

I will be flying solo this year as Stu.Art, the taller and some say better looking half of MWM, isn’t able to make it to Bristol this year. Still, I’m sure I’ll hold my own!

I haven’t been on a panel since the very first Birmingham Comic Show when I sat on the Horror Comics Panel. Anyone who was at that event might remember be likening the realistic horror of The Walking Dead to Frank Butcher turning up naked on Pat’s doorstep in Eastenders. In context, I was talking about “the horror of the real” and how brilliantly I think Walking Dead portrays the reactions of the human survivors. I think Charlie Adlard is still avoiding me though.

If you want a sampler of the sort of nonsense that I try to pass off as intellectual discourse, even some kind of pseudo-science at a push, you can delve in to the archives of yesteryear with “An Evening with Monkeys with Machineguns” and my guest appearance on “The Orang Utan Comics Round Table” from Bristol 2009.

I apologise in advance to all concerned.

It had to happen eventually. After months, even years, of snubbing us in favour of unknowns like Paul Cornell and Tony Lee, Comic Racks have finally bitten the bullet and called down the thunder that is … the Monkeys with Machineguns Interview.

Thrill … as we talk about ourselves. Gasp … as we find out about Iz’s toilet habits. Be amazed … at our choice of favourite biscuits. Shrug and say “I thought as much” … when I call Stuart a “French Duke”.

Sadly, despite our best efforts, Iz and Stace have salvaged an almost sensible sounding interview out of our tomfoolery. Listen for the outtakes though (after that Cornell guy again), where you get a true taste of the pain that Iz and Stace went through to bring you this interview.

Happy 50th guys … you don’t look a day over 45!

Click here to listen to Comic Racks, Episode 50 … Part Deux!

After months of of top-secret work behind the scenes, we can finally reveal that The Dark has a new digital home … the Sony Playstation Digital Comics Network.

As of March 25th The Dark will available for download in four installments to your PSP. All of the installments have the same release date, so you will be able to pick up the equivalent of the entire trade from day one.The Dark is taking  pride of place alongside Markosia’s critically acclaimed “Dark Mists” as the first Markosia titles to launch on the platform. Markosia were also able to reveal today that The Dark is also one of two Markosia titles that have been signed up exclusively by Sony for the platform!

‘These are exciting times for us,’ says publisher Harry Markos, ‘there is no denying that the digital comic is here to stay and it will have a major say over the next year or two. We are delighted to be partnering with Sony in this venture and from what I have seen so far; this is very much an exciting step forward. The graphics look amazing on PSP, crystal clear and surprisingly user-friendly thanks to the Autoflow feature.’

For those who remember the early days of “The Dark” as a project, digital was always a key medium for us, and I’m delighted that Sony have put their weight behind us by signing the project exclusively.

I’ll see you all on the Playstation forums!

My interview with the Parsec award nominated Sci Fi Pulse Podcast is now available.

You can listen online via Blog Talk Radio or download for iTunes.

I heard from Ian at Sci Fi Pulse today that the interview is Blog Talk Radio’s “Pick of the Day”, which is great news and no doubt a testament to Ian’s editing skills!

I had a great time recording this, I can’t imagine how much effort went into editing my almost endless manic rambling down into something useful, but kudos to the guys at Sci Fi Pulse for managing it.

Next podcast from me will be a very cheeky interview with the ladies of Comic Racks, in which Stuart misbehaves himself a great deal.

The good, good people of Waterstones will be letting me loose in their Cribbs Causeway store on April 24th at 1pm.

This is the first time I have signed in a “mainstream” book store as opposed to a specialist comic store or a convention; I’m really looking forward to introducing some non-comics fans to The Dark as well as meeting up with any comics fans who come by.

There are some details of the signing up on the Waterstone’s website and, of course, there is a Facebook event if you want to sign up.

Many thanks to Dave at Waiting for the Trade (They like big books and they cannot lie) for featuring The Dark on the latest episode of the WFTT Podcast.

Dave will put a full review up on the website in due course, but for now I am more than happy to hear someone so exercised by the idea of Memetech and getting so engaged with the story. Hopefully Dave will be equally happy when he’s reached the second half and all of the secrets have been revealed.

Don’t take my word for it though, listen to Waiting for the Trade.

It’s that most vital of things … the home town signing! Chris will be Forbidden Planet, Cardiff, from 5pm to 6pm to sign copies of The Dark. Terror abounds as I face friends and family in my “professional” capacity as the mind behind the book, so any and all support is greatly appreciated!

Many thanks to the guys at Forbidden Planet for squeezing this into their busy signings schedule. If you are interested, please sign up for our Facebook Event so that they now how many people to expect. (Not that selling out in my home town would not be cool.)

For the hardcore, rumours abound of an  “after party” in one of Cardiff’s many fine hostelries … keep your ear to the ground for information on the night.

To celebrate the launch of “The Dark”, Markosia are producing a limited run of just 100 copies of the “Bristol Expo Special Edition”!

The official promotional text runs as follows:

To celebrate the launch of their new graphic novel, “The Dark”, Markosia are producing a special edition of the book exclusively for Bristol Expo visitors.

With a variant cover from series artist Rick Lundeen, there will be only one hundred of these individually signed and numbered editions available.

A great opportunity to read the graphic novel that critics are calling “highly original“, “a great, fast read“, “confident” and “some of Chris Lynch’s best work to date” as well as owning a piece of comics history. The Dark’s author, Chris Lynch, will be at the Markosia stand throughout Comic Expo!

The Bristol Comic Expo is an immensely important event for me as a creator. It is were I had my first self publishing experiences, were I first met most of the many good friends I now have in the comics community, were I first met Harry Markos and discovered Markosia, and were I first made the decision that this, this crazy comic book making thing … this was what I wanted to do. Forever.

It feels great to be bring the special edition of The Dark to the show were, for me, it all started. All that remains is for me to get on an sign and individually number every single one of them*.

* Yes, I know. I said in my interview with Comic Book Outsiders that I would never individually number anything by hand ever again. I think Harry Markos was listening, and this is his revenge.

Racuous, crazy, and great fun … at least until I turned up  … it’s Sidekickcast Episode 33.

Gentlemen … let’s play darts!

I had a fantastic time recording this with Bones and Dan, and I really think that comes through. These guys are always great value. Dan’s done a cracking job of editing some sense into what was several hours of comic book related madness.

If you want to hear a very different take on The Dark to other’s I’ve recorded, and also hear my head almost explode trying to crack this episode’s Secrets and Lies, don’t miss this episode of this always outstanding podcast.

The Sidekicks are also running a competition to win a mug featuring fantastic artwork by Rob Jackson and a cack-handed signature by me

To celebrate the launch of The Dark, we have arranged a very special prize draw, with our esteemed publisher Markosia, to win a signed copy of The Dark. The competition is simple to enter, just tweet our URL “http://www.thedarkcomicbook.com” anytime between now and January 31st. Every tweet will count as an entry, and a winning tweet (and tweeter) will be selected at random on February 1st 2010.

It would be fantastic if we could make The Dark a trending topic on Twitter, but I’ll settle for knowing that we’ve got the word out there to comics fandom and that someone, somewhere, will be enjoying a copy of The Dark gratis. As they say in the National Lottery adverts … Maybe, just maybe …

Full terms and conditions for the draw are available from our website.