Comic Book Guy: Oxfam Comic Book Event

This weekend, July 22 – 24, is the biggest event in the comic book calendar: the Mecca that is San Diego Comic Con opens its doors. Packed to the rafters with guest artists and writers, publishers, movie promoters and the Hollywood A-list, this is the place to be. It's a shame then that the place to be is several thousand miles and a small fortune away. Chances are you won’t find any tickets on lastminutedeals.com, but there is a way to get your fix this weekend and rub shoulders with some of the industry types.

On Sat 23 July, the 2011 Oxfam Edinburgh Comic Event will take place at the MacDonald Road Library on Leith Walk. Previous guests have included All-Star Superman artist Frank Quitely, and the 2011 panel is well worth the admission price. The theme this year is war comics, but all fans will be welcome at this discussion-based event that lets audiences grill the panel and then make peace with a signing afterwards.

The panel will be hosted by Bogie Man publisher John McShane and will contain some familiar faces from previous years. DC Thompson stalwarts and Commando contributors George Low and Ferg Handley will sit on the panel, as will Doctor Who novelist and serial-scribe Dave Bishop. Joining them will be War Stories and Kate and William artist Gary Erskine, Starblazer and Judge Dredd artist Colin MacNeil and former Dandy editor Morris Heggie.

The final name on the list is one to get excited about; you may know him from The Losers, or his work for Marvel which includes Thunderbolts, Daredevil and Captain America. Either way, Andy Diggle is a huge draw for this event and not one to be missed.

Doors open at 11:30am; with tickets at just £4 per person and available on the door, it's not too late to get your comic book fix this weekend.