Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/604914
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2015 38 38 AS this year's edition of the Malta Comic Con draws closer, additional creators have pledged their partici- pation for this year's edition, among them: Pasquale Qualano (Soulfire), Andreas Michaelides (Botch!), Chris- tos Stamboulis (The Lords of Crim- son Valley), Gianluca Maconi (Elfes) Luciano Regazzoni (Nathan Never), Grafimated Cartoon represented by Salvatore Di Marco and Antonino Pirotta (I Vespri Siciliani) and the School of Bitches (Genesis). The convention, organised by Wicked Comics, is dedicated to the art of the comic book and its many associated sub cultures – such as gaming and cosplay – and will be taking place on December 5 and 6 at the Magazino Hall, Valletta Water- front from 10:00 to 18:00 on the first day and 11:00 to 19:00 on the second day. The newly-announced creators will be joining Simon Davis, Sabine Rich, John Freeman, Tim Perkins, Boo Cook, Mike Krome, Heba Rena Yassin, Guillermo Ortego, Sean Az- zopardi, Pye Parr, Dani, Giulia Della Ciana, Michael Dialynas, Ilias Kyri- azis, Cliodhna, Copper Mouflon, Goran Parlov, Mark Farmer, Nico- las Keramidas, Asia Alfasi, Chris J. Thompson, Nigel Dobbyn, Clint Langley, Gary Erskine, Jenika Iof- freda and Iella. The line-up confirms a strong Mediterranean contingent in this year's edition, with Christos Stam- boulis and Andreas Michaelides both hailing for Greece (along with the previously announced returning guest Michael Dialynas) and Pas- quale Qualano, Gianluca Maconi, Luciano Regazzoni and the team behind Grafimated Cartoon hailing from Italy. According to the Wicked Com- ics organisers, the concentration of creators from these countries – Ire- land will also register a strong pres- ence – is down to healthy word-of- mouth from participants in previous editions. "Word is spreading," Christopher Muscat of Wicked Comics told Mal- taToday. The School of Bitches crew are also returning guests at the Con. The British 'art-house' originally based in Cardiff, Wales was established by artist Alan Stealth, who assembled to collaborate on Genesis, the House's flagship publication. Together with writer David Dhalia in 2012, they launched a preview of Genesis at the Malta Comic Con. With the art-house growing in size and branching out on to multiple projects, a 'second base' was estab- lished in Malta in April 2015. More details can be found on www. maltacomic-con.com and all an an- nouncements can be followed on the Malta Comic Con Facebook page This Week Go to www.maltatoday.com.mt and get SMS alerts SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE TO RECEIVE BREAKING NEWS Malta Comic Con 2015 fosters strong 'Mediterranean' presence Strong Greek and Italian presence at the seventh edition of the Malta Comic Con, taking place at the Magazino Hall, Valletta Waterfront on December 5 and 6 Illustration by Gianluca Maconi, one of the guests at this year's edition of the Malta Comic Con What do you see? IS your child just getting started with independent reading in Mal- tese? Then what you're probably looking for, and struggling to find enough of, are books with very basic text, a maximum of one line per page, and lots of repetition and easy-to-read words. Merlin Publishers have just launched X'Qed Tara?, an early- reading book that's just what you might be looking for. Words and sentence structure have been care- fully formulated to aid reading and confidence. Many children strug- gle to enjoy their first readings in Maltese, and X'Qed Tara? will go a long way towards dispelling their fear of the language. The illustrations, by Italian art- ist Claudio Cerri, are especially produced appeal to young readers. Merlin have also paid their trade- mark attention to detail in such things as choice of paper, which is sturdy enough to withstand curi- ous hands. In X'Qed Tara? we find, in simple vocabulary, a number of children all looking up in the sky at some- thing, in amazement. Each of them drops whatever he or she was doing – playing, studying, watching TV – and stares up. The big question of course is: what are they looking at? The answer is a surprising ap- preciation of nature, with a couple of spreads at the end of the book explaining what the phenomenon they're looking at is all about. X'Qed Tara? is a must-have for anyone wanting their child to start reading their very first book in Maltese, with the self-confidence that this will instill in the child. X'Qed Tara? is avail- able from all leading book- shops and online directly from www.merlinpublishers.com Merlin Publishers launch book to help youngsters learn Maltese