Back from the Bristol Expo and, as someone who's not attended before, I have to say I has a bloody marvelous time. I get the impression from what's been said that it's a lot more relaxed (and, if Andy Diggle's anything to go by, lackadaisical) than most cons. I think it was Gary Erskine that said to me that "this is our Christmas party", referring to the opportunity for creators to meet each other and chat to people they've not seen in many years. Likewise, the majority of creators, small and big press alike, seemed happy to hang out with the fans and (in most cases) treat them as equals, during the con and after hours in the bar.
Understandably, the majority of creators in attendance were British, although some, like Chris Claremont, not resident here and some, like Richard Starkings, are now irregular visitors back home.
The con itself is spread across two hotels – the Ramada housed the more mainstream panels, artists, signings and retailers, while over in the Mercure, the small and independent publishers ruled the roost, along with the small sci-fi and gaming section. On Saturday, there were signings by some of the minor Star Wars cast, for example, and a legion of Stormtroopers led by Darth Vader wandering around.
Let me tell you, sharing a lift with a Stormtrooper is quite a surreal experience.
All rather slapdash and not as clinical as US cons appear to be, with creators tucked into little booths. Lots of banter across the floor instead – while I was getting my sketch of Captain Britain from Mike Collins, Phil Winslade and myself were all chatting about DVD boxed sets and TV series and evasion techniques for avoiding tackling complex stuff (Mike showed a page he'd done for the new Doctor Who comic with an insanely detailed background, where he'd done so much detail to avoid drawing the Matt Smith Doctor for the first time and works unsequentially, while Phil Winslade has to draw each panel on order), all with the occasional aside from Doug Braithwaite.
Over the two days I was lucky enough to chat to many creators. Some briefly, others less so. I kept bumping into Paul Cornell, for example, from the moment I arrived. Friday night I was swept aside by Paul, Kieron Gillen (Phonogram, S.W.O.R.D., Thor) and others on the way into town and then the first person I saw when I got to the Expo on Saturday was Paul again. It was kinda awkward stalker territory from there on in. Kieron slipped into the Chris Claremont panel on Saturday and sat at (okay, on) my feet, but I didn't get the chance to chat with him until Sunday, when we had a couple of friendly discussions about the panels, Death's Head and how he should totally make an appearance on Doctor Who. Kieron was great.
That kinda set the tone. I managed long chats with Mike Collins (Batman, Superman, Doctor Who, Captain Britain), Lee Townsend (Punisher, a bunch of Marvel UK and Panini stuff) and the legendary Lew Stringer (Robo-Capers, Combat Colin, Pete and his Pimple, The Beano) while they were doing sketches for me – all exceptionally nice guys and we chatted a lot about Marvel UK. I had briefer, but still very friendly, encounters with Mike Carey (X-men, The Unwritten), David Lloyd (V for Vendetta), Ian Edginton (Victorian Undead, Batman, Stormwatch, 2000AD), Phil Winslade (Howard the Duck, Aquaman, The Flash), Gary Erskine, (Knights of Pendragon, Hellblazer, The Authority, Dan Dare), Chris Claremont (X-men, duh), Neil Edwards (current Mighty Avengers and Fantastic Four artist, who also managed to squeeze in a sketch), Paul Grist (Jack Staff), Sean Philips (Sleeper, Criminal, Marvel Zombies), David Hine (Strange Embrace, District X, Spawn, Son of M), Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead, such a nice guy), Ian Churchill (Hulk, Uncanny X-Men, Supergirl), Phil Noto (Beautiful Killer, tons of DC stuff) and Richard Starkings (Elephantmen and Comiccraft). With the possible exception of Richard Starkings, who did abruptly blow me off mid-sentence to pounce someone who he obviously hadn't seen in years, (understandable, but he could have handled it better than just blanking me), everyone was a joy to chat to, some very funny, self-depreciating and pleasant people and clearly really enthusiastic about what they do and appreciative of their audience. And despite the fact I got stuck on my own most of the weekend, I never felt awkward because all the creators went out of their way to be friendly and approachable. Including the bonkers Simon Bisley, who I ran into a few times, usually followed by a torrent of good-natured abuse.
What was impressive was the small press room which, alas, I only discovered on the second day. A special shout out to Tom McNally, who sold me a copy of his weirdly wonderful Semiotic Cohesion book on sheer enthusiasm alone.
I'll talk about the panels in another post (or two) rather than spam my friends any more in this post, but they were very casual affairs. Possibly to the annoyance of certain panel members (yes, Andy Diggle again), but to the benefit of others (the Marvel panel was informal and all the more hilarious because of it – more of a casual chat and ribbing between creators that the audience were part of). I managed to get a question answered on every panel I attended – we Brits don't tend to push ourselves forwards and most other people seemed too embarrassed to ask anything. More on what was asked to follow.
I did pick up a few comics and collections and got them signed by the creators. I picked up a copy of Mouse Guard – Autumn 1152 signed by David Peterson, Paul Grist signed Jack Staff: Soldiers for me, Kieron signed a copy of one of his Thor issues, Phil Noto signed a Batgirl issue and the Batman/Doc Savage One Shot (I'm still kinda kicking myself I didn't get a sketch from him but I couldn't join two queues at once and time just ran out and I think he appreciated my not asking when he'd already wound down), Mike Carey signed the first Unwritten trade, Ian Edginton signed all the Victorian Undead issues I bought off him, Lew Stringer signed my Brickman Begins book, and I picked up the Eisner Award nominated Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness, Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, Hulk: Boiling Point and from the small press section, the aforementioned Semiotic Cohesion and A Rope Around Your Broken Neck from Attackosaur Comics.
Under the cut, all the sketches I bought. Please don't reproduce without asking first.
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