Love, Blood and Rhetoric

LFCC was enjoyable, for the most part because of all the lovely people I got to meet. It was busier than I expected it to be, so fighting the crowds was a bit of a trial, especially when in costume (which was horrifically hot). But it was great to be there and meet a few people I've never had the opportunity to before now.

Highlights of the day for me were:

Getting recognised in costume as Chamber. Not just by a few enthusiastic photographers, but by SIMON SPURRIER AND MIKE CAREY! They both waved me down to talk and share mutual love of the character. Mike Carey was as delightful as ever and especially nice about my cosplay and I got to express gratitude for his returning the character back to his original look. He was sad he hadn't been used since apart from occasional cameos, so I was happy to let him know that Simon's using him in X-men Legacy, so he was going to check that out. Also his love of Bendis' All New X-men makes me want to pick up the book even more.

Simon Spurrier was equally charming (and so handsome. Gosh.) and enthusiastic about seeing a Chamber fan. And hinted that I'll be even more happy with future issues. Eeee! While I was chatting to him, I heard a familiar voice next to me, turned around, and who should it be but my old friend Don Murphy, film producer, over from the States filming Vampire Academy. We've known one another for years, ever since Don managed to get the rights for Transformers, but never met in the flesh before. Big hugs all round and an unexpected joy. And there was enormous pleasure to be had in watching Simon get bludgeoned by Don's enthusiasm.

Being chased down the aisle by a photographer who was desperate to get a shot of me in costume when I didn't hear him at first. That was flattering!

Getting to chat at length with Geoff Senior, Simon Furman, Andrew Wildman and Stephen Baskerville. Those names may not be important to anyone who wasn't a UK comic book reader of a certain generation, but they're the reason I love comics and, in part, how I became a graphic designer. All creators on the wonderful UK Transformers comic (and now the continuation of G1 continuity in Regeneration One). Simon and Geoff created Death's Head, probably my all-time favourite character, who acted as a stepping stone to "proper" Marvel comics. Without them I wouldn't even be a comics fan.

They were all so friendly and generous with their time. I've met Simon before and interacted with Andrew online, but it was absolutely fantastic to meet Geoff Senior, who was probably a bit bemused by my hero-worship, as he doesn't do many cons. But he was a joy to talk to, as was everyone.

Can't wait to see Simon and Geoff's... secret project. Geoff was really enthusiastic about it and said he was having more fun on it than he's had on any professional job. Sounds amazing.

And getting sketches of Grimlock from Andy and Death's Head from Geoff. MY VERY OWN GEOFF SENIOR DEATH'S HEAD. You have no idea how happy that makes me.

Meeting up with Tumblr friends lilprince and iandsharman. Photographic evidence of which is above. Thanks to Ian for the pic.

Dave McKean's interesting and sometimes hilarious panel.

I didn't get any photographs or autographs of celebrities, unfortunately, although Eve Myles walked right past me, surrounded by security and caught sight of many others. I was able to catch the Doctor Who panel that included Dave Starkey (Strax), Louise Jameson (Leela), Frazer Hines (Jamie) and the absolute legend that is David Warner. And, for one hilariously cocked-up moment Dan Yeager from Texas Chainsaw Massacre ("I don't know, I've never watched Doctor Who." "... Why are you here?!") Frazer and Dave were charming and hilarious, Louise charming and enthusiastic and David statesmanlike and half-deaf. It was hugely entertaining.

I was actually really happy with the cosplay in the end, but boy, glad I didn't wear the wig. I was as hot as I've ever been as it was. Did you know that fake leather material absorbs water like a sponge? No? Me neither, until I took the face-piece off after an hour or so and literally had to wring it out. It was horrendous. And still soaking wet now, 24 hours later. And the boots were crippling. Not the most comfortable of cosplays to wear in the height of summer.

Some amazing cosplayers there, and so many. I'll try and gather photos, because I was so terrible taking any myself. Hard to play cosplayer and photographer at the same time. Favourite costumes of the day? Hard to pick, but it's hard to resist awesome kid costumers. There was a Kid Speed there who was delightful and the Slytherin family pictured above.

Oops, forgot to post my pics here.

After much tinkering and rebuilding, I've finally got my Chamber costume complete. It was rather tricksy for a fairly straightforward costume. Leatherette proved harder to work with than I thought. And breathing is optional while wearing this costume. It's definitely one for cooler months.

The costume's based on the Generation X version of the costume. (I may wear the longer leather coat seen in the WIP pics for a later X-men era variant.) So, biker jacket, cowboy boots, black jeans for the basic look, then the additions of the face piece, chest piece and X-men belt buckle. I'm wearing white mesh lenses for the pics, but since they're uncomfortable to wear over my normal lenses, I'll probably forgo that detail when I wear it anywhere public. Being able to see takes priority. The scarring's just done with makeup, but I may go with rigid collodion for the proper scarred look.



http://angelophile.tumblr.com/post/7456969598/

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Thinking things over more, there's definitely positive and negative with the DC reboot.

I mean, I've been saying for a while that the DC universe is utterly opaque and daunting for new readers. I'm a comics fan, but Crisis after Crisis, Countdowns, big events and reliance on drawing heavily on past canon has kept me away from much DC content. There's a rich history at DC, but I don't even know what the original Crisis was, let alone want to see it referenced weekly, have events built on the multiverse... it's all seemed needlessly complex. Streamlining all this, to me, does seem an attractive proposition. This is the positive, along with embracing digital.

However, it's the logistics of it that has me concerned.

For example, take the current scenario of Batman Incorporated...

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Just wrapped up reading Volume 2 of Scott Pilgrim. More enjoyable than the first volume for me and it's nice seeing the characters start to develop and come into their own. Knives, Kim, Wallace and Stacey are still who I'm reading for, but I was pleased to find myself warming to Ramona after a rather underdeveloped role in the first volume. She's definitely growing on me and I even like her - something never clicked with the movie's take on the character. I guess she was meant to be deadpan, but it seemed more bland, whereas in this volume she's got a lot more personality to her and doesn't just exist in Scott's orbit.

Scott, however... Well, yeah, I get that he's not necessarily supposed to be a good person in the early volumes, but I spent most of my time reading his scenes and reactions and just shaking my head and thinking "what an asshole." I don't think he's a hipster or epitomizes jerk nerds, I just think he's a total jackass. And, much as I wish it didn't, it does dull my enjoyment of the book somewhat. While the supporting cast and quirkiness of the book, and the setting itself, are attractive, it just takes the edge off it when Scott's around. I'll actually give credit to Cera for making Scott whiny and self-absorbed but likable in the movie, whereas I spend most of the panel time with Scott in the comic gritting my teeth.

But it's a pleasurable read otherwise, with everything else about the book being attractive and I'm definitely hooked and looking forwards to seeing what happens to the characters next. Apparently they tried to deliver the next three volumes today, but as I'm currently snowbound, I doubt I'll be able to pick them up from the post office for a few days.

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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Picked up my stack of comics for the last few weeks and in the pile was the final issue of S.W.O.R.D. It lived up to expectations and left me sad to see this great little series go.

Originally slated as an ongoing, this series saw cancellation after only five issues. In fact, according to writer Kieron Gillen, it was pretty much cancelled even before anyone had read a single page of the series, based on pre-orders from retailers alone. My comic store guy said, when we talked about it today, "Maybe Marvel will learn that they're just putting too much out." A slightly odd attitude, but I can sympathize with retailers who have to lay down cash for stock - if it's an obscure project, it's not really a huge surprise that they pass. I know my store only got the title in based on myself and one other regular asking for it to be stocked.

A shame, because the five issues we did get of S.W.O.R.D. were almost ridiculously fun. As a total fanboy, there's an element of "you had me at Death's Head" about it, but there was way more than just a snarky, 30ft tall, business obsessed mechanoid bounty hunter freelance peacekeeping agent to enjoy.

Thankfully Kieron Gillen had planned for cancellation, because what we fo get is a great little safe-contained arc in which Beast and his girlfriend Xenophiliac Experimentation Partner Abigail Brand (from Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-men run) seek to save the world from imminent alien invasion, while Norman Osborn appoints Henry Peter Gyrich as co-head of S.W.O.R.D., leading to his making the decision to extradite every alien immigrant from the planet.

It's an impressive feat that Gillen manages to run these two storylines, along with subplots about Brand's half-brother, the aforementioned mechanoid, build up Beast and Brand's relationship, introduce a new character, UNIT, who's akin to a robotic Hannibal Lecter and also put the spotlight on Lockheed in the space of five issues. It's a harp back to "proper" comic book pacing. Each issue works as an individual chapter and also a part of a whole. In the days where decompression can still be a killer for momentum, I applaud Gillen for packing so much in. And he also deserves credit for making the whole series what's sorely lacking in modern comics - fun. The scripts are witty, action packed and light in the best possible way, proving that you don't need tragic character deaths and awfulness to make a comic work. You can do it with light-hearted and quirky humour, fun characters, heroic situations, a touch of romance and witty banter between the two leads and, yes, a giant mechanoid bounty hunter with a snarky wit.

Steven Sanders has come under a lot of flack for his depiction of Beast in his art. I can't really say I'm a fan of the look myself, although finding out he made him rather longer in the snout in tribute to the Red Dragon from Bone did soften my views. But, given the fact the character's not had anything like a consistent look since he was catified in Morrison's New X-men, I can't say I found the look particularly distracting. Especially not when I found the rest of the art attractive, light and clean and very suitable for the style of the book.

I do find it depressing that this - a comic that's in almost every way fun, enjoyable and readable - is killed quickly, while (to my tastes) morally repugnant books like Cry for Justice leap of the shelves. But I shouldn't complain too much, I guess. At the end of the day I got a five issue series I enjoyed immensely and had great fun with. I doubt many readers of Cry for Justice and the ilk can claim the same.

Either way, I can heartily recommend picking this title up in trade form, when it surfaces. I hope it will find its niche there and Kieron Gillen's demonstrated that he deserves a big title at Marvel and isn't just suited to indie stuff like Phonogram. Maybe his brief run on Thor will help with that.

At least runs like this remind me there's still fun stuff out there. Hoorah! (If only briefly.)

"Comics operate on a system of pre-ordering. As in, the first issue’s orders were in before anyone had even read a single page of the book. The numbers which people are reporting are low enough that the inevitable second issue dip -- also ordered before anyone had read Issue 1 -- would move it into a clearly dangerously low sales for a book in the X-family. In other words, I actually don’t feel that bad about the cancellation. It was already on unsteady ground before anyone had even read the thing, and got annoyed over Sanders’ Beast design or my over-verbal theatrics."

"While cynics have noted, it’s unlikely this sort of activity will magically get S.W.O.R.D.’s run extended. But it’s not just about that. Letting a publisher know they released a book which people liked and had an audience is always worthwhile. As others have noted, if you dug it, it’s worth being grateful for five issues.

In other words, people being vocal about their like of a comic isn’t really just about trying to save S.W.O.R.D. - it’s about making it clear that this was a book you were interested in, and encourage editors and publishers to think about books in a similar part of the emotional terrain and then work out a way to sell ‘em."