Splendid Steampunk!

Wow! I think that's (almost) all I can say after our August bank holiday appearance at the annual Asylum Steampunk Festival in Lincoln as I'm still processing it all really!

As you'll know Dave West and I under our 'Accent UK' comics banner regularly attend comic conventions up and down the country (and sometimes further afield) exhibiting our creator-owned comics and graphic novels. We've done this for many a year now so are somewhat old hands at it and even when we try a new show or location we've a pretty good idea what to expect.

The street scenes around Lincoln - early morning!

Asylum was, as we'd been warned, nothing like anything we've ever done before, it really took over the whole city of Lincoln with shop displays, bunting, street stalls, attractions, buskers, full evening programme and 8 or more separate venues all celebrating the world of steampunk to devoted followers and bemused public alike. Then there were the fashions and costumes, most home made and extravagant and very different from our usual comic cosplayers, who base their outfits on established comic strip or movie characters. These were all unique demonstrating the wearer's own individuality, often adopting a 'nome de plume' as their steampunk alter ego!

Gunfighters on way down from Lincoln Castle!

Lady Patricia Fancy-Feather & Baron Von Brucken!

Yes those are real parrots!

Now that's a big gun!

One thing the steampunk crowd did have in common with comic convention people was a shared enthusiasm of their interest and being friendly and approachable to each other, the positive vibe was everywhere, even when the Lincoln weather did it's best to dampen spirits.

Making friends sheltering from rain

We were set up in a new venue to the event, The Cathedral Centre, a 13th century building in the shadows of the magnificent, almost 1,000 year old, Lincoln Cathedral! The Centre had been christened the 'Steampunk Embassy' for the occasion and we were set up with fellow comicers, Steve Tanner (Timebomb), Lauren (Cactus Illustration) & Jade Sarson (Tea Hermit) and in an adjoining room several authors, photographers and role-playing game demonstrations including the delightful Tom, Nimue and James Brown - sorry didn't get everyone else's details or photos!

Timebomb's Steve Tanner or was it a steampunk Willy Wonka?

Cactus Illustration's Lauren and friend (sorry didn't catch name!)

Mr West surveys the scene

We were upstairs, (above the centre's cafe, where the poor ladies were truly run off their feet!) and had responded to the good Major Tinker's invitation challenge to not 'just' sit behind our tables selling, but to create an interesting display and to engage with visitors, (we were after all to be 'ambassadors' for the event!). This request had initially troubled then really inspired Mr West and I these last few months as we dismantled our normal display and started from scratch, scouring our homes, lofts and charity shops for suitable items and we were delighted when the good Major and others congratulated us on our efforts - phew - so much so that we are planning to bring a little of this to our future comic show displays - not sure if Dave will wear the hat again though!

The Accent UK Comics Emporium!

Our little comics corner!

Captain Colin on parade!

 
Hat's not withstanding, our only disappointments of the weekend were not actually seeing or truly experiencing the event as we were pretty much bound to our own venue and access to much else that was available was by wristband or tickets only, of which we had neither. From conversations though we picked up that there was a whole lot more going on, (a whole lot more!) which justified Asylum's claim to be Europe's largest Steampunk gathering.

The Asylum venue map (image by Dr Geoff)

Also, perhaps because there was so much else on offer or because we were in a new venue, a little off the beaten path, we didn't really experience the crowds or footfall that were evidenced elsewhere with only a small fraction of visitors finding their way to our emporium. This wasn't for the want of trying by the event organisers & volunteers who quickly responded by erecting additional signage (including our own WesterNoir banner) and placing friendly 'ushers' outside which did help to increase numbers but not in the volumes that may have been expected.  

Just outside Cathedral centre courtyard

In the shadows of Lincoln Cathedral!

This was a shame as there were some real treats inside and we found that our comics & graphic novels had a warm reception, particularly those with a, not surprisingly, strong steampunk or historical element doing best, so that our launching WesterNoir trade, Stephenson's Robot and Moments of Adventure titles all sold well. Modestly perhaps compared to the larger comic shows but respectful enough for a 'debut' event which effectively this was for comics.

Browsers at the Accent UK table 

A happy Vivienne with her Moments of Adventure!

That said, we had a fun time and enjoyed the delights of Lincoln in the evening and remain inspired by the steampunk genre so are already talking with the organiser's to see what we can do to assist the venue (and comics) achieve their potential next year - watch this space!

And on that note, here's a wee image of us taking tea (& cake) and plotting our return....

Accent UK a Go-Go!

Well the Accent UK tour bus is properly revved up after Dave & Gary - and WesterNoir issue 5's debut at last weekend's enjoyable DemonCon show in Maidstone - see Dave's report and a few pics here.

Next up for us is a new Birmingham show, The Comics Festival in April at the Cricket ground in Edgbaston which is shaping up nicely as you can see at their site . In fact I was recently told that there are now around 50 comic shows and festivals in the UK alone which is incredible compared to a few years ago when Accent UK started when literally there were only 2. The influential Bristol International Comics Festival and the much smaller Caption in Oxford - we'd sadly missed the old London based UKCAC shows which had finished a couple of years before we started. Later these shows were joined by the equally important and enjoyable BICS, (Birmingham International comics Show). Of course all things come to an end and both Bristol and BICS are long gone and I've lost track of Caption which itself has had several committee and venue changes.

The Accent UK 2014 table spread - will hopefully be very different in 2015!

This range of shows makes it really tough to decide which ones to do, particularly as we try and do at least one European show as well, although we've now 'dropped' the US from our schedules as the economics are not just there. Sadly costs are a very important factor in our decisions, you of course want an enjoyable time at a show, catching up with friends, making contacts etc but if you're not covering costs then its difficult to justify, and with so many choices, you're perhaps best to try elsewhere.

The Accent UK table in Helsinki September 2014

Our biggest cost is usually accommodation as sometimes we, rightly, make a weekend of it with our families but its sobering to see that for theses prices you could perhaps attend a show in Europe instead! It was with these thoughts that we made a fairly radical change from our 2013 to 2014 show schedules which, as reported, thankfully paid off with record sales and some great experiences, exciting contacts made, new creators and opportunities discovered.

                                     The buzy Accent UK table at Copenhagen 2010 with Tales Of WesterNoir                                             Pedro Lopez, Fanny Bystedt and Man of Glass creator Martin Flink

Thankfully that all made selecting our 2015 show schedule much easier as we intend to return to most of the show attended last year, dates and table availability allowing. You'll see therefore that our provisional tour schedule is now available on the right of this blog including a very welcome return to probably our favourite show on the planet, Copenhagen Comics. This will be our 6th time at this bi-annual festival, where it took time for us to grow and develop and audience - of course totally breaking my above advice on 'covering costs'! - but we now have many friends over there and hopefully have sustained a readership of our books, justifying the expense, plus its so darn fun!

As well as the above mentioned Birmingham Comic Festival, the other 'newbie' on our list is Aberdeen's Granite City Comic-Con, which I'm really excited about since this is real close to my North-East of Scotland hometown and where I worked after first leaving school all those years ago! It's even closer than the recent Dundee shows which I've really enjoyed and, sadly with family commitments can't make this year, so to say I'm fair-tricket is an underestimate!

All this means that sadly its unlikely we can attend other shows at the moment, (but never say never!), its going to be another busy year and we need new books to sell! At the last look though, we have six books currently in production for release this year - in addition to the newly released WesterNoir 5 - including this wee one which is gathering steam.....

Another preview panel of Matt Soffe's Zulu Re-Mastered colouring!

Blimey indeed!

2014 US Comic Show Analysis

I see that Heidi MacDonald of the always interesting, The Beat, has posted the results of their team up with The Devastator news site for an analysis of US comic shows from 2014. You may recall that they first did this last year based on replies from 46 exhibitors returning surveys which I linked to here, this year there were more than 100 responses so makes for a more informed result.

The full survey results and commentary are contained in a detailed report on The Devastator's main site here  and makes interesting reading, albeit a little harder going, given that there's so much there but they've retained their sense of humour in their concise and witty commentaries on each show.

So if, like me, you like looking at numbers and charts this is the place to go, particularly for those comic folks trying to plan their 2015 schedule of which US comic shows to apply for. There's still nothing like this for the UK or Europe that I've seen so this is the best that's out there and is still interesting in weighing up the economics of exhibiting.

For ourselves at Accent UK Towers, we've moved our attention away from the US and Canada for a bit, concentrating in the UK and Europe as we hopefully further develop our own audiences. We've already mentioned that a 're-think' of our own show schedule (thankfully) resulted in a boost in sales as we swapped uneconomical shows for more rewarding ones and we're again applying the same principals for 2015, which shouldn't be quite so radical as last year which saw us make some 6 or 7 changes to our itinerary. Watch this space for further details when available.