Buxton Bonus!

A catch up at Sale led to joining the line up for the Sunday's Buxton Comic-Con! The event and others of organiser, Steven Howard, has been on my radar for a while but for various reasons dates or logistics didn't quite work out, so having a free day, was delighted to attend.

Buxton's only an hour or so from home so a delightful and scenic drive got me there in good time to set up with pleasant surprise of being next to actor Willie Coppen who's featured in many fine movies including Star Wars, Return of the Jedi, Willow, Snow White and the Witcher TV series amongst many he can't yet talk about! I've met Willie a couple of times in recent years and he's always great company.

It turned out to be a very enjoyable day, a slow start but the mild weather brought folk out and being free entry, there was a steady stream of visitors keen to chat and browse comics alongside the many other attractions and traders. 

My ZULU graphic novel generated a lot of interest and chats as it tends to do with folk who like me,  the movie had resonated with, and I ended up selling out of the hardback copies I'd taken which was encouraging, several being bought for gifts as 'hard to buy for' dads!

A fun day out and glad to finally get to one of Steven's events, hopefully I'll get to another before too long, unless that pesky dinosaur gets me - I don't think he Sawaurus!

Stoked for More!

Just a few words about Sunday's Stoke-Con-Tent which was good fun in a bright sunny day in the potteries. Gary and I were making our second appearance at the twice yearly show and were joined by Gary's long term chum Chris Przygrodzki who is also making his Accent UK artistic debut with Tales of WesterNoir 3!

The Staffs University team couldn't have made us feel more welcome with smooth friendly set-up and regular check-ins throughout the day offering us teas and coffees and water - they even offered a certain Dave West's favourite tipple of Earl Grey which I'm sure he would approve of, even if he couldn't make the trip this time.

The Accent UK emporium all set up

Fun and enjoyable as it was, it was noticeably quieter than our previous October experience, possibly only half as busy? A number of factors came into play, the warm day, a number of rival shows (we counted 5!) including one in North Wales, not too far away, but the biggest one was that with it being the start of Easter, the uni itself had just 'broken up' the previous Friday, meaning many students had already made the trip home.

Things you only see at Comic-Con's, Chewbacca, a Dalek and a Starship drinks vendor!

This reduction in attendance was reflected in our sales which were just over 1/2 of the previous October, but being a local show, its inexpensive to attend so we were still happy with things and there are worst ways of spending a Sunday - Gary had skipped doing DIY for example!

Oliver had great taste as well as a great costume!

We all took the opportunity to have a look round the show and although I didn't make it to all the attractions, it was clear there was a nice vibe about the place. In addition to the uni staff who run the cartoon and animation course, Gary and I caught up with some of the students we'd previously met when we'd been invited in to speak after the October event, and see how their work was progressing - as well as the challenges of the course itself, the students are all encouraged to prepare for and exhibit at the con which is a real test for them to display and sell their work for the first time! What a great opportunity to learn from though in this friendly environment, both Gary and I were impressed when we visited and bemoaned the fact that there was nothing available to us when we were their age, however long ago that was!

Gary and I at the uni last October - hope I was talking sense!

 

Cheesy grins all round!

I was particularly pleased to catch up again with Jessica Martin, a musical actress and entertainer who we've gotten to know these last 2 or 3 years as she's bravely added 'comic creator' to her resume. Her energy and enthusiasm are infectious and I was pleased to hear of her forthcoming comics projects, including turning her own colourful life into a graphic novel to be published by Unbound, and is currently the subject of a fund raising campaign which I had already happily backed. Jessica was at Stoke embracing her Doctor Who pedigree where she played werewolf 'Mags' to Sylvester McCoy's Doctor, so it was good to chat to her about that and also with her long time chum, Bob, who frequently accompanies her on these excursions.

Jessica and Bob

Caught up with most of the other comic creators attending, albeit briefly in some cases - see the poster in my previous Stoke post for full line-up! Also met Marc Jackson for the first time who is an artist who's worked for the Beano, ACES Weekly and produced his own work and, it turns out, is fairly local to me in Cheshire. We have a few mutual contacts and Marc is also involved in comic events, more of which later!

Right, so yes a good enjoyable day in the sun and a show we'd hope to return to again - possibly this October, if they'll have us!

My little Stoke haul including some student comics

Stoke Con-Trent !

Here's a spiffing new image for this Sunday's Stoke-Con-Trent Comic Convention where Gary Crutchley, new Tales of WesterNoir artist, Chris Przygrodzki and yours truly are all attending! This is a popular show held every 6 months or so at Staffordshire University campus with a fine mixture of new, established and up and coming comic creators alongside some familiar names from TV & Film including Doctor Who, Star Wars, Game of Throne, Power Ranger and Walking Dead etc actors!

Here's a few pictures of when we first attended last October and if its anything like that one, it should be fun, come along and say 'hi' if you're around :)

Oxford Makes The Grade!

The Examination School Oxford - venue of Ox-Con!

Well that was more like it! I'm pleased to report that last weekend's new Ox-Con, (the Oxford Comic-Con), was a success for all participants. Within the stunning historic examination school buildings, comic creators, authors and actors mingled with comic fans, cos players, families and bemused Oxonian academics as comics came to town.

The venue behind - no signage or queue?

Great Oxford views

 




This was perhaps a more modest show launch than perhaps we'd seen elsewhere - no huge snaking queues here - but perhaps it reflected the quiet efficiency of the organisers and Oxford itself. Signage was largely absent but didn't seem to matter as social media & word of mouth had insured that the show had sold out of tickets in advance so there was minimal 'walk in' opportunity.

The Impressive Corridors

Upstairs to the convention!

Entrance Hall - Wait! Is that our The Man Of Glass comic?

 
 
The advance sales had also been carefully organised into early bird and general admission with a two hour gap between ensuring that there was a gentle stream of people making their way up the impressive stairwell to the two oak panelled vendor rooms, with talks taking place below.

Set up at Ox-Con - note the oak panelling? Other shows please take note!

People seemed quietly relaxed about the show, taking their time to study the stalls and options before carefully making their choices, meaning you soon saw the same people make their way round several times before making their purchases. That though was the immediate difference compared with our recent Bolton experience, people were genuinely interested in comics and wanted to find out about them before deciding if their interest was piqued enough to buy, meaning that we had a steady stream of browsers and purchasers from the start.

Inside our 'wing' of the convention floor

Our surroundings!

Although the show was a sell out, the numbers had been restricted by health and safety requirements to 'modest' levels, meaning that, with the rich variety of talks and attractions on offer, the halls did regularly empty with the crowds ebb and flow.

This was fine though, given us frequent chances to nip out for refreshments, (one downside with using a historical building is that no hot drinks were allowed inside!), and to catch up with familiar faces, like T-Pub's Neil Gibson, Mild Frenzy's Iqbal Ali and Richy Chandler amongst many new folk who were also pleased with the way the show went.

Chewie asks Dave to dance

Well dressed customers!

The pauses also allowed us to enjoy the great soundtrack provided through the school's speakers, a carefully curated play list of contemporary music and movie themes which caused many impromptu dancing and movement between the aisles - don't worry those pics are staying hidden!

The Troll find's a home!

Excellent Bowie/Goblin King tribute

So an enjoyable show and although sales were slowly steady, given the attendance restrictions, we were pleasantly surprised to see that we had in fact done pretty well for a first-time show and had indeed covered our costs - despite Oxford City Council's best efforts with outrageous parking charges and aggressive traffic cameras!

The devil's in the detail, they say!

We understand from the organiser's that this was a bit of a trial for both them and the building's trustees and that plans are already underway to open up more areas to allow for a bigger show next time, increasing the attendance restrictions. On this basis, and providing the dates don't clash in the crowded convention calendar, we will gladly return, and review our assessment on Ox-Con's pass mark which on it's 2016 intake, I would award a respectable 2.1 :)

Dave's Oxford thesis can be assessed here.

New Comic Market Show added!

Jings, no sooner are we back from enjoyable and successful trips to Birmingham and Belfast (and see Dave's timely reports for both here and here!) with our comics crew than we've added another local show for next Saturday at The inaugural Warrington Market Comic-Con!

This show has been spoken about for a little while but gathered pace on our return from Belfast so all quite exciting. I understand that its part of the Council's regular initiative's to spotlight the market which is soon to be fully refurbished.

So if you are in the area next Saturday you can pop down to enjoy, among other attractions, a life size Star Wars X-Wing Fighter (really!), Back To The Future's De Lorean Car (great Scott!), a real walking talking Robot, several comic and memorabilia stalls and the Accent UK team! It's on from 10 am to 4 pm in the Market Hall and, weather permitting, outside, free entry!

The convention season is really underway now as Warrington will be the first of four consecutive shows taking in London, Aberdeen and Copenhagen so nice perhaps to start with something local!

MCM Moments in Birmingham!

Ah, been  a really hectic week or so since Accent UK's appearance at the Birmingham NEC's MCM & Memorabilia show so here's my review of the show.

From a purely comic sales perspective the show was a little disappointing. After last year's MCM madness in Glasgow and Manchester we had high expectations, but in the end only sold about 1/2 as many books as at those one day shows, so with Birmingham being a full weekend, it was disappointing.

I enlist some help to snare a few comic customers!

Chatting to folk it was hard to pinpoint reasons why, the attendance itself seemed busy enough and comparable with Glasgow and Manchester but the comic village didn't seem to get the same footfall that those shows had. It reminded us of the early MCM London shows we tried when the thousands of teenage cosplayers didn't seem too interested in the comics side of things - something I understand that London has 'grown' out of as its attendance has since soared and comic village regulars enjoy brisk trade, (something we will test for ourselves when we return to London in May!).

You could buy anything at MCM but these weren't the droids I was looking for....

I understand that this Birmingham show is a different beast to others in the MCM stable in that it has Incorporated the long established Memorabilia shows which ran for many years. There was evidence of this both in the media star signings and the dealer hall with various toy, book, magazine and vinyl record dealers amongst the regular MCM roster of manga, prints, t-shirts, accessory stalls etc. I think Dave and I rather enjoyed this eclectic mix of dealers with some unusual finds amongst the many stalls - old Lion annuals for Dave and a couple of Zulu movie lobby cards for me!

Alexander and me - despite a slow day, Zulu sold first & sold out!

It may be though that the comic village hasn't yet matured in its own identity within this varied show and struggled to make itself heard. There were some 'hotspots' though with a couple of comic exhibitors doing well but for the majority it was pretty modest stuff.

Dave, Stu and Col share the love!

As always though it was still a very enjoyable time catching up with old and new friends including Steve Tanner of Time Bomb comics, Paul Birch of the Birmingham Mail's Speech Balloons column, Lou aka Naniiebim, Rudra and Lyndon White, (whose promising Cosmic Fish comic is imminent!), Jeremy of the popular  Zombie Bear Comics and of course the irrepressible force that is Stuart Gould of UK Comics Creative. 

Here's me & Jemma about to bust open the 'Colin the Caterpillar' birthday cakes Karen had bought!

As we had the capable Jemma and Scott with us, Dave and I took the opportunity for a few wanders and a coffee to reflect on where we are with Accent UK - something we of course regularly do - but we've had a growing feeling that we're a little 'muddled' in our own identity, possibly mirroring the MCM/Memorabilia's own identity crisis! We also had some valuable constructive feedback from folk we trust so are mulling these over at the moment and hopefully will implement a few positive changes going forward. Nothing overly drastic, maybe just a timely 'resetting' of where we are and what we want to achieve, mmm well that does sound rather drastic and serious doesn't it - anyway I've asked Dave to keep all this under his hat for now............

Dave struggling to contain his ideas hat !