Comics Weekend...

Spent last weekend in Birmingham at the British International Comic Show - which, every single time I've typed it this year, I call the Birmingham International Comic Show and have to change it. It seems it will forever be in my mind as a local show, no matter how big it gets.

I've done full write ups over at the FPI blog, but wanted to mention it here as well. This year we'd heard that it was getting too expensive to exhibit, that folks were staying away, that it wasn't going to any good.

But it was. In fact it was genuinely the best yet. Not that you could tell that from Friday night's launch party. It was absolutely terrible, completely the wrong venue and no-one stayed for that long - everyone just found their way to various pubs around Birmingham. But once everyone surfaced, red-eyed and tired, on Saturday it became clear that the show itself was going to be good. Most importantly there were less stalls this year - meaning wider, more spacious aisles and a much cooler environment (and we know how important it is in a comics event to have a cool room - nothing beats that great smell of hot, sweaty comic fans).

Saw lots of folks on Saturday which was my work type day, chatting to people, taking photos. Sunday was more of the same with a few great panels thrown in. All in all, the whole thing, bar that god awful launch party, was a great success. Looking forward to next year.

Something for Everyone: A conversation with Shane Chebsey

Hi all, recently Matthew Badham, all round nice guy and comic writer, got in touch to ask if a few of us comic type blogs - the FPI blog, Down The Tubes, Bugpowder and here would be interested in cross posting a few interviews about various comic conventions and events. The idea being to give a platform for the organisers to promote their event and to trigger a little debate over the pros and (ahem) cons on a the comic-con scene in the UK right now.

So here's interview #2 with Shane Chebsey, co-organiser of the British International Comics Show (formerly the Birmingham International Comics Show)

(NB: Answers have been edited only in terms of spelling, punctuation and grammar, and not for style or content.)

Matthew Badham: Please tell us a little about the history of your con/event and how it’s evolved over the years.

Shane Chebsey: The first BICS occurred in 2006 at The Custard Factory. Our biggest named guest was Michael Lark of Daredevil Fame, and right from the beginning we had wonderful support from the UK scene including publishers and creators. This is something we've always been very grateful for.

We just wanted to put on the type of comics show we'd want to attend ourselves, and figured there must be some folks out there who wanted what we did. Since then BICS has become the largest UK event devoted to the medium of comics, so I guess we weren't alone. Guests have included Mike Mignola, Dave Gibbons, Kevin Nowlan, Michael Golden, John Cassaday, David Lloyd, Alan Davis, Mark Chiarello, Olivier Coipel, Esad Ribic, Adi Granov, Mark Buckingham, plus many, many more top names in the industry.



(Mr Shane Chebsey, photo borrowed from John Freeman's Flickrstream.)

MB: How is your con funded, by ticket sales, the exhibitors, a grant from the council, some other means or a combination of these?

SC: A combination of table sales, entry fees and our own pockets. Last year we did receive some minor sponsorship and this year we are looking to build on that and we've be also applied for some government funding to help us develop and expand the show, enabling the event to reach out to a wider audience and benefit more people.

MB: What are the overall aims of your con/event?

SC: We have both short and long term aims and objectives for the show.

Initial Aims:
As well as producing an enjoyable event for existing comic fans, our initial aims with the first three shows were to establish a successful formula for running a comics event in Britain that would be recognised by the UK Comics Industry including publishers, distributors and retailers, as a major event. This was so that we could build a platform to achieve our main objectives.

With the first three shows we have achieved these aims.
We attracted over 2500 fans, press, creators and retailers to our last show and most western comics publishers now recognise The British International Comics Show as the major UK comics convention. These publishers include DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Rebellion Developments, Markosia Enterprises (who launched new titles at the 2007 show) and Manga Entertainment (who allowed us to show the first official UK screening of one of their new films at the 2007 show) and Random House, who have previously been sponsors of the show.

Main Objectives:
To provide an enjoyable and informative family event to the general public, allowing them to discover new comics and graphic novels they may not have previously encountered.
To give new writers and artists access to both publishers and professionals working within the industry both here in the UK and overseas, allowing them the opportunity to receive feedback and advice on their work and to learn more about the international and national industry and about the medium of comics in general.
To promote comics to the general public as both an educational and entertainment medium.
To provide a secure and fun environment for all comic fans, whatever their cultural, religious or ethnic background, to enjoy the medium, expand their reading and to meet comics creators from all over the world.
To give independent and small press creators the chance to promote their publications to the general public and to the larger publishers.
To create sufficient revenue to make the show financially self sustaining.

Long Term Aims:
To promote literacy and the visual arts in general.
To expand the reading of comics in the UK.
To support our national comics industry.
To promote diversity and originality within the comics industry.
To expand the show, attracting even more visitors to the event and to the City of Birmingham.



MB: Who is the con aimed at? What sort of punters do you hope to attract? Are you family-friendly?
SC: BICS is very family-friendly and we always aim to attract the full spectrum of attendees, from the young to the old, men, women, everyone! That's the great thing about comics. They are so inclusive almost anyone can enjoy them and create them.

MB: How effective have you been in getting those kind of people to attend?

SC: So far we've been very pleased with the varied representation of all groups attending the show. However, we continue to increase our efforts to attract even more diversity amongst our visitors.

MB: Can you give a projected (or actual) attendance figure for your event?

SC: This year we are aiming for 3000 people to attend the show over the weekend.

MB: What lessons have you learned during your time (co-)running a con, in terms of marketing and advertising your event?

SC: Lots of lessons have been learned. The hardest lesson would be that any expensive advertising must be very targeted to be cost effective. We have also learned not to announce any guests until they are 100% confirmed. We learned this after our very first show.

MB: Do you use emerging technologies to spread the word about your con? Do you have a website or blog, or use email mailing lists?

SC: This is our most effective method for attracting both visitors and exhibitors to the show. We have an active presence on many forums, a great website, and a very large mailing list that helps us to keep folks informed of developments.
We also have our own forum that enables visitors to ask us questions about the show and to share their show experiences with other visitors.

MB: What about print? Do you use print advertising, have a newsletter, anything like that?

SC: We advertise in many print publications including SFX magazine, 2000 AD and Toxic. We also print up flyers and posters for events etc.

MB: What's the mix in terms of exhibitors at your con? Do you even have exhibitors?

SC: We have great mixture of exhibitors at BICS. This year there will be 162 tables featuring retailers, publishers, art suppliers, creators and distributors. There really is something for everyone.

MB: What are your thoughts on the small press comics scene in this country? How do you try and support it (do you try and support it)?

SC: I have personally done my best to support the small press scene since 1999 when I founded Smallzone [Shane’s company, which acts as a distribution service for small press comics]. When I became involved with BICS I was determined to give small press creators a level playing field along with all the big publishers at the show. We offer small press creators a £40 discount from the normal table price to try and make it easier for them to afford being part of the event. We are very proud of the huge diversity of genres and styles on display at BICS, all thanks to the UK small press scene.

MB: How much are the tickets for your event? How did you arrive at that price? Please tell us about any concessions.

SC: Tickets are £12 per day or £20 for the weekend. Children go half price and under 5's go free. We also offer family passes, and free access for carers.
We have based these prices on our projected attendance against the cost of our venue and other costs involved in producing the show. When you bare in mind the full program of events happening at the show as well as the comics fair etc the entry fee is extremely good value for money.

How much is a 90-minute football match for all the family these days, or a visit to the cinema for two hours? At those events you don't even get to meet the players or the film stars. At our show you get to meet the stars of comics in a friendly and informal atmosphere. It really is a special opportunity for many fans and we love seeing the faces of young fans when they get their first signed copy of Watchmen or Planetary.

MB: How much are exhibitor tables for your event (if you have any)? Again, how did you arrive at that figure?

SC: Tables are £160 each for the weekend. We give discounts to small press comic creators and those making multiple table bookings. Again we arrived at this figure based on our costs, and based on the projected takings for the average exhibitor. We have tried very hard to make tables good value for money and provide steady through traffic for all exhibitors at the show. Obviously it's up to the exhibitors to sell or promote their work or products, we can't do that for them. What we do provide is a state of the art venue filled to the brim with comic fans and those who want to find out more about comics.

MB: Do you run workshops/events/panels at your con? Please tell us about those and how they are organised.

SC: We have a full program of killer events running all through the weekend of the show. These include exclusive creator interviews, fun quizzes, live art events and professional demos from some of the industry's top creators. We host panel discussions on topical subjects concerning the medium and the industry. We also conduct portfolio reviews for aspiring comics artists.

MB: Are there any external events connected to BICS? Educational stuff, talks, workshops, comics promoting, that kind of thing?

SC: We are running an outreach program this year, which involves talks, presentations and workshops in libraries, schools and colleges.
If anyone is interested in hosting a talk or workshop and would like to find out more, they can contact us at: info@thecomicsshow.co.uk

We are also presenting an exclusive IMAX Birmingham screening of The Watchmen in September hosted by Dave Gibbons, with a signing before the screening. Places will be limited to just 300.

More news of this on our website soon.

MB: As you've been kind enough to answer these questions, please fell free to big your con up a bit. Tell us what you do well, what your event's main attractions are and why our readers should attend the next one.

SC: If you love comics you simply must attend BICS 2009 in October. It's an essential event for every type of fan, whether you love manga, superheroes, small press or even if you're just curious about what comics are. BICS celebrates every form of the medium and is THE event to visit in 2009!

MB: Thanks, Shane, for answering our questions.

For more on BICS, please visit the convention’s website here.

Matt's Interview with Oli Smith of London Underground Comics is here.

Birmingham International Comic Show 2008 report

The third Birmingham Comic Show took place last weekend and I headed down to Birmingham to play along with all the other comic fans. Of course, with Molly's Holy Communion on Sunday I had to be back in pocklington for 9am Sunday morning but this wasn't going to spoil my fun.

The weekend started in the best way possible: early. I'd arranged with the head to slope off early and was in the car ready to go at 1. Made it down the beautifully quiet motorways with no holdups or trouble and got into fair Birmingham by half 3. Very good going. Check in to the hotel and feel the wave of weekend exhaustion hit me. Shower and change. Wake self up with copious water and prescription drugs for back. Head into Birmingham.

It's either me zoned out of my mind of painkillers for the back or Birmingham was even bigger and louder than last time. The provincial lifestyle I live is really bringing it home to me just how big this big city is. Lovely to visit and experience, but certainly not somewhere I really want to live anymore.

Launch Party - Friday.



Obviously - as can be expected from these things, there were an awful lot of very drunk comic people at the launch party. Above is a picture of me with my collection of drunks: L to R: Mike, Surfer Dave, Dave Hopkins (everyone's favourite Dave, manager of Nostalgia & Comics) and me. We had a large Nostalgia & Comics contingent there, and spent a large part of the night chatting to various people and then an even larger part of the night wondering who all the young people around us were. It seems that while we've been getting older, comic folk have been getting younger and younger.

Dave's wife Debbie took the photo - a rarity in that it's a photo of me that I actually quite like.

The bands were all good, although sadly we got there too late to see Hunt Emerson this year. In the end us old folks left the younger Nostalgia & Comics workers to it and sloped off to home / hotels early (well - 2am). On the way to the hotel I took my life in my hands and partook of pizza from some very dodgy place on the Queensway. It was lovely, but a huge gamble that could have seen me spending all weekend in casualty.

Saturday: Birmingham International Comics Show 2008 Day One.

Amazingly, I wasn't ill on Saturday. Neither the drink or the pizza had that much effect and I actually made it down to breakfast before heading off around Birmingham, popping into Nostalgia & Comics on the way to the show.

The show was, yet again, at Millenium Point / Thinktank. It's a very imposing building housing Birmingham's Science museum (pictures from last year) and it's a really good venue for the Comic Show. Or at least it is once you can navigate the escalators / stairs / lifts to the third floor. Thinktank has an interesting idea for escalators - they seem to run them both ways. If it's going down all you need to do is wait 5 minutes and suddenly it's changed and becomes an up escalator. Or that's what it seemed to be doing. Unless the gin from the night before was having a delayed affect?

Once inside theComic Show it was straight to work. By which I mean getting round as many people as possible to say hello, introduce myself and generally have a good time. This year, as well as all the usual stuff I had another mission - get as many sketches as possible from the attending artists to start filling the sketch pad that Molly had made me get. I made a throw-away comment a while ago explaining how artists at these things would do sketches for you and Molly decided that she definitely wanted some. By midday, after just half an hour there I'd already had a couple of texts from her asking how many I'd got.

The show was bigger and better this year. The organisers had learnt from the overcrowding of 2007 and instead of cramming everyone into the main hall, they'd split the show into two rooms and moved the talks and presentations into the lecture theatre downstairs. I'd like to be able to tell you how nice the theatre was, but I had no time to get to any panels. I'll just have to take peoples word for it. (Leah Moore has pics and a good write up of the facilities).

It was lovely getting round to seeing so many people who I'd been in touch with over the past year but never met. And just as nice catching up with comic folks I already knew. So hello to all of you - Andi Watson, Paul Grist, Ian Edginton, Matt Brooker, Jas Wilson, Matthew Craig, Oliver Lambden, Laurence Powell, David Baillie, Andy Luke, Sean Azzopardi, Dan Lester, Jenika Ioffreda, Laura Howell, Phil Spence, Joel Meadows, Gary Northfield, Lew Stringer, Mark Farmer, Marc ellerby ( & his girlfriend Anna - who I'm sure was getting fed up of everyone saying how they knew who she was thanks to Marcs comics), Jamie McKelvie.

Thanks especially to those of you who I managed to get sketches from. You'll all be pleased to know that Molly loves them all; Molly's Birmingham Sketches.

And many apologies to those of you who I've either forgotten to mention or plain just didn't get around to saying hello to. Sometimes I saw you and meant to come over when something else cropped up, sometimes I made a mental note to come back when the crowd had died down around your stall, sometimes I just missed you and occasionaly I just needed to go outside and stop doing the small talk thing for a few minutes. I'm not the best at it, I don't enjoy it and, even at this advancing age there are times when my natural shyness and anti-social nature gets the better of me.

But in the end, at six o'clock, when it came time to leave, I'd had a great day. I thought the whole thing was a great success and I'm really hoping that the organisers will be announcing Birmingham International Comic Show 2009 very soon.

Of course, after that the only thing left to do was hit the bar. Except I couldn't because I had to get back to pocklington Saturday night so I could be around on Sunday for Molly's Holy Communion. Bah. No alcohol for me.

In the end I met up with Dave and Cat from Nostalgia and we went for drinks. First the Wellington, then off to the Diamond sponsored event at Malmaison. More out of curiosity than anything else. We didn't know what to expect, were bloody tired and not really in the right mood for a schmooze. Luckily, no-one else was either and the event was a bit of a washout. Tired and aching in the back, sad to say goodnight to Dave and Cat but glad to be going as well. Of course, on the way out we realised that seemingly everyone in comics had been in Malmaison's bar all along. Oh well. Another time.

I eventually made it home for 2:30am. The motorway driving policy of stopping whenever the driver damn well feels like it was observed all the way. Crawled into bed around 3am.

A great weekend. Next year I'll be there for the whole thing. Thanks especially to Shane, Andy & James for organising Birmingham International Comics Show 2008. See you all at 2009 BICS.

There's a report on the show, along with lots and lots of links to relevant blog posts on the FPI Blog - BICS 2008.

Birmingham Comics Show vs Holy Communion

It's the Birmingham Comics Show this October 4th & 5th. I was planning on attending for the whole weekend. Got as far as booking hotel rooms and tickets. Looking forward not only to going back to Birmingham for a catching up weekend but spending all weekend talking comics. Last year's was great fun and I was hoping to repeat the experience this October.

Then Louise points out that the weekend in question just happens to be Molly's 1st Holy Communion. Specifically October 5th. She may not have been all that impressed when I spent a moment working out whether or not to miss it.

Because I'm really not that enamoured by the whole religion thing. Molly is a Catholic by geography more than anything else. Specifically the geography of being born in Birmingham with a terrible selection of primary schools nearby.
(Please don't tell God)

Of course, now that she is Catholic she's going for it the way young children do. Much the same as her love of Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny I just play along and just accept God as another fantastical character that she'll eventually grow out of.

But, even though I am completely without love for the church, I do love my daughter very much indeed and will therefore be cutting short my sojourn at Birmingham's Comic Show in favour of watching her wearing a white dress and having Communion. At least there's a party afterwards.

Birmingham International Comics Show - Birmingham's Got Talent 2008

Press release from Shane Chebsey of the Birmingham International Comic Show:

This year at the Birmingham International Comics Show budding writers will be given the chance to enter the BICS GOT TALENT writing contest.

Entrants will be able to pitch an idea for a Tharg's Future Shock to a star line up of professional Judges and the final three will face an audience vote to decide which story will be illustrated by a top 2000ad artist and published in a forthcoming issue of the legendary magazine. The final winner will receive full payment for their story as first prize, and the runners up will receive exclusive 2000ad prizes.

To enter email shane@thecomicsshow.co.uk and we will add you to the entry list, places are limited so hurry if you don't want to miss out! We will need your full contact details, the title of your story, and a one line description in less than 8 words.

Those who are lucky - or unlucky - enough to face the judges will be announced on our website, so make sure you visit the competitions page nearer the time to see if you are on the shortlist. Only those attending the show both days will be able to enter this competition.

If you're headed for the show (October 4 & 5 at the Thinktank in Birmingham, details on their website) I shall see you there. But have a look at photos and reports from last year. 'Twas a very good show indeed.

Birmingham Comic Show 2007 and that explains what the hell Kev F Sutherland was doing with those socks......

You know, I kept seeing Kev do these weird interviews all weekend and never got around to asking him what on earth was going on.
This explains it all........

Birmingham Comic Show 2007 Part 7

Standing in line for Kevin Nowlan I was pleased to finally meet Laura Howell. (pictured below with another of Birmingham's finest Lew Stringer)I knew she was at the show as I'd asked Hunt Emerson earlier about her whereabouts. But hours of wandering hadn't managed to find her. So it was a pleasant surprise to see her stood behind me in the queue. She's very busy at the moment and showed me the fantastic pages for her brand new solo Beano strip. Coming soon. Details as soon as she can on her website.

Laura Howell & Lew Stringer.

And that was it. The second Birmingham Comic Show was over. A grand time had been had by all. Roll on BICS 2008.

One last photo....... Please smile Mr Joker.......

Birmingham Comic Show 2007 Part 6Meet the pros .....

More photos of the various artists and writers aroud the show ....

Andi Watson was as lovely as ever, even remembering that I was living up in Yorkshire. Which was nice. Now go and read his books. Glister #2 is out soon.

Lovely Andi Watson

Kevin Nowlan was politeness and hospitality personified. I was queing up for a photo and heard him comment to several people in front that he was afraid he'd only have time to sign stuff rather than do sketches as he and his wife badly needed to get lunch (it was 4 o'clock at this point, so I'm thinking it was a really late lunch). As always seems to happen a queue of three became a queue of ten, most of them clutching sketchpads and looking expectant. Lunch was forgotten, Kevin Nowlan got out his pens and smiled and chatted and sketched his way through the hunger whilst his wife got a quick snack for them both. A genuinely lovely man.

Kevin & Deanne Nowlan

Sean Phillips

Charlie Adlard

Mike Carey in writing mode in the coffee bar.

The Birmingham Comic Show 2007 Part 5 Meet the pros....

I did the tour, chatted to old and new friends, talked to the artists and writers, took photos, bought way too much stuff and generally had a good time.
Of those I saw it was nice chatting to the Phonogram boys, although I'm still owed a drink from them by my reckoning.

Jamie McKelvie - One half of the Phonogram team.

Ian Edginton and Matt Brooker (D'Israeli) were extremely busy signing and chatting all day, but, as Ian himself pointed out, a lot of that may have been due to the reflected glory from their next door neighbour at the show, Mike Mignola. Crowds for Mike on the Saturday were huge. So much so that by Sunday a strict roped off queueing area had been made on the show floor.

Ian & Matt sharing a table signing and having fun.
Exactly how long has Ian been practicing that look?

Bryan Talbot

Hunt Emerson, fresh from Friday night's musical interlude.

Birmingham Comic Show 2007 Part 4

Day 1:
The actual show itself was impressive, if constrained a little by the layout of the venue.
Walking into the place the only access is through a tiny corridor, past the 3 event rooms and the toilets. Then onwards into the main arena.
This was where everything was. Dealers, small press, artists and writers. The works.
And having them all together like that does work. One criticism I kept hearing of the Custard Factory show was that the plentiful small press stands were dumped into a smaller room, effectively turning them into a no-go zone. Happily for the small pressers at this show, they were completely integrated into the main room here and the traffic at their tables reflected this.

The main room. Packed with comics fans and very hot. Not the best combination.

Kevin of FPI shows us his "buy it or I'll run you through" selling technique

It just wouldn't be a show without these brave souls willing to make arses of themselves all day and, given the temperatures in the hall, possibly risk heat exhaustion as well.

One potentially embarrassing thing did happen though. My old, old boss at Nostalgia & Comics was at the show, since being bought out of the comic shop business, he's started selling artwork and seems to be doing alright out of it. He certainly looks better than I remember him looking. We said hello and he asked me what I was doing now. That was when it hit me that the answer should have included the following:
1. Moved to Yorkshire,
2. working at a primary school,
3. reviewing comics for FPI weblog
4. Oh, and writing a blog where I spent a great deal of time and a not inconsiderable number of posts describing some of the terrible business decisions you've made in the past.

Ooops.
Instead I just left out the last bit.
That was probably the first time I was relieved that someone DIDN'T read the blog.
Especially when he then proceeded to tell me that one of the things he was planning on doing in the future was producing another book of comic art, very much like the financial abortion that was Nostalgia About Comics, but this time dealing with 1950s comics. I nodded politely and made my excuses and left. He even had copies of Nostalgia About Comics on sale at the show. God bless him, I wish him well and all that but sometimes it would be nice to think he could learn from the mistakes of the past.

I had meant to take in some of the panels during the day, but hours of wandering and chatting, together with a very late start to the day means I didn't see a thing all day. Which means I missed out on some really interesting panels including: the 2000AD panel, the Mike Mignola interview and the charity auction.

This gorgeous convention cover artwork by Mike Mignola and Kevin Nowlan was the highlight of the auction. One of our very own Nostalgia & Comics customers was in the bidding for it. He went up to £500 but was completely eclipsed by the eventual winner - paying a princely £1400. All in a good cause as they say.
The Erotic Comics presentation was meant to be very good as well, although it ran over terribly late. Possibly cleaning up the mess on the floor? And the Matt Hollingsworth colouring masterclass, although highly technical was a huge draw.

Mike Mignola and Kevin Nowlan were the undoubted draws for the crows. At one point the queue for Mignola threatened to overwhelm the walkway until security stepped in and sorted it out. Very big blokes tend to be able to organise queues of comics fans very quickly.

Weary and with aching feet I headed back for a shower and change of very sweaty clothes - that's the one thing that never changes about these things. There's either no air conditioning or it's completely ineffective. Given that the room is packed to the rafters with comics people this is not the best idea, after a few minutes most of us were wandering round with delightful and very attractive wet patches under arms. Yuck.

Luckily the night out on Saturday was a much quieter affair, for me at least. I had a couple of old friends to catch up with and had a quiet and sedate night out, getting much needed sleep. On the way home we wandered past Bennetts to see more comics folks imbibing lots of beer.
Not something I imagine others managed. The rumour is that the previously mentioned Mr Ben McCool, soon to be comics pro and drinker / networker extraordinaire took a host of pros on an extended drinking and sports session. I imagine he and they were very, very drunk by the end of the night's festivities.

Day 2.

More of the the same. Again, made it to the show a little late. Again, saw no panels until the very end. But lots of wandering, lots of chatting.
Final panel of the day was Ben McCool's Play Your Comics Cards Right with questions set by Nostalgia & Comics own David Dearn. It was, to be kind, slightly disorganised. But in a fun, chaotic, end of show type of way. Mark Farmer, Staz Johnston and Al Ewing were joined on the quiz by a very enthusiastic and slightly out of his comics depth young man. But somehow, after what seemed like an eternity - Ben would have read the rules but he probably wasn't seeing straight after Saturday night - somehow the young lad won the game. We all cheered for the biggest fix of the weekend.

Everyone seemed extremely happy with how it had all gone. Sure, there were a few minor problems, but certainly nothing to put people off. I was talking to James Hodgkins, one of the organisers and he seemed really pleased with it all and positive that it would all be happening again in 2008.

Birmingham Comics Show 2007 Part 3Saturday & Millemium Point

Day 1.
Well, technically it was afternoon 1.

I'd like to say it wasn't the copious gins that meant I woke up at 10, instead i'll blame it on the many 3am bedtimes earlier last week. But the alcohol may have played a part.
Off to Nostalgia where I'm presented with the shocking sight of a front counter of three members of staff who I don't know. Horrible. Every time I go in it's a little knife to the heart that I'm not part of the furniture anymore.
At least Dave was there. In body at least. He was feeling the vodka cherry shots and looked possibly as ill as a person can look outside of hospital.

Then, finally, off to the show. This year it took place at Millenium Point, part of the newly regenerated Eastside of the city. That's regenerated as in we've stuck some new buildings in amongst the wreckage of a slum clearance and then seemingly forgotten to finish the job. I know it's an ongoing project but not a lot seems to change, a few new buildings but lots more mess and weeds.

Birmingham's Eastside - new buildings, crappy old car parks and lots of new weeds.

Last year's Comic Show was held at The Custard Factory, the alternative arts centre for Birmingham. But that proved too small and a move to a bigger venue was needed.
Which is a shame in some ways because something like this really should be at the Custard Factory - Birmingham's gorgeous arts hub. (and like the nexus of everything Birmingham arts related this is where Pete Ashton's name crops up again - he's currently redesigning the Custard Factories web presecnce - the man gets everywhere. he is the sand in the underwear of Birmingham's arts scene)

But Millenium Point promised bigger and better things for us comics folk. The whole place is a mecca to modern design. Inside it's all polished chrome and open galleries.
But before you can see the inside you have to get in. This is where the first huge mistake with MP comes in. It's built the wrong way round. The beautifully impressive facade and open square at the front is fantastic. But it's in the wrong place. Most people coming to the place either walk from the city centre or park in the car park. Both ways brings you in via the back entrance, still imprerssive but lacking the oomph that the front has.

The back of Millenium Point - most people's first view of the building.

The front of Millenium Point. Suitably impressive but no-one seems to come in this way. A whole building built the wrong way wrong.

Inside Millenium Point. View from Level G1. All gleaming chrome and open walkways.

Next up - actually getting into the Comics Show.......

Birmingham Comics Show 2007 Part 2 Friday night (late)

I hadn't been to a comic convention for many years. I went to a few of the old UKCAC shows back in the day, but circumstances and other stuff (life mostly) had kept me away from the hallowed halls of comics culture. (Or alternatively I realised that working at Nostalgia & Comics and going out drinking at night had the same effect without huge hotel bills).

I even missed the inaugural Birmingham 2006 show because we had just moved Bruton Mansions up the road to Yorkshire. (Crap excuse I know).

But this year, I was determined to get down to the show. Louise and Molly, looking forward to a daddy free girly weekend were even keener for me to go.

Friday night at the comic show was the launch party to be held at Bennetts, a rather large and ornate bar in the city centre. Walking up Bennetts Hill I was greeted by the all too stereotypical sight of comic fans outside Bennetts. Why do we always seem to carry huge bags, carrier bags, dress in black, wear too many layers and look hot, sweaty and out of shape?

The old friends theme of the weekend started immediately: The very first person I met outside was the granddaddy of bloggers Mr Pete Ashton. Even though I haven't seen him in a few years he was instantly recognisable, shaved head, dress down friday look and roll up in hand. Pleasantries were passed, compliments about Pete managing to infiltrate Birmingham's cultural arts scene yet still remaining completely Pete - that sort of thing.
Next up, the lovely Ben McCool, ex of Nostalgia & Comics and soon to be making a big noise for DC when he gets the contracts all sorted.
Ben is perfectly suited for comics; talented, loads of ideas and possibly the biggest pisshead / networker I've ever met. In the heady alcohol fuelled world of the comic convention networking and drinking go together. Ben is the epitome of how to do the networking while drinking thing. He knows everyone and everyone knows Ben.
He also owes them all drinks.

Inside and it was pretty obvious that the Birmingham Show was going to be a massive success. The place was packed. Hunt Emerson's band was pumping out blues standards from the makeshift stage (talking to Hunt later he confirmed what was pretty obvious - he was having an absolute blast).

Hunt Emerson & The Black Country Cats in full flow
pic by the ever-present blogging nexus that is Pete Ashton

The Nostalgia crew were there and from the looks of it had been there quite a while. The drinking would get sillier and sillier as the night wore on -cherry vodka shots? Ouch.
Strangest thing about being there was the feeling I always used to get around Birmingham. I kept getting hellos and nods from all sorts of folks I didn't really remember - that was always the thing about working in Nostalgia for so long - being a member of staff at the best comic shop in the midlands instantly made you a face in Birmingham. I hadn't seen most of these people for at least a year and with my memory being what it is I had no concept of who they were, but polite nods and hellos were exchanged nonetheless.
The pros were also out in force (there was a bar, what do you expect); Bryan Talbot, Lew Stringer, Dave Gibbons, Leah Moore and John Reppion, Micah Wright, Jordan Smith, Hunt Emerson, Esad Ribic, Phil Winslade, Ian Edginton and I'm sure many, many more.

And before you ask I didn't cosy up to Esad Ribic - given that he's a bear of a man with a habit for drunkenly lifting people he likes over his head in a drunken state and I wrote this about his art on Silver Surfer Requiem #1 for Propaganda:
The art doesn’t help the dismal nature of the story either. Veering from very occasional delights (such as the Surfer on page 16) in full flight to absolutely bloody awful. Ribic’s figurative work and his lack of detailing is desperately in need of a good inker. Or maybe just a better artist.

Basically it was the good time had by all and we crawled out of there at closing 1:30? 2am? and made our sorry way home.

Birmingham Comics Show Part 1 Friday night (early)

This last weekend was the second (hopefully annual) Birmingham Comics Show. After not being able to get there for the first one last year it was a pleasure to be there this year.

The weekend started pleasantly enough with the usual jaunt down the motorway. All was clear and as neither Louise or Molly had decided to come to this cultural event, preferring the delights of a girly weekend instead, I was all alone and singing Duran Duran, The The and Cabaret Voltaire at the top of my lungs all the way down.

Yet again I stayed in the Etap on Great Colmore Street. In the promotional stuff it looks like this:


What they don't show you is the neighbourhood surrounding it. To the left you'll view the Romanesque vista that is the ruins of the Dome nightclub; Birmingham's first real superclub from many years ago. Over the road is a dodgy Irish private members club, an dodgy African restaurant, a dodgy Caribbean restaurant, a dodgy Greek restaurant, a dodgy Indian restaurant (you get the idea).

The whole neighbourhood feels like one of those places you only really feel comfortable driving through at speed. And smack in the middle of all this is the bright, blue neon embossed Etap hotel. The actual hotel is very bright, clean and fully functional.
The Etap is just fine. Once you're inside the place.
But getting inside is a problem. When you return from a night out there's a security guard on the door checking your room registration. This isn't normal for hotels as far as I can see. On asking about it last time we were told very matter of factly that they do have some problems with the guests getting a little worse for wear and various characters wandering in off the streets. Oh joy.

So. Leave Pocklington at 7, ready to leave hotel by 10.
But where oh where to go at that time of night..............................?

Oh don't be so daft - it's a comics convention.
There's bound to be a bar full of drunk comics folks.
And there was.