Bloggin' that Thing
Mar. 17th, 2007 07:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pallas_athenaToday I went, as I'd planned, to the UK Web and Minicomics Thing. This Thing took place at Queen Mary and Westfield College: I haven't been there since the summer of 1995, when I directed a play in their theatre starring the always excellent ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mothninja and a host of other talented people. The terrain around there is greener and cleaner, but there still isn't a decent pub for miles.
QMW is a huge campus, and the Thing took some finding. The day got a lot better once I pushed open a door into a room full of interesting people with art to display and stories to tell.
To my vague surprise, the mix of genders was about equal, both behind the tables and milling around the room. Computer geekery and comics are both fields where you'd expect a preponderance of males, but today it wasn't so. The first artists I spoke to were women, one in a green sequined dress, the other in superheroish dark blue: these are the Rubins sisters, who do Dark. I applauded their storytelling and their dress sense.
Also snappily dressed was John Allison, the quiet genius behind Scary-Go-Round. He turns out to be very nice, well-spoken, a bit shy in the face of hordes of fans, but then who wouldn't be?speedlime may be pleased to hear that some quality Scaryart will be with her by and by.
Opposite Allison was the Battery Lit team, and I chatted to one of their number, a very nice woman named Nikki who had filled her table with not only comics, but small clay creatures that she had made. I was intrigued by these, as I was by other artists selling webcomic-associated objects: I bought a small smiling lime for Speedlime. From the ladies of the elegant manga-inspired Two Sides Wide, I got a hat. It has ears. The ears are pointy. I keep noticing my shadow on the wall and feeling secretly happy.
From Two Sides Wide, I also got a minicomic called Duct: it's on the web here. I opened it to a random page and noticed that the heroine is an opera singer who sings Handelian arias, so obviously I thought "Cool!" When I took it home and read it, I found that the ending packs a hell of a kick. Here it is on the Web: go read.
This is the best thing about an event like this: everyone brings little sample comics that you can buy for a pound or so, and at the end of the day you go home with a bag full of funny, disturbing, sweet, clever little stories. I have a new half-dozen favourite webcomics now, and having met the artists-- friendly, lovely, sick and twisted as they are-- gives me extra insight into the comic and makes me feel personally attached to it. I don't mind spending a bit of money at the event, since most of the comics are readable completely free on the web, and people who make their art available like that definitely deserve support.
I had a very cool conversation with Jenika, the Italian girl who draws Vampire Free Style. I've now read the first two issues and can say with certainty that so far it has no vampires in it-- but plenty of goths, witches and a black cat with big eyes. Which are all very pleasant to have around.
Two other good manga-inspired strips that caught my eye were Darken, a merry romp with a bunch of evil people who want to take over the world, featuring devils, dark elves, and lots of killing; and Earthbound, which has demons, vampires, familiars and a touch of hellfire.
Next to Darken's table was Astorauth by Robin Pierce, a swashbuckling tale featuring a prince who's had his kingdom snatched away by scheming politicians and hopes to regain it with a band of loyal friends. Breeches and bodices ahoy!
Lastly, I share a happy moment with the guys who do Goldfish Bowl and Life and Death, two good strips that have t3h funny like Texas has oil. There are so damn many good comics around that I've barely blogged the tip of the iceberg, and there are sure to be more that I missed-- but I've ended the day more webcomic-literate than I began it, and a good deal more amused and entertained too.
We live surrounded by good stories; they hang, like ripe fruit, within easy reach. Occasionally they contain wasps or worms, but part of art is learning to expect the unexpected: to love it, indeed. So verily I say unto ye, support your local webcomic artist. Here endeth the blog entry.
mothninja and a host of other talented people. The terrain around there is greener and cleaner, but there still isn't a decent pub for miles.QMW is a huge campus, and the Thing took some finding. The day got a lot better once I pushed open a door into a room full of interesting people with art to display and stories to tell.
To my vague surprise, the mix of genders was about equal, both behind the tables and milling around the room. Computer geekery and comics are both fields where you'd expect a preponderance of males, but today it wasn't so. The first artists I spoke to were women, one in a green sequined dress, the other in superheroish dark blue: these are the Rubins sisters, who do Dark. I applauded their storytelling and their dress sense.
Also snappily dressed was John Allison, the quiet genius behind Scary-Go-Round. He turns out to be very nice, well-spoken, a bit shy in the face of hordes of fans, but then who wouldn't be?
speedlime may be pleased to hear that some quality Scaryart will be with her by and by. Opposite Allison was the Battery Lit team, and I chatted to one of their number, a very nice woman named Nikki who had filled her table with not only comics, but small clay creatures that she had made. I was intrigued by these, as I was by other artists selling webcomic-associated objects: I bought a small smiling lime for Speedlime. From the ladies of the elegant manga-inspired Two Sides Wide, I got a hat. It has ears. The ears are pointy. I keep noticing my shadow on the wall and feeling secretly happy.
From Two Sides Wide, I also got a minicomic called Duct: it's on the web here. I opened it to a random page and noticed that the heroine is an opera singer who sings Handelian arias, so obviously I thought "Cool!" When I took it home and read it, I found that the ending packs a hell of a kick. Here it is on the Web: go read.
This is the best thing about an event like this: everyone brings little sample comics that you can buy for a pound or so, and at the end of the day you go home with a bag full of funny, disturbing, sweet, clever little stories. I have a new half-dozen favourite webcomics now, and having met the artists-- friendly, lovely, sick and twisted as they are-- gives me extra insight into the comic and makes me feel personally attached to it. I don't mind spending a bit of money at the event, since most of the comics are readable completely free on the web, and people who make their art available like that definitely deserve support.
I had a very cool conversation with Jenika, the Italian girl who draws Vampire Free Style. I've now read the first two issues and can say with certainty that so far it has no vampires in it-- but plenty of goths, witches and a black cat with big eyes. Which are all very pleasant to have around.
Two other good manga-inspired strips that caught my eye were Darken, a merry romp with a bunch of evil people who want to take over the world, featuring devils, dark elves, and lots of killing; and Earthbound, which has demons, vampires, familiars and a touch of hellfire.
Next to Darken's table was Astorauth by Robin Pierce, a swashbuckling tale featuring a prince who's had his kingdom snatched away by scheming politicians and hopes to regain it with a band of loyal friends. Breeches and bodices ahoy!
Lastly, I share a happy moment with the guys who do Goldfish Bowl and Life and Death, two good strips that have t3h funny like Texas has oil. There are so damn many good comics around that I've barely blogged the tip of the iceberg, and there are sure to be more that I missed-- but I've ended the day more webcomic-literate than I began it, and a good deal more amused and entertained too.
We live surrounded by good stories; they hang, like ripe fruit, within easy reach. Occasionally they contain wasps or worms, but part of art is learning to expect the unexpected: to love it, indeed. So verily I say unto ye, support your local webcomic artist. Here endeth the blog entry.