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The Weekend Past
Bristol Comics Expo turned out to be really enjoyable. I think, for me, that was mostly because I made the decision not to be 'on duty', except when signing at the Panini table (they provided some very nice tea, and impressed me with their desire to collect all of Captain Britain in handy volumes, and the way they organise Marvel's output for British readers). So I didn't feel an obligation to be entertaining, as I do when I exhaust myself doing panels, and got to just hang around with friends, unshaven, going 'hur hur' when they made a joke. I've been feeling a bit of the old black dog, just at the edges every now and then, lately, for the first time in years, so, rather exhausted on Friday morning, I went down to Bristol early, hoping to catch a burst of sunshine. I walked across town to Forbidden Planet, got back to the hotel and slept for three hours in the afternoon, which made me feel a lot better. I'm sure a real holiday this summer (somewhere green, with forests and lots of action-packed things to do, and no work-related socialising... any suggestions?) will sort this all out. I'm kind of jogging towards a distant finish line with the novel and a couple of other very important things, and I need to get them all done before I go off and hide from the world. My enthusiasm may return with the next sunny morning, even, so don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom.
I won Just A Minute at the Expo, against Budgie, Liam Sharp (who got progressively shyer and quieter as the game went on, bless him) and Peter Hogan (who I stupidly misidentified as Hunt Emmerson when I first met him, because he looks a bit like Hunt's caricature of himself and... well, I think he does). So I'm doing rather well at that, across all conventions. Friday night was marked by a big dinner out with Andy Diggle, the D'Israelis, Rob Williams, et al, and on the Saturday we went out with Rob again, plus a bunch of his friends from the world of comics. I was helping to live blog the event for Cheryl Morgan, hence the rather prosaic nature of many of my twitters over the weekend: I felt the need to be informative! Anyway, the smaller venue meant a greater density of punters, and actually a slightly heightened buzz, but what was worrying was the drop in the number of creators. The bar, for the first time, didn't feel like all the gang were there. And now I kind of expect them to be in Birmingham and Leeds. I bought a new Genki Gear t-shirt, loaded up on collections and graphic novels, including Ian Edginton's new Hound of the Baskervilles, and it was a pleasure to meet Dan DiDio from DC Comics.
We zoomed off early on the Sunday and got back in time for me to lie around and mope a bit more, so I finished off watching Frau Im Mond (rather wonderful, actually, if very very long and very very emphatic in a silent movie way, with loads of brilliantly correct assumptions about space travel... which all go to pot when our heroes and their oddly Hitler-esque evil companion (no, it was 1929) land on a moon with an atmosphere and seemingly normal gravity and go off to find water with their divining rod), read a bit of the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and finally perked up a bit. Thank goodness.
A bit of sunshine in the morning tomorrow, that's all I ask. Anyhow, here's a preview of Captain Britain and MI-13 #13, in which huge and terrible changes happen, sorry, which is out this Wednesday, along with the first issue of my Dark Reign: Young Avengers, and for which, as always, this blog will serve as lettercol. Hope you like them when you see them, and until next time, Cheerio.
Labels:
Bristol Comics Expo,
Captain Britain,
Comics,
Frau Im Mond
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The entire time I was thinking 'I wish I was in Bristol' - so Leeds or Brum for definate...
-pj
There was a lot of talk about Leeds and Brum this weekend. It seems like everyone expects those to be livelier.
I think there were more creators than you might have realised in the bar, its just that they were all bright young fast moving small press people. I certainly couldn't keep up and found myself crashing out early on the Saturday.
It'll be good to see you there. And well, I think 'more creators I know' is a given there.
Had wanted to Bristol this year, but left it a bit too late to organize the trip. Have heard some very mixed comments about the Con this year.
I do have to wonder if Panini's Cap reprint plan intends to extend itself into what is currently being reprinted as Marvel's Captain Britain Omnibus, with the Thorpe/Moore/Davis stories.
Very impressed by the preview, Paul. Am I right in thinking that three of those pages is actually art by Ardian Syaf? Because the transition is very smooth. I'm impressed.
"Captain Britain and MI-13 #13, in which huge and terrible changes happen, sorry"
Not sure I like the sound of that but I am anxious to get it (Young Avengers also).
On a different subject, I thought Star Trek was great. Live long and prosper.
Hi Paul,
Just to say congratulations at winning the panel and thanks for pulling y fat out of the fire and agreeing to be on the panel in the first place! I think everyone (with the possible exception of Peter) had a ball! Fancy doing it again in Brimingham? Slicker and better?
And regards to Caroline as well.
All the best,
Tim.
Regarding Fritz Lang and "Frau im Mond" - I think Turner's likeness to Hitler was deliberate. Hitler's Party NSDAP won a lot of influence in the late 1920s, and Lang was certainly anti nazi (he later emigrated, although Hitler was quite a fan of his films, ironically).
Anyway, if you look for "somewhere green, with forests" - how about Germany? If you like "action-packed things to do, and no work-related socialising", I could suggest some places.
And no, I'm no travel agent.
The Panini reprint plan does indeed keep right on going through all that, Mr. Sword. Thanks for hosting the game, Tim, and yes, let's do it again in Birmingham! (To which I've been invited.)
Falada: I was wondering about that. 'Turner' seems to place him as non-German, and he works for, ahem, a conspiracy of international bankers (although just for once, they look genuinely multinational). Gary Oldman seems to be copying his look in The Fifth Element. And yes, that's a good thought. I loved East Berlin a few years ago, and wouldn't mind seeing the south of the country.
Re "Turner" - that could be a German surname, too. The international banker's plot might be a reference to the worlwide depression at the time, but bear in mind that Lang's wife Thea von Harbou wrote the script (based on her novel), and she was a nazi. So her idea of a villain might not have been the same as Fritz Lang's.
Enough of that. If you come to Germany and want some insider info, drop me a line at my blog - I'm based near Frankfurt, and know lots of good places all over the country, mostly from documentaries I made.
I must say Paul that I am stunned by the outcome of issue #13. I hope that there is a surprise in store for us in the next two issues because I already miss these guys.
Lovely to meet you at Bristol, Paul and thanks for coming to our Hound of the Baskervilles talk. Glad to hear I wasn't the only one getting names wrong. I managed to call Dave Gibbons 'Dave Lloyd' which seems to be the default whenever I ever meet ANY Daves.
All the best.
Much appreciated, Falada. Ian: lovely to meet you too, and well done with the book. And you made me feel better with your 'Dave' error!