Bristol, comics and wet weather

Want to see where I was last weekend? Go here:

http://www.comicexpo.net/2007-cosplay.html

It was comic convention time in Bristol again, and after a few weeks of really nice weather in the UK, this weekend decided to be cold, wet and miserable. This didn't really bother me, as I knew I would be spending most of the weekend indoors, standing in queues to get my trolley bag full of comics and graphic novels signed. Last year it was quite hot outside and as the main exhibition hall has no air conditioning, you can imagine the amount of sweat generated by the crazy nerds. So this year, being a bit cooler and wetter, you'd think the hall wouldn't be too stuffy and smelly. However, a wet nerd, much like a wet dog, still smells, and the hall was quite nasty!
Apart from that, the convention was better than previous years - it had a good amount of guests, including some from the US, and more artists/writers were stationed at their own tables, signing throughout the day instead of the usual mad stampede of comic nerds at the hourly signing sessions. This was the third time I've been to this convention, and normally I would just go for the Saturday, but last year I missed out on some signings because I was stuck in a queue, so I decided to be a real nerd and go for both Sat and Sun and spend Sat night at my Aunt and Uncle's place in Wales (an hour away by train).

I got a lot of stuff signed this year - here's a list of the people I met and who signed my comics:

BRIAN K VAUGHAN, ALLAN HEINBERG, KURT BUSIEK, BARRY KITSON, DAVE GIBBONS, MARK BUCKINGHAM, ALAN DAVIS, MARK FARMER, IAN CHURCHILL, SEAN PHILLIPS, DUNCAN FEGREDO, DOUG BRAITHWAITE, DAVID HINE, LIAM SHARP, ANDY DIGGLE, JOCK, SIMON FURMAN, ANDREW WILDMAN, PAUL GRIST, JOHN McCREA, GLENN FABRY, PIA GUERRA, IAN EDGINTON, D'ISRAELI

All of these people were really nice, polite and willing to sign and chat, and considering some of the nerds that came up and pestered them (and I'm not including me in that statement, thank you very much!) you have to admire their patience! I don't think I'd give some of these social misfits, goths and nutbags the time of day, but I guess if they help pay your bills, you have to grin and bear it.

As I mentioned before, this was my third con, and I now recognise the professional con goers that also go every year - the crazy, fanatic collectors that have boxes and boxes of comics to be signed, all labelled with who is to sign it, and are often working in teams to get the maximum amount of comics signed (each will stand in seperate queues and give each other their own comics, therefore doubling the amount of comics to be signed, which is very annoying when you are standing behind them and you only have two comics to be signed!). These people are rude, have poor personal hygiene (dandruff! Eww!), and are often Spanish or Irish. To me, these guys are a blight at these cons, and can be quite intimidating to those that have never been to a con/signing before, especially little kids. I admit that I also go there with the intent to get stuff signed, but I'm not like those guys and always try to engage in normal, polite conversation with those I meet.

Anyway, after a bit of a drought of signings recently, there are a few more to follow, namely Dan Abnett on the 19th of May at Forbidden Planet, Mark Millar on June the 9th at FP and Sean Phillips/Duncan Fegredo at Gosh Comics on the 17th. I'm also going to a talk by Bryan Talbot at Streatham Library this weekend, so hopefully I can get some stuff signed there and avoid and any gangland shootings while I'm at it.

P.S. While I was at the con in Bristol, I sent my wife to get some stuff signed by J. Michael Straczynski at FP! I now "owe her one"...