A canny day oot (at the library)
Dec. 8th, 2012 10:11 pmI spent today at the Canny Comic Con, a free mini-convention held at Newcastle City Library. A room full of stalls, a strand of talks through the day, the odd storm-trooper wandering around to add visual interest but a tight focus on actual comics, from the smallest of small presses up: the first people I saw when I walked in were Mary and Bryan Talbot (that's Costa Biography Prize shortlisted Mary and Bryan Talbot), then I saw Mel Gibson, and then
samarcand. I enjoyed Mel Gibson's talk on "Bunty and her pals" - a stroll down memory lane for women (and men) of a variety of ages, and a look at how comics for girls had a wider remit than you might have expected - and Bryan Talbot's description of his working process. A panel on "Pictures of Me - comics and autobiography" sent me off to find out more about the participants, especially Ingi Jensson and Lydia Wysocki - my only complaint is that a few illustrations would really have enriched this session. And the closing quiz, with Stacey Whittle channeling Sandi Toksvig was so much fun that
samarcand and I had to be told to hush in the front row for fear of giving the answers away (mostly
samarcand explaining things to me). There were some good conversations with friends from the Readers of the Lost Art and elsewhere, and I may even have snuck out at lunch-time and done a little Christmas shopping...
Back home over pizza and a bottle of 2006 Vacqueyras which managed to be fruity and delicious despite being only half an hour out of the cold cellar, reading the Guardian's books pages, I found Bryan again, selecting the illustration which meant most to him (from Doré's Dante, and I can't find it in the online edition).
Only downside to the day, my back is playing up. I've been sitting down with great caution, and standing up with even greater. Time to go to bed, and see if lying down helps.
Back home over pizza and a bottle of 2006 Vacqueyras which managed to be fruity and delicious despite being only half an hour out of the cold cellar, reading the Guardian's books pages, I found Bryan again, selecting the illustration which meant most to him (from Doré's Dante, and I can't find it in the online edition).
Only downside to the day, my back is playing up. I've been sitting down with great caution, and standing up with even greater. Time to go to bed, and see if lying down helps.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-08 10:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-09 07:58 pm (UTC)Oh, the back does this from time to time; it'll improve when it's ready!