Matters of Convention: Thought Bubble

Continuing our series of interviews with British comic convention organisers, for this ninth – and for now, final – instalment Matthew Badham talks to Lisa Wood of Leeds' Thought Bubble Festival.

Thought Bubble is a four-day annual event which celebrates sequential art in all its forms, including everything from superheroes to independent small press. We are a non-profit making organisation dedicated to promoting comics and graphic novels as an important cultural art form. Taking place at a variety of venues across the city, our aim is to cater to both long-time comic book fans and those who have never picked up a graphic novel before!

Thought Bubble will take place next weekend, 19th - 22nd November 2009 with a centrepiece one-day convention on Saturday 21st.

These convention features are being cross-posted on downthetubes, the Forbidden Planet International blog and Fictions. Our aim is to give the conventions themselves some well-deserved publicity and also to, hopefully, spark a wider debate about what’s good and bad about the convention circuit in the UK.

downthetubes: Please tell us about a little about the history of your event.

Lisa: Thought Bubble started in 2007. I had been toying with the idea of running some kind of comics based exhibition or a series of workshops and the idea grew from there. I was really keen to bring a comics festival to the UK that was in the same vain as some of the European festivals; something that wasn't just a convention but a celebration of comics on lots of different levels.

I feel really passionately that comics should be recognized as a valid art form like in France, when they are called the ninth art and regarded very highly. The public's perception of comics and graphic novels is changing at the moment due to the popularity of comics-based movies. We are not only seeing superhero comic movies at the moment but films such as Road to Perdition, Scott Pilgrim and History of Violence too, which are all based on great graphic novels.

downthetubes: How is your event funded, by ticket sales, the exhibitors, a grant, some other means or a combination of these?

Lisa: Thought Bubble is funded by Ticket sales and exhibitors. We have also just found out that we have Arts Council funding which is amazing! It is great to know serious funding bodies such as The Arts Council are recognizing the benefits of comic books for learning and literacy. Hopefully this is the beginning of something really special.

downthetubes: What are Thought Bubble’s overall aims?

Lisa: Our aim has always been to bring comics and graphic novels to the mainstream, and to show they can be an excellent educational tool to be embraced by libraries, schools and local councils. We want to put on a great show celebrating the amazing art and writing in comics.

downthetubes: Who is Thought Bubble aimed at? What sort of punters do you hope to attract? Are you family-friendly?

Lisa: We are very family-friendly. We pretty much aim the con at everyone! We try and programme events that will appeal to all ages and types. At our Alea event we host panels, screenings and talks, which are for adults. However, we also run lots of workshops and events especially for young people! We recognise the importance of introducing young people to comic books so the art form can keep growing and growing.

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

Lisa: Because we run as part of the Leeds International Film Festival, we tend to get a wide range of people attending our events. We also tend to get people coming along who are just curious, which is great for us because we have the chance to introduce newcomers to this wonderful art-form, this is what we always intended to do.

Thought Bubble 2008: Alex Maleev (Daredevil, Halo), Adi Granov (Iron Man concept artist) and Barry Kitson (Amazing Spider-Man). Photo: Matthew Kitchen

downthetubes: Can you give a projected (or actual) attendance figure for the Thought Bubble?

Lisa: Figures for our festival and one day convention were: first year convention 500, festival as a whole 1100, our second year convention was 1500, festival as a whole 2500 and we are hoping this year will be 2200 for our convention and 3000 for our festival as a whole.

downthetubes: What lessons have you learned during your time running Thought Bubble, in terms of its marketing and advertising?


Lisa: I think we are still learning how best to approach these areas. We will probably concentrate more on online advertising this year rather than printed matter, just because costs can be so high. The way we have approached this in the past is where possible find in-kind sponsorship. We have worked with various magazines to promote ourselves and in return we have helped promote them. We also work with various shops around West Yorkshire to promote our event as much as possible. Getting people on board to help us spread the word and our brand is invaluable.

downthetubes: Do you use emerging technologies to spread the word about Thought Bubble? Do you have a website or blog, or use email mailing lists?



Lisa: We're really into using social networking sites to spread the word. We have also set up a Youtube account, where we can post our favourite clips and hold competitions. We also have a Wordpress blog that is updated daily at the moment. Our next goal is to record all of our workshops and talks to build up an online library of educational information for anyone and everyone to access.

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


Lisa: Because these cost tend to be fairly high we try and avoid buying adverts in magazines and work on in-kind deals, as I mentioned before.

downthetubes: What’s the mix in terms of exhibitors at Thought Bubble? Do you even have exhibitors?

Lisa: We have over 170 exhibitors. The mix is usually, small press 50 per cent, guests and pros 20 per cent and retailers 30 per cent. It changes year on year though.

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


Lisa: We absolutely support the small press scene. We love it! We hold weekly small press features on our blog, highlighting some of our favourite small press people.

downthetubes: How much are the tickets for Thought Bubble? How did you arrive at that price? Please tell us about any concessions.


Lisa: Our tickets are £8 full price this year, half price for cosplayers and under-12s are free. For this price you get to spend the whole day listening to various talks and have the chance to take part in workshops, watch screenings, meet artists and writers and ask for sketches. It is a tough call trying to keep prices low. venue costs can be really high. There are also lots of hidden costs such as insurance and trading licence, the stage, tables. Running a convention can end up being very pricey. When dealing with ticket prices you need to look at your own costs and what your competition is charging.

downthetubes: How much are exhibitor tables for Thought Bubble (if you have any)? Again, how did you arrive at that figure?

Lisa: Again, we try and keep this low where possible, especially for small press as most of the time they end up losing money attending cons. Our small press and professional tables are £40, retailer and publisher tables are £60.

Women in Comics panel at Thought Bubble 2008 From left to right, Emma Vieceli (Manga Shakespeare), Robin Furth (Dark Tower), Hannah Berry (Britten & Brulightly). Photo: Matthew Kitchen

downthetubes: Do you run workshops/events/panels at Thought Bubble? Please tell us about those and how they are organised.

Lisa: Most or our programme is full of free workshops for young people and adults, our Arts Council funding helps us to do this. We invite industry professionals to come along and let people know how they write or draw and how to get in to the business. Our workshops have been incredibly successful, with most of them selling out before our brochure comes out. So far workshops have been run on a voluntary basis by industry professionals who are kind enough to give us and the public their time.

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

Lisa: This year, Thought Bubble will include art and writing based workshops for young people and adults, panels and talks lead by industry professionals and a programme of sequential art related film screenings.

The special one-day convention includes an incredible line up of leading artists and writers, and over 150 tables selling comics and merchandise. The day will also feature portfolio viewings and competitions.

This promises to be one of the best events of its kind in the UK, where you’ll be able to meet some of your favourite comic book creators and browse the huge selection of memorabilia on sale - brought to you by the biggest and best exhibitors and dealers from across the country.

Keep an eye on this website for more updates, or join us on MySpace or Facebook to share your thoughts and ideas!

downthetubes: Thanks to Lisa for his time answering our questions. Check out their blog, by the way, for some brilliant comic creator interviews with the likes of Frank Quitely and Charlie Adlard!

• Photos by Matthew Kitchen: http://matthius.deviantart.com


• Thought Bubble Official Site: www.thoughtbubblefestival.com. Full details as to this year’s programme can be found on the Festival Information 2009 page, while Thought Bubble’s guest list also looks amazing and they have some brilliant small press exhibitors in attendance.

More Matters of Convention by Matthew Badham

• 176: Oli Smith of London Underground Comics

• Caption: In Conversation with Jay Eales and Selina Lock


• The British International Comic Show: Interview with Shane Chebsey


• Hi-Ex, Inverness: A Conversation with Vicky Stonebridge


• The Bristol Expo


• The Alternative Press Fair

• Web ‘n’ Mini Comix Thing

• ComICA

Matters of Convention: ComICA

Continuing our series of interviews with British comic convention organisers, for this eigth instalment Matthew Badham talks to Paul Gravett of London's ComICA festival, which takes place next month (5th - 26th November).

These convention features are being cross-posted on downthetubes, the Forbidden Planet International blog and Fictions. Our aim is to give the conventions themselves some well-deserved publicity and also to, hopefully, spark a wider debate about what’s good and bad about the convention circuit in the UK.

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

Paul Gravett: ComICA started in 2003 and grew out of a couple of events I’d done with the ICA (that’s the Institute of Contemporary Arts) before, including interviews with Grant Morrison and Tetsuya Chiba and a panel with Dave Gibbons, Dave McKean and Matt Smith. The ICA is a cool venue, on the Mall, just off Trafalgar Square and up the road from Buckingham Palace. It has galleries, two cinemas, a theatre, education space, cafe, bar and bookshop.

A key person there getting ComICA to happen was John Dunning, their film PR man at the time and a keen comics enthusiast, and now a published graphic novelist himself with the brilliant Salem Brownstone from Walker Books, which launched on 24th October at a ComICA Spooktacular evening at the ICA.

Palookaville creator Seth and Chris Ware at ComICA 2004. Photo: Paul Gravett

Finally, together, John and I cajoled and persuaded Philip Dodd, director of the ICA, to let us run a pilot 10-day festival during their summer refurbishment of the galleries. They gave us the Concourse Gallery to fill, a long corridor-type space that leads from the foyer to the bar, and the use of rooms and the cinema for talks. Luckily, I knew a curator at a Spanish festival who was inviting Charles Burns, Joe Sacco and Chris Ware over and she very kindly let me bring the three of them from Madrid to London, saving on their pricey transatlantic flights. So we had three top-class guests to kick the show off.

One central idea of ComICA is to mix comics with all the other media, and not keep it sealed off in some specialist cocoon, so we got novelist Alex Garland, who had drawn his hit book The Beach initially as a comic (he showed it to me years ago on the train to Caption in Oxford), to talk with Chris Ware. They were both pretty shy frankly but it was a great encounter. Jonathan Ross also surprised many people by being respectful and knowledgeable interviewing Charles Burns.

The pilot was an astonishing success. Instead of the ICA being a deserted building site for 10 days, it was packed with the public, the talks sold out and the bookshop shifted loads and loads of graphic novels. We got some great press coverage and even had Joe Sacco on Channel 4 News. Philip Dodd rang me right after and said ‘Let’s do it again next year’, and Comica was underway.

Nicholas Roeg, Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie. Photo: Paul Gravett

Over the years, ComICA has had some amazing guests  – Craig Thompson [creator of the highly-acclaimed graphic novel Blankets], Alan Moore (no less than three times), [French comics artist] Joann Sfar, [French cartoonist] Lewis Trondheim, the Bitterkomix boys from South Africa, [Dykes to Watch Out For creator] Alison Bechdel, Ben Katchor, [Pyongyang creator] Guy Delisle, Scott McCloud, David B. and many more.

We’ve also branched out to work with other venues like The French Institute, National Maritime Museum, V&A, BookArt Bookshop and this year no less than The British Museum, but the ICA has remained the hub, the base, and the simple idea is to try to get each ICA department – film, performance, exhibition and of course talks – to programme something comics-related during the festival.

downthetubes: How is your event funded, by ticket sales, the exhibitors, a grant, some other means or a combination of these?

Paul: The ICA continue to support ComICA amazingly, through their arts funding and providing the venues, technology and staff. Of course most ICA events are ticketed, so that’s the main revenue stream. From the start, Philip Dodd recognised that something was happening in comics, something they had to engage with and embrace, to be there first, ahead of their big artsy rivals like the Tate.

We’ve also had huge help from publishers, other European festivals and various cultural institutes bringing artists over. We’ve never gone for the big comic-mart mixed with trade-fair approach, but we started a small press fair in 2007, ComICA Comiket, and that’s growing well, with London Underground Comics teaming up last year, and this year on Sunday November 8th we expand to the ICA Theatre and have several groups supporting it, from Jimi Gherkin’s Alternative Press crew to Matthew Sheret from Words+Pictures and the [East London-based] Nobrow guys.

None of this ComICA festival would happen without everyone involved at the ICA itself, from house management, tickets, reception, installation, bookshop and technical to director Ekow Eshun, Jennifer Thatcher in Talks, Tejinder Jouhal in Films, Emma-Jayne Taylor and Vicky Carmichael in Education, Jennifer Byrne in press, and everyone else who pulls together to make it go smoothly. And I must sing the praises of the team of volunteers who help make ComICA possible, including Sarah Lightman, Vasileios Sakkos, Tom Smith, Ben Le Foe and others.

In fact, if anyone reading this would like to volunteer for ComICA this November, do please get in touch via the website www.comicafestival.com!

Posy Simmonds and Art Spielgelman at ComICA 2008. Photo: Joel Meadows

downthetubes: I understand that you run satellite events under the ComICA banner throughout the year. Can you tell us a little about these and why you decided to augment the main Comica with other panels and exhibitions?

Paul: Because too much is happening, comics are too vibrant to limit them to one festival a year, even one that’s grown from ten days to three weeks. With the year-round flexibility of ComICA events, we can welcome major guests whenever they can make it to London, from Art Spiegelman and Marjane Satrapi to Alan Moore and Joe Sacco, only a few weeks ago, to a packed house, and [Ghost World creator] Daniel Clowes lined up for next spring.

downthetubes: What are Comica’s overall aims?

Paul: To treat comics as a totally valid contemporary artform, to show where the medium is heading right now locally and internationally, and how comics can interconnect with every other artform.

In many ways, the aims, the mission, of ComICA are in sync with what Peter Stanbury and I envisaged when we used to co-publish Escape Magazine back in the 1980s – to escape, to break out from narrow definitions and formulas, to liberate comics to be anything they want and everything they can be. That’s why we’ve put Spiegelman together with Philip Pullman, Posy Simmonds with novelist Ian McEwan, Moore and Gebbie with Stewart Lee  – or this year Logicomix author Apostolos Doxiadis with Marcus de Sautoy and Ben Templesmith with Philip Ridley.

And ComICA hosts the best, from whatever field of comics, from Japanese comics, with Junko Mizuno, to American superheroes, like Alex Maleev last year and [Eisner Award-nominated] Cameron Stewart this year – quality is there in every sector of this medium.

downthetubes: Who is ComICA aimed at? What sort of punters do you hope to attract? Are you family-friendly?

Paul: To reach out to as broad a public as possible, to the fans and enthusiasts of course but also to all sorts of other people who are culturally alert and curious and may just be discovering the wonders of manga or graphic novels.  Among them are plenty of people who want to make comics themselves, easily half of them these days being women. ComICA this year is adding a kids’ workshop, Little Pencil with Sarah McIntyre. Its identity is mostly focussed on the adult audience for comics, though plans are afoot to expand the family side next year.

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

Paul: Definitely effective. One of my greatest pleasures is to chat with people queuing for an event or signing and find out how they’ve got interested in ComICA. They come from all sort of backgrounds and interests and for a lot of them it’s opening up a whole world of comics culture that they are really getting into.

Gilbert Shelton, Matt Groening and Spain at ComICA 2008. Photo: Sarah McIntyre

downthetubes: Can you give a projected (or actual) attendance figure for ComICA?

Paul: We estimate over 5,000 people now attend ComICA over the festival period and the numbers are still increasing as we link up with other major venues. The added plus is that the ICA no longer has to charge admission to the venue so a lot more people are visiting the free exhibitions and events.

downthetubes: What lessons have you learned during your time running ComICA, in terms of its marketing and advertising?


Paul: Key to ComICA’s success has been the ICA’s high profile and strong links with the cutting-edge media. People notice and pay attention to what the ICA does, so it’s been amazing working with them and getting coverage far and wide. ComICA doesn’t advertise, because our newsworthy events and guests can get us valuable editorial coverage. We know word of mouth works wonders.

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


Paul: Yep, vital – first through my own website www.paulgravett.com and since this year through www.comicafestival.com, its own site, both doing extremely well with thousands of visitors. And we’re using Facebook now. I’ve got some great help with these from Tim Webber, who runs Read Yourself Raw, and Ben Le Foe. And the ICA’s own site always highlights our events.

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


Paul: Instead of a convention booklet only for paying attendees, we print a ComICA programme that gets widely distributed across London so people can pick it up and get an overview of the whole season. On top of this, the ICA always highlight Comica in their monthly agenda which gets to lots of outlets. And yes, people can sign up to the email newsletter via the Comica site to get first alerts on upcoming events to be sure to book those tickets early.

downthetubes: What’s the mix in terms of exhibitors at ComICA? Do you even have exhibitors?


Paul: As I said, that’s one aspect of traditional conventions that we’ve not gone for. Instead, the ICA’s own Bookshop stocks all the relevant books by the guest creators and since 2007 we invite small presses, self-publishers and independents to sell their wares at the ComICA Comiket.

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


Paul: Again, as above, the Comiket is an important part of the festival. We also spotlight small press creators on panels and in exhibitions such as the Potential Comic or PoCom wall that ran in 2003 and again last year.

In 2007, ComICA hooked up with The Observer and Jonathan Cape to launch the Graphic Short Story Prize, to give newcomers the chance to win £1,000, get published in a national Sunday paper and be talent-spotted by a mainstream graphic novel publisher. Last year’s winner, Julian Hanshaw, has his debut graphic novel, The Art of Pho, out from Cape next Spring. It’s a real opportunity for small pressers to get noticed.

This year we’re getting four full pages in the glossy Observer magazine for the winner’s strip – that’s great exposure and will come out the Sunday before the ComICA Festival begins, so great pre-publicity. And plenty of emerging UK talents have been nominated for the Arts Foundation’s first £10,000 fellowship for a graphic novelist  – we’re announcing the finalists at ComICA. The first of many, we hope.

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


Paul: The ICA sets the prices for all its ComICA events, and there are always discounts for concessions, and even bigger discounts if you become an ICA member. We also offer reduced rates for an afternoon of three ComICA Conversations in a row. I’m well aware that ComICA can be pricey for many people so I’m pleased this year that thanks to sponsors Ctrl.Alt.Shift and The Arts Foundation we’ve got some totally free panels, you just need to book. And the exhibitions and Comiket comics fair are always free admission.

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


Paul: We try to keep Comiket prices deliberately low just to cover costs, as low as a tenner, to give people a chance to attend and reach out to the public.

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


Paul: Yep, the ICA now has a Reading Room and Student Forum where we’re holding an afternoon workshop with Bryan Talbot, Pat Mills and other major creators dropping in to give advice and guidance. There’s another workshop at the new Book Club in Shoreditch to design cartoon posters. Organising panels, or ComICA Conversations, is one of the most complex parts of programming the festival, co-ordinating guests’ schedules to bring amazing people together, like last year’s underground comix reunion of Spiegelman, Shelton and Spain, their first three-way conversation in many, many years.

Vital to making these work are my years of working in comics, getting to know creators, publishers and festival organisers worldwide. Getting Sacco over, for example, was possible only because he was in Europe between two weekend festivals in St. Petersburg and Italy.

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


Paul: I really think there should be something for everyone who loves comics at this year’s Comica. We’ve teamed up again with the brilliant, unmissable Thought Bubble Festival in Leeds to bring Ben Templesmith over. As Thought Bubble run their big Saturday during the Comica season again this year, I deliberately don’t programme major events to clash on that day. For one thing, I want to get to Thought Bubble myself.

I can see the advantages of holding a one-day event like this, or the weekend approach of Bristol or Birmingham. But you never have time to see everything and everyone you want to, especially as there’s often parallel programming going on. Comica is different because it can stretch across two, even three weeks. It does kind of favour people already living in or near London who can get here easily, but out-of-towners can choose the weekends which are often the busiest parts of the festival.

I’m especially excited by Comica ‘09 because we’ve hooked up with a fantastic sponsor, the youth charity Ctrl.Alt.Shift, and I’ve helped them co-edit the first anthology comic published for Comica, Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption. It really is a first-class international anthology of reportage/exposé comics with Bryan Talbot, Dave McKean, Woodrow Phoenix, Peter Kuper, Pat Mills, Dylan Horrocks, Dan Goldman and more. Through Ctrl.Alt.Shift we’re hosting NY musician Lightspeed Champion, who’s created one story and scripted a second in the book, for a live-gig to launch the comic. And it’s great to have a month-long exhibition to promote it through the ultra-cool Shop at Lazarides gallery in Greek Street, Soho.

This show is going to stun people, situating comics alongside agit-prop graphics and the whole plethora of activist and political comics and cartoons from May ‘68 and Black Panthers to today and Sean Duffield’s forthcoming Paper Tiger War anthology and Alan Moore’s new venture Dodgem Logic (see Bleeding Cool news story, it will be on sale from Knockabout Comics).

The other startling thing is the number of related exhibitions linking up with ComICA this time, from the British Museum’s manga show spotlighting the genius Hoshino Yukinobu and Swiss Cottage Library’s Black Powers display, to solo shows by Robert Crumb at Scream Gallery, Mayfair, Philip Marsden at Riverside, Richmond, and John Miers at The Flea Pit in the East End. Our catch-line this year is totally accurate – ‘London is bubbling over with comics!’

On top of this are the exceptional theatrical/live performance events this year: David Lloyd himself kicking off the festival appropriately on 5th November with live drawing and music with a V for Vendetta theme – it’s a free party at the ICA bar – so remember, remember, the 5th of November! Then there’s the darkly funny, adults-only Uncle Hans-Peter Party by comic artist and animator Richard Squires, where everyone in the audience has to wear an identical creepy mask, and the equally edgy play Busted Jesus Comix, based on the conviction of Florida teen Mike Diana, forbidden to draw his crazed Boiled Angel comix.

In the end, what makes Comica worth doing is having remarkable guests, like 2000AD's Gerry Finley-Day who had never appeared at a comics event before, and this year reuniting Brian Bolland and Dave Gibbons with retail pioneers Phil Clarke of Nostalgia & Comics and Derek ‘Bram’ Stokes, founder of Dark They Were And Golden-Eyed, a thrill for me as DTWAGE was the first comic shop I ever visited for my 12th birthday, a life-changing experience!

It’s also so special to have Eddie Campbell over, in conversation with Arnold Brown, launching his massive omnibus Alec: The Years Have Pants, some of which we serialised in Escape and collected in three graphic novels. Eddie and I go back ages and I’ll never forget being at Ian Wieczorek’s home with Phil Elliott in Chelmsford, Essex when we were first discovering his autobio self-published stripzines.

ComICA 09’s line-up also includes wunderkinds [Fables cover artist] James Jean and [New York-based artist] Tara McPherson, thanks to the great support of Offset, the design conference in Dublin, and Reinhard Kleist talking with music critic Charles Shaar Murray about his Johnny Cash bio, and Belgian artist Willy Linthout, creator of the long-running Urbanos strip, with his stunning graphic novel about losing his son to suicide, talking with former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen. These are the sort of unique encounters that make all the hours of organising and teamwork worthwhile.

You know, these are incredible times, comics are everywhere and ComICA invites you to celebrate them together, with panache and passion.

downthetubes: Thanks to Paul for his time answering our questions and Tim Webber for sourcing imagery for us. Paul is of course also highly respected as a promoter and writer on comics culture and you can follow him via his site, www.paulgravett.com.


• Comica ‘09 Official Web Site: www.comicafestival.com.


• The winner of this year’s Comica/Jonathan Cape/Observer short graphic fiction prize should be announced this Sunday (1st November) in the Observer magazine.


More Matters of Convention by Matthew Badham

• 176: Oli Smith of London Underground Comics

• Caption: In Conversation with Jay Eales and Selina Lock


• The British International Comic Show: Interview with Shane Chebsey


• Hi-Ex, Inverness: A Conversation with Vicky Stonebridge


• The Bristol Expo


• The Alternative Press Fair

• Web ‘n’ Mini Comix Thing

Matters of Convention: UK Web ‘n’ Mini Comix Thing

Continuing our series of interviews with British comic convention organisers, for this seventh instalment Matthew Badham talks to comic creator Patrick Findlay of the UK Web ‘n’ Mini Comix Thing, which is being held annually in London.

These convention features are being cross-posted on downthetubes, the Forbidden Planet International blog and Fictions. Our aim is to give the conventions themselves some well-deserved publicity and also to, hopefully, spark a wider debate about what’s good and bad about the convention circuit in the UK.

downthetubes: Please tell us about a little about the history of the UK Web 'n' Mini Comix Thing and how it's evolved over the years.


Patrick Findlay: The Thing was conceived as an event to showcase what was at the time a new industry, the web comic, with the traditional homemade comic attached. At the time there were virtually no exhibitions, not proper ones. Inspired by events such as Mocca and SPX in the USA, I saw a clear opportunity for a similarly styled UK event.

It was conceived along the simple idea that the event featured a hall of tables with exhibitors showing their stuff. This simple premise, as opposed to the more grandiose attempt to offer a myriad of attractions such as lectures, juggling, bands, stars and such is the reason why the show has been able to sustain itself over the years. As such, the show has not really changed from day one, other than a venue change in year two and some additional tables for years three and four.

downthetubes: What are the Thing’s overall aims?


PF: The aims of the Thing are to create an environment of creative comic-minded people, primarily for the entertainment of the visitor. It's always the perspective of the visitor that I have in mind, based on my own experiences from years ago when I went to similar events that were later cancelled. As such, the aim is to create a hall full of exciting things to look at, leaving the visitor inspired, invigorated and excited about having attended. Contrary to some beliefs, it's not a show devised to allow creators to make a profit, although that is, of course, a significant side-effect of exhibiting and one of the main reasons exhibitors do attend.

downthetubes: Who is the Thing aimed at? What sort of punters do you hope to attract? Are you family-friendly?


PF: The Thing is aimed at anyone that enjoys web and mini comics, that is, in this day and age, who surfs the web book marking their favourite sites. In the old days it would have been people that scoured the small ads of Comics International for mini comics and such for their small tableside collection. The show is not really family-focussed at all, unless its a family that like to surf the web looking for comics.

I like to advise children to leave their parents safely tied up outside or if left in the car, with the window rolled down a bit.

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

PF: Pretty effective. The nerdometer has always gone off the Richter scale, so I’m pretty happy.

downthetubes: Can you give a projected (or actual) attendance figure for the Thing?


PF: It’s hard to tell as there are usually about 150 exhibitors and they make the place look full by default and ticket sales get merged in with everything else. I used to print tickets for 1000 people, in year one. These days it’s three to four hundred people, but I think even that’s a bit optimistic.

downthetubes: What lessons have you learned during your time running the Thing, in terms of its marketing and advertising?


PF: I have learnt that marketing and advertising is a total waste of time, at this stage. Last year the show was run on a completely minimal budget with no advertising at all and it was the best year ever. The fact is that the show is established and kind of stands on its own two feet these days.

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


PF: No blog or e-mail lists at all. I don’t have twitter or anything.

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


PF: No print advertising at all. I used to send out printed flyers to every comic shop in the country but always felt it was a waste of time. I didn't do it last year and as I’ve said it was the best year ever. I also tried printed ads in Comics International, which was completely pointless.

downthetubes: What's the mix in terms of exhibitors at your con?


PF: The mix of exhibitors is fairly even really. I like to think there’s a bit of everything, but in general they are all young creative types, some good, some new to the scene. There’s a handful of pros. I prefer the more amateur end of the spectrum and generally frown on the 'exceptional' talent.

downthetubes: What are your thoughts on the small press comics scene in this country? Does the Thing support the small press and what form does that support take?


PF: The small press is what it’s all about. However, from my perspective that’s the photo copier. There’s not a lot of distinction between web and small press really. Everyone at the show is small press. They are all printing stuff.

I don’t really have direct thoughts on the small press. It’s a bit like having thoughts on cars. I use them, people use them, but I might be a bit vague on the exact details of my car: its blue and has wheels. People print stuff, they are small press. I’m more interested in the art and creativity. It would be better to ask if the Thing supports art and creativity! The answer would be yes.

downthetubes: Do you run workshops/events/panels at the Thing? Please tell us about those and how they are organised.


PF: We run a few things. Its usually a bit piecemeal based on volunteer availability. The panel events are the main feature that requires volunteers from the exhibitors. We aim to offer wall-to-wall panel discussions so that there is always something to sit down and rest your feet at. The panels are generally stage-managed by me.

However, the allocated host generally fails to show up. Last year we had four hosts drop out, one after the other, the last being on the day before the show. These are the biggest problems, but in short they run themselves. There is usually a film show, an art area, and other things.

We used to have a portfolio workshop but it was a bit of a farce. Everyone these days is their own expert. Unlike other shows that seem to conjure guest speakers out of thin air, we have never had any luck in getting clever people to chitchat about their success.

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


PF: The best thing about the Thing is the huge amount of creative art and comics that you can see and buy. The show offers free plastic bags so it’s easy to get a whole load of comics and such, that you can then read on the train home and leave stacked up by your drawing board or computer or such for future reference, because one things for sure, if you go to the show, chances are your going to go home wanting to do comics yourself.

• The UK Web ‘n’ Mini Comix Thing is held in Mile End in London. The next one is on 27th March, 2010. For details, visit the con’s website: ukwebcomixthing.co.uk.


More Matters of Convention


• 176: Oli Smith of London Underground Comics

• Caption: In Conversation with Jay Eales and Selina Lock


• The British International Comic Show: Interview with Shane Chebsey


• Hi-Ex, Inverness: A Conversation with Vicky Stonebridge


• The Bristol Expo


• The Alternative Press Fair

Matters of Convention: The Alternative Press Fair

Continuing our series of interviews with British comic convention organisers, for this sixth instalment Matthew Badham talks to comic creator Jimi Gherkin about the The Alternative Press Fair, which is being held annually in London.

These convention features are being cross-posted on downthetubes, the Forbidden Planet International blog and Fictions. Our aim is to give the conventions themselves some well-deserved publicity and also to, hopefully, spark a wider debate about what’s good and bad about the convention circuit in the UK.

downthetubes: Please tell us about a little about the history of the Alternative Press Fair and how it's evolved over the years.

Jimi: ‘Over the years’?! We (Peter Lally and myself) organised the first Alternative Press Fair (APF) in February 2009! Previous to that, though, I had organised a little comics and zine event above a pub called The Plough next to London's Cartoon Museum. We had 13 tables and two creators per table, so it was a small event. It was successful and people were asking, “What next?” Peter had helped a lot to organise that event and so we naturally started working together.

We wanted to include different types of self-published material, so we dropped the ‘comics and zines’ reference. I had heard the name Alternative Press Expo and thought that alternative press was a term that was general enough for what we were trying to do. We were invited to have a table at Handmade and Bound (a book arts event at St Aloysius) to represent small press comics. We had about 15 artists on that one table!

We liked the venue, so booked it for the APF in February. Then we had 26 tables with enough room for four creators per table. After that it got really exciting. Hundreds and hundreds of people came and we got tons of feedback from them. Some were offering us venues, others wanted us to organise events with them, but mostly people telling us they had a great time and loved the atmosphere.

We’re trying to be as inclusive as possible and involve as many people as we can, so that makes for a friendly atmosphere.

After that we thought we’d put together an anthology, then we had some ideas for events and so decided to do a festival as well. By this time, more and more people wanted to be involved and naturally certain people became part of what we’re doing. Now it’s myself, Peter Lally, Gareth Brookes and Saban Kazim (He designed the anthology. He’s a really talented graphic designer as well as a comic artist and stand-up comedian). Ceri May and Chris Bateson also became involved to help organise the poetry aspect of our events and helped us to select the poetry for the book.

downthetubes: How is the Alternative Press Fair funded? By ticket sales, the exhibitors, a grant, some other means or a combination of these?

Jimi: We are totally self-funding at the moment. At the APF events the exhibitors pay for their table space and this covers the hire of the venue and some other costs. For the other events we did as part of the Festival we really relied on the goodwill of venues to keep costs down. The Collaborama! for example took place in The Miller pub in London bridge. I’d never heard of this place before, but after the first APF the owner got in touch. He’d been to our event, enjoyed it and basically gave us the run of his pub for the whole day and night, for free! He doesn’t even usually open on a Saturday, but he paid his staff to cover the event and even gave free beer to the musicians! All because he believed in what we were doing.

downthetubes: The APF host zine exhibitors as well as comics types. Please tell us about the mix and how that works out in terms of the type of material that punters can expect at your events.

Jimi: We’re trying to represent the whole of the small press community and want as many parts of it to be involved as possible. We believe that we can learn a lot from each other. At our events people can expect to see a real mix of comix, zines, art books, illustration, poetry zines, radical literature and printmaking.

The good thing, I think, about this mix is it keeps people fresh and brings new ideas to each of the scenes. For example, I’ve got a renewed interest in poetry, which is making me think about my writing. I’m also writing more, which is great. To add to that I think zinesters are thinking more about comix and illustration. Everyone understands each other a bit more, which is great.

downthetubes: What are the APF's overall aims?

Jimi: To encourage people to be creative and put their own ideas in print. This is really important as we feel being creative can be a really great thing for people, to be in control of their creativity.

Another thing which is really important to us is developing an audience, getting people to understand what self-publishing is and why it’s so important. A lot of people don’t read comics, why? Is it because most comics don’t speak to most people? Can people really relate to a lot of stuff out there? I think generally the public haven’t really been exposed to the format. All they see is oversized, glossy mags full of adverts. When they see something A5 and photocopied, I don’t think they know what to make of it at first. One of our aims is to get the work out there as much as possible so that people can start to understand it.

downthetubes: Who is the APF aimed at? What sort of punters do you hope to attract? Are you family-friendly?

Jimi: Self-publishing is for everyone, so we want to include anyone who wants to be involved. As for punters, we’re trying to get in people who might not normally attend these kinds of events. Trying to put on events that might be interesting to families, or people who may have never heard of a zine before.

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

Jimi: At the recent events we’ve had a real mixed bag of people coming along. At the first APF we had a write-up in the Guardian Guide. This brought a lot of people who were just interested in seeing what it was all about. People who had never been to a small press event before. At the recent Alternative Press Festival, we ran five days of events, including the launch of our anthology book, Publish You. We varied the events and their venues so that they would be interesting to different groups. I think that worked out well.

downthetubes: What lessons have you learned during your time running APF, in terms of its marketing and advertising?

Jimi: Everything I know about this I have learnt in the last year organising these events. I don’t have a background in such things. But I’m persistent, and I believe in what we’re doing. But it’s a lot of work. I didn’t realise it would happen, but the festival and the book pretty much took over my life for five months!

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

Jimi: Yes. There are two web sites at www.alternativepress.org.uk and http://comicsandzines.wordpress.com. We have a Facebook group and we always post up events there. Also a group on wemakezines.ning.com, so, yeah, we’re involved in that aspect of it. Mailing lists drive me nuts! Anyone got any tips for emailing 700+ people in one go?

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

Jimi: We use Listings, Time Out etc. We're trying each time to get things written about us in the mainstream media, newspapers etc, to get some coverage of the events. No newsletter or anything but maybe some kind of monthly AP news zine in the future? We did quite a lot of really nice flyers for the festival, but I’m not sure how effective flyers are…

downthetubes: What are your thoughts on the small press comics scene in this country?

Jimi: I’m still quite new to it really, still learning. I only put my first comic out in April 2008. It’s very exciting, as there’s a lot of really cool stuff out there. What really excites me are the books that aren’t afraid to try something a bit different. I love Gareth Brookes’ work, it’s so funny, and makes you think. Maartje Schalkx, I think is a very talented artist and tells a story in a really unique way. I love Mark Oliver’s stuff - really dream-like, with great artwork. You might not recognise these as comics, and I think that’s great, people playing with the format.

There are some really amazing comics out there as well: the Bedsit Journal, Scott Jason Smith’s comics, Sina Shamsavari, Doctor Simpo, Paper Tiger, Banal Pig and Steve Tillotson’s work. I could go on!

I think the small press scene in general is something for everyone and it’s a scene that is hard to define as everyone owns their little bit of it. I’d say the main thing we need to do here in the UK is to raise awareness of the scene and make comics and small press books more credible in the minds of the public at large. Make it more accessible.

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

Jimi: It has always been a free event for visitors and we aim to keep it that way in order to attract as many people as possible.

downthetubes: How much are exhibitor tables for the APF? Again, how did you arrive at that figure?

Jimi: Artists pay £5 for a part of a table. This amount covers the hire of the space and any other costs for that event, i.e. flyer printing etc.

downthetubes: Do you run workshops/events/panels at the APF? Please tell us about those and how they are organised.

Jimi: As part of the Alternative Press Festival recently we did lots of different things. At the book launch we did a short discussion about the small press/self-publishing scene, we also talked about our aims. The zine-friendly night was lots of communal stuff going on and we had a ‘zine wall’. Gareth Brookes made these giant books out of primed canvas, and we stuck them to the wall with pens hanging for people to take part.

The Collaborama! was a whole day where we put together an 80-page zine! All the work for this zine was created by the people at the event, the visitors, children, musicians who were playing a gig upstairs and the exhibitors. The zine was then printed on the premises by the footprinters workers co-operative who came all the way down from Leeds with their risograph and it was collated by teams of people willing to help. It was finished in time to be able to sell it to the public who started coming to the pub just for a drink!! During the day Mark Pavey ran a screen-printing workshop upstairs and produced some cool Collaborama! posters, and Zarina Liew ran a 4koma comics workshop.

We also showed some animations that people had sent us. As part of the Festival we had a spoken word night and during the evening people took part in a collaborative poetry project, which was lots of fun!

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

Jimi: Well… it’s the scene I really want to ‘big up’, as well as all the amazing talent that’s out there, so please check out some of the links below or the names mentioned in this piece. The main attractions are those, again, of the scene that we are trying to represent, that has some great new artists, writers and creators.

If somebody wants to see what’s going on, or they want to have a go themselves but are not sure how, then a good place to start is an event such as APF (there are lots of others!) as they can be so inspiring. Also, it’s about being part of something that is really exciting and which you yourself can be actively involved in and indeed are encouraged to be involved in. That’s what attracted me to the scene in the first place…

Also, just to let you know we're running another "zine friendly night" at the Foundry on Thursday 12th november, and will have a comics table at Handmade and Bound on November 1st. Plus, we're launching a new blog just before zine friendly, probably around mid October.

downthetubes: Jimi, thank you very much for your time.

• The Alternative Press anthology book, Publish You is available now. It’s an 80-page full-colour book priced just £8, with illustrations, comics, poetry and much, much more, from more than 40 artists active on the small press scene. The book can be obtained from Foyles bookshop, Gosh! Comics, Orbital comics, Lik & Neon (www.likneon.com), samu.co.uk, corndog.co.uk and Gareth Brookes' website, www.appallingnonsense.co.uk

Web Links

• The Alternative Press Fair: www.alternativepress.org.uk
• Comics and Zines: comicsandzines.wordpress.com

Organisations and Services

• The Bedsit Journal: bedsitjournal.com/home.html/

• Footprint Workers Co-operative: www.footprinters.co.uk

• Last Hours: www.lasthours.org.uk
An online and occasional print zine for the anti-authoritarian, DIY and punk communities. It offers news, analysis, interviews and articles about radical culture, be it music, protests, events, books, zines or comix.

• Dancing Eye: www.dancingeye.co.uk

Creators

• Gareth Brookes: www.appallingnonsense.co.uk
• Maartje Schalkx: maartjeschalkx.blogspot.com
• Scott Jason Smith: scottjasonsmith.blogspot.com
• Sina Shamvari: www.boycrazyboy.com
• Steve Tillotson: www.banalpig.com/blog

More Matters of Convention

• 176: Oli Smith of London Underground Comics
• Caption: In Conversation with Jay Eales and Selina Lock
• The British International Comic Show: Interview with Shane Chebsey
• Hi-Ex, Inverness: A Conversation with Vicky Stonebridge
• The Bristol Expo

Matters of Convention - The Bristol Expo

Continuing our series of interviews with British comic convention organisers, for this fifth instalment Matthew Badham talks to longtime convention organizer Mike Allwood, the man tasked with the unenviable job of keeping Britain's perhaps highest-profile annual comic convention, the Bristol Comic Expo, on track.

These convention features are being cross-posted on downthetubes, the Forbidden Planet International blog and Fictions. Our aim is to give the conventions themselves some well-deserved publicity and also to, hopefully, spark a wider debate about what’s good and bad about the convention circuit in the UK.

downthetubes: Please tell us about a little about the history of the Bristol Comics Expo (BCE) and how it's evolved over the years.

Mike Allwood: When Frank Plowright and Hassan Yusuf gave up running the UK Comic Art Convention which took place in London, Kev F. Sutherland suggested that maybe Bristol could be the new venue for a UK comics convention. I offered to help out I'm still here after 11 years! Kev’s work commitments meant that he had to give up in 2004, so I picked up the baton, formed a new team and I’m still having fun.

The early years were trial and error and, in part, still are. With an annual event, it’s 12 months before you get to re-tune. We did grow in size from 2004 through 2008 by using Bristol's Commonwealth Hall and the Ramada Plaza, with our best ever attendance being just over 4,000. This year we did downsize, but more on that later.

Bristol has always been about creators. Early on it was pretty much UK only but since 2005 we have brought over a star-studded American guest list, creators of some standing such as Walt Simonson, Jim Starlin, Kurt Busiek, Brian K. Vaughn, Howard Chaykin, Jim Lee... and my fave, Roy Thomas! (Hey, it's my show, indulge me...)

We now have a number of Expo exclusives each year from various publishers. Two IDW Transformers issues that were done for our official charity, Draw the World Together, were a highlight, as was the DR & Quinch print from Alan Davis this year. Expo covers and launches are now the norm and we hope to keep that remit.

We have also been able to raise the bar on manga as well over the years. Two years ago, we had one of the largest manga events in the UK with around 15 creators, including eight from Japan and the US.

We are always looking to add new tangents to the show and we have a couple of ideas under way for 2010. One is an expansion of a regular feature that we are keen to promote plus something very new to us that I have been working on for the last two years!

downthetubes: How is the BCE funded? By ticket sales, the exhibitors, a grant, some other means or a combination of these?

Mike: All of the above! Table sales and tickets make up the main income base for the show. We have been able get small grants, which have helped with the manga promotion.

downthetubes: What are the BCE’s overall aims?

Mike: To produce a convention that I want to go to! Seriously, we aim to provide a creator-driven show that celebrates the medium. It has three boxes that must be ticked:

1. A guest list that covers as many bases as possible.
2. A good cross-section of exhibitors.
3. The show covers its costs.

downthetubes: Who is BCE aimed at? What sort of punters do you hope to attract? Are you family-friendly?

Mike: We will always start with the hardcore fans. They are the regulars who are there every year but we have, in the past, and will, in the future, aim for the family/wider audience. The local schools tie-in we ran for as long as was possible. You may recall the Read a Million Words promotion with all Bristol Primary Schools [it ran in 2004 - Ed]? Sadly, Bristol Council pulled the funding on that but we remain very proud of the outreach programme.

We will always offer cheap child tickets and make the con free for the under-nines.

Again, two years ago the event was free for cosplayers (Well, anyone who wants to dress as a giant blue bunny has my support!)

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

Mike: Well, I would say I'm really pleased with the newer, younger fans we now have, and we did sell out. There would have been more this year but the loss of The DFC comic did mean a strand that was in place fell short when they stopped publishing. We ‘head-hunted’ Classics Illustrated for this year and they had a great show! They work a lot in schools at primary level and I was delighted to get them along! Got some great books for the grandkids as well!

downthetubes: Can you give a projected (or actual) attendance figure for the BCE?

Mike: The best was the 4,000 odd from 2008. This year, with the downsize, we sold out at 650. The hotel does have (and rightly so) strict health and safety regulations. However with us using the Ramada and Mercure for the full two days next year, that number (650) can be increased by around 20-25%.

downthetubes: How did the recession affect the con? Are these twin events here to stay and the model for future BCE's?

Mike: When the planning for 2009 started in October last year we knew that the two main supporters of the show were not going to in a position to put up the level of money that they had in the past. Remember, this was the early days of the credit crunch so the risk factor in running at the Commonwealth Hall was not going to be a viable option. We have to raise every penny for the show and I do not work in comics anymore, having left Area 51 over three years ago. The Expo in 2008 cost over £22,000 and [losing money] was [not] a risk that I was not going to take.

The options were a) no show or b) a smaller show. I asked the ‘inner circle’ for their thoughts - that is the Expo team, publishers and selected pro’s.

The reply to a man was ‘a smaller show is fine’ (DC Comics said Yes and so did US indie publishers Top Shelf, so with US Publishers still wanting to attend, we couldn’t cancel.) I was going to just go with the Ramada and plans were made. This did mean it did become invite-only for the table space and the biggest regret was that I was not able to have the percentage of the small press that I would have liked. In fact the final plan on that was far from what I hoped it would be for them, but once again I’m going off tack.

Anyway, I then get a call from Mal Smith at Fallen Angel Media. Mal had taken tables at Bristol before and she suggested that as a number of small pressers could not get tables at the new slim Expo, she wanted to look at taking a second venue for one day as a ‘bolt-on-event’ and asked if I would mind.

Well, I bit her hand off! I loved the idea and if my failing memory is correct, we met later that week, checked out the Mercure hotel, booked it and the new-look Expo was born.

We came up with a plan that worked this year far better than we had hoped for and before the Expo we had already decided that two hotels was the way ahead, so we announced that at Expo 2010 we would use both hotels for both days.

Mal, not having any fear, is back again and already looking forward to all that extra work! (OK, I may have overstated that, but, thanks to Mal, the Expo is now at a new, exciting level. The general feedback post-show was great (Especially from the pros this year and remember, without them, it would just be a mart!)

We have evolved now and there are no plans to return to the old hall. Plans are nicely ahead for 2010 in reference to the hints I made at the start of this epic interview for two features plus a few new ones, trust me!

One thing we do try to do [each year] is add [new] tangents that I hope fans will like. Sometimes we get it right, sometime not! Lessons were learnt this year and will be addressed for 2010. We’re planning a joint programme guide and crossover events.

downthetubes: What lessons have you learned during your time running BCE, in terms of its marketing and advertising?

Mike: The main lesson is if you don’t really want to run a con, don’t do it! It takes up a lot, and I mean a lot, of time, but as my wife says, it is about me over-indulging the hobby and enjoying the buzz of putting it all together.

In terms of marketing and advertising... Well, it’s case of as many strings to the bow as you can find. The core advertising is pretty simple: go to mainstream publications for print adverts and remember that the local press media have to be brought on board to bring in that new young audience!

For the latter, there has to be a ‘Big Name’ angle. If you can approach them with an angle involving Batman/Spider-Man/Star Wars/ a big new film release, they’ll probably give you some coverage...

For example, we always do a press release for the local press/radio listing the main guests. When V for Vendetta came out the amount of column inches that got was fantastic! Now I always list David Lloyd (as the man in my book is a major talent and I’m always delighted when I get his email saying he’ll be attending) but because V was on his ‘CV’ that year, the local media had a hook.

Also, be prepared to do the local radio interviews. Again, you'll get great coverage but they will always want to talk about the current trend in comics or people wearing costumes! Last year I did an interview at 7.00am on the Friday with BBC Bristol and the interviewer did ask if we had anyone who could turn up in costume. I did point out that it was radio and that the con hadn’t even started!

You catch my drift. Great to have the coverage but you do have to work at it!

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

Mike: Yes, the website is the main player now in advertising the show.

This year we did transfer that to fantasyevents.org because we just did not have the time to maintain the expo.net site. Both Dave and I have limited time owing to our day jobs and so I was more than happy to let someone else do the work!

Albeit I have full control on the content, our new web guy does the work in making my random notes and jottings notes look superb (and readable).

We sold out this year as everyone knows and tickets were only available pre-show via PayPal.

There’s no blog/egroups for the show... I don’t read any of them and belong to no egroups. The site is up to date with all the information and I am very easy to get hold of should anyone have ideas/questions. Anyone who has emailed me in the past will, 99% of the time, get a reply the same day. My mobile is also on the site when it’s active and we have a PO box as well.

Another small aside: this year when we downsized, I was told by my ‘spies’ that a few people were posting that Bristol was smaller this year and asking what was going on. Now the people who did actually bother to email/call me got the full story. Barry at The Geek Syndicate was one of the first to ask about the situation and he ran the reply on their site. And that is the sort of reporting that really does help promote the industry. They then got a few exclusive announcements from me to thank them for their support. For example, The DC Portfolio Session booking details were on the Syndicate site days before we ran the details on our site.

The ‘naysayers’ do appear to be a small handful of people who have no experience in organising an international event or, I would guess, only have experience of running a tombola at the local school.

Me? Done both and ran the BBQ!

I do have a small team (Well, Craig and Barry at the Geek Syndicate to be honest!) that produces all the internet releases and podcasts and a cracking job they do too. It’s vital to the show and something I would struggle to find the time to do myself.

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

Mike: Yes, print is still a player! This year we ran adverts/features in 2000AD, Judge Dredd Megazine, Comics International and Imagine FX.

downthetubes: What's the mix in terms of exhibitors at your con?

Mike: Yes, we try for a nice balance. I prefer pros at tables where possible and the indie press. I know small press is the more widely used term, but so much of what those guys produce is waaaay beyond being small press. The term seems to remind me of the 1980s photocopy job, so we started to use the UK indie press line a few years ago.

Although this year we had the Small Press Expo, so what do I know?

Publishers are always welcome: Rebellion, Panini, Markosia, Reed Full Circle, Self Made Hero and, as I said, we did headhunt Classic Illustrated this year.

Dealers I have always ‘capped’ and will do so every year. Yes, dealers are the sharp end of the biz and I do try to have a cross section. Incognito are ever present because Dave Finn brings a great selection of books to the show and is always on the invite list. This year, even with the smaller show, Dave was there!

I will always try to cater for the ‘bargain book’ dealer(s) as well - then I can afford to buy some! There will always be a small number of fans who come to buy books and that's great. That is what they come for and could not care less that Jim Lee, Dave Gibbons, Alan Davis et all are signing, They want to (hopefully) find some of the books that their local shop does not stock...

downthetubes: What are your thoughts on the small press comics scene in this country? Does BCE support the small press and what form does that support take?

Mike: We have a very proud tradition in the promotion of small press at Bristol and have had since 1999 when we had the Small Press Village in front of the DC Stand, something not ever done before in the UK I believe. I made a few comments on the small press earlier, and I've said on many occasions we have the best indie creators anywhere. It would be unfair to single anyone out, as he overall quality is of the highest order! I recall a few years ago Jeff Smith taking some books over to Jim Lee saying, ‘Check out these books, they are fantastic.’

With the old show I did try to have circa 50 per cent of the tables given over to the small press.

This year, by adding the Mercure as the Small Press Expo, we were then able to expand the small press to the level that I feel it should be at, with maximum exposure at the show.

With us being able to add Gilbert Shelton and Hunt Emerson to the guest list for their signing sessions I felt we were able to raise the [indie comics] profile without compromising on the ethos of the event.

Fate also smiled along when Top Shelf and Knockabout brought along Kev O' Neill, again a guest we could add to the Small Press Expo, who fitted the in perfectly and again helped raise the bar on the promotion of the second venue. I was very aware that we had to maintain a status quo with the Expo this year and the split did seem to work out.

OK, the small press room at the Ramada was not as good as I hoped for and that is something I must address for next year.

downthetubes: If you've got the Small Press Expo at a separate venue, why is there a small press room at the Ramada?

Mike: It was a question of timing! When I was just going to run at the Ramada, space was at a premium. But I still wanted a small press showcase so the Park Room was allocated for that purpose

To let you have a little background on that thought and the promotion of the small press which, as I have stated, is very important to Bristol, to try to ensure the footfall, I allocated the room opposite the charity sketch-a-thon, the two Alan Davis signings and the DC Portfolio session to try to make sure fans did visit the room. It's only 30 yards from the main lobby, but there's always a danger that people will not always check out all the features of a convention!

Outside in the hallway we had John M. Burns and Gary Erskine plus selected other artists and a TV21 Mini Art Show to try to make sure the fans did not miss out.

Even with all that in place, I felt that it didn’t work as well as it should and it's one of the elements of 2010 that we need to address.

Anyway, I have again gone off track! This small press room was already in place before Mal made that call about running the Small Press Expo at the Mercure, so we did end up with two small press promotions at the show.

The support for the Mercure was way beyond the level of interest that we thought we would get. It was not a new idea for Bristol in that we have always had two venues, but the previous split was the Commonwealth as the ‘exhibitors’ and the Ramada for talks/events.

We had no idea have two shows would work alongside each other. They did! Job done and without a crystal ball .... which would be great to have at most times with con organising.

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

Mike: Reverse engineering is one way. We know what the cost base is and then look at the number of tables we can sell. We take an estimate of the potential ticket sales, add that to the income we hope to make on the tables, if that figure is more than the cost base, job done!

It's not an exact science and we constantly monitor the cash flow. If we are nicely in front I will add another, usually international, guest. It worked out that way with Allen Heinberg a couple of years ago, Allan wanted to attend and I had a capacity in the income to cover what was needed, so Allan was a late (and super) addition.

Back to the ticket prices. They are a fine balancing act, to be honest. This year a day rate adult ticket was £6 Jan to March with a weekend ticket at £12. This rose to £7 and £14 after March. A child day rate of £3 then £5 [after March]. Under 9’s were free with a fee-paying adult

downthetubes: How much are exhibitor tables for the BCE? Again, how did you arrive at that figure?

Mike: See above! Dealer/publisher tables are £150 for the weekend and have been since 1999! Small press tables have increased from £60 to £70 this year. This is part of that balancing act. I had to make a call three years on the small press rate about either keeping it at £60 but then I would have had to cap the number and I didn’t want to do that. The rise did mean I could continue to sell ‘unlimited’ small press tables.

downthetubes: Do you run workshops/events/panels at the BCE? Please tell us about those and how they are organised.

Mike: Oh yes! We have tried to run workshops every year where possible. We did the local schools ones for two years as part of the Read a Million Words Schools promotion. Two years ago the Yokaj Studio ran two manga workshops.

In terms of events and panels, we are very proud of our programme each year.

We always try to run at least one on stage interview with a major US guest. Themed panels are the norm. This year the chance to get Dave Gibbons and John Higgins to host the Who Watched the Watchmen? panel was too good to miss. There are many more examples over the year, such as the launch of Albion with just about everyone involved taking part (Apart from that chap from Northampton, I recall?)

This year we had, as always, fantastic support from DC who kindly produced an Ashcan just for us. They also did the same with Green Arrow Year One as Andy Diggle and Jock were going to be there the month before the release and this year Mike Carey’s Unwritten got the ashcan treatment. Only at the panels, mind (or later in the day, on eBay!)

One more highlight for Bristol was the Hypotheticals panel that was hosted by Budgie for the last nine years. Sadly this year we did not have the room to run it, which was a shame as the tenth anniversary one would have been a great one to have run.

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

Mike: I could say that we are the best UK con and you really should be there! For the best, go west...

But, to be honest, if you want to go to any UK con you will have a fine, fine time. Yes, Bristol is the longest running one now and we have a great venue(s) and some great guests but the teams at Birmingham or Inverness could say the same!

We do talk on a regular basis and see each other’s events as complimentary. So, if you have any interest in going to a Con, yes we’d love to see you at Bristol, but we all do the shows to promote comics cuz we love ‘em!

Bottom line, we do have a lot of fun! That makes it all worthwhile!

I'm sorry if I have forgotten to name check the so many fine people who support us each year. You know who you are and if you ever catch me at the bar the drinks are on me.... No one has yet though!

Meanwhile... any questions of offers of mega bucks sponsorship please feel to drop me an email.

downthetubes: Mike, thanks very much for your time and the very best of luck for 2010.

• For the latest news on the Bristol Comic Expo visit www.fantasyevents.org. More Matters of Convention • 176: Oli Smith of London Underground Comics • Caption: In Conversation with Jay Eales and Selina Lock • The British International Comic Show: Interview with Shane Chebsey • Hi-Ex, Inverness: A Conversation with Vicky Stonebridge