In those years that stretched out nostalgically behind us and before the arrival of that damned pandemic the Scottish comic convention was something to be remembered with warm feelings. Not only was Glasgow the home to a purity of ‘Just Comics’ rarely seen elsewhere but also co-hosted, along with partners BHP, the Scottish Comics Awards.
The best avoided community gossip of the main, and many might say ‘only’ proper guest, cancelling quietly a week before the event but failing to be mentioned in the previously released programme or on the events ‘socials’ is behind us. Don’t bring that one up. Don’t mention it. Negativity will be punished with extreme moaning and typing!
Brace yourselves. Positive and critical opinions incoming.
So, with mixed applications of duty and a mild excitement I travelled up to Glasgow at no small expense. Prior to the guest list announcement that was issued a mere month before I had made my arrangements, promises to friends and bookings. I had faith that going by pre-Covidian standards there may be the odd interesting fella or lady attending. But there was neither. There was a guest list. I’ve seen it. I’ve read it and quoted it out loud in an attempt to believe it. That noise you can hear is the Convention Guest Sauce Bottle being slapped on its bottom in a last desperate attempt at producing credibility. A list so slight that Bradfield Compost’s own Village Fair, Sausage Making Competition and associated Comic-Con would have been embarrassed had they existed and invited that lineup.
UK organised comic events seem to have a shelf life. UKCAC lasted a year or two too long, Bristol loped along and even tried for a reboot. Thoughtbubble has reinvented its reasons for existing into a small press show and Glasgow is about, according to the organisers, to have one final wrestle. One more go. Maybe that one cancelled, albeit quiet, guest will appear on the last day, holding a commission aloft and shouting ‘Finally!’
The venue of The Royal Concert Hall is prestigious and carries a good reputational weight. It also has superb transport links and plenty of places to grab a beer/bite afterwards. Glasgow has a comics history as rich as anywhere else in the UK but it failed to be, in the most part, represented by guests, stalls posters or events apart from the BHP organisers. The Convention poster and website design by James Lawrence hinted at some Scottishness with a man in a kilt but was almost hidden by a too earnest appeal to ‘the kids’ and a lot of empty space.
A short schedule on page three of the brochure declared.
10am Doors Open.
4pm Cosplay Competition.
5pm Doors Close.
There’s got to be more than that surely?
Here we go. I found it.
11-11.55am – ‘The Modern Master – J.M. DeMatteis’ (A pre-Recorded video ‘event’. …no genuinely).
12-12.30pm – Comic Con Spotlight – small press and indie creators pitch their projects for five minutes a go.
1-1.30pm – Kids Cosplay Parade.
2-2.45pm – ‘Bande Dessinee – The Power of French Comics’ (‘What about me!’ Shouts the Belgian representative).
3-3.45pm – Artist vs Artist – hosted by the Brewgooders podcast and an interactive art exercise.
4pm-End – The Cosplay Parade.
Tickets were only £11.50. Not a bad price for a city centre convention. Tables ran to £90 for the day.
Entry was easy and fast.
The layout of the venue seemed odd. It lacked posters or arrows. There were big empty sections throughout. Of the four main areas for stalls two were in dead-end corridors that had punters walk down and back on themselves. A brighter spot, however, was the social gathering spot by the Brewgooders table. The Scottish podcast caused a focal point for chatting and laughing that was pretty welcome.
With all due respect to the ‘Guests’, they didn’t really add anything to the event. This can be a regular problem and one that’s been brought up often on the ACP podcast. A couple had faces like thunder and were sat behind tables looking a bit depressed. And engaging with them was like pulling teeth.
A couple of punters I spoke to also commented on the similarities in style and presentation of the stalls. Another commented similarly that this exeplifies the value of curation elsewhere. There were an awful lot of badges for sale! Some might say too many.
I didn’t buy a badge.
A big high point was meeting up with X-Men artist Gustaffo Vargas and getting a Forge commission from him.
I heard back from a couple of smallholders in the pub afterwards and they seemed to have done better than they thought in takings. Selling enough to cover costs and a few beers. So, that’s good news.
In summing up. This was a show that I had a lot of fun attending. More due to the company than what was provided at the venue. The convention lacked focus, that perhaps David Aja or a big/bigger name would have provided. Honestly, it felt like there was a lack of energy in the air. A serious lack of excitement. It wasn’t’ a days worth for a comic fan. But I suspect that the 4pm Cosplay Parade kept some people circling the halls.
Conversation after the event lead to the inevitable questions of whether the small press in attendance and the cosplay hobbyists was enough to make for an enjoyable day out. I’m going to say that it didn’t feel that way to me. Glasgow this year seemed like it was going through the motions. I grabbed some back issues and met with some friends. Should I expect more from guests, vibe/energy and events? The consensus seems to be that Glasgow could have worked as hard this year as in previous ones to make for a better experience. For someone travelling up from London it also feels like a rather expensive mistake in hoping it would be better.
Oh….and I got to speak to two furries. One got a little strange.
The obligatory swag pile.
Many thanks for reading.
Never Iron Anything - The Comics Review Website 