LSCC Sunday 16/03/14
I headed to LSCC with a couple of things in mind that I wanted to check out, now I'm not one to sit through panels I prefer to walk the floor and chat with the creators and publishers, the guys on the front line (plus I can catch any panel on line at any time).
LSCC had a lot on offer and I mean a LOT! There were tons of British indie creators and publishers selling their wares and that's where we began our day. We stopped by Art Heroes stall and had a chat with the guys, writer Dan Clifford and Artist Lee Robinson were promoting their book Halcyon & Tenderfoot. The guys were absolutely fantastic to talk too and promoted their book expertly, a non intentional sales stunt that saw punters stamping the Art Heroes logo on the bags after purchase was an amusing conversation point. Halcyon & Tenderfoot is currently up to issue #4 is tagged as "Not another crime fighting duo" and is aimed at all readers, it's tongue in cheek take on superheroes and cartoonist art style sees it appeal to both indie fans and young readers alike. The guys were kind enough to sign and personalise each issue. If you want to check them out head over to www.artheroes.co.uk
Next up we met Sam Read who talked us through his book Exit Generation #1 who has had previous work published by Grayhaven Comics and Dead Roots, again a really nice guy more than happy to talk us through his crazy Sci-Fi adventure book resulting in a sale. Sam too signed his book, I haven't read through it just yet but Exit Generation has just kicked off and you can find more out at samreadwrites.com Alongside Sam was Colin Bell promoting Dungeon Fun, Colin was rather busy at the time we picked up his book but he was able to spare a second to sign it and thank us for the purchase, you can find him on twitter @colinbell
We moved around nearly all the stalls we could reach, I'm going to have a little moan here and say that I cannot stand it when you approach a creator's stall who is not busy with another person and is not furiously sketching a commission but just sat reading or watching the crowds and they ignore you, maybe they will make eye contact and flash a quick smile but that will be it. I find it a shame a creator who has put blood sweat and tears into a book cannot or will not talk me through it, these are indie guy's the likelihood is I haven't heard of you or your book so a chat about what the project is would be great and more than likely result in sale. I don't want to rant but I find it a little rude and quite frankly if you can't be bothered to acknowledge a potential customer then I am unlikely to want to buy your book.
Anyway moving on we met Welsh creator Stephen Wainwright who introduced us to his LBGT comic project called The Pride. Stephen's vision for The Pride is for it to grow into a well known and well accepted LBGT title, he explained it was being embraced well by the weekend's crowd which is positive to hear, in today's world to create a openly gay super hero book is a bold move and should be celebrated and welcomed. I haven't gotten around to reading The Pride #1 yet but you can find more on Facebook (search ThePrideComic) and on Twitter @ThePrideComic.
Moving on we paid a visit to the Subversive Comics stall to look at a title I have wanted to read for a while now "Bearlands" a crazy bloody Teddy Bear zombie apocalypse story, I picked up issues 1 to 3 (they had sold out of the new issue #4). Creator Jeremy Biggs was popular and happily signed each issue and entered all his customers in a prize drawn to win a very cool undead teddy bear.
Walking past one stall we were asked the question "Do you like Aliens?", "Of course!" I replied only to then be asked if we had ever heard of a Alien Sports Adventure comic, of course we hadn't that sounds insane, however it's exactly what writer Jack RB Kirby and artist Mat Barnett have done with "Alien in the Outfield" the tale of a Alien who crash lands on Earth, needing to blend in he takes up a position in local Baseball team the Roswell Rockets, the book is absolutely insane, very witty and of course unique beyond words. Check out more at alienintheoutfield.com
We stopped by the lovely Kate Ashwin's table to see what she had on offer, she excitedly walked us through her self contained set of stories "Widdershins" set in Victorian England which follows the adventures of failed wizard Sidney Malik and chain smoking bounty hunter Harriet Barber, the art style is beautiful and the book very very creative, check out more at widdershincomic.com which is updated three times a week and is free to read! Kate was also kind enough to sign our copy.
Well know creator Neil Gibson was on hand with the T Pub guys promoting his graphic novel series "Twisted Dark", Neil had set a challenge to anyone who came to his table, read the first two stories of Twisted Dark and not want to buy the book, according to Neil only one person all day had gone away empty handed which says a lot when you consider the white board constantly updated with the number of sales was well into the two hundreds at this time and the T Pub guys had just cracked open the last box of Volume One. I too read the first two tales and brought Volume One, Neil's dark and (wait for it) twisted stories suck you in and you simply crave more. Neil signed our copy and was a really nice guy to chat too, find him at neilgibsoncomics.com
All your expected vendor stalls were in attendance including Diamond, 200AD, Orbital Comics, Forbidden Planet, Scott's Collectables, Boom! Studios (along with Kaboom!), IDW, Midtown Comics, A Place In Space, and loads more.
My personal highlight of the entire con was meeting David Lloyd and having a sketch done by him in the front cover of my copy of V for Vendetta, I was in fanboy heaven, David is a awesome guy and we chatted for a while, he was there with his team from Aces Weekly which you can subscribe to from just £6.99 a week at acesweekly.co.uk
Overall a really good day at LSCC, already stoked for next year!
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