On form
Comiket was a huge success. Chats, flyers, sales and handshakes were enjoyed widely in our corner of the room, a nice hub of creativity that provided a safe haven for more than a few people in the crush of comics and custom. Lots of ideas about where to take the stall were generated, which is pretty stimulating.
But what was more impressive, and more exciting, was the way We Are Words + Pictures actually worked. Mark‘s been with us to a few of these things now, and I’m quite happy to say he’s become part of the heart of the set-up. He’s passionate with customers in a way I never quite manage to be, and happy to talk about what he loves without getting bogged down in why he’s doing it – I ratchet into motivation horribly quickly. Anne is similarly great at getting people to engage and also throwing a focus onto long term logistics: She made forays into the market a few times, nudging me towards tables and initiatives where they looked right or looked interesting which was great.
It all meant that Julia and I got on with what we want to do. With some of the customer engagement dealt with by Mark, Julia gets better and better at selling her work, talking up her current ideas and plotting her next move. Her turnaround rate on sketches, pages and design is extremely fast now, and it’s a thrill to see that work arrive in my inbox or on my RSS feed. I’ve hit a nice set-up and take-down rhythm, popping up tables and stalls with a reasonably clear idea of what I’m up to. I’m also thinking a little wider about who we could talk to, where WAW+P could go next and what we could pitch at.
Besides the obvious bar that Solipsistic Pop has set I was pretty inspired by the work that Nobrow are producing; volume two of their illustration journal drops soon, and it will doubtless look beautiful. The North Wales School of Art and Design seemed to be bubbling away nicely, and Aiden Smith was one of the friendliest people I’ve met at these events for a long time. I also got to briefly chat with Tim and Andy of London Libraries Graphic Novel Network, which could be a really promising initiative and definitely people WAW+P would like to speak to more.
Mostly though, I think something really clicked with the four of us. We were on form, and I’m excited to see if we can keep that up for Thought Bubble. Fingers crossed.
[...] Matt’s written a little about how he felt the day went on his blog, so I’ve been asked to step in and report for WAW+P. I’ve been to the ICA several times already for gigs, but not for a convention. Luckily the space lended itself well to rows of small press comics and extremely excitable creators. Imagine a village fete, but with more beards. [...]
I read the intro to S. Pop and thought what Kieron Gillen wrote about a door opening into the unknown was so apt. This is what We Are Words + Pictures can do. You are at the cutting edge of comics evangelism and I think you’ll find a receptive audience. The world is your oyster. etc. etc.
[...] weren’t there, you can purchase it here!), and the launch party afterwards was fun, fun, fun. Matt posted a nice write-up of it, and so did [...]
[...] weren’t there, you can purchase it here!), and the launch party afterwards was fun, fun, fun. Matt posted a nice write-up of it, and so did Mark. So! Below is a new comicky thing I drew yesterday, [...]