Dublin City Comic Con 07

bombidol

http://www.myspace.com/dublincitycomiccon

the Shades

It's one hello of a line up this year, quite a few people I'd be really happy to meet. A couple of my favourite are mixed in there.

bombidol

Yeah its sweet alright. There may be a few names to be added too.

ztoical

would be nice to see at least one womans name added to that list

Fysh

I can't believe Jim Lee is guest of honour. Unless there's plans to, I don't know, sacrifice him to the Eldritch Deity of Non-Horrendous Superhero Artwork. (Although that should really be Rob Liefeld, a man whose continued career in comics baffles me).

ztoical

Fysh wrote:

I can't believe Jim Lee is guest of honour. Unless there's plans to, I don't know, sacrifice him to the Eldritch Deity of Non-Horrendous Superhero Artwork. (Although that should really be Rob Liefeld, a man whose continued career in comics baffles me).

I was going to make a simialar comment but other then the lack of even one female writer/artists [man Gail Simone would rock] the fact that its all mainstream is a little annoying. With Lee there you'll get all the little fanboys and make back your costs on the door so you can afford to chuck in at least one alternative/underground cartoonists. That way it can really be a comics festival and not just another dealer show.

People argue that you have to give people what they want and fanboys want fanboy artists like Lee, but a con is a chance to get some non comic heads to wander in, people who would normally never step into a comic shop cus they think its all superheros comics for 14 year old boys. Thats why MoCCA is my all time fav con cus they advertise in the new york times arts section and you get people from the fine arts scene coming in to have a look.

Having it on two days means you could put something really good on the saturday night like a comic art battle like stumptowns Comix Apocalypse [thou Bob would prob kick everyones asses] but we'll prob end up with some standard QandA with Lee then pub [not that I'm bashing the pub idea ]

If Liefeld was going to be there you couldn't advertise it cus you know so many would just show to throw things at him.

Jonesy3110

Adi Granov = AWESOME

Fysh

I second the Granov=awesome call. Was re-reading some of my issues of Metal Hurlant from the brief stint DC had of publishing them and found some Granov space-opera stuff in there, and once again it looked lush. The man's artwork is great.

As for the con, I agree with everything you've said. Would love some sort of comic battle, was reading about the A-kon Iron Artist challenge and it sounds like the sort of thing that could be great fun. And yeah, Bob would hand us all our asses and turn out to have drawn using his foot so that he could drink 2 pints while drawing...

Link to Day 1 of Akon report from Two Lump's J Grant (feat the all-ages Iron Artist challenge)

Link to Day 2 of Akon report from Two Lump's J Grant (feat the adult-only Iron Artist challenge - NSFW)

ztoical

Comix Apocalypse works in much that same way............they have two teams portland and the rest of the world battle each other, its always a highlight and such a laugh. Or there was a fun comic battle type event in dublin last november [thou they weren't battling and it was more about the music] Check brenb site [go to news and the november 10th post]

i'd love to have some decent panels about comic production, maybe a workshop like those the IPRC does.

Jonesy3110

Link to Day 2 of Akon report from Two Lump's J Grant (feat the adult-only Iron Artist challenge - NSFW)

Thats hilarious, I'd love to get involved in something like that

bombidol

Organise yer own con and bring over small press people. Otherwise cease moaning!

Fysh

Or, alternatively, continue moaning since it's a valid point and Cliodhna in particular is the person who paid for and organised last year's 24 hour comics event, so she's aware of the hassle and financial issues that crop up when trying to organise a comics event.

ztoical

bombidol wrote:

Organise yer own con and bring over small press people. Otherwise cease moaning!

I hate to pop your bubble honey but your little fail comic group would be classifed as small/alternative press at any con and you should be sticking up for the promotion of small press esp seeing as this is an irish con that should make at least a little effort to promote home grown work.

If I though we had the population for a small press festival in this country then hell yeah I'd put one together but we don't, we simple don't have enough people producing self published comics and we won't get small press people from overseas to come as they would see it as a better investment to focus on cons nearer them....we should be aiming for something like what Bristol has done a good mixture of indie/small press and dealer tables. The organisers there even put aside a couple of tables each year to give free to first timers and local artists to encourage them to get out and show their work. And I am well aware of the amount of time and money that goes into putting these things together, I've voluntered and exhibited at enough cons in the past 6 years.


Exhibitors are investing time and money into attending cons just as much as the people who organise them.....I emailed today asking about the small press situation because i want to know if its worth my time and money to attend or if thats money I can direct towards a table at another con. The Dublin con tables won't be expensive but other cons table can cost up $350 [what I've paid for my SPX table] plus flights and hotels. Yes they are having small press tables but I want to know if its going to be promoted or not.

Comics in ireland is becoming this exclusive club thats not welcoming to new readers esp if they are not into people being covered in spandex. From a retail stand point by focusing on the uber fan boy section your bringing in people who already shop in your shop why not try and get new shoppers in.

Ok i've emailed all this to jon and co, all be it pharsed slightly differently [I cc'd fysh in case anyone thinks I didn't email], and I'm sure they think I'm the biggest bitch going and if they do thats fine. Worse case they blacklist me and won't sell me a table and i have bit extra cash to put towards other cons, best case they might actually say hey lets have a comic jam on the sat night or lets promote this thing outside of the usual places.

Whatever about the small press situation the fact that they've 14 men listed as guests and not a single woman is a ****ing joke and on that I will not cease moaning

Draco

ztoical wrote:

the fact that they've 14 men listed as guests and not a single woman is a ****ing joke and on that I will not cease moaning

So what percentage of writers/artist are women and what percentage would actually be interested in going to an Irish comic con? It's not surprising that in a male dominated field a guest list would be over whelming male.
I would also consider inviting someone solely because they were a woman and not on the basis of their work and local interest in meeting them sexist in the extreme.

M. Sean McManus

I can't wait for this show. I hope I can go...

ztoical

Draco wrote:

So what percentage of writers/artist are women and what percentage would actually be interested in going to an Irish comic con? It's not surprising that in a male dominated field a guest list would be over whelming male.
I would also consider inviting someone solely because they were a woman and not on the basis of their work and local interest in meeting them sexist in the extreme.

I do agree that I would want someone there because of their work and not because of their sex but 14 to 0? I am well aware of the inbalance of men to women in this industry I bloody work in it but it is not that bad.

bombidol

ztoical wrote:

I hate to pop your bubble honey but your little fail comic group would be classifed as small/alternative press at any con and you should be sticking up for the promotion of small press esp seeing as this is an irish con that should make at least a little effort to promote home grown work.

If I though we had the population for a small press festival in this country then hell yeah I'd put one together but we don't, we simple don't have enough people producing self published comics and we won't get small press people from overseas to come as they would see it as a better investment to focus on cons nearer them....we should be aiming for something like what Bristol has done a good mixture of indie/small press and dealer tables. The organisers there even put aside a couple of tables each year to give free to first timers and local artists to encourage them to get out and show their work. And I am well aware of the amount of time and money that goes into putting these things together, I've voluntered and exhibited at enough cons in the past 6 years.


Exhibitors are investing time and money into attending cons just as much as the people who organise them.....I emailed today asking about the small press situation because i want to know if its worth my time and money to attend or if thats money I can direct towards a table at another con. The Dublin con tables won't be expensive but other cons table can cost up $350 [what I've paid for my SPX table] plus flights and hotels. Yes they are having small press tables but I want to know if its going to be promoted or not.

Comics in ireland is becoming this exclusive club thats not welcoming to new readers esp if they are not into people being covered in spandex. From a retail stand point by focusing on the uber fan boy section your bringing in people who already shop in your shop why not try and get new shoppers in.

Ok i've emailed all this to jon and co, all be it pharsed slightly differently [I cc'd fysh in case anyone thinks I didn't email], and I'm sure they think I'm the biggest bitch going and if they do thats fine. Worse case they blacklist me and won't sell me a table and i have bit extra cash to put towards other cons, best case they might actually say hey lets have a comic jam on the sat night or lets promote this thing outside of the usual places.

Whatever about the small press situation the fact that they've 14 men listed as guests and not a single woman is a ****ing joke and on that I will not cease moaning

Of course we are small press, hell we are non-press at the moment cause we've had 1 single sample edition out and wont have any full issues till November. I've been in a band for 6 years and have never been given anything, we've worked out arse's off for anything we've ever achieved. I apply the same set of rules to comics, I expect nothing from anyone. Why should anyone help me unless its in their best interests? A con like this is obviously aimed towards mainstream readers so its up to me to try and get the punters there to read my stuff, not John.
Obviously anything 3rd place can do to promote the convention in anyway is going to help me out as small press, the more people there, the more people I can talk into buying fail stuff. To expect John to go out of his way to push small press and small Indy stuff to the same level as someone like Jim Lee or Mark Millar is crazy.

ztoical

bombidol wrote:

Obviously anything 3rd place can do to promote the convention in anyway is going to help me out as small press, the more people there, the more people I can talk into buying fail stuff. To expect John to go out of his way to push small press and small Indy stuff to the same level as someone like Jim Lee or Mark Millar is crazy.

first off I just want to point out that I'm not attacking john or anyone at the 3rd place or the way they are putting this together.....I told them after last years one that I knew they'd work their collective asses off to put it together and fair play to them.

And no i don't expect them to push small press to the same level as mainstream but as it stands its not pushed at all. And it is cus I'm looking after my own interest that I am making noise about this. More people does not mean more sales it just means more people.

If we are going to look at this like music look at a music festival that sells its tickets on the headline main stage acts but then has a smaller stage for local acts and up coming acts. Whats so wrong with saying hey any chance you can put aside 20 mins of panel to Irish artists. sit the likes of Bob and Declan Shalvey and Barry Reynolds down for 10 mins.

bombidol

Also, be mindful that its only June. Obviously the whole thing hasnt been planned to the finish yet. Anything could happen.

Fysh

There's a difference between pushing indie stuff to the same level as the Jim Lee, and making the event about more than just a dealer floorshow and a couple of generic Q&A sessions.

Given that small press people will probably be there *anyway*, a comic jam or artist challenge would be a fun alternative to the somewhat static "listen to famous people answer questions they've been asked many a time before". Or some sort of discussion or how-to session. (Although yes, I'm biased, in that I'd be more interested in hearing Bob, Cliodhna, the Sancho lads etc talking about making comcis than in hearing Jim Lee talking about drawing Batman or whatever.)

ztoical

bombidol wrote:

Also, be mindful that its only June. Obviously the whole thing hasnt been planned to the finish yet. Anything could happen.

which is why I emailed.........maybe Its just wishful thinking on my part but i thought they might like to get feedback from people who are attending this thing. Looking back over this thread other then my issue with the lack of female guests which i accept is my issue, I don't see were myself or anyone else was really moaning as you put..........we started talking about what we'd like to see at the con outside of the standard signings and dealer tables. Whats the point in 20 people replying to this thread with same thing - "o boy I'm going to go to that"?

Last year one of the highlights for me was sitting at 11.30pm in a packed pub drawing a comic about nailing hamsters to a wall........we didn't plan that, it wasn't done via the con. If the organisers of the con don't want to or have no interest in supporting something like that thats ok, those of us who are interested might put it together ourselves. There does seem to be an interest from people I've talked in just the last day in having a comic battle type thing and it might be worth putting some effort into it and saying to john and co hey we'll put it together, pay for it, organise it whatever, any chance you could stick the details of it up on the myspace page? they don't have to push it on the poster or advertising but maybe stick a notice up at the event.

I dont see what the harm is in trying to expand the con and get more people involved.

bombidol

I'm sure John is open to anything that add's to the fun level of the event. Personally I'd like to see some stuff for kids there too. Paint painting and some free comics etc, Cause A: Apparently theres still a few kids reading! and B: I personally know a few mammys and daddys with kids that would like to go, so im sure theres more.

ztoical

bombidol wrote:

I'm sure John is open to anything that add's to the fun level of the event. Personally I'd like to see some stuff for kids there too. Paint painting and some free comics etc, Cause A: Apparently theres still a few kids reading! and B: I personally know a few mammys and daddys with kids that would like to go, so im sure theres more.

i have to say i hate kids but at stumptown last year somone had this little baby dressed as batman and it was beyond cute. And I ain't the biggest anime fan but a cosplay event would add some entertainment and colour. At bristol they didnt have a cosplay event per say but gave discounted tickets [or was it free tickets?] to people who came in costume.

Having something like a comic battle between dublin artist vs the rest of the country or ireland via the uk or something like that makes the con stand out.......the monday after 24 hour comics day last year 2fm rang me and gave out that I hadnt rung them before the event to push it. It never entered my head to call them but they thought the event sounds really mad and unusual and was something they would gladly give some air time to. A comic con thats got alot of people coming over that only comic heads are really going to know isn't going to be that interesting but an Ireland vs Uk comic draw off? now that might get you a few extra lines in a paper or an extra few seconds on the radio thus getting more people.

the Shades

Ooh yeah add me to a Irish team I wanna kick some Brit butt. :P

I'll let you all return to your little war now

BTW ztoical I love you lol

Fysh

But, but, but...this is more than some little war! We're posting in threads online!

ztoical

Well we haven't got anywhere near Godwins Law yet so figure we've got at least 4 more pages of rants to go before that happens

Nevyn

bombidol wrote:

Cause A: Apparently theres still a few kids reading! and B: I personally know a few mammys and daddys with kids that would like to go, so im sure theres more.

A there are and B I would be one of them
and C I agree with ztoical about the lack of irish contributors and female contributors so far.

Seriously I want to bring both my brats and have them feel like comics are for them and not have my daugther wonder if they are not as she does not see any female creators the same way that she assumed that driving a bus was not for girls as she had ever seen a female bus driver.

J Hendrick

We just wanted to clear up a few misconceptions regarding the Dublin City
Comic Con this November.
Firstly thanks for your interest it's always good to know that there's a
healthy and thoughtful audience for events such as these.
Now regarding the perceived lack of Irish talent at the con, I'm not too
sure where you're getting your information from but there's an ever growing
contingent of Irish talent signing up to attend.
On the mainstream side of things we've got Nick Roche (Transformers
penciller and writer) a native of Wexford appearing and Steven Mooney a
Dubliner (Penciller on Angel) also signing.
We have many independent creators Irish and otherwise, from differing
mediums lined up also, Sancho, the Shiznit and Drastic to name but a few.
Just because we have not listed a program of events online yet - and
remember the event is being held November 17th and 18th - 5 whole months
away - does not mean that we are going to devise a schedule that ignores
the existence of such.
In fact a good portion of the conventions events will be dedicated to
highlighting and discussing the emergence and continued efforts of Irish
comic book professionals whether Indie or otherwise out there.
The idea that the event is somehow exclusively male is quite frankly
preposterous. In our planning for the event, which might I add began the day
after last years and has been going on since, we approached various talents
from around the world, some male, some female and we put the schedule
together based on the responses we got. We're already at the planning stages
for next year and some of the talents who could not make it to this one
should be available in 2008, let's wait and see.
There has also been, since the posting of the guest list, dates and venue on
line, a small but vocal minority of individuals who appear intent on
influencing the program of events, the content of the convention and even
the application of the cons resources. Let us make this very clear - No one
interest, mainstream, niche, whatever shall influence the Dublin City Comic
Con in any way shape or form. Our management committee is more than equipped
to devise a program of events that will cater to the audience attending. If
we require any external input we'll be sure to ask for it.
So please let us look after the details.
Looking forward to seeing you in November

The Dublin City Comic Con.

ztoical

J Hendrick wrote:

There has also been, since the posting of the guest list, dates and venue on
line, a small but vocal minority of individuals who appear intent on
influencing the program of events, the content of the convention and even
the application of the cons resources. Let us make this very clear - No one
interest, mainstream, niche, whatever shall influence the Dublin City Comic
Con in any way shape or form. Our management committee is more than equipped
to devise a program of events that will cater to the audience attending. If
we require any external input we'll be sure to ask for it.
So please let us look after the details.
Looking forward to seeing you in November

The Dublin City Comic Con.

there's a 1984 joke in here somewhere.

Fysh

And there we have it, straight from the horse's mouth. I'm looking forward to seeing the event schedule, as having 2 days for the con should allow for a lot more flexibility

Though I have to state that, at this point, my biggest question is "Are there plans underway to have Rob Liefeld attend the con at some point in the near future, and if so am I allowed to throw things at him?".

Nevyn

ztoical wrote:

there's a 1984 joke in here somewhere.

There are several, clearly they have an idea of who thier target punters are and
are going to work to that idea and sod anyone who is not that narrow focus demographic.

MarkHall

No plans for Rob that I'm aware of.


Why the Hate Fysh?

RawK

tara towers?

couldnt have found a more centralised local with easier accessability no?

Fysh

Why the hate for Liefeld? Well, it's best summarised by the following image :



A picture whose only saving grace is that it was turned into:



Seriously, the guy's artwork is horrible, his one lasting contribution to the industry was to make those god-awful spandex costumes with about 800 billion pouches popular, and as if that wasn't bad enough he claimed in an interview last year that some of his colleagues nicknamed him "the King", presumably an attempt to claim that he's in some way comparable to Jack Kirby.

To quote one of the many Scans_daily posts about him, "Nuke it from orbit".

professor kaos

WOW! sounds like theres a handful of you that don't want this comic-con!?
let me get this right? We finally have a comic-con with a great line up of talent and creativity, and some of us still resort to the aul irish sterotype of begrudery!:mad: Can you not be grateful that someone has taking on the responsibility of trying to put on this massive effort to highlight and celebrate the world of comics. I'm sure the 3rd place guys have better things to be doing in their own time.
ok, everyone likes to champion there own favourites, whatever genre you're into, i'm not going to denouncing the con because the likes of Evan Dorkin or Dave sims are not on the list!
This comic-cons guest list is going to attract alot of people and attention , national and possibly international. That will bring attention to comics in general, if your self proclaimed indie ( in the end , you want to make money from it, right? comics need to be funded .) title is there at a table ,thats half the battle already, the people are there ,you just have to get them to read/ buy it. The con is providing the audience, you have to supply the work. All the major talent thats going to be attending had to start somewhere too?
And what about the people who want to see Jim lee + co.? I want to see a dealers room (and see cool stuff that i can't afford !). It looks like this con is trying to appeal to everyone, fans, artists, writers, collectors ,as well as the casual punter passing by. Not everyone is going to like everything thats on offer, if we all liked the same stuff it would be a very boring world!
Hope theres new Shiznit and Mbleh! ready by November! At least Bob Byrne and co. can put there hate to good use!;)
As for the choice of venue, it's only 10 mins away from the city center,
see you , winngers included in November.:D

Fysh

I can only judge by what I've seen so far and yeah, the scope of the con may expand once further information is released.

But, between what I saw of the con last year and what's on the poster & site for this year's con, I see nothing that I could use to convince a non-comics-fanboy to think about attending. And I'm not lambasting John & Co when I say that - putting on a con is a lot of work, and they deserve a lot of credit for going to all this effort.

I still think that it is genuinely a shame that the con, which could be a great way of getting non-comic fanboys (or even non-superhero fanboys) to check out the state of comics and see if there's anything for them, seems to be at the moment focusing on the mainstream market. Which of course is the organiser's prerogative, but that's not really something being contested. And if the con's been in the planning stages since last year but the details of indie/small-press related events within the con aren't yet out there, I'm guessing that at the moment the indie/small press angle will probably be limited to "there will be table available for them to exhibit if they wish to".

I've no doubt it will be a success amongst its target audience. But success depends on what the organiser's ambitions for the con are, and I guess the "bitching"/disappointment/comments voiced so far are chiefly about aspects of those ambitions that a few of us aren't particularly impressed by.

Edited to add:
For what it's worth - I run my crappy little webcomic and just about keep the comic challenge running. I have no interest in trying to make money from comics, and so am not personally going to be affected by the relative quality of the indie/small press section of the con in terms of being able to sell stuff or raise my profile or whatever. It will simply affect whether I have any interest in going to the con, because the mainstream stuff isn't really my thing.

ztoical

professor kaos wrote:

WOW! sounds like theres a handful of you that don't want this comic-con!?
let me get this right? We finally have a comic-con with a great line up of talent and creativity, and some of us still resort to the aul irish sterotype of begrudery!:mad: Can you not be grateful that someone has taking on the responsibility of trying to put on this massive effort to highlight and celebrate the world of comics. I'm sure the 3rd place guys have better things to be doing in their own time.

This is the last comment I am making on this thread cus honestly I am beyond surprised at the reaction of both people on this board and the lads from the 3rd place. The comment that was made about "a small but vocal minority of individuals who appear intent on
influencing the program of events" I'm assuming is aimed at me. Thats a pretty clear shut up and **** off statement as far as I'm concerned.

First off with regards to "we finally have a comic con" what about it? Maybe for some people here yes this will be the only con you attend this year or maybe ever but thats not the case for everyone, for some people cons are serious work. I work full time as a free lance artists - while animation and illustration jobs consume most of my day I invest alot of my time and money attending as many cons as I can during the year.....between now and October I have 6 con tables paid for, the furthest one being on the west coast of the states [and thats just comic cons I'm not counting arts festivals or animation festivals]. Yes organizing a con is alot of work but you have chosen of your own free will to organize so you should be open to feedback both positive and negative.

You want more people to come and spend more money? then listen to what they are saying. Exhibitors who are attending have to pay for their tables, travel, hotel, printing costs etc etc If I'm spending that amount of money then I'm going to make damn sure I get my moneys worth. Do I want to make money? of course I have bills, do I think i will make money from a con? Hell no, I did around 8 cons since last June and out of that 8 nearly all I broke even on which is what most cartoonists aim for at cons, one 1 actually made a damn decent profit and two I lost money. I lost money at last years john con mainly because stuff was stolen off my table.........something that has never happened to me at any other con.

I exhibited at last years John con [sorry Dublin city comic con is too much of a mouth ful and lets face it thats what we all call it anyway] and had both positive and negative feedback regarding it. At nearly every other con I've attend the organizers went out of their way to get feedback from exhibitors, sometimes they would just wander round and ask people, sometimes they'd email after the show or in the case of MoCCA and San Diego comic con they gave you a questionnaire towards the end of the last day and collected them as you left. How foolish and arrogant of me to assume that the organizers of this con would work the same.

their reply of "Let us make this very clear - No one
interest, mainstream, niche, whatever shall influence the Dublin City Comic
Con in any way shape or form. Our management committee is more than equipped
to devise a program of events that will cater to the audience attending." eh Hello we are the audience! I'm sorry but that sounds to much like "I'm a 10 year old child, this is my toy and no one else is allowed to play with it". You put on an event, you post the details of the event and o my god shock horror people on the internet start to discus the event! This is a message board of course we are going to talk about what we'd like to see and what we wouldn't like to see. Does fysh really think Leifield is going to show? no but does that mean he shouldn't post about it anymore?

Why should we say only positive things? What does that achieve? How does that ever help anyone? You want this event to get bigger and better ever year? then feedback needs to given and people need to learn how to listen to objective criticism and not misread it as a personal attack or someone trying to take over. Replying with statements like "when you put your own con together" [which is not a reference to bombidols post but an email i was sent] is just pointless. So I put one together [actually I will be putting 24 hour comics day on again but thats a totally separate thing] and its all indie stuff like people seem to assume I want, what the **** have i achieved? I've divided up an already small community into even smaller chunks. I read mainstream books, I've bloody worked for mainstream publishers, I prefer doing alternative comics. I'm not a fan of manga but I would push for its inclusions in any comics event happening here. Yes I have no interest in seeing Jim Lee, I've seen him at other cons, he's boring but I do realize that alot of people will be looking forward to seeing him and he will bring certain numbers in. Have I in any post on this thread said I didn't want him at the con? That I only wanted indie press? No the only issue I brought up with the gust list was the lack of a female artist/writter.

I also never said we should only be pushing indie press or that it should be pushed with the same amount of energy as the mainstream guests. To people outside of comics the name Jim Lee isn't going to mean anything........like i said earlier putting together a comic battle or something along those lines will be of more interest to the general press then a list of names. O but ztoical why should we care about non comic people? Cus you were all non comic people at some point. how do you get new readers? My non comic friends have come into comic book stores with me and stood there looking bored while i shopped but last year one came with me to a con London to help me run the table [she heard London and didn't listen to the rest of the conversation ] She actually went round and talked to people and one cartoonists did a drawing for her which she has framed in her room, she actually picked up a bunch of comics after taking with the people at the tables and overall just had a bloody good time and thats all I ever want to see happen at a con.

Now I'm going to go back to watching some animation render really really slowly.


edited to add: the first new york comic con was a total mess, go read any of the hundreds of blog reports if you didnt hear about it and loads of industry people and fans complained, bitched, moaned whatever you want to call it about it and this years new york comic con while still suffering from some issues was a major improvment all round because the organisers listened.

Jonesy3110

Let us make this very clear - No one
interest, mainstream, niche, whatever shall influence the Dublin City Comic
Con in any way shape or form. Our management committee is more than equipped
to devise a program of events that will cater to the audience attending.

Do you think if Stan Lee came along and wanted to make a few tiny changes to the con he'd get the same snide reply?

Saying that though, I just want to point out that I'm really looking forward to it The whole line up, while it may not appeal to others, totally appeals to me :P

the Shades

I think this is all getting out of hand. No one ever directly criticised the con, or said changes should be made, they simply suggested events that could be run alongside the con.

The guys from The 3rd PLace have done a great job witht he guest list so far, as John said it's 5 months away a lot can happen between now and then. I think some things may have been taken a little too personally and perhaps were phrased a little badly. Deep breath everyone!

Now who mentioned Carlos Pacheco? I love that guy.

Fysh

Shut up you with your conciliatory tone, stop trying to distract people from my attempt to raise an anti-Liefeld rabble!

the Shades

I'm pretty certain that pic is doctored. Yeah Liefield has all the artistic talent of an ant on crack but those breasts have been enlarged!

He usually just goes for pinheads anyway!

bombidol

nope

Uncle Spunk

Ah nuts, just as I get reconnected to the net, the Dublin Con arguement is over.
Well all I got to say is I think we all realise it's a commercial venture and the type of fans it'll attract don't care much about indies and definitely not small press. Are there female comic artists anyway? Like big names in the biz?

In terms of supporting the Irish artists, Mr Hendrick is by far the best shop in Dublin to deal with and a decent bloke.It's a huge gamble for him to do this and we should be glad to have ANY comics event, be it mainstream or otherwise.

Who cares anyway? Comics are gay.

bombidol

Im going to touch your willy at the con Bob. Just so you know.

Fysh

Heh, you're assuming you'll be able to find his willy, bombidol...

As for the women in comics thing, Cully Hamner, Gail Simone and Becky Cloonan are three names that come to mind straight away for me. There aren't as many high-profile women in comics, but this list is a good starting point...

Emmett

Cully Hamner is a girl? Didn't know that. She's one of my favorite artists. I used to go to school with a guy named Cully, wonder was he a girl too.

Fysh

Doh. Just went and checked and no, Cully Hamner is in fact a bloke. Dunno why I thought he was a she; some sort of crossed wire somewhere. Sorry bout that.

Eamo71

Jonesy3110 wrote:

Do you think if Stan Lee came along and wanted to make a few tiny changes to the con he'd get the same snide reply?

Saying that though, I just want to point out that I'm really looking forward to it The whole line up, while it may not appeal to others, totally appeals to me :P

Oh yers PLEASE!! Stan Lee would be great. Let's work to get the creator of the MU over here next year that'd be cool!!

Emmett

Stan Lee would be a awesome guest. I'd pay to see that guy on a pub crawl around Dublin.

J Hendrick

Emmett wrote:

Stan Lee would be a awesome guest. I'd pay to see that guy on a pub crawl around Dublin.

Stan would indeed rock, but he's a very busy man.

I've actually contacted Stan before about it all but the dates have never been good for him.

Just want to clear a few things up here, over the last few days and at the last meeting we all had about the con a few things were brought to my attention.

First up is this post by Cliodhna Lyons on her live journal.

Update The dates for the Dublin City Comic Con [or rather John Con cus its easier] were posted during the week but after my comments on this thread I will more then likely not be attending [or welcome if the emails and general comments from others are anything to go by].

Am I annoyed? No not really, disappointed? Maybe a little, not over the con [the highlight of last years was the comic jam in the pub after which was nothing to do with con] but rather the fact that what I said was mis-communicated and blown up into something it wasn't. If my comments were misunderstood as me demanding the con do this that or the other thing, well shame on me for not making myself understood. All I wanted was to have a comic jam, even said I do all the work and pay for it - this someone how became me wanting to take over the con and make it all small press. I will hold my hand up and say I wasn't the most tactful in my replies to the con people [I will not say "management committee" as that is the most stupid title i've ever heard] but honestly the emails i got from them were very condescending and it was a knee jerk reaction, I actually could have been so much worse.

Actually wait I am annoyed, people have been emailing and messaging me with some rather stupid comments the majority of them being "john is working so hard on this how dare you try and bring him down" WTF? Where the hell did I do that? I am well aware that I am loud and abrasive but I don't tend to shout my mouth off cus I want attention like I've seen somepeople do, I tend to only comment on stuff I have some knowledge on. Also since when has it been the case that if someones worked hard on something we are suddenly not allowed have an opinion/comment on it?

It's a shame really, the whole comic book "industry" in ireland is such a mess at times. Too many big fish in one very small pond. And all way to clicky most of the time - your either in with Robs lot or now it seems Johns lot. Granted there are the few who float back and forth between the two and respect to them that do but honestly its to much like a flash back to secondary school for me.

Sometimes I wonder if I should learn to keep my big trap shut but at the end of the day what would that achieve? I'd just end up annoyed at myself for being a blind sheep following everyone else. Better to be unpopular with others then with myself cus at the end of the day I spend alot more time with me then I do with anyone else.

OK, I'll be honest here, I actually was kind of aware some people were unhappy about something, and even though there's a post from me in this thread, i didn't actually write it. The lads have access to this account if they need it and can post here if the want to. I don't mind. Now, as I said, i knew some people were unhappy about stuff but I reviewed everything that was brought to me on Thursday. I read all of the emails, all the posts here and on other forums as well as the above post. And I think i should at least attempt to respond to some things.

OK, I'm going to start with bits from the above post and work my way though some other stuff, here goes.

Update The dates for the Dublin City Comic Con [or rather John Con cus its easier] were posted during the week but after my comments on this thread I will more then likely not be attending [or welcome if the emails and general comments from others are anything to go by].

OK, first off, while I'm in charge of the over all con, it's not John Con, a lot of other people are involved with this, and give their time freely and want to make it a good and inclusive event.

Also, I'm not entirely sure where you got the impression you weren't welcome. I've not seen that said by any of my crew, either here or anywhere else. Not once were you told that in any of the emails exchanged between you and either Dave or Bruno. So, as i said, unless you're referring to someone else, who has nothing to do with the con and therefore not under my general control I really can't guess how you came to this opinion.

Am I annoyed? No not really, disappointed? Maybe a little, not over the con [the highlight of last years was the comic jam in the pub after which was nothing to do with con] but rather the fact that what I said was mis-communicated and blown up into something it wasn't. If my comments were misunderstood as me demanding the con do this that or the other thing, well shame on me for not making myself understood. All I wanted was to have a comic jam, even said I do all the work and pay for it - this someone how became me wanting to take over the con and make it all small press. I will hold my hand up and say I wasn't the most tactful in my replies to the con people [I will not say "management committee" as that is the most stupid title i've ever heard] but honestly the emails i got from them were very condescending and it was a knee jerk reaction, I actually could have been so much worse.

Actually Cliodhna, they weren't condescending replies at all. they were polite and respectful, something that having read your emails to my staff, I can't say about yours. In fact, I'm very impressed my crew were as polite as they were. because some of the emails you sent were just plain rude and ignorant, and having then posted online and saying what you've said here has actually annoyed me. As you're painting my staff as being something they're not.

If you really want to go down this route I have zero problems with actually posting these emails online and letting the public decide for themselves, but I wouldn't like it to come to that. I do think if people actually read these for themselves then they may get a different impression of how this actually started, rather than the way you have portrayed it online. But make no illusions to the fact that where you say you were misunderstood or miscommunicated. You weren't. You were rude and still you received polite replys. Something that you didn't actually deserve. but my staff were professional in how they dealt with you and I am quite honestly offended that you would say they were anything but to other people here and in other places.

I also think it's ridiculous that you didn't even wait until the comic cons schedule was even posted before you started doing this. There are events scheduled for both small press and the Irish comics scene. In fact these events were scheduled even before Bristol, I honestly didn't see you there but if you had have just asked i would have been more than happy to have talked to you about them and listened to any suggestions you may have had.

[I will not say "management committee" as that is the most stupid title i've ever heard]

Well I'm very sorry this annoys you, but that's exactly what we are.

Actually wait I am annoyed, people have been emailing and messaging me with some rather stupid comments the majority of them being "john is working so hard on this how dare you try and bring him down" WTF? Where the hell did I do that? I am well aware that I am loud and abrasive but I don't tend to shout my mouth off cus I want attention like I've seen somepeople do, I tend to only comment on stuff I have some knowledge on. Also since when has it been the case that if someones worked hard on something we are suddenly not allowed have an opinion/comment on it?

Hmmm, see, this is something I have zero control over too. I can't stop people from having opinions or making comments, i can't tell them to stop nor will I. I never messaged you and asked any of these things. And while I'm grateful that there are people who will defend me and the effort being put into the con, however where you say you only comment on things you have knowledge on, I disagree here. You knew nothing of the cons events but you were still rude, you still posted everywhere, you still misled people into thinking my staff were something they weren't. And quite frankly, I don't think it's cool.

It's a shame really, the whole comic book "industry" in ireland is such a mess at times. Too many big fish in one very small pond. And all way to clicky most of the time - your either in with Robs lot or now it seems Johns lot. Granted there are the few who float back and forth between the two and respect to them that do but honestly its to much like a flash back to secondary school for me.

Sorry, but I don't play that game. i never have. I pay zero attention to Sub-City and will continue to do so. Why? because they have zero impact on how I make decisions. I've an awful lot of respect for Rob, he's achieved a lot with Freak Show and that should be commended. He's achieved an awful lot in his stores and I admire that. I don't however subscribe to the idea of there being a Johns gang vs. Robs gang. If people do think like that, that's down to them. I don't, never have, never will. I have better things to do in life than focus on petty rivalries.

As for your statement that the irish comics industry is a mess, i disagree. i think it's pretty bad that you've written it off like that too.

We've never had this many comics being produced before by some very talented people. You've got books like freakshow, Mbleah, Sancho, Boredom, The Shiznit, Daddy's Rules, Spell mafia and others.

You've got books being produced in the irish language, you have books that are being sold at cons and in comic stores around the world. I don't know about anyone else but I'm very happy with that. We have excellent irish talent producing web comics like Adam Murray's Drastic. So to say the industry's a mess is a little short sighted i think.

And one thing I'm not happy about, is the notion we don't support the irish comics scene.

Go ask the likes of Bob Byrne, Gar Cummings, Bob Nielson, Alan Nolan, Dec Shalvey among others.

Sometimes I wonder if I should learn to keep my big trap shut but at the end of the day what would that achieve? I'd just end up annoyed at myself for being a blind sheep following everyone else. Better to be unpopular with others then with myself cus at the end of the day I spend alot more time with me then I do with anyone else.

Nope, you shouldn't keep your mouth shut, but what you could have done was asked me personally. I wasn't here the day you sent the mails, but I'm here most days, and if you couldn't get me by email you could have called the store, or you could have dropped in.

There are literally millions of ways to get me if you're looking for me, but you were impatient, then you were rude, and now you started a mess online here and in other places.

Now that's condescending. To me and to everyone else that works hard on this venture.

Cliodhna, I'm not fighting with you here, I'm not interested in getting into an argument or a flame war or whatever, and i think it'd be better for you and for me if you did attend. I have not once said you were not welcome and I'd appreciate it if you did clarify everything in public. As this is the way you've chosen to go about this I'd prefer if you'd end it that way too.

But please don't do something like this again, because at the end of the day negative comments and feelings drags everyone down.

Now on to other points, the issue of female guests, or lack of if you like. We didn't specifically ask any creators based on their ethnicity or gender, we just happened to ask people whom we knew and who we thought the fans of comics would like to see and meet.

We asked a total of 54 creators, and yes there were women in there. We talked to them to see if they could attend and a lot of people were interested but for whatever reason they couldn't come so we've moved on and focused our attention on the guests who could.

I honestly didn't even think that it was an issue, as i don't really think like that, I was just trying to put on a big fun show that hopefully will be successful for years to come. i thought that people would be happy, I learned from all my mistakes from last years and i'm trying to put this on the map. But I guess it's true what they say, you can only please some of the people some of the time.

i would have liked if people would have actually waited to see what we had in store for the convention but I fully expect we're not going to please everyone 100%. What we are trying to do is try our hardest to please them as much as possible.

Now, as for the comment regarding the poster lacking any small press, every single con I've gone to has never had small press on the poster, they always get advertised on the site. Also, that's not the final poster. that was just to get the basic info across. there's a lot more to go on to the final poster including a couple of more guests.

Small press will indeed be supported at the convention, but we do have other issues to attend to, also there's going to be an awful lot of people at this convention and it really is a good opportunity for small press books to get some attention.

I think that's about all i have to say right now, I'll go through the rest of the thread and reply to any other questions or comments later, and I promise I'll stop by here about once a week and see if there's anything else here for me to answer.

If you have any queries please feel free to email the sore on info@irishcomicshop.com. One of the guys will get back to you. If you're asking a question specifically for me then please mark it for my attention.

Cheers folks,

J.

J Hendrick

bombidol wrote:

I'm sure John is open to anything that add's to the fun level of the event. Personally I'd like to see some stuff for kids there too. Paint painting and some free comics etc, Cause A: Apparently theres still a few kids reading! and B: I personally know a few mammys and daddys with kids that would like to go, so im sure theres more.

Yup, there will be.