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Creativity starves insanity
Back again at the Centrepoint, the Comicfest reared its cheapass once again. The queue to enter wrapped itself all around the floor of the AMP Tower. So much so that a couple of vested chaps came out and redirected the line to face itself. As long as it was it managed to smoothly move itself along. The entry fee was were it all went down hill. Carefully placing three two dollar coins in the palm of some near sighted geriatric I waited for my dollar in return. She questioned me on why I was still standing there after having relinquished the coins. I demanded the dollar back and went on in after being apologised to.
A whole floor was dedicated to card gaming and ultra expressive cartoons. On the second floor there was the usual load of comics and nothing more. On the farside wall lined a slew of Australian publishers and artists. Along the "Artists Alley" there were the folks from Phosphorescent, OzComics and Reelism. In the furthermost corner was Eddie Campbell. Somewhere on that floor was the veritable "Mister Conan" Roy Thomas. The third level laid nothing but chairs all facing a small table. I spent most of the convention there.
Comics: From Go to Whoa panelled by the guys from Phosphorescent Comics was enjoyable, for a time it looked like I was going to be the only audience member. The seminar after that was the standard bore of some University lecture pulling out transparency after transparency. In conjunction with that was a panel of local artists, with a visibly timid or shaken Dillon Naylor. Some guy in front of me kept touching his lip, probably to let Naylor know that the mike could not pick up his voice.
I walked out for lunch, or whatever you do when you think you might soon get a rumbling.
Back and up again to the third level I was expecting some talk on the 1986 Convention, some say the best ever. Instead, Christian Read and Paul Abtruse or Aggett walked in and ate their lunch. They proceeded to make bong noises and spit all over the mikes. I, along with a few others, participated in their impromptu appearance. It was then that I realised that there wasn't any Skroce affected comics to be found. Read and Aggett remarked how Steve Skroce was renowned for being able to draw the best teeth. There were a few other artistic strong points discussed, like someone being fantastic with fences and another with midshots. A little while after having finished their slighty burnt meals they coaxed three of us up onto the table to take over. A half hour of nothing but comments on the stragglers and the dead con.
Then came four o'clock
Roy Thomas, best known for keeping the Conan mythos alive, walked onto the stage. For two hours he was to talk about the Barbarian. I couldn't believe they flew past that quick. From his initial involvement of writing the first comic to be able to pay for some extra licensing money to the Robert E. Howard estate, all the way to his involvement with the movies, Thomas had the small audience listening to every word. Either that or they kept nodding for no apparent reason. He stated that the biopic on Howard's life was the best biopic he had ever seen and a beretted man in front of me confessed that a story by Thomas on Howard had given him nightmares. I left the con soon after the talk wrapped up.
I still have no idea on why they had some cameras floating around the place earlier that morning. Typically they took shots of small kids talking to the artists and bigger kids pawing through old back issues. You soon learn that the back issues never change from con to con.
Soon Van - Tuesday, 11 September 2001 - 05:32
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