2000AD 40th Anniversary - 11th Feb 2017 - London

[Mattofthespurs]

What really gets my goat is a conversation with the wife suggested that this would have been doable.  Just didn't even think of it as a possibility so missed the tickets.  I can't even begin to explain how envious i am of those who are able to make it.  Just hope that you all really enjoy it to make up for all of us who have to savour it vicariously.

Excuse the bitterness.

Sorry to laugh but that's my story in a nutshell too. Told the missus yesterday morning that it was going on and she said "Didn't you want to go?" Grrrrrr!

Sounds like a great time was had by all. 

[Steve Green]

KTT For Denise!

[Colin YNWA]

Well that was fun... but... might have  overdone it last night... more later when this badger in my head settles down...

[JaHawkDroid]

Well, yesterday was brilliant. Shame I couldn't stick around for Search/Destroy & the extended Doc, but I'm looking forward to that Blu-Ray release.
I s should be a more regular event (not because I want Molch-R & OW3-N's circuits to burn out) but because an annual, or biennial, celebration of 2000AD would be a marvellous thing.

[moly]

It was a fantastic day yesterday and definitely agree need to do another one if not annually at least every two years, don't want to wait until I'm nearly 60 for the next one 

[TordelBack]

Ah lads that sounds fantastic - thrilled for yiz all that it went so well. And congrats to Dan, wow!

[robert_ellis]

That was a great con. There was a ridiculous amount of talent and a great system of timed autographs. I think the queue for Carlos would still be there now if they'd let it. I got great sketches from Dylan Teague, Arthur Ranson, Patrick Goddard & Ben Willsher.  It was a pleasure to pick up Rok of the Reds 4 & 5, and chat to new Dredd droid Dan Cornwall. Having the "2000ad's Greatest Celebrating 40 years" book caused many interesting chats. Glad to hear John Smith is writing again, Colin MacNeil was up for more "Strange & Darke" and sold me some top art. Dave Kendall is hard at work on Deadworld and was doing amazing sketches. Steve Yeowell had plenty of hardcore Zenith fans lining up with their oversized hardcovers. He seemed a bit bemused by my 'New Adventures of Hitler' bootleg. Ashley Wood's Dredd print was stylish and he was happy to sign an old Anderson cover. Dave Taylor was on top form, I think he said he had some Dredd coming up and we chatted about hanging plot points from previous stories (more Judge Lamia please). Carlos Ezquerra had pages from Bitch & Necropolis at justifiably high prices. I didn't have time for the panels but the live drawing looked fun & the strontium dog presentation was enjoyed. A really great con, busy but never hellish. Another one in 5 years? A top group of Droids and an excellent crowd.

[Jim_Campbell]

Another one in 5 years?

I think I heard the spike in MOLCH-R's oil pressure from here...

[Arkwright99]

It was a great day; many thanks to all the droids who made everything run smoothly. I'd planned to mostly attend the panels but in the end spent most of the day in the Creators Mega-Way. Got some great sketches from Rodondo, Kendall, Willsher, Fraser & Coveney and managed to get Pat & Mick to sign my Cursed Earth Uncensored hardcover (just need Bolland now to complete the set); Pat also signed my Prog 1 and Carlos signed my Planet Replica Ezquerra Dredd badge. Made a special effort to get into Pat's Credo! Retrospective and was glad I stayed for Search/Destroy and the extended Future Shock! screenings. Thought about hanging around in the bar afterwards but probably a good job I didn't as all the trains to Milton Keynes from Euston were delayed and it was midnight before I got back. Very much looking forward to doing it again in ten years (if not sooner).


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[CrazyFoxMachine]

That was exceptionally brilliant. Huge congratulations to newdroid Owen Michael Johnson and Molch for pulling off something so complicated so flawlessly. They'll be getting extra oil rations well into the summer!

Despite a minor episode of croissant larceny early in the day I had an utterly glorious time. Chatting with kind and wonderful squaxx, ogling amazing droids and buying far, far too much. The only panel I managed to see was "The Future of Rebellion" with the Kingsleys. Crikey is 2000 AD lucky to be in the hands of business people who actually really love it. The brothers reminiscing over where their space spinner ended up in 1977 and admitting they fight the temptation of reading ahead and still read it as it comes out every week was... well rather overwhelming. Genuinely very inspiring.

Spent rather a lot of the day with forumer SpongeJosh and Aaron "Smurf" Murphy so kudos to those two for putting up with the lion's share of my gibbering.

My only regret was having arranged such an awkardly early train and having to sod off so soon but whilst settling on the carriage I got a message from Bolt-01 who (with the assistance of the glorious Nano-Bolt) picked up my raffle prize from Planet Replicas:





What a day!

[sheridan]

Congratulations!  Are you going to be drawing or wording?

Ignore me - I do remember having heard about the possibility before...

[Jim_Campbell]

I got a message from Bolt-01 who (with the assistance of the glorious Nano-Bolt) picked up my raffle prize from Planet Replicas

[rogue69]

great day, couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted due to feeling under the weather & getting messed about by the Hammersmith & Central line being closed. Insanely large queues for Pat Mills, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons & Carlos as expected some people queuing for over2 hours. All the artists were on top form once their hangovers had cleared from the night before. Best part of the day for me was stumbling across Cam Kennedy doing sketches as I did realise that he was at the event.

[Steve Green]

Just back home, having a table I managed to get to 0 panels, and nothing signed (those IDW hardbacks felt even heavier on the way home) and only really chatted to creators in the bar, but had a great time, saying goodbye to Pete Wells about 5 times.

[Magnetica]

Well that was my first convention of any sort ever. I had been getting a little concerned about maximising the day before hand, but a little forward planning and realising that you can't do everything really helped.

Highlights of the day for me were:

Chatting to a couple of others in the queuing and getting their perspective. Best story of the day for me was from one of them: "I have a friend who used to play football with a guy who "worked a bit" in comics. I ask him what is name was and he said "oh its Brian something...Bolland is it?""  It didn't mean anything to his friend apparently and now he has lost touch with "Brian".

Getting in early and after taking a couple of minutes to get the lay of the land, making a bee line straight for Pat Mills to sign my ABC Warriors Titan editon (no way was I lugging the Mek Files or my precious Nemesis the Warlock vol 1 around all day) and Horned God vol3 when the queue for him was only ten deep - it was approx 50 deep 20 minutes later.

Getting into virtually all the talks I had planned to, only sacrificing the Editor Reunited Panel to ensure I got into the Strontium Dog fan film.

Nice chats with Clint Langley (from whom I bought two great Slaine prints), David Roach (who had the original pages from his Prog 2000 Anderson story on display but sadly not for sale) and especially Ben Willsher (who did a great sketch for me - a Dredd profile view which really complements one of the panels in Meg 380). It was great to hear what Clint Langely and Ben Willsher are doing next.   

Top things from the panel for me: great to hear the attitude of Jason Kingsley to protecting the 2000AD brand and characters, Dave Gibbons statement that the art is there to serve the story and not be a "piece of art in its own right", Glenn Fabry's and Simon Bisley's friendly rivalry (Simon "no way could I follow Glenn's amazing pencils so I decided to paint it"; Glenn "I thought I had done a good job and then Bisley comes along!*@?"), and how eloquent a speaker Pat Mills is.

I managed to buy a load of back Progs from Orbital, which I got for Cursed Earth centre spreads - to compare against the recent hardback, just to see how close the repro is given the, ahem, discussion on here about it a couple of years ago.

I also bought the Shamballa Mega Collection volume purely because Alan Grant said it was his favourite story he has written AND then get him to sign it (whilst hardly having to queue up for it as a kindly fellow squaxx held my place in the Glenn Fabry queue).

Also what a nice man that Mr Wagner is. I bought a complete set of Rok of the Reds 1 to 5, but he had run out of 1 and 2. No problem he is just going to post them to me! What great service and what a humble man. Indeed what struck me was how appreciative all the creators I spoke to were of the love we have for what they are doing.

One thing that did strike me though was the disparity in the queue lengths for the creators. Predictably I guess the queues for Pat, John, Carlos, Fabry and Bisley seemed to stretch to Betelgeuse and back or mooovvvveee reeeaaalllly sloooowly (I never did get to Glenn as I prioritised the SD film instead) whilst some other truly top creators has no queue or a queue of one.

I finished up with the viewing of the extended version of Future Shock. I had been in two minds but when one of the producers came in and started chatting to us and said it has an extra 15 mins and that that cut will never be seen again (not even on the forecoming new DVD release with hours of extras) that was it, I couldn't miss that, even if it meant foregoing the bar.

It was also nice to catch up with a couple of guys I had met at a drink up at the back end of last year, but sadly I never did make it to the bar - not once all day - there was just too much else to do and frankly I can go to the pub anytime.

One question though - just who was Pat referring to at the end of Future Shock when he say "You haven't got an f...ing  clue what you are doing, so you can f... off" (or words to that effect)?  The way it is edited makes it look like it is Jason Kingsley, but surely not given what he and brother Chris had to say on the panel earlier in the day.(?)