Dreddcon 4

petemaskreplica · 07 December, 2003, 07:24:31 AM

what splendid fun that was!

Thanks to Jamie for organising a top day, and all the many boarders who provided such excellent drinking company.

Right, then... sketches? anecdotes? let's have 'em! I'll scan the luvverly pics I got later, for now here's a photo of a group of drunken layabouts :)

http://mysite.freeserve.com/petemaskreplica/photos/Dreddcon_4_6.JPG">

Bolt-01 · 07 December, 2003, 01:50:33 PM

Got there early and watched thm trying to get organised. Hilarious.

Met: David Brunt (Sorry about the confusion :))
Oddboy: nice earring.
Bart Diaz: Good time for a quick drink that was.
PVS: briefly.
Dudley: not enough time to natter, should've stayed in the Carlos Q with me, but he went to the back (there were only 5-6 people after me)
The Watcher: Again briefly.
The Trouts minion: What's a nice bloke like him doing with the Trout?
Mr Tips: Nice Jacket.
Mr C: Outside the snooker room with a sarnie in his hands.

There were probably loads of boarders there that I never met, and I have found that taking your twelve year old is great fun, as whilst I q'd for an hour the meet Mr Carlos, Dan got sketches from every other artist sitting at the time!

Thoroughly enjoyed my first 'con in fifteen years, and will make the effort next year too.

The biggest news I got was from Mr Steve Yeowell, the return of Tyranny Rex. By him and John Smith.

Thanks as well to the HeroClix Creche facility for giving Dan somewhere to hang whilst I went to the cave-scribbler rejection session.

Bolt-01

Mangamax · 07 December, 2003, 02:11:42 PM

Ah right, so that was you alongside me nattering to Steve Yeowell.
Your boy sure had some nice sketches

Bolt-01 · 07 December, 2003, 02:35:43 PM

Dang, should've introduced myself!

Dan has lovely sketches, and I've asked if he will let me send 'em to the board.

He got:

Zenith (MK1) by Steve Yeowell
Finnegan Sinister: Simon Davis.
Slaine: Mike Collins
Bato Loco: Simon Coleby
Holt (Asylum): Boo Cook (Dans personal choiceas fave artist of the day, and a thoroughly nice man)
Strontium Dog: God drew that. It waslike watching a poloroid photo emerge from the gloom. I have never seen an artist produce such effortless beauty. And he even has a Daniel of his own.

Bolt-01

James · 07 December, 2003, 02:52:35 PM

I wanna see. Get 'em scanned and up on the site.

James · 07 December, 2003, 02:54:07 PM

Forgot to say. If you don't have a scanner, send 'em to me in the post and i'll do it for you. I promise to give 'em back. Honest.

(he he he)

paulvonscott · 07 December, 2003, 03:00:49 PM

Yeah I enjoyed it! There was lots of news to be picked up about what's happening next year (from the talks and those droids) and it all sounded pretty groovy. The bringing back of Invasion, which seemed like such a mad idea suddenly appeared so rational.

Didn't buy that much (but still came away with pennies to my name), I was hoping to buy a couple of early progs (there were none, just as Watcher has said elsewhere it was just the mid range stuff, no later progs I needed either), but settled for the Big Finish Sale and got some of the CD's.

Didn't get any sketches, but it was just nice getting to watch Carlos drawing Alpha's for people. Got a few books signed by poeple, more of an excuse to say hello really. Got stuff signed by Steve Yeowell, Ian Gibson, John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra... basically all the older droids ;). I wish I'd let him draw the willy on Dredd he threatened to, it would have been a new revelation, I could even publish pictures of people looking at it and going 'AIIEEE! It's hideous' and start off a whole new Dredd's Dark Secret...

No John Smith or Brett Ewins (that I noticed - though I was stuck in the bar a lot) which was a shame. And I hope Siku wasn't put off by all the grief over a pointy chin, the gulf between opinionated message board rants and people in real life is pretty wide.

Got the new Extreme PJ Maybe which is pretty damn good. I've pretty much got my most wanted reprint, so anything after this is a bonus. Was trying to keep it to read in one go, but I read half of it after watching Magnum Force last night (MF which apart from being brutal and fantastic, seemed loaded with Dredd moments).

Enjoyed the talk about what was coming next year, missed the big panel as I got stuck in the bar. Had great fun talking rubbish to all the boarders, sorry for anyone I missed (even if you weren't), it all seemed so random and chaotic.

Oh and some breaking news from Paul Cornell, he has a book coming out soon, it's called British Summertime and it's available from all good bookshops soon ;) (It's okay Paul, you can take off the moustache now, the Fatwah is lifted)

Oh and the student punk on the door was explaining 2000AD to some students who felt they had a right to use the venue. "Oh, it was something that was big in the seventies apparently..."

If only Mek-Quake had turned up.

Mangamax · 07 December, 2003, 03:02:02 PM

Yeah, Carlos is such a sweet man but boy was he tired.
Great to have a natter while he produced an Alpha for me - more Coburn on the way!

paulvonscott · 07 December, 2003, 03:03:32 PM

The queue for Carlos was huge all day, and he spent much more time than he was supposed to sketching stuff. I collared him in the bar when he was trying to relax, so cheers again Carlos.

Mangamax · 07 December, 2003, 03:19:20 PM

"... hope Siku wasn't put off by all the grief over a pointy chin..."
From what i gathered, that was EXACTLY why he was a no-show.

paulvonscott · 07 December, 2003, 03:59:27 PM

"It's an ill chin that blows nobody any good..."

Anyway... good con, good con...

Art · 07 December, 2003, 04:05:07 PM

Excellent day, excellent benue. Could do with a PA system in the talks room tough.

Buddy · 07 December, 2003, 04:38:55 PM

Just woken up with a hangover after the nights events.

Had a great time, & many thanks to all the boarders I met there, top blokes each and every one.

Delighted to get a Dredd sketch from Carlos (although kinda regretting not getting Alpha, I think he just goes through the motions when doing Dredd, but Alpha is a character he has more interest in, so makes that little bit more effort when sketching).

Real pleased to meet Gibson (got a Halo sketch), and of course many thanks to the Mighty Jock for that Mean Machine sketch.

Buddy · 07 December, 2003, 04:45:08 PM

Oh, and I bought a few Hellblazer pages from The Mighty Jock, gonna have to buy a house now to put 'em in!!

DavidXBrunt · 07 December, 2003, 05:05:04 PM

Great day, met some nice people. The Shed do was nice and informal, as was the session in the bar afterwards, which was nice. Good to see so many people and droids enjoying themselves.

Predictably most of the news I got was about the Big Finish range, which was nice. For now it's enough to say that Johnny Alpha WILL return. Lots of other news which can't be shared.

Prediction for the new year - Chopper will go down a storm.

Biggest regret - not buying any Middenface McNulty art. Maybe in the new year...