Hi-Ex! Hell-Trek 2012

[SmallBlueThing]

Now- absolutely no disrespect meant to the magnificent Mr Wells, and his frankly incredible blog, but my grud, all throughout that I was looking at those glorious pictures and thinking:





SBT

[Steve Green]

Kick a man while he's down...

[Pete Wells]

The Assassination List (Part 2)

1....Gavin Leahy

2....SBT

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Sunday

The day started at a more leisurely pace, compared to Saturday.

Here is the view looking out of our Penthouse apartment.


And here is our luxury dwelling


No Judge for me today as my ankle was still stiff and I had the drive in the evening, so I just enjoyed the chatting and sketching going on. We loaded the Rad Wagon up as Thelma and Louise loaded their pink mobile up and had a Hell-Trekker photo taken.


We drove over and parked the vehicle against a skip for added security and entered the con. I then poceeded to obtain a few more sketches and pages of art.

Nigel Dobbyn


John Higgins


John Higgins original page just look at the graphite on Dredd


Colin MacNeil


Colin MacNeil - Judge Karyn


Here's my victorious page from the auction by Leigh Gallagher


THE RAFFLE

The forum took over the rear left side of the seats and chatted about what they would choose if they actually managed to win anything. Most people going for the 2000AD stuff!
The first ticket was pulled out, damn none of us but a young lad from the front. The gentile sound of applause filled the air. The next ticket and another from the front, applause again. The third and it's the lad from the front again! A shout of fix fills the air and from then on as the same person wins 7 items and his friends win 4 and 3 between them. You can just imagine the boo's that filled the air, if anyone won a second item they were booed till they got back in their seat. It was hilarious!

All of a sudden Tom Proudfoot wins an item and he choose a page to the sound of cheers of delight from the forum, at last one of us has won something. Not soon after Tom wins again, still to cheers. He has in his hands a J for Jenny page and a Richard Elson Dredd page. Maybe our luck is turning! Drokk Buttonman wins and he chooses a Bunty annual 


After some more booing the raffle is finally over and Rich and Vicky thank everyone for the weekend. At this stage the Mighty Tom Proudfoot hands over the Dredd page to me and says that I can have it. I have a tear in my eye and tell him that I always thought he was the greatest letter writer to Tharg, EVER!

Just a couple more things to do, including the Forum photo. Obviously by now the non hackers had left to go back home as you will see from certain empty places in the picture. Will Pete Wells ever manage to get in one of these, I think not!

The 2000AD forum gathering Hi-Ex! 2012


All that was left was our sad goodbyes and the trip back home for the Hell-Trekkers. Again we stopped off at Buttonmans house for a little longer, as his good lady had prepared the biggest cake in the world to eat, for it was his Birthday. We ate a slice each as we listened to the superb free track from the Megazine and decided the track was crap but the cake was good.

We left at 17:00'ish and I arrived outside my door at 04:50'ish having driven a total of 1358 miles.

Roll on the next one 

One last thing, poor Jim Campbell was snowed under with work and let me know in advance and still offered to pay for the fuel as well but the deposit was enough. What a top bloke 

[Large48]

Any chance of a name call as to who is in forum photo?

[SuperSurfer]

Great art haul.

So all the cussin' was about block naming rights. Jeez, I thought it was something serious. (Ducks for cover)

Guess Pete's next commission is going to be some sort of a block war with a certain new block getting nuked.

[Buttonman]

I can exclusively reveal that the girl who asked for the Triceratops drawing was non other than the daughter of The Amstor Computer. He was therefore responsible for destroying your artwork and was laughing about how well his plan came off on Facebook (probably).

[COMMANDO FORCES]

THE BASTARD 

I knew I should have told her to sod off and get to the back of the queue (don't you teach your children manners Mr Amstor Computer  ) but my conservative values told me that I should always let women and children go first.

[Buttonman]

[Buttonman]

Any chance of a name call as to who is in forum photo?

Anything for you Guy...

[Richmond Clements]

Ben Clark is 'Satchmo' on the board.

Also: Gavin Leahy yesterday:

[johnjowens]

Hi there,

I've met some you on Friday and Saturday. I had a good at HiEx and a good laugh too.

I only managed to get 1 sketch done for me. It was Judge Death by Graeme Neil Reid. Will post as as I get it scanned. Colin MacNeil signed my Chopper book in silver! Oo, shiny!

It was fun and I'll go up there again.

Now to scan that Judge Death...

[johnjowens]

Here's a sketch from Graeme Neil Reid.

Judge Death

[The Amstor Computer]

THE BASTARD 

I knew I should have told her to sod off and get to the back of the queue (don't you teach your children manners Mr Amstor Computer  ) but my conservative values told me that I should always let women and children go first.

Erk! No laughing on Facebook here! I do remember Graeme rushing back and forward looking panicked after Rhiannon asked for a sketch, but I didn't realise what had happened - I thought it was to do with the chap before who Graeme had sketched for (the ink he was using had seeped through the sketchbook page and through the backing page he'd used and on to the next page in the book, IIRC).

Guilt-stricken now :-(

[Dog Deever]

hahahaha. I managed to avoid the forum photo shoot!
Massive props to Gav who gave me his copy of Crossed (Ennis/Burrows)
I'm due you a sketch Gav.
And Ben who gave me the second Mike Neville graphic Novel from Magic Beans.

Got a new piccy for my avatar by Colin MacNeil (will post it up once it's scanned) and steal of the con... an exclusive Buttonman sketch. I'll post them once I get em scanned.

Blame me for the raffle debacle- I was selling the tickets- lord  how I tried to fix it so I would win the Strontium Dog 'Traitor To His Kind' GN, but alas- I was rubbish.

Still, how I laughed at the thought of some poor sap going away with the dusty bin of raffle prizes- the Bunty Annual.

Great un all round again- didn''t really get to much of the talks- next year I will. There IS going to be a next year, right?