Chapter 29: In which our hero meets a hero
Today was the second Thought Bubble Festival in Leeds. Last year’s event was, to be honest, a little under-whelming, this years however was the total opposite and one of the best days out I’ve had all year. The hall was massive, the atmosphere was excellent, the events were varied and the talent was top-notch.
There were many artists doing free sketches, with long queues (my friend queued 2 hours to get an excellent Daredevil sketch from Alex Maleev, but it was well worth the wait and I’ve never seen I’m so chuffed). I managed to get a sketch from English artist D’Israeli who is probably best know (to me anyway) for his 2000AD work, but he also did a one off issue of Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was one of my favourite issues. So, to be different, I asked for a sketch of a Ninja Turtle in a Judge Dredd outfit (which I’ll scan when I get a working scanner again!). It was a very relaxed atmosphere and was great to stand and watch him draw while chatting about comics and sharing amusing stories of past conventions, and even letting me in on the true story behind why Spider-Man was given a black costume in the 80’s, something I never knew.
After a bit of food and a quick look round the stalls it was time to queue up to meet the main person I wanted to meet, Mr Mark Millar. After about half an hour of queuing I managed to get my French edition of Civil War signed, just because I wanted something different signed to everyone else (and he seemed genuinely interested in seeing his work in a different language and format), had a quick chat and a photo. A bit of a fan boy moment for me but it really did make my day. I didn’t know what to expect but he’s a genuinely nice and funny guy, couldn’t ask for more.
After that was the Millar Hour panel, where Mark Millar spoke for an hour about his experience in the comic (And now film) industry and took questions from the floor. It was a great hour full of laughs (I love animals but the thought of him punching a fox in the face to rescue his daughters pet rabbits had me in stitches!). He even dropped a few bits of exclusive news on us which was cool, and chatted about his upcoming work as well as movies.
It was also cool to see so many small press creators there along with all the big names, selling their own self published work which they have all worked hard on.
I realised something: I’ve been fucking lazy. For years my dream has been to draw comics for a living, and for the last few years I’ve been planning a few small titles of my own and have hardly done anything, I even started this blog simply to keep a journal of my work, which has yet to start.
However, it wasn’t any of today’s events that made me realise this, it was yesterday when my mum e-mailed me and said “Have you ever done any more drawings lately to send to Marvel? You should.”
I love comics. No, I FUCKING LOVE COMICS. What am I doing wasting my life working on computers all day? I read comics, I read about comics. I love them, I love the culture, I love the history, everything. I should be fucking drawing them!!!
So while todays event has been inspiring, especially when you realise that super-stars like Mark Millar are just “normal blokes”, it’s my mum who has inadvertantly given me the kick up the arse I truly need. And it’s hit me hard.
