Monday 5 June 2017

International Komiksiarz

This past weekend, I exhibited at the Warsaw Comic-Con – apparently the first event of its kind in the city. It was a new experience for me, too: the first time I'd tabled outside the UK, and my first broad fan convention. (I've preferred to exhibit at shows centred on comics or publishing back in the old country.) I'd also never exhibited at an event longer than a weekend, so I expected a four-dayer to be rather grueling – but the duration turned out to be perfectly fine. I met some cool folks and sent out a bunch of comics into the hands and homes of a new crowd of readers. Thanks to everyone that dropped by, bought books, and talked with me (despite my lamentable lack of Polish).

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Being a new show, the organisers wanted to try to be everything to everybody, hosting a wide range of exhibits and events relating to comics, games, manga/anime, cult film & television, spec-fic, general pop culture fandom, &c. My little table was nearby a small group of other (larger) comics-related stands, and areas dedicated to relevant workshops and signings, but some people I spoke to had hoped to find more stuff related to independent comics creators – the fundamental aspect of comics culture that was rather under-represented there. On Sunday evening, one of the organisers told me that they want to make the show more about comics in the future – so we can hope that they will build upon the experience of running a solid fan show and provide more for readers seeking comics next time.

(The convention was also twinned with a videogames event, Good Game, that took place in the next building; visitor passes provided entrance to both events. I didn't check out this section – I felt I'd already had my fill of digital gaming events after attending the previous weekend's excellent Pixel Heaven show, and Warsaw Games Week back last October – but I enjoyed the tabletop gaming stalls in the Comic-Con building.)

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Infinite thanks to Iza Ś. for keeping me company for the whole show, and helping me in countless ways (including sharing the burden of wrapping krówki – see above – which was her idea, as an edible 'business card' and a little giveaway for passing guests).