I like to think that I have this bizarre superpower that nerd events just happen around me wherever I go.  It strokes my ego.  When I arrived in Glasgow, I was feeling a bit tired on account of a roughly 45 minute hike from the bus station to the B&B I was staying in.  This was Saturday, July 5th, at about 3:30PM.  Given that it was the mid-afternoon already, I decided to take it low-key and instead have a look at what was going on in the city for the following day.

Lo and behold...Glasgow Comic-Con.


I've written before about how I feel I've tapped out my Calgary Comic Expo experience from a fan perspective.  Given that, you might think it's a bit odd that I'd want to go to another comic convention, especially when I'm on vacation and supposed to be trying new things.  Well, that's the thing about comic conventions:  for all that they exhibit similar qualities and the same basic principles, the individual artists, features, and people are all uniquely different.

When I go to Calgary Comic Expo, I know basically all the vendors that will be there.  I've seen them both at the convention and at their own stores in the city.

With Glasgow, however, it was all new to me.  I can also safely say that there was a far greater emphasis on promotion and inclusion of local artists.  A major highlight of the convention were the Scottish Independent Comic Book Alliance Awards, which were presented on the Saturday.





Naturally, in terms of sheer scale the Glasgow Comic Con was much smaller than the Calgary Comic Expo.  Yet to my eye it had far more heart to it.

I think that the evolution of most comic conventions is that they tend to grow larger and more ambitious with every passing year.  The impulse is then to bring in the biggest and trendiest industry professionals, actors, comic book artists, etc. available.  To be sure, it can be thrilling to hear that the entire Star Trek Next Generation cast is going to give a talk.  But at the same time, when you pack the saddledome with people and put that cast on a stage that you can barely make out from the nosebleeds, it has the effect of making the whole thing a tad impersonal.  It's like the photo ops I mentioned at the Calgary Comic Expo.

At the Glasgow Comic Con, I got to talk to plenty of artists one-on-one, find out about their work, their background, even their personal lives.  I picked up a whole schwack of titles just because they looked interesting, not because they were written by a big name.  This is not to say that big names don't have their place...in fact, GCC hosted A-listers like Gail Simone and Alan Grant.  It's just that they weren't buried behind a massive cue or a security cordon.  They were right out front, chatting and having a great time with everyone else.



Maybe it's a "grass is always greener" situation.  Maybe it's rose-coloured glasses.  But I think that for me, comic conventions are just more fun and have more heart to them when they focus on the little guys and less on overwhelming you with spectacle.  Food for thought.

And now, some stray thoughts...

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the sheer awesomeness that was this:

Yes.  That is Ramona Flowers.  In Scotland.  Thus proving once and for all that Toronto really IS the centre of the universe.  No but seriously, as a Canadian traveling abroad this was honestly the greatest thing to happen.

And if that wasn't enough, this wonderful lady told me that I should stick around, and wait for her friend...


I mentioned trudging 45 minutes on foot with my luggage.  This could have been avoided a few ways.  1)  check bus routes and schedules more thoroughly  2)  check foot routes more thoroughly  3)  put aside some cash for a sodding cab and just do it.