[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-space-princess-king-cupcake-land-on-planet-inverness":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"And the inhabitants were friendly! Stuart and I headed up to Scotland for our first-ever visit to the \u003Ca href=\"http://www.hi-ex.co.uk/\">Highlands International Comics Expo\u003C/a> or \u003Cb>Hi-Ex\u003C/b>. It was also Stuart's first experience of running a festival table, and I think he's still decompressing from the strange voyage. \\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex_fpipic-0e3ac0b502.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>Photo thanks to Joe Gordon (whom I met in person for the first time, yay!) at \u003Ca href=\"http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2010/hi-ex-2010-a-great-hurl-in-the-highlands/\">Forbidden Planet International\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nHere's a comics jam I did with DFC crewmates \u003Ca href=\"http://www.pawqualitycomics.blogspot.com/\">Jim Medway\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.daveshelton.com\">Dave Shelton\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.garynorthfield.co.uk\">Gary Northfield\u003C/a>. \\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l27/jabberworks/uploads2010/hiex_dfc_comicjam_lg.jpg\">\u003Ci>(Click on pic to embiggen)\u003C/i>\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l27/jabberworks/uploads2010/hiex_dfc_comicjam_lg.jpg\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex_dfc_comicjam_sm-9c8f4390b7.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nHi-Ex had some great photo ops, here's Dave, Jim and Gary:\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex023-b3f40f3a46.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more LOADS of drawings and photos under the cut-->\\r\nAnd after months of only managing to grab a few rushed words in passing with \u003Ca href=\"http://www.asiaalfasi.com/about.php\">Asia Alfasi\u003C/a>, I finally got to have a long chat with her in Jimmy Chung's Chinese restaurant, hurrah! She'd been drawing portraits all day, but I talked her into doing one more with me and we swapped.\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex011-71a1189fa1.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nGary and I led a workshop called \u003Cb>Stupidmonsters & Aliens: comics from outer space\u003C/b>. (\u003Ci>Stupidmonsters\u003C/i> is a mini comic Gary did awhile back.)\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex020-d5eccfda11.jpg\"> \u003Ca href=\"http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l27/jabberworks/uploads2010/hiex004lg.jpg\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex004-bde465481d.jpg\" width=\"250\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l27/jabberworks/uploads2010/hiex004lg.jpg\">\u003Ci>(Click to enlarge)\u003C/i>\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nHere's a picture from the workshop and another book of comic strips a guy brought in that he'd made:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex021-358f271a59.jpg\"> \u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex010-764fbb11d7.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere are Ishara and Freya with their alien pictures; these gals spent 18 hours on a coach to get from Bath to Hi-Ex. that's dedication!\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex008-6374c1e17f.jpg\" width=\"330\"> \u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex007-284b98a78e.jpg\" width=\"330\">\\r\n\\r\nGary, Jim, Dave and I did several comics jams right at our table with some of the visitors. This one's by Jim, me and a girl named Amy.\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex013-644d0477a6.jpg\">\\r\nHere's a fab example of four people making three panels: Amy did the first, Jim did the second, I inked the third and Fiona coloured it in. The other one has panel borders by Jim and comics by the beautifully face-painted visitor.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex016-43df7c46a6.jpg\"> \u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex014-618e98c7e5.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nJim Medway's table and his alien:\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex001-f857df9cdb.jpg\">\\r\nHere's an amazing cat picture I got from Jim, which reminds me of some very old Russian woodcut pictures. I'm totally going to treasure this one. \\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/medwaycat-5dbf5defd6.jpg\"> \\r\n\\r\nWe had a crowd of zombies come through, so he also drew some zombie cats.\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex019-367539d826.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nDave Shelton had some blank WANTED posters made up to tie in with his \u003Ca href=\"http://www.davidficklingbooks.co.uk/davidficklingbooks_dfclibrary.asp\">\u003Ci>Good Dog, Bad Dog\u003C/i>\u003C/a> book, part of the DFC Library (which will be launching my \u003Ci>Vern and Lettuce\u003C/i> this September). I got a text from him on the train informing me that he was staring blankly out the window, so I tried to get him to draw me a sheep, then an octopus in a fedora, and he obliged.\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex015-126329a7f0.jpg\" width=\"330\"> \u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex005-2510d4cfa6.jpg\" width=\"320\">\\r\n\\r\nThe Hi-Ex room had these great projections on the wall, so I got Dave to pose with his canine detectives Kirk Bergman and Duncan McBoo. (Freya and Ishara helped prop them up.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex_gdogbdog3-61ba22f437.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex_gdogbdog2-955a706384.jpg\"> \u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex_gdogbdog1-4f1dd9e4ce.jpg\" width=\"370\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's \u003Cb>Cliodhna Lyons\u003C/b> (\u003Ca href=\"http://ztoical.livejournal.com/\" class=\"lj-user\">ztoical\u003C/a>) at her booth. While we were at the pub on the the second night, Cliodhna came back very excitedly from the loo, telling us the ladies room had pay-as-you-go hair straighteners! It was that kind of pub. We were well amazed.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex017-09335294b4.jpg\"> \u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex012-c025eda541.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nGary Northfield had lots of mini comics and his \u003Ci>Derek the Sheep\u003C/i> book, assisted by our studio mate Stitchette \u003Cb>Lauren O'Farrell\u003C/b>, head of 7,000-member-strong \u003Ca href=\"http://www.stitchandbitchlondon.co.uk\">Stitch & Bitch London\u003C/a>. She knitted a tiny Loch Ness Monster, then left wee Nessie to fend for herself in her natural environment by the River Ness.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex018-dfb1112870.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex003-30c715aa3f.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSome more marvellous aliens at our table: \\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex025a-f43ade8256.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex025b-fcb7f52d02.jpg\">\\r\n**You can download pdf files of the alien activity sheets \u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/new/princess.html\">on my webpage\u003C/a> for \u003Ci>\u003Cb>You Can't Eat a Princess!\u003C/i>\u003C/b>.**\\r\n\\r\nThe fabulous \u003Cb>Gary and Mhairi\u003C/b> in all their glory: \\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex022-441e48a572.jpg\"> \\r\n\\r\nA family of superheroes:\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex006-4ba0c96d19.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's our tables:\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex024-fbc25f9967.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd the dudes we hung out with on the very long voyage back home:\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex_cheryl_john-2960ecc8f9.gif\"> \u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex_richard_julie-f6c544fe47.gif\">\\r\n\\r\nTo finish, a HUGE THANKS goes to \u003Ca href=\"http://picofdaybalnacra.blogspot.com/\">Vicky Stonebridge\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://twitter.com/richclements\">Richmond Clements\u003C/a>, the couple who made the whole festival happen, along with their daughter Ish and her boyfriend Lukáš. They were amazing, so extremely helpful, good natured and well organised. (You guys are total stars!) I wish I'd got a photo of Vicky in her amazing red boots or Rich in his white suit, but you can at least \u003Ca href=\"http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2010/hi-ex-2010-a-great-hurl-in-the-highlands/\">see the suit on the FPI blog entry\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/hiex002-25b9e60478.jpg\">","2010-03-30T17:40:00.000Z","space-princess-king-cupcake-land-on-planet-inverness",[],"space princess & king cupcake land on planet inverness!",1776628717839]