The Thing is my favourite convention: it's one day, it's close to home and it's completely about small press comics. Everyone goes to the pub afterwards so it's pretty much a recipe for success all round.

This year I was fortunate enough to be sharing my table with Warwick Johnson Cadwell, who had never before been an exhibitor at a convention and his enthusiasm and excitement were certainly very infectious.

I wouldn't call myself a convention veteran but I've had a go at most of the UK conventions in the last couple of years, and it was useful to see it through the eyes of a newcomer again. WJC's work certainly got a lot of attention during the day and stardom beckons for him, that's for sure.

Our table was full of various goodies, and we had posters on the wall behind us to add a bit of comics glamour.

 

The visitor numbers were visibly down from last year, but we still had a very good day - for me it remains the convention where I get the best sales, despite some stiff competition from last year's Thoughtbubble.

I sold out of all the copies of Tozo Chapter 3 that I'd brought, as well as my slightly crude (in both senses) Queen Mum minicomics [both can be bought in the shop!]. I did a brisk trade in prints and the Birdsong anthology also sold really well. Aside from Sarah McIntyre, all the Birdsong contributors were present - it was great to finally meet Nikki Stuart, responsible for the paper birds on the wonderful cover. It was also nice to have a chat with Mike Leader who created a podcast of the show (on which I feature) which you can download from his blog here.

Thanks so much if you stopped by the table to say hello and/or buy something. There were some new faces along with the welcome regulars and I really enjoyed chatting with everybody. There are so many enthusiastic creators and comics readers out there - it's no wonder the small press scene is currently thriving. Thanks to the inspired idea of the sticker passport we also got to say hello to some keen sticker collectors working their way through the tables!

Also, how about this for a bit of fan-art:

Meet Pixel Klikker, made from Perler beads by Mike Alonso. The green eyes are translucent. (He sits on my desk guarding my tablet pen).

I was sadly remiss at picking up loot from other people's tables - I'm usually a bit careful about spending the pennies but it's becoming a bad habit. I know I'm missing out on an awful lot of good stuff, so I must remedy that next time and have a splurge. I did pick up stuff from Joe Decie, Hugh Raine, Inspired Comics, Landoism, Adam Cadwell (who it turns out is related to Warwick), Joe List, Howard Hardiman, Massacre for Boys (albeit after the event) as well as some freebies from ILYA and Darryl Cunningham.

All the positive stuff aside, I do wonder (and worry) about the future of the Thing. John Allison has articulated it very well (and very diplomatically) here.

Essentially, the organisation of the Thing needs a kick in the pants. The convention came into existence and continues to be run through the efforts of one person and we're all very grateful for it. But, since it started, other events have appeared that potentially offer better value for money in terms of service to both exhibitor and punter alike. With everyone operating on shoestring budgets, the time may come (if it hasn't started already) when people vote with their wallets, despite their affection for the Thing's unique atmosphere.

Some particular areas of concern:

a) The website. Considering the Thing is about web comics and is full of creative types, it's remarkable that its own website fails both functionally and decoratively, serving only as a booking form/table-plan for exhibitors. It should serve as an advert for the show and be a source of information for exhibitors and visitors alike, and yet so much information is regularly difficult to find and it looks pretty horrible, I'm afraid. I'm sure there are plenty of html-competent comickers who would gladly lend a hand in producing something that does the job. The Stumptown website is a good example of a site that is attractive and informative.

b) "Volunteers". I've put this in quotes as volunteering has always had a mandatory element to it and this year there were no actual true volunteers at all. Exhibitors were obliged to step in to man the ticket booth and food stall. I had to pretend to be Woodrow Phoenix (not an easy thing to do) for about an hour at his table whilst he stood on the door checking tickets. I should say that he appeared quite happy to do this but I'm sure he didn't book a table at the Thing with this in mind. The volunteer pool should be organised well in advance of the convention - there are always people happy to volunteer if they are prepared and supported properly. I know at other smaller conventions that volunteers (often local art or graphics students) are given a grab bag full of comics at the end of the day, donated by the exhibitors, or offered discounts on tables at the following year's convention.

c) Panels. These were cancelled due to lack of interest - not surprising as previous year's panels were a rather random, last-minute affair with an element of the already mentioned "volunteering". I've always thought it best if these were done away with - they are not what visitors are really there for and I think it's important to get the basics right before you try and add any frills. The stage space does make for a great chill-out/reading area - perhaps the food store could be moved up there too? It could be an exhibition space, or a drawing activity/comics jam area. Paper and pens could be left out for visitors to enter the kind of design-your-own-character/draw-your-own-comic competition that Sarah Mc and others run. In other words: entertaining, low-cost, low-manpower activities. [The cinema arrangement that usually runs is kind of a nice idea, but I suspect this is breaking the law and I've heard of other events being fined for such things.]

d) Marketing. There really isn't any, apart from that done by the exhibitors themselves. I know that part of the appeal of the Thing is the 'village fete' atmosphere but it has to grow and attract new customers or it will eventually grind to a halt. Marketing is very time-consuming but not necessarily costly financially and can reap huge dividends for all. This is a very basic thing and most exhibitors would expect it as part of the table cost (as well as a team of willing volunteers).

I hope I've made it clear that I love the Thing, and I'm making these comments with the desire that it should continue successfully, not for the sake of having a whinge. I really think all it would take to have a markedly improved convention is for the organiser to let go of a few of his duties and create a team of people from the large number of comickers that I know for a fact would love to be involved.

We'll see what the future brings and I am certainly looking forward to it.