JULY 2, MIC BBQ!

I always suggest having stuff at Bowness. Mainly because there is so much for the little ones to do there.

Location doesn't matter to me as much as date. I will be in town that weekend, and I'd love to go (the bruises from kicking myself for missing the ACCA show should almost be gone by then) but I don't know what my schedule will be--I'm almost certain to be onsome panels at WesterCon at some point during the day.

Are you thinking afternoon or evening for the BBQ?

A

Well, I'd definitely make an effort to be there, regardless of when it takes place. I'll even ask the programming committee to let me off the hook on Saturday afternoon, though in my experience, they probably won't listen...

Pretty sure Derek is going to be at WesterCon this year, not sure about any other MICers, though the more the merrier. If anyone is going to attend, I'm sure the committee could use some people to fill out the fourteen panel spots they've set aside for comics (again, against my advice.)

A

Fourteen panelists I could deal with--fourteen panels is what I'm worried about.

At Con-Version, I could at least generally get people willing to take part in panels in for free. WesterCon expects everyone who isn't a guest of honour to pay a considerable amount just to get in the doors...it makes me nervous about asking people to then volunteer their time, as well as their money, to take part in programming.

When it comes to comics programming, Con-Version's always seemed a curious beast to me. As far as I can tell, there's a small core of people who're interested in the medium, but I've never been satisfied with comic panel attendance at the con--we'd generally get the same 6-12 people showing up all weekend for the six to eight panels. Those who're interested are die-hards, but...I always wished there was more interest, or more overlap between the programming streams.

Not really knowing who's going to be showing up at WesterCon from the comics creative community, and not knowing how what sort of emphasis WC has put on comics in the past, and being of a generally pessimistic bent, I'm very concerned that there won't be either sufficient interest in either taking part in, or viewing, fourteen separate comics-oriented panels.

I hope I'm wrong, but who knows. In any event, I've sent Randy McCharles, who I believe is handling programming this year, a mail mentioning that you're willing to take part in panels, in case he didn't already know it/assume it (assuming participation being something the CV programming committee has been very guilty of on a couple of occasions, leading on one memorable occasion to a "panel" that consisted of me sitting alone in front of a dozen people, ad-libbing for forty-five minutes.)

A

Bowness would be easier for me, personally. No real preference other than my own convenience, though- sounds fun. :D

Any place is okay with me.

But, just so I'm clear here: This BBQ will be taking place at the exact same time as "Westercon" is going on, right?

I don't really know what Westercon is (does it even have anything to do with comics?), but I'm just wondering if it might be better to schedule it some other time because a whole bunch of people might choose to stay at the Con while the BBQ is happening.

(I myself will try to be at the BBQ whenever it takes place - I'm mainly wondering about other people.)

July 2? gah... You just HAVE to make it right at the end of my deadline. Grrrr

I'm pretty flexible with the timing as long as it's on a weekend. And both Bowness and N. Glenmore are way the hell out there for me, so either will do. Woooooo!Smokies!!!

BOWNESS PARK is the winner!
SBM (Shelly) has noted we can reserve a spot early, and get fire wood. Someone has to make it out early and be WOOD SECURITY and place holder? Any volunteers?

Thanks for the info Shelly.

G.

Well, Con-Version and especially WesterCon do involve a lot of discussion among the creative community--but the community there is slanted heavily towards prose, rather than comics. IFWA usually has one of the guests of honour run a writing workshop before the con, and relationships built there are frequently strengthened over the weeked, there's the short story contest, which involves professional writers and editors critiquing the work of the finalists, and so on. There's a concerted effort going on this time with a lot of novel-writing IFWits to really make a connection with the Tor editor(s) who'll be in attendance, the poor saps.

There is frequently a core group of comics folk kicking around--it's not unusual to find me, Derek, Tiina, Jim Beveridge, Adrian Kleinbergen, and/or a few others hanging out in the consuite, discussing comics (among other diverse topics); comic theoretician Richard Harrison also frequently takes part in the C-V, though he usually only shows up for a single day.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I always feel a little isolated at Con-Version. Maybe it's just me (I hope it is, really), but I can never shake the feeling that comics are being looked down upon by the majority of people in attendance. This may be why I usually end up hanging out with the same five or six people most of the weekend. Then again, that might happen just because the same five or six people tend to haunt the consuite for all hours...

A

I can see the snobby writers thing, though there has been some attempt to engage other groups over the last few years, with Anime Alberta handling Anime programming, a comics stream, and so on.

The snobbiness is still in place, to a degree--as a comic guy, I've certainly felt myself dismissed, not necessarily at the con itself, but by some of the writers/readers/fans who I suspect helped earn the con the snobby tag.

That said, odds are I would never have met Derek Mah, Jim Beveridge, Claude St. Aubin, and a number of other people I'm very glad I did meet, and some of whom I now consider friends, if I hadn't been drafted to handle comics programming at the con a few years back (I volunteered in the time-honoured tradition of pregnant doging about how there was a lack of comics programming and then having "Well, if you think you can do better, fine, you're in charge of comics now" tossed back at me.)

I also strongly doubt my wife and I would ever have become more than friends if it wasn't for the one weekend a year we got to spend more than a couple hours together at a time. So, for that, if nothing else, C-V has a place in my heart.

All that said, as noted above, I'd say the time is certainly ripe for a takeover by a group with an agenda (I'd prefer an inclusive one that brings together gaming, writing, comics, costuming, anime...everything, and crosses them over, rather than runs streams independent of each other, of course, but I'll take what I can get.) The "snobby writers" have taken the con about as far as it's going to go under their control--membership, and more importantly, interest in actually putting the con on, seem to have dwindled pretty steadily since I first got involved in 2000 (think it was 2000, anyway). If it was a gamer con to begin with, maybe it's time for that group to reassert some control, and bring it back to its roots.

Out of curiosity, is there a gaming "name" that could be brought in as a GOH? Someone gamers regard the same way writers look at a George R. Martin?

I find the notion of "snobby writers" quite amusing...actually, the notion of any one group looking down on another is kind of silly, though I know it happens, all too often. Con-Version should be about making connections between the disparate communities, but...

eh. I'm rambling, now.

A

Okay, so what's the word on this? It sounds like Bowness for sure, but at what time? I took the day off of work for it, so let me know. Where abouts in the park is it at G?
I will be bringing my new comic QOM. Free copies for all!