CCCCCCC Report

The Canny Comic Con Comic Chaos Creative Collaboration went really well. HUZZAH.

As mentioned in the plan, we had all kinds of activities running though the day. The 'Broken Telephone' game spiralled into delightful chaos very quickly, plenty of pages of Justice League Unlimited #0 were redrawn - with differing degrees of reinterpretation, some unusual characters were designed around concepts as varied as 'confused' and 'likes fish', and assorted other doodling and nonsense occurred.

Indeed, one of the nicest things about running these events is seeing people just making comics - particularly younger artists, and early on, it was great to see the creation of both a maths quiz comic and a wordless adaptation of a Pink Panther cartoon! Sequential art is a language that is intuitive and almost limitless in scope! COOOOOOMMMMMIIIIIIICCCCCCCSSSSSS  YYYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

Anyway, some great stuff. And the redrawing exercise started at the CCCCCC in December is now complete - we have a set of pages that approximately resemble Amazing X-Men #1. It's sublime stuff.

We also had some specific sessions:

Lydia, editor of the Newcastle Science Comic Asteroid Belter, ran a workshop on infographics. It was awesome. She's written a full report here.

And we wrapped up the day with a debate to decide: what is the best comic that people probably haven't read yet but probably should? Twelve intrepid advocates made their cases, there was voting, and this is what happened...

Cheers to Terry W for the photo

It was great. ALL of the comics that were suggested are very worthy of your attention, so here are the details of what's in print, what's in the library, what's online, etc. Be aware not all the comics are suitable for all ages, so check before proffering these comics to youngsters. Otherwise though, all very interesting choices and worth a look! To check availability of library stock just check their catalogue.

WINNER!
Mercy
by J.M. DeMatteis & Paul Johnson. Out of print but generally not too hard to track down second-hand.

RUNNER UP!
Nimona
by Noelle Stevenson. Online at http://gingerhaze.com/nimona/comic/page-1

SEMI-FINALISTS!
Strangehaven
by Gary Spencer Millidge. Available to buy and for loan from Newcastle City Library (all three volumes).

The Other Side
by Jason Aaron & Cameron Stewart. Unclear, but seems to be in print and available to buy.

OTHER FINE COMICS!
Doctor Who: Voyager and Doctor Who: The World Shapers
by various creators. Available to buy. The World Shapers available for loan from Newcastle City Library.

Full Metal Alchemist
by Hiromu Arakawa. Available to buy and some (including the first, but not all twenty-seven) volumes available for loan from Newcastle City Library.

I Kill Giants
by Joe Kelly and J.M. Ken Nimura. Available to buy and for loan from Newcastle City Library.

Jesus Monkey Pants In Space
by Michel Lacombe. Online at http://kimiq.com/jmpis/en/2012/10/09/jmpis-page-01/ 

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea
by Guy Delisle. Available to buy and for loan from Newcastle City Library.

Sugar Glider
by Daniel Clifford, Gary Bainbridge & various. Available to read online and buy in print via http://sugarglidercomics.co.uk/

Tales of the Beanworld
by Larry Marder. Three volumes available to buy.

The Arrival
by Shaun Tan. Available to buy and for loan from Newcastle City Library.


Okay, that's it.


Thanks to: Newcastle City Library for hosting, Lydia and Mike for running stuff, Travelling Man Newcastle for the comics to redraw, all the advocates in the debate, and everyone who came along and did stuff.

The Canny Comic Con Comic Chaos Creative Collaboration

So first there was the CCC, then there was the CCC 2, then there was the CCCCCC, and just when you thought there were no more tenuous letter-C-based names left, we bring you the CCCCCCC - the Canny Comic Con Comic Chaos Creative Collaboration!

whaaaaaat?!

First, some background:

Awesome North East public libraries (Newcastle, Gateshead and Stockton) are running a whole series of comics events over the summer under the banner 'Comic Chaos'. You want  kids' workshops with TeesToons Ingi and Art Heroes? YOU GOT 'EM! You want to design a character to win a trip to the British Library's tremendous 'Comics Unmasked' competition? HECK YEAH! You want a manga/anime/cosplay event in Gateshead? TASHIKA NI!

As part of this bonanza of comicking, and in association with Asteroid Belter: the Newcastle Science Comic and the unstoppable Paper Jam Comics Collective, we're bringing you the CCCCCCC, a day of free fun comics stuff for everyone - all day (10am till 4.30ish) on Saturday 9th of August at Newcastle City Library.


What kind of stuff?

Draw comics! Join in with collaborative art games, do some doodling, design characters, make comics and learn how to make better comics!

If you came to the CCCCCC in December, you'll be familiar with some of the activities we're running - making foldie mini comics, a big art jam, a character design wall, collaboratively redrawing a comic page-at-a-time, and the 'broken telephone' game (alternating an illustration and description without seeing previous stages). If none of that makes any sense, let us assure you: it will be: creative fun, accessible, really laid back and suitable for everyone of all ages and abilities.

Use comics! Comics techniques are used in many settings - Asteroid Belter science comic editors will be talking about putting scientific information into graphical form. You know those things on the internet and in newspapers that are kind of like graphs but also kind of like pictures with numbers and words? Like, graphic presentation of information? They’re infographics. We’ll use examples to find out what makes good, bad, and misleading infographics. Then it’s over to you to create better ones (or to take great joy in making a really misleading one).

This session is run as part presentation, part hands-on workshop. Starts at 11am, suggested for ages 14 to adult. Places are limited so book a spot in advance: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/canny-comic-con-comic-chaos-creative-collaboration-use-comics-workshop-tickets-12331699445


Read comics! Of course, the City library has a great collection of comics, graphic novels and manga to borrow from.  Plus we'll have a stall you can purchase some great new self-published comics from Newcastle's Paper Jam Comics Collective and other local creators.

However: a question: WHAT IS THE BEST COMIC THAT YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T READ YET?

We're going to wrap up the day by trying to sort out this question - and we want your help! Various comic readers and makers will each be advocating for what they think is the best unheralded comic gem that most folks probably haven't read yet. Then there might be some audience voting and mucking about to decide on a 'winner', but really everyone's a winner, and it's all just an excuse to hear about fantastic comics that are worth checking out.

Furthermore: do you think you know comics pretty well? Can you present an informal but basically coherent explanation of why everyone should check out an underrated comic classic? Then get involved! Drop us a line and we'll try and fit you into our roster of comics advocates! It'll be aaawesome. (The comics being advocated for don't have to be suitable for everyone but the presentations and general vibe of the discussion should be fairly suitable for all, certainly older kids upwards).



Sounds pretty good, huh? Put it in the diary and get yerself along!

Queries or suggestions or anything, give us a shout! See you soon!

What does 2014 hold?

Who knows? Hopefully: things involving comics, right? Fingers crossed, there'll be more CCC events at some point soon. We'll announce officially when anything's definite. If you've got any thoughts or suggestions, drop us a line.