Malta Comics Convention 2009

Part 2 of the first Maltese Convention…

Hi Guys,

Well, there we were at the start of the first ever Malta comic convention, which for obvious reasons was a historic event. The organisers were obviously worried that it would turn our okay and that our needs as invited guests would be catered for.

They need not have worried as the coming hours would prove.

Outside the venue the sun was beating down and inside the atmosphere was red HOT with anticipation.

The doors were opened to the public and very soon the place began to fill up with visitors.

The time of the opening was 10:00 a.m. and our tutorial sessions were due to start at the same time, so there was scant time to sit at our tables for Mike and I, before we were both whisked off to a side room near to the cinema inside the venue to begin our work with the children.

It had been decided to run the three sessions, one for the 4–6’s another for the 6-8’s and the last for the 8-10’s. The sessions went down a great storm with all the children and Mike and I were a prefect double act. We both enjoyed doing them so much and got such a great response that I have asked Mike to come along to one of the Fantasy Art Unlimited sessions to do the same kind of thing with our group here in Blackburn.

Below: The Hotel Santana in, which we stayed:

There was a little time to attend our tables between the sessions, but not much and for me one of the organisers helped initially to look after things, whilst I was away and then Peter, the father of 13 year old artist, Inez Kristina Baldacchino took over the mantle for me, which was extremely well appreciated by me. I laughed as each time I left the tables he had folks he had spoken to on my behalf and went to find them for me, so I told everyone he was my Maltese agent.

Inez Kristina was very shy and retiring when I first met her and must have felt in awe of everything around her, amidst the whirlwind atmosphere of the convention. There are some examples of her work still up on the convention website, But I thought I would share a couple of them here on my Blog with you guys amongst tomorrow’s photographs too.

Her parents are obviously proud and supportive of her and I am sure she will one day be one of the rising stars from the Maltese comics scene.

The atmosphere was electric and full of folks having fun and was it great to find myself wrapped up inside it all. Folks everywhere were smiling, although I have to say here that everyone I met or saw on Malta was constantly smiling and seemed to be enjoying life, so the convention was I suppose bound to get the kind of reaction it did.

Once again I have to commend the organisers for their none stop attempts to make sure all the bases were covered. Okay there were a couple of small things which they are now aware of and which they will benefit from next year in hindsight, but these were very small and can be built on. There was nothing which hindered the otherwise excellent running of the convention.

Once the sessions with the children were over Mike and I returned to our respective tables and began to sketch for the fans. This did not last long however, as we were all whisked off for a late lunch in the venue café/restaurant, Inspirations.

The food was fantastic and came in large portions.

I ordered a lasagne, which came on a large plate, and I liked the look of Warren’s Pizza. The only disappointment of the day was the Inspirations waiter forgetting to order David’s food from the kitchen. He had a little of Sean’s lunch, but then headed back to the convention. We made sure after this that all the meals were ordered by the waiters. To his credit, David was very gracious to the waiter about it, when the embarrassed employee asked if he wanted to re-order it when we were part way though our meals.

This was our regular haunt for the duration of the stay and proved a great place to eat and chat for us.

After our late lunch we went back to our respective tables. I found myself sketching for the Maltese fans and also sold some Ashcans, Malta-Exclusive Posters, A2 Posters and Sketch Books. There were also some fans asking for autographs on sheets specially prepared for the event, which contained all our signatures, I was given books of my old work to sign, and asked for photographs to be taken with them. The overall atmosphere was a fun-filled one and one, which had the fans showing us all the greatest respect.

We were graced for a short period of time with the presence of local superhero, Fat-Spidey, who proceeded to have his photograph taken with lots of the folks there at the convention.

Below: Some of the nearby fortifications showing some cannons outside the venue:

Below: The St James Cavalier - Arts & Creativity Centre - Yes it's a fort!

Below: The Convention Mascot at the entrance to the Convention:

Below: The arrival of us UK guests:

Below:

Me sketching for the fans:

Some of the sketches I drew:

Some of the fans proudly showing off their sketches:

Below: Some of the Cosplayers:

They were a joy to be amongst and showed me the big difference between the way comics and their respective creators are looked at outside of the UK and the USA. It was a much welcome change to have guys who genuinely admired the stories and artwork for what they are. I felt humbled by my experiences that day.

Towards the end of the first day’s events came the Cosplay competition, which is a commonplace event at most conventions nowadays, in which the fans dress up as their favourite comic, or manga characters.

They had great fun and the host of the event, Fabio Agius, did a fine job of entertaining us all, as the competition took place, directly across from my table.

Some of the winners can be seen in the pictures above on this Blog.

Well the first day went by like a whirling Dervish and we soon found ourselves with our tables packed away and in storage for safe keeping and awaiting our ride back to the hotel, where we were to have our evening dinner.

Once again the food was excellent and consisted of an “eat as much as you like” running hot and cold buffet. We stayed and chatted for a while after the meal and then went along to the after convention party set up by the organisers in the hotel bar area. It was a much more civilised affair than those I have been involved with here in the UK.

For a start far fewer people where there, mainly the organisers and UK artists and some local artists and a handful of fans, which was very pleasant to be amongst. I remember sitting next to Mike Collins on a two-seater soft leather sofa and having John Bamber asked us both jokingly if it was an intimate enough seat for us. After the last two days of flying and whirlwind activities we both said it was comfy and we not going to be moving.

Below: The after show party in the hotel bar - with special guest appearance from local Malta superhero, Fat-Spidey:

The rest of the night was spent chatting and discussing the day’s events, any slight tweaks we could see for the next year’s convention and comics in general, amidst the act of us all getting to know each other better. Then we were surprised by the reappearance of the local superhero, Fat-Spidey, aka Chris Le Galle, one of the convention organisers. It was this kind of fun-filled activity whereby we saw both the serious side of organising the events and the humorous side of things when the guys wanted to let their hair down.

Joining the resident Maltese superhero was The Crow, Hell Boy, Death, and Satana. Well after all it was Halloween and I have to be honest I would have taken my own costume had I not been preoccupied with the weight issues of the baggage I was taking along for the trip.

Well we chatted into the early hours and as folks began to drift off we joined them and retired for bed. It had been a very busy and enjoyable first day and the guys reckoned we would see even more folks through the door, as it was Sunday. Something, which happens in reverse here in the UK with folks through the doors at these kinds of events.

I was looking forward to another day sketching and chatting to the fans and to the all-ages session Mike and I were scheduled to do that morning.

But I will leave that for the next Blog.

Until next time have fun!

Tim Perkins…

November 12th 2009

Malta Comics Convention 2009

Part 1 of the first Maltese Convention Blogs…

Hi Guys,

A little later than I had planned on publishing this Blog, because my wife, Margaret was in a pretty bad car accident late Monday afternoon, as I was setting things up here. Luckily she seems fine, although shook up about it. I am hoping the coming days see her through without any further aches and pains. The car is a write off sadly, as it was her pride and joy, but like I said to her, at least she is okay.

Well it seems incredible to me now that over a full week has elapsed since I was preparing to fly to Malta for their very first comics convention, but as they say time does indeed fly by when you are having fun!

Well, as I said the other day it was an enormous success, which was down to the hard work of the convention organisers and for me personally it was the best convention I have been to for the hospitality of all the people there, including the fans.

For me the run up to the trip was an extremely rushed affair, finding me creating a new Malta exclusive poster and sketch sheet, which I had to have printed. I was also anxiously awaiting the flight details, so I could arrange the final leg of the trip. For the organisers this proved to be a bit of a nightmare, as Airmalta sorted out the flights for the five of us that attended in the end.

I had spoken to pretty much every UK comics creator I know, before Ian Gibson was found, as a replacement for Brian Bolland. Unfortunately at the last minute Ian had to back out due to flu, which I hope he has now recovered from.

The week on the run up saw me trying to tie up loose ends for the trip and working on the Worlds End graphic novel at the same time. I have never put stuff in a suitcase and taken it out again so many times before a trip in all my travels before this one.

Taking merchandise over to Malta proved to be hard to sort out and had I had more time to do so I would have shipped out the products prior to my arriving there, something I will certainly be doing next year.

Two of the organisers, Chris Le Galle and Mike Quinton were very quick to respond to emails and very easy to work with to organise the trip.

The day before the flight saw me visit my printers for the umpteenth time to weight the baggage and my portfolio to ensure I was going to get on the flight without any problems. This caused quite a few laughs as the guys there saw me try several times to adjust the weight just right.

This continued for a while back home, as I weighed stuff out on a set of small digital scales. Eventually I was packed and ready to go, the posters and sketch sheets all safely tucked away.

Now I could feel excited...

The day of the trip came and my best friend Paul called to pick me up and take me to Manchester airport. Once there, I stood in the queue, awaiting checking in my baggage and saw up on the screen the weight limit for hand luggage (my portfolio) was 5 Kilos, which was three over the weight of the portfolio. Now luckily I had spoken to Air Malta to confirm the details concerning the weights etc explaining that 8 Kilos was fine and had received an email to that effect.

So sweating, but with a printout of the email with me, I went to check-in. My worries were unfounded as I went through to the main departures lounge without any messing and soon found myself much more relaxed and awaiting my flight with a cappuccino in front of me and my portfolio by my side.

I soon found myself on the plane bound for Malta and seated next to a very nice couple who chatted with me for the three plus hours trip, which passed as though it was half an hour. Joan and Derek were a joy to sit with and told me all about Malta, as they were frequent visitors and I really enjoyed their company.

We had been talking for a while and they asked why I was going to Malta. When they heard what I did they became fascinated by my choice of career. Flights can seem overly long when travelling alone, so their company and conversations were a much-needed relief for me. It also helped me to clear customs quickly at Malta too.

Once we touched down, we walked the short way across the runway towards the airport itself and the first thing I noticed, as it was now around 01:05 a.m., was that it was warm and still. The guys had said to pack something warm and a small jacket, something I would not use until I was at Heathrow on the trip back home.

Derek laughing told the organisers Mike and Fabio who were waiting for me to arrive to look after me, to which we all laughed. But he needn’t have worried because all of the guys did just that.

We went over to the café where Mike, David, Warren and Sean were already seated, having arrives a short time earlier. Mike and Fabio got me a drink and Chris introduced himself and the fun began. We all chatted and laughed for a while before being taken to the Hotel Santana, in Qawra, St. Paul's Bay, in which we where staying. It was now about two thirty or so and we all checked in and went our separate ways to our rooms, as we had an early start in the morning.

I have to admit to being a little surprised at the size of room I was given, which, as there was only me had plenty of room with its twin beds. I unpacked all my gear and was going to get ready for bed when I decided to get a bottle of water from reception.

I went downstairs to get it and then went back to my room, had a wash, brushed my teeth and lay down on the bed to sleep.

I set the alarm clock on my mobile phone for 06:30a.m., which would give me an hour to get myself shaved, showered and dressed ready for breakfast, which we had arranged to do at 07:30 a.m.

I tried for a while to get to sleep, but to no avail. I checked my stuff I was taking to the convention in the morning and readied it for the journey to the venue.

I read the hotel information booklet.

I read the first menu.

I read the second menu.

I turned on the TV and listened to CNN.

I turned the TV off and tried to go to sleep again.

I stood on the balcony and listened to the crickets.

I listened to CNN some more.

I turned off the TV.

I tried to sleep.

I checked my alarm on my mobile.

I tried to sleep.

I checked my watch and phone several times to see the time between, but couldn’t get to sleep, so I dozed for a while.

It was warm, but my mind was working overtime, as I was now in a position to think about the convention, something up that point I had not had chance to do properly with the rush to complete my work at the studio and the arrangements for the trip, whilst back home.

Just as I was about to fall asleep the alarm went off, but rather then thinking I wanted to sleep I got up and got ready listening to CNN in the background and went downstairs to the reception area to await the others for breakfast.

I sent a text to Mike, who appeared about five or so minutes later. In the meantime I had spent the time waiting, texting the folks back home again.

The organisers were staying for the Friday and Saturday evenings at the same hotel and we all ate breakfast together, which was the full works of fruit juices, cereal, fruit, full English, Danishes and tea and coffee and which is just what you need to face a comics convention. The organisers still had a lot to do and was the reason for the early start and so once breakfast was over we were all ready for the off.

Collecting our belongings for the convention we were then driven to the Saint James Cavalier, in the capital city of Valletta, which is a part of the wonderful fortifications on Malta and an absolutely wonderful choice of venue, most unlike any UK or US ones I have ever attended. The fort has been transformed inside with a modern looking interior ideal for this kind of event. It is now a cross between an arts/media centre and a gallery, something here in the UK we could learn from.

As you came into the event past the temporary reception desk you were greeted by a huge Robot that had been created by the guys organising it all, based on one of their own characters. It was the centre of attention for folks walking in off the sunny streets

I set up my table and readied myself for the coming convention. I had been asked to do one of my tutorial sessions with the children attending on the Sunday there at the venue and then I was asked to do the Saturday too and had suggested that Mike Collins help out too.

So it was that we were due to do three fifty minute sessions on Saturday morning and early afternoon and one on the Sunday.

But I will leave that for the next Blog.

Until next time have fun!

Tim Perkins…

November 11th 2009

Remember, Remember, the 5th of November...

Bonfire Night Celebrations …

Hi Guys,

I thought today I would just take timeout to write a quick line or two, today, to wish everyone a safe and fun evening tonight at all your Bonfire night celebrations.

Enjoy your fireworks and Bonfires everyone!

Until next time have fun!

Tim Perkins…
November 5th 2009

Malta Comics Convention 2009

A Pre-review of the first Maltese Convention…

Hi Guys,

Well fresh back from the small, but beautifully formed island of Malta and its first ever comics convention and I can safely say…it was an enormous success and down to the hard work of the convention organisers and for me personally it was the best convention I have been to for the hospitality of all the people there, including the fans.

I only arrived back here in the studio in the early hours and I have to admit to being exhausted by the schedule and the late nights spent with the other four guys, Mike, David, Warren and Sean and the organisers, chatting about the comics scene in Malta, comics in general, and the meaning of life.

I am still sorting through emails here at the Keep and so although I planned on writing a single Blog on the subject of the convention, so much happened during our stay that I have decided to write two or three to show what it was like for all those unable to attend.

I will publish these beginning after the November 5th Bonfire Celebrations Blog due to post at 00:01 a.m. this evening, so check back here again on Friday for the first of the Malta-con Blogs.

In the meantime thanks to Chris and Mike, Chris, Chris, Fabio, Mark and the gang and yes any other Chris’ I may have missed out.

To tide you over until then here is a picture of the gang:

Until next time have fun!

Tim Perkins…
November 4th 2009

Happy Halloween...

A Holiday Sketch…

Hi Guys,

Just a quick Blog today, whilst I am away at the Malta Convention (the beauty of modern technology).

As I have been doing here, at this time of year, on the Blog here, for your delectation, is this year’s Halloween Sketch.

Don’t forget to look over your shoulders tonight…oh yes and remember, never leave the room and say…"I’ll be right back!"

BOO!!!

Until next time have fun!

Tim Perkins…

October 31st 2009

Malta Convention...

Convention News Update…

Hi Guys,

Tomorrow I will be setting off for the hopefully sunny climes of Malta and the first ever comics convention, organised by Wicked Comics. I will be joined by fellow comics creators, David Lloyd, Mike Collins, Warren Pleece, and Sean Azzopardi.

Unfortunately Ian Gibson is unable to join us, as he is suffering with the flu at the moment, so just a quick word from myself and the convention guys, get well soon Ian.

For those of you going down to the Malta Comics Convention I hope to see many of you there and for those wanting to see what it is all about you can do so via the above link. This is the first in what will become an annual event.

The convention is taking place this weekend of Saturday the 31st of October and Sunday the 1st of October. So, as I said in an earlier Blog, if you are attending and want a Halloween sketch, now is the perfect time to ask me for one.

I will be taking along the original pencil artwork for Worlds End, so folks there can take a look at the artwork for the forthcoming graphic novel. I will also have some other things, which I will be taking along such as the Worlds End Ashcan, and a limited amount of the usual Wizards Keep merchandise, which you can find in the shop on the Wizards Keep Website, amongst some “freebie” stuff too. My full itinerary list was given in yesterday's Blog.

The weekend looks set to be an amazing event set in the St. James Cavalier, which is an historic building converted into an arts and creativity centre. The show will have talks, movies, and there will be some gaming as well, alongside of which will be some retailers and both local and foreign artists.

I am looking forward to it immensely and if any of you guys are going along, please come over and say hi.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Until next time have fun!

Tim Perkins…
October 29th 2009

Malta Convention...

Latest Malta Comic Convention News…

Hi Guys,

The Latest A3 Posters arrived here at the Keep yesterday from the printers.They say a picture paints a thousand words, so without further ado here is my latest Worlds End poster exclusively created for the first annual Malta Comic Convention taking place this coming weekend:

Below is my Itinerary for the weekend:

• Saturday morning - Children's Comic Book Workshop - Approximate times: 10:00 am - 13:00 pm
• Sunday morning - Children's Comic Book Workshop - Approximate times: 10:00 am - 13:00 pm

I am being joined by my good buddy, Mike Collins to run the above workshops.

The rest of the weekend will see me sketching for the fans at the Wizards Keep tables and will be joined by Mike Collins, David Lloyd, Ian Gibson, Warren Pleece, and Sean Azzopardi at theirs.

On show at the Wizards Keep tables will be:

• The original pencil artwork from the first volume in the Worlds End Graphic novel series.
• Worlds End Ashcan
• The above "exclusive" Malta Comic Convention A3 Poster
• Worlds End A2 Posters
• Worlds End "BriteMat" Mouse Mats
• Tim's first Sketch Book
• 1 x each of the A3 Giclee Prints
• Bookmarks
• and a few "Freebies" too for good measure

Due to the weight constraints of travel to Malta the above products are very limited in numbers, for which I apologise in advance.

If there is any product you wish to order now, please send an email to us here at the Keep and we will endeavour to make sure it is packed ready for the trip for you, thus saving you the shipping cost.

I will be sketching throughout the weekend.

So if you want a

Worlds End sketch before the book is released now is the time to ask.

Also, as it is Halloween weekend and you fancy a Halloween Horror special, please feel free to ask.

A quick note about sketches, if you want a sketch of a specific comic book character, please bring along a comic, or picture of the character you want, for reference.

I am very excited about the trip and looking forward to seeing you there.
Until next time have fun!

Tim Perkins…
October 28th 2009