In the world of social media, no one does in depth con reports any more. Well, not quite true, Down the Tubes Antony Esmond has a quite detailed report on the Safari Festival 2015, the show organised by Breakdown Press and other forward looking UK comics types. Edmond’s report complete with reviews and photos (Such as the above) and links and EVERYTHING.
This was the second installment of this festival and featured the launch of Another Blue Planet from Breakdown, written and drawn by Jonathan Chandler.
Notable to me is that the days of the purely navel gazing autobiographical comic have gone and made way for the psychedelic, trippy, twisted visuals of the current crop of London’s small press crowd. (Maybe LSD made a comeback and somebody forgot to tell me?) The world of the small press is beginning in some parts to imitate the great 1960s gig posters of bands like The Grateful Dead, The 13th Floor Elevators and the like, and he tables, walls and T-shirts of the Safari Crowd reflect the trends in comics and illustration. they wear them proudly and without a trace of irony…
Lots of juicy indie comics to drool over in the link.
Internet Jesus Warren Ellis also popped down and has a brief report in his weekly newsletter.
On Saturday, I went into London, to visit the Safari Festival, a single-day comics small press fair. Which, on the hottest day of August, was absolutely packed. To the point where I just couldn’t reach every stall or grab everything that caught my eye. Bumped into Dean Simons and Tom Muller, which was nice — even though it seems I never get to talk to Tom for more than two minutes at a time whenever we meet. Decided to make a day of it, stopped off at the new, lovely, but somewhat understocked Magma bookshop in Covent Garden, nipped into Forbidden Planet to buy the first two issues of ISLAND (and discovered that I no longer have my own creator section in the bookshelves there, hahahah), and then had a serendipitous few hours in a pub in Bloomsbury with Eleanor Saitta and Laurie Penny. I win my I Saw And Spoke To Other Humans badge for the year. Which is pretty much how it is, these days.
So it sounds like the place was packed and many comics and cartoonists were visited. Which was the point of the enterprise so huzzah!
Antony has written a number of great reports for us, reflecting our mission to promote British comics and creators. Thanks very much for the plug.
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