Alan Moore signing

[ThunderPeel2001]

I just queued up for 4+ hours to spend two minutes with Alan Moore. I wish I could say it was worth it, but it really wasn't. I feel outstandingly let down.

I totally boiked the question that I wanted to ask him, too, so I got a rather lame response.

Ugh.

Still, I got League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: 1910

But why oh why did I think it was going to be worth a four+ hour wait to get it signed?

Especially when I could have just taken it home and read it...

Ah well.

Note to self: Signings generally suck. You queue for four and a half hours to spend two minutes muttering mild platitudes to someone you admire (and would much rather have a decent conversation with). Bah

Edited May 2, 2009 by ThunderPeel2001

[ThunderPeel2001]

Also, for any Moore/League fans: Too Klein's book design work is as pathetically wretched as usual. I just don't understand why Moore keeps using him. Sure he doesn't some nice lettering and his logos aren't bad (although Alex Ross pretty much half-designed all of the ABC stuff) but GOD ALMIGHTY -- his graphic design is horrendous. I mean absolutely fucking horrendous.

He apparently has two fonts installed on his computer (he favours Times New Roman), and has absolutely no eye for detail or composition.

Sorry, felt like somebody, somewhere had to say it. (Am I turning into Toblix?)

[Nevsky]

Yowzer!

I went down there around 2:30, saw the queue round the block, and thought 'sod it'. So decided to walk into Gosh and just buy the comic and leave the signing for another time. 4+ hours - damn - I'm sorry that it wasn't worth it.

Not had much of a peruse of the issue (practically a small book, really) yet, but I think some of Todd Klein's work can be really good - shame if he's been quite dull with this one.

On the topic of signings - I'm not sure they're worth the hassle. I went to an Adrian Tomine signing at the same place earlier this year, but was one of the first in the line (it was a weekday, right after everyone was paralysed by the snowfall), so didn't have to wait around that much.

I much prefer the talk/reading-then-signing set-up. Went to a Neil Gaiman event along those lines back in October. I felt like I got much more out of it. Although, again, was lucky to be in the first 1/3 of the queue for the signing section, some must have been waiting for hours.

[Scrobbs]

Wait, this is after the Black Dossier?

[Nevsky]

This is Volume III: Century. It's set either side of the Black Dossier (which was supposed to be a side-story), with the first issue (of the three) being 1910, second 1968 and final one being 2009 apparently.

More info here.

[Scrobbs]

Man, how did I miss that. Is it any good?

[OssK]

I went to a signing by Olivier Ledroit, let me tell you mate, it was worth a thousand times waiting the 3 hours I waited, I got a fucking marvelous drawing by him inside the cover of my album and a good conversation with him, I guess it depends on who's signing

[Nevsky]

Man, how did I miss that. Is it any good?

It's not on general release until the end of the month, and has been quite under the radar anyway, so I'm sure quite a few people are unaware. The comic shop in question ordered a bunch specially for the signing.

I've not got around to finishing it yet - have been busy with work stuff. It's over 70 pages, so quite a chunky read anyway. Will report back when I get on top of it.

[Ben X]

So decided to walk into Gosh and just buy the comic and leave the signing for another time.

Bit off-topic, but what do you think of Gosh? First time I went in, the clerk gave me his personal copy of the Slave Labor Free Comic Day mini-comic because they'd run out, which was amazing. Every time after that I've been in, they've been unhelpful, sneering Comic Book Guy pricks. Also, they've got two floors and still manage to cram everything into shelves so it's impossible to browse, or find anything. They could do with taking a leaf out of Page 45's book (pun intended) - an amazing Nottingham comic book store.

[Nevsky]

Bit off-topic, but what do you think of Gosh?

It's probably my favourite comic book shop (not that I've been to more than a dozen, really). I agree that it's quite cramped (and their trades shelves upstairs are shelved really illogically), but I think their stock has some surprising choices, especially in the European/Independent sections - and the Manga section is quite good for the more arty non-Tokyo Pop stuff.

There is one fellow who is really nice, the New Zealandish guy called Andrew. He's always up for a chat and is very welcoming. Although, yeah, whenever I've tried the same with the other people there, they've not been too nice. But Andrew seems to be working the tills any time during the week - and I've not found anyone similar in any of the other comic shops I've been to (the people in Orbital seem to be the most aloof, in my experience).

Gosh isn't a perfect shop, but it usually suits me fine - and luckily Central London has 3 other (relatively good) comic shops within 5 minutes walk of it.

[Ben X]

(the people in Orbital seem to be the most aloof, in my experience).

Gosh isn't a perfect shop, but it usually suits me fine - and luckily Central London has 3 other (relatively good) comic shops within 5 minutes walk of it.

Yeah, Orbital were vaguely helpful but snooty at the same time, and the shop is shit - it's the kind of car-boot sale comic shop that Evan Dorkin hates so much. Where are the others? Comic Showcase (or whatever it was called) has closed down, sadly.

[Nevsky]

Yeah, Orbital were vaguely helpful but snooty at the same time, and the shop is shit - it's the kind of car-boot sale comic shop that Evan Dorkin hates so much. Where are the others? Comic Showcase (or whatever it was called) has closed down, sadly.

Orbital have moved in the last couple of months, actually, down to Great Newport Street (near Leicester Square tube). It's a spacier, nicer place, with a little area that they use as a small gallery, with exhibitions of comic art.

Comic Showcase has closed, yeah, although the sign is still there. I was talking about Comicana, which is pokey-as-hell, and quite expensive, but has a rough sort of charm to it. And there's Forbidden Planet, which has the best stock of any comics-interested shop I've ever been in, but it feels like a supermarket in terms of atmosphere.

There's a very interesting blog post about comic shops in the West End of London here, actually.

[Ben X]

Wicked, cheers. I'll check out the new Orbital and maybe Comicana. Again, FP just has no structure to it, so I go in for two minutes, get completely overwhelmed and irritated and leave again.

Talking about signings, I once queued up for ages to get my Lord Of The Rings collected hardcover signed by Christopher Lee. While signing it, he said 'Oh, I have this copy.' To this day, I regret not having the balls to say 'You should have brought it in, I could have signed it for you!' Instead I just smiled awkwardly, and I think he thought I was ignoring him as some old irrelevant relic who's just there to give Weta Digital something to work with, but happens to make books more valuable by writing his name on them. Thankfully, he didn't kill himself over it.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I think he thought I was ignoring him as some old irrelevant relic who's just there to give Weta Digital something to work with, but happens to make books more valuable by writing his name on them. Thankfully, he didn't kill himself over it.

I hate celebrities, they're so neurotic.

(Do you see what I did there? I sympathize, though.)

[Nachimir]

they've been unhelpful, sneering Comic Book Guy pricks. Also, they've got two floors and still manage to cram everything into shelves so it's impossible to browse, or find anything.

I'm pretty sad to hear that about Gosh, I was always under the impression they were alright. OK Comics in Leeds is certainly worth a visit.

They could do with taking a leaf out of Page 45's book (pun intended) - an amazing Nottingham comic book store.

Indeed, they got me into comics about a decade ago with all kinds of spot on recommendations, and never try to fob people off with overstocked stuff. I see Stephen and Tom quite a bit in and out of the shop, and they've always tried as hard as possible not to do the comic shop till clique thing.

It was also them that inadvertently switched me on to how different the demographic problems games were having around 2003 could be. Almost 50% of their customer base is female (and has been for a long time), since they have a shop full of interesting stuff and keep the spandex understated.

Psst, Thunderpeel! Their signings are also generally better, since at many they'll quietly whisper the name of a pub and time to you, where you cn go and have a few pints with them and whoever signed. It's not as if there isn't still a crowd, but it sweetens the whole queuing for hours thing

[ThunderPeel2001]

I think all comic shops have a weird feeling, but I suppose I'm used to it now. The Gosh guys are always pretty friendly when I go in there, but they still exude an uncomfortable "cliqueyness" that's hard to penetrate. Having a normal conversation with someone who works in a comicbook store seems to be nigh on impossible, in general, though.

Makes you wonder if they feel insecure about knowing so much about comics??

Gosh is pretty decent, on the whole, though. So is Orbital. Forbidden Planet is the place to go if you don't have a clue and are new to comics, though. the staff vastly more unfriendly (there's some real twats), but at least you can pretend you're in a "normal" bookstore.

There's a nice friendly place in St. Albans that Dave Gibbons is known to frequent, too.

[ThunderPeel2001]

they've always tried as hard as possible not to do the comic shop till clique thing.

Ha! It's great that someone else has noticed that. The "shop till clique thing" sums it up, perfectly. Actually now I think about it I reckon they might just be afraid of strangers(?)

Psst, Thunderpeel! Their signings are also generally better, since at many they'll quietly whisper the name of a pub and time to you, where you cn go and have a few pints with them and whoever signed. It's not as if there isn't still a crowd, but it sweetens the whole queuing for hours thing

Wicked! A bit far for me though

[Nachimir]

Ha! It's great that someone else has noticed that. The "shop till clique thing" sums it up, perfectly. Actually now I think about it I reckon they might just be afraid of strangers(?)

I'm not sure. Much as I fundamentally loathe cliques, apart from the very worst people most people who act cliquey don't even realise they're doing it. I think there can be all kinds of reasons, but when respect from strangers depends on specialist knowledge and values, something is definitely fucked.

Dave Sim and Gerhard were touring with the guys who set up Page 45 in the 90's, who at the time were working in shitty comic shops. I understand it went something like:

"You guys should set up your own comic shop."

"Buh?"

"You have to. You understand so much of what's wrong with them."

"... Why have we not thought of this ourselves?"

They set it up to look like a bookshop rather than a comic shop, put interesting fiction at the front and superheroes at the back, never, ever look down on anyone for not knowing something about comics, and will ask anyone a bunch of questions before recommending anything. Quite a few relatives have gone in there looking for Christmas presents, told them who they're buying for and generally been paired up with the right books.

[Scrobbs]

Nice to hear someone name check OK. Did you come up from notts specifically to visit or were you in the area?

There is another comic shop in Leeds that deals almost exclusively with manga, but has a very unpleasant atmosphere for lay-public who wonder in looking for a specific title. I was made to feel lile a freak by the bunch of teens embroiled in a Magic: The Gathering game. Maybe because I was with a girl, but I dunno. I think they could smell my fear. Totally different to OK, a nice place to be and although small has an extremely eclectic mix of titles, again with all the spandex squirrelled away in the top room.

[Nachimir]

Yes, a friend lives in Leeds and I'm sometimes up to visit him. I hadn't heard of OK before going up, and was happily surprised to find somewhere else with a range like Page 45's.

That Manga shop sounds horrible. I try to have a bit of respect and compassion for absolutely everyone including strangers, but when they pull that kind of shit I can't help but feel they've become nothing to me.

[syntheticgerbil]

Sounds like you guys have nice comic shops over there. I do most of my comic shopping online at either Amazon, Mile High, or mycomicshop.com, since most of the stores here only carry the two majors, some Dark Horse, hardly any back issues, and a smattering of inconsistently stocked independent comics.

There's one here called Nan's that's really great, but it's like this cramped dungeon of overstock and disorganization. Sometimes I find some really rare stuff I get the feeling no one has picked up over the years just because they didn't see it among the crammed shelves.

[Ben X]

Gosh Comics are moving to Berwick St! Incredibly central location, with more space which will helpfully solve one of their problems. I'm glad to say that since my last posts here, I've been a few more times and the people at Gosh have turned nice again (also the rock/goth-ish girl who works there is stunning). Also, Thunder and I went to the new Orbital and that is so much nicer as well. London comicbook stores ftw!

(Thunder, I apologise for recycling every anecdote in this thread during my drunken ramblings, but I am hurt that you did not remember any of them from here.)

[ThunderPeel2001]

(Thunder, I apologise for recycling every anecdote in this thread during my drunken ramblings, but I am hurt that you did not remember any of them from here.)

Who are you, again?

[Nachimir]

(also the rock/goth-ish girl who works there is stunning).

She's Eddie Campbell's daughter, and keeps a blog here for all your cyber-stalking needs.

[Ben X]

Woah, I'd kind of figured out her name was Hayley from vague mentions on the Gosh site but it seemed like she was avoiding a web presence. Didn't realise she had a site or was Eddie Campbell junior! Soooo hot.