tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post2849309670360575535..comments2024-03-11T06:12:02.296-05:00Comments on The Great God Pan Is Dead: The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival Was Less Fun Than I Would Have Liked Robert Boydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832011160514073833noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-27273749602039080192012-11-15T10:02:32.724-06:002012-11-15T10:02:32.724-06:00No, you're right. It's hard to speak in pu...No, you're right. It's hard to speak in public if you're not used to it, and as I said, I think it feels weird for a lot of artists to speak about their own work. I don't know Tim Hensley (although I respect his work very highly), and I assume he is a thoughtful, intelligent person--that comes across in the work in spades. I guess I could have not mentioned this panel, but I had committed myself to writing about the BCGF and this was a part of it. Anyway, I took his panel performance as stage fright or discomfort about talkingabout himself. If I came off as too harsh--something that happens sometimes when I write critically--I don't mean to suggest that I think any less of Hensley or his comics, which are exceptional. As for Ricard, I thought she did pretty well considering the language barrier. Robert Boydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10832011160514073833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-12704058711205835612012-11-15T09:37:00.678-06:002012-11-15T09:37:00.678-06:00"I was particularly disappointed in Tim Hensl..."I was particularly disappointed in Tim Hensley..." Jesus fucking Christ. How about just a tiny bit of empathy? Not all of us are public speakers, myself included -- there's a reason I sit indoors by myself for 15 hours a day drawing funny pictures rather than interacting with other human beings. I don't know why I agreed to get up and talk on a panel other than the fact that I wanted to be "a nice guy" or something. Stupid me. Tim Hensley is truly an amazing artist but that doesn't automatically give him the ability to address "marrying modernist literary concerns with post-modernist strategies of appropriation" in front of a huge audience. I know I'm going to come off as a total asshole for responding this way but I felt for both Tim and Anouk as I sat up there -- I could see genuine fear and anxiety on their faces -- not always the best state of mind to launch into an articulate conversation about... what? How all of our work deals with... what was the topic again? Anouk was put into truly uncomfortable situation by not having a translator on hand (kind of tough to answer questions if you don't understand them in the first place) and... and... Look, I'm not placing blame but as I already said, perhaps a little empathy might help. Whew. Now it's your turn to lay into me and put me in my place. I'm sure I deserve it. - Charles BurnsCharles Burnsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-77363205551206677632012-11-14T16:37:32.258-06:002012-11-14T16:37:32.258-06:00I don't quite understand your gripe. You seem ...I don't quite understand your gripe. You seem to be offended by my use of the term hipster and are ascribing to me various attitudes towards hipsters that I don't actually have and have never stated. Nonetheless, if this is what bothers you, I apologize. By hipster, I was referring to people who are younger and hipper than I am--a not unreasonable description of most of the attendees at BCGF. I don't think the aisles were blocked because people were chatting (much less because they were hipsters)--I think they were blocked because there were too many people for the space. Robert Boydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10832011160514073833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-81047574618230789892012-11-14T16:22:53.398-06:002012-11-14T16:22:53.398-06:00Everyone is so busy trying to look and act the sam...Everyone is so busy trying to look and act the same. Everyone wanted to block the aisle flagging down other hip "kids" just to relay some contrived conversation about the scene or where they were going to drink PBR later on. Even the artwork could have used some variety. Doesn't really matter, as it was so packed you couldn't see anything anyway. A larger venue means more sales. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-26819955585724468772012-11-14T14:22:38.279-06:002012-11-14T14:22:38.279-06:00I was annoyed by the crowds during the festival - ...I was annoyed by the crowds during the festival - it was definitely not easy to browse. And I am finding myself more and more annoyed as I see great stuff on blogs that I missed entirely from the show.AJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14093147468055209043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-13130203875809037672012-11-14T13:46:58.983-06:002012-11-14T13:46:58.983-06:00Seriously? That's what you got out of this pos...Seriously? That's what you got out of this post? Robert Boydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10832011160514073833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-78392495187651365182012-11-14T11:04:14.468-06:002012-11-14T11:04:14.468-06:00I wanted to murder all of you. Too crowded and the...I wanted to murder all of you. Too crowded and the "hipsters" were annoying. I couldn't stand to stay very long. Snobs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-85089625533636280792012-11-13T20:24:31.818-06:002012-11-13T20:24:31.818-06:00Hey, even for me (a non-young, not very hip person...Hey, even for me (a non-young, not very hip person), alternative festivals are a way to keep contact with the art comics world. But believe me, as well attended as BCGF was, it is still quite alternative to a mainstream comics/pop culture festival like the San Diego Comic-Con. The average exhibitor at BCGF was an artist, not a media company. The work they were selling was personal and made with the intent of being art, as opposed to the intent of being successful merchandise. And much of the work sold is quite challenging. But still, BCGF is doing something right--the attendance was quite astonishing. Robert Boydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10832011160514073833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-35100711728285918582012-11-13T14:49:04.736-06:002012-11-13T14:49:04.736-06:00If alternative festivals are so crowded now, can t...If alternative festivals are so crowded now, can they be called alternative? What your article suggests to me is that the craft and culture of alternative comics is being funneled into fewer points of contact. On the fair end, these include SPX and BGCF each of which had record attendance this year. On the information end... well I'd call it the Tumblr Effect, for the way that sites like that have become the aggregators of both conceptual consumption (an image, blogged and reblogged x-times over) and as a way to receive information about actual consumption (being clued into comic creators, distributors, fair organizers, etc.) For the young people (the "hipsters" in your article), the act of attending a fair is the ultimate way for someone tuned into all of this information to remain invested in the scene. It presents an interesting problem for the organizers of future fairs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-31914681593607718312012-11-13T09:47:56.408-06:002012-11-13T09:47:56.408-06:00Considering that they charge no admission fee pres...Considering that they charge no admission fee presently, I think they could charge a small fee without significantly denting attendance. If it costs $5 for adults to attend, for example, that might keep some people away, but it wouldn't keep any potential customers away (because if you can't afford the $5, you probably can't afford to buy any comics or books either). Of course, I say this as a guy who now can easily afford the $5. In 1988, the thought of traveling to a con in another city just for the fun of it was a serious financial decision. Robert Boydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10832011160514073833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633621665763939304.post-76405187494462419492012-11-13T09:24:35.309-06:002012-11-13T09:24:35.309-06:00You're absolutely right about the crowds. It&#...You're absolutely right about the crowds. It's the same problem MoCCA Fest had a few years ago that forced them to move from the Puck Building to the Armory. If BCGF moves to a larger venue, they'll likely have to start charging higher table prices and/or admission fees. That prices out a lot of self-publishers and fans, which would be a shame. Maybe there's some perfect larger space that I'm not aware of, but I doubt it. It's just the trade-off these festivals face as they grow in popularity. Maybe if they expanded the show to 2 days, that would alleviate the crowding issue? <br /><br />But despite the crowds, I thought the show was a success overall. There was a huge selection of great books which, as you mentioned, you can't easily get anywhere else, even in NYC. There are so many talented creators doing interesting work in comics these days, moreso than any time in the medium's past. It's exciting to see such energy and enthusiasm.Marc Sobelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794558807120320127noreply@blogger.com