One advantage of being a Causeway Child, you get to be both Singaporean and Malaysian :p Though not speaking much Malay I've been told by Malaysian immigration authorities i should throw my passport away, and by Singaporean ones to 'go back to your country' when I inadvertently entered Malaysia with an expired passport and tried to travel back to the little red dot :p So maybe its still neither here nor there... Anyhow a couple of lists that kinda blow things out of proportion....
First stop though was Paris, where me and dad visited the Eiffel Tower, which is where zombies like to come after they destroy the UK.
Have to admit I'd not heard of Utopiales before, but its apparently the largest SF con in Europe. Anyway this year's special guest was James Gurney, so he did the illustration for their poster and there was lots of original art by him on display.
The event itself is a lot more low key than SDCC, which would mean more opportunities for interacting with the writers and artists there, if only I knew any french :p I did get a chance to talk to writer Stephen Baxter though, who happens to be from Liverpool so we commiserated a little on the sale of Alonso and liverpuddle's woes this season.
I'd hoped to meet Philippe Druillet, whose Loan Sloane I'd picked up at a flea market in Cambridge years and years ago, but he had unfortunately taken ill and was unable to attend. Enki Bilal was there though, that's him in the background having breakfast at the hotel we were staying. Best described as... aloof :p
There were orginal comic book art on display at the event, and I particularly liked Yoann's lively, brushy drawings.
Some of the other nominees included Fergus and Ikigami (which picked up the Special Jury Prize).
I had very little idea what anyone was saying during the awards event but it was still kinda fun :p
Back in Paris a couple of days later I had a chance to see a small exhibit of old video game consoles, including a 1977 Atari Pong Machine and the Odyssey.
There was also a Galaga arcade machine (me and Rich Nehmad used to play the one at RISD after lunch every day) and a handheld Galaxy II unit in which i kept getting destroyed by aliens :p
Finally a vid put up by Manga News of a robot sketch. Plus an interview of some sort here. Or click on the image below....
Ikigami, Préavis de mort de Motoro Masse, Asuka, 2009
The Twelve de W.Chris, J-M.Straczynski, Panini Comics, 2009
Fergus d’Agrimbau et Pietro, Atalante 2009
Malinky robot de S. Liew, Paquet 2009
Les épées de verre de S.Corgiat, L.Zuccheri, Les Humanoïdes Associés 2009
Doubt d’Yoshiki Tonogai, KI-OON 2009
Also this month is the Singapore Writer's Festival, which has quite a few comics panels, with guests including Lat, Neil Gaiman and Mark Waid. I'll be muddling my way through a couple of panels:
24 Oct 2009, 3:00 pm
" Comics – A Timeless Narrative Price: Free Venue : Chamber Featuring: Lat, Mark Waid, Sonny Liew Moderator: Terence Chua
From young to old, everybody loves a good comic! Join American comic writer Mark Waid (whose notable works include The Flash, Captain America and Superman), Malaysian-born Singapore-based comic artist Sonny Liew and beloved Malaysian comic artist Lat in a panel that reflects on the challenges of drafting a good narrative and on writing comics from an American or Asian angle."
Another panel with Troy Chin is being moved to an earlier date (the 25th I think) .
Some paintings up at the Arts House too for the Writer's Fest :p
Sonny Liew is a Eisner-nominated comic artist and illustrator whose work include titles for DC Vertigo, Marvel, SLG and Disney, along with the Xeric-awarded Malinky Robot. He currently resides in Singapore, where he sleeps with the fishes.
