We've had a website live for a week or so. We’ve written about Hawkeye and Sad Comics. But we haven’t really explained what ConSequential actually is, or why. On the homepage, we’re describing it as “A slightly different comics event”. Hopefully, this isn't too smug. It is also sufficiently vague that we couldn't really be held to account if we just threw in our hats and threw a Tintin-themed tantric yoga tea party.
So what is it?
Well, it’s very much a work in progress. But it’s a comics con that's seeking to borrow the vibe from pop-theoretical conferences. Think TED for comics. Or maybe something a bit more like the awesome Playful. Imagine Thought Bubble if the speaker sessions and panels at the con were front and centre. It's something smart, thoughtful, maybe a little bit daft, and all about comics.
We actually had the idea at Thought Bubble, or – more accurately – at a pub afterwards.
We loved Thought Bubble. We enjoyed Kieron Gillen’s session on creativity, and the opening panel on what’s been awesome this year, and we loved the Women In Comics panel towards the end. (and what a line-up – Alison Bechdel, Kate Beaton, Simone Lia, Hannah Berry, Fiona Stephenson). But we want more.
How neat would it be, we asked ourselves, to have spent the whole day listening to these awesome people talking about what they think about comics? How cool would it be to get those perspectives on comics criticism, or cultural theory, or historical contexts, or the creative process, or damn, I don’t know, whatever they want to shake out of their funky-smart-weird brains for most of an hour.
So that’s what ConSequential wants to be – the accessibly-academic, pop-theoretical, half con, half conference comics event.
Great, whatever. Be more specific
So far, we're thinking about a single day event, single stream, built around speaker presentations. We're not sure if we'll do panels or a public call for papers, but if you've got something you'd like to talk about, tell us.
Location and time are still up in the air, but if you were thinking London, probably some time in late 2013, then I wouldn't bet against you. The following spring, as well as Bristol, Brighton, and maybe Cambridge aren't being ruled out either.
Do you fancy it?
No, really though, do you? We’re just starting out, and if you think this sounds like something you’d want to go to, or something you’d gleefully gnaw off a leg to avoid, or if you’ve been to one and it rocked or sucked, we really want to hear about it. What would you want at ConSequential? Who would you want to hear, and what would you like them to talk about? Tell us things so we can try and build something awesome. Go on.
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