On behalf of Graphic Novel Weekend (GNW) me and David den Ouden were at the Stripdagen in Haarlem. Along with the Graphic Novels: Adem Eve, H-lem and U-trek we also sold our own work. The GNW display looks great, but it was quite a hassle to get it to the location. Be sure to ask David about his adventures. The biggest challenge on Saturday was the wind, we had to tape down the cloths and labels and many items had to be displayed flat on their back or standing with some form of added support. On Sunday we had far less wind, but we had a new challenge in the form of rain.
Among our neighboors were Irene Berbee and her studio partner Rochelle. Irene has nice comics on her resume and a lot of visitors asked her about the second part of Ulfbehrt. Irene made time to have a short conversation with all of them. My own attention is pretty scathered at these events, so at some point I need to visit Mina and Anastasia among others at a different event for a proper talk. At the station I already encountered Ron Schuijt and I visited his stand later. Saturday was a good day for him.
The Imaginary Muses got plenty of attention. I might have missed a sale when I was away for a moment. Luckily David could help the customer. I'm still curious about the customer, because the Muses have a diverse audience. A mother, an older comic fan and a younger customer looking for something alternative. There also were two German ladies calling it the true comics. Unfortunately they didn't buy an issue, but I'll take the compliment.
There was also a lot of interest for Graphic Novel Weekend. Interest in the publications and the event itself. Many have entered the mailing list to stay up to date. I guess this is a good moment for a shoutout to Arnoud van den Heuvel. He'll probably point out his stake in dropping off and picking up the books. But I've seen other artists that have a publisher and still have to walk around with boxes, so much appreciation for Arnoud. While still on the subject of GNW, Leander de Goede came to visit and I met Anja van Zalinge, one of the writers of H-lem and maybe a writer for the next one.
Dropped by the stand of KAAS. Karin and Sabrina have contributed to the upcoming anthology comic, Figments of Passion. This one will be financed through Kickstarter. Karin created a cute fantasy story and Sabrina is going for something deep.
Renee Rienties was also at the KAAS stand. Would KAARS be a the new name if it becomes a regular thing? She was pro-active and visited all the other stands for the promotion of Figments of Passion. We took a moment to talk about Nina, has everyone taken the time to watch the interesting live panel hosted by the Stripvlogger gezien?
Speaking of the Stripvlogger, Marcel was present on Saturday and already had posted his report on Monday. Segments for: Figments of Passion (01:32) and Graphic Novel Weekend (03:32).
Not all comic projects need a Kickstarter. The Chef - mission complete is a nice zine by Valentijn Hamel. Get one now!
Not only comics are present on the Stripdagen, but also other creative endendeavours. The Go Baaa! sheep of David was very popular among the young and old.
David also has another sheep: Youssouf. Ik was making a drawing of Youssouf when I got suprised by Ramon Schenk who came by for a visit. Ramon knows a bit more about GNW now. Draw Club member Frank Stoks also came by to see how things are going.
Sterre Richards came by for visit along with Dido Drachman. I had a sticker exchange with Sterre and she showed a sample print for a new story. A new story you can still follow at the moment, so what are you waiting for? I want to buy it already. I haven't seen a lot of works from Dido, but what I did see was beautiful. I'll come back to that shortly.
A surprise visit came from Renincy and Els of the Howling Riot For once not behind a crowded stand, but just relaxing visitors. During the lockdown periods and inbetween The Howling Riot (Jay, Renincy and Els) was very active on Twitch and that certainly provided me with much needed relieve. So, a well deserved period of relaxation after all the work on Wortels in de Molukken. I think it's best to let Els tell you about the project and that's easy, just listen back to this radio broadcast.
Back to Dido Drachman. Dido illustrated two poems that are also part of Wortels in de Molukken. I don't if there is video footage, but at the book presentation Aca Siwabessy Stoffels and Dido talked about their collaboration and I won't do it justice with a few sentences. It's probably best to ask them both about their experiences again. A possible follow up was mentioned and I think it can result in something special.
Another special moment was a boy that was fascinated with the Metal Pedal comics. David was working on a custom verjaardagskaart that the boy's mother had bought, so I could show him all three comics/posters in the mean time. Twice he came back. The second time he came back holding his mother's hand, pulling her to the stand. There was some confusion about the comics. The boy thought it was a long continuing story. I explained that each comic/poster is a stand alone adventure. And yes, these are for sale. I thought he enjoyed the Food Fightah! comic the most because of the fight with Plum, the bear. But he chose Bandits and Pearls. You can't beat a good chase scene I guess.
It was very nice to be back at a comic event after such a long time. Many thanks to the organisation of Graphic Novel Weekend and on to the next one! ;-)
