Written by Alex Alexiou
On 8th March, Royal Holloway’s Comics society held Egham’s first comics convention in the Students’ Union (SU) building, and what an event it was. The event ran between midday and six in the evening and I arrived a little after one to find the interior of the SU, which I had mostly come to associate with the occasional night out, transformed into a bustling room filled with impassioned creators. I admit, I was apprehensive about feeling out of place, skulking around the corners of tables and trying to catch the eyes of anyone free to chat, and yet I think you would be hard pressed to find such a welcoming group of people as those within the Comics Collaborative.
Running the stalls were a variety of self-published authors and independent creators, as well as a few well-known mainstream creators, such as Lee Townsend and Eren Angiolini, who had lent their support to the operation. Angiolini stressed the significance of cultivating small scale comic cons as both a way for creators to bridge the spaces between major comic cons, and as a means to draw in and interact with fans in a more communal environment.
In addition to the brightly lit stalls displaying various comic book characters, both well-known and delightfully obscure, other Royal Holloway societies demonstrated their support for the event by manning the stalls also. In particular, the Royal Holloway Art society sold handcrafted bracelets and bookmarks. Their stall was flanked on each side by self-published authors Joe Dawson and Elinor Taylor. Both Taylor and Dawson are relative newcomers to the convention environment, but said that the few they had been to before, as well as the brilliant environment of the Comics Collaborative, had convinced them to attend such events regularly.
Dawson admitted to me in a casual conversation that he much preferred selling his novel over the counter at intimate events such as these than through the amazon print to order model.
“I got into writing as a film student, because I’ve always wanted to make my dream film, something between Harry Potter and Star Wars. Writing became a way to create it without the difficulties of budget and production. I think once I explain that to people over the counter, they suddenly feel the work is much more approachable,” Dawson told me.
One particularly memorable stall featured in the convention was that of ‘KALADANIA’, a second-year university student and burgeoning artist and comic creator in the space. For the likes of rising creators like them, upstart small scale conventions such as the Comics Collaborative, provides an anchor and source of income between larger events. It was brilliant to see the merging of both celebrated talents within the space such as Lee Townsend, and young talent like ‘KALADANIA’ interacting in our very own SU.
Soon after I finished my first circuit of the event, the Comics society held a brief intermission in which various students presented their cosplays to the room, bringing to life a wackily brilliant cast of characters that stretched from pirates to samurais. The applause to which they emerged on stage was that of fans revelling in shared interests, often a rarity.
The Royal Holloway Comics society certainly put on a show at their first ever comics convention, an event I was privileged to bear witness to. Given its success, the high spirits and the welcoming environment it created, with luck, we will be fortunate enough to see its continuation well into the future.
Written by Alex Alexiou. Edited by Chloe Hayler. Photography by Royal Holloway Students’ Union. Published by Chloe Hayler.