Bristol Comic Expo!

On Saturday, we went into Bristol with the intention of going to Grillstock for the day. A few days before hand, we realised (read: the boyfriend told me) the Bristol Comic Expo was in town on the same weekend. We realised we could quite easily go to both, as the expo started and finished earlier in the day than Grillstock did. And then the other half asked me why the name Anne Stokes was ringing a bell, as she was one of the guests at the expo. Once I finished squeeing at a pitch normally reserved for non-human hearing, it was decided we absolutely definitely had to go.

And it was awesome. I got to meet Anne Stokes and get a bunch of stuff signed by her. (And if you're not familiar with Anne Stokes, go check out her artwork on her website by clicking here. No, seriously, go now. This post will still be here when you get back.) She was very tolerant of me and my extreme fan-girl-ness. I have two amazing new signed prints to hang up on the walls, and a gorgeous dragon pendant that will no doubt become my favourite necklace ever.

We had a great walk around the expo, got to talk to a lot of cool people, see some amazing costumes (even had the kiddo pose with a stormtrooper and a clonetrooper for a photo!), and get some amazing stuff. I picked up an awesome print of Chel and Wheatley facing up against a dragon (I know it makes no sense, but it combines two of my favourite things, so that makes it awesome) from ReaperWorks. I also was introduced to a brilliant artist, Jess Bradley. Her stuff must be seen. (That's a hint that Jess's website is another one of those that you must go look at right now, and this post will still be here when you come back.)

The other major highlight of our time at the expo was meeting Mark Buckingham. For those of you who don't have a clue what that name means, he's an artist - in fact, the artist of one of my favourite graphic novel series, Fables. I not only got to have two of my books signed by him, but we got to sit and listen to him talk about various Fables and The Unwritten stuff in a panel straight afterward. He's a really nice guy, and it was a real pleasure meeting him.

Now, you may notice something missing from this post: pictures! I'm sorry, I meant to sit down and take a bunch of photos of all the stuff from the day, but haven't gotten around to it yet due to other life stuff. Pictures will be coming soon! Stay tuned!

Tinkerbell and V-Day

I've never been very into Valentine's Day. Maybe I'm a bit cynical. Maybe I'm a lot cynical. Maybe one bad experience leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth every 14th of February. Whatever the reason, it's never been a big deal in my mind.

Enter my partner, who does not share this opinion. But, because he is made of awesomeness, and knows exactly how I feel about the whole day, he got me the most amazing card ever:

The man knows me far too well. And, strangely enough, he is helping to discard my dislike for Valentine's Day. A little. Kind of. Maybe.

There's something I'd like to add to this. See that absolutely awesome artwork on that card there? That was done by a personal friend of ours, based on a conversation involving the idea of Tinkerbell in street gear. The original picture, without the card text and horrible camera glare, looks like this:

Love it. Awesome job, Ian.