TOYSREVIL @ Comic Xchange 2011
Comics Xchange 2011 (comics-xchange.com). A first-time event held in the premises of the Goodman Arts Center in Mounbatten / Goodman Road area - where LaSalle-SIA used to be (I had lectured there a few years back, and am quasi-familiar with the desolation of the locale, frankly speaking). Event co-sponsors The National Arts Council is also housed in the premises, which was an interesting revelation for me personally. TOYSREVIL was not included in the event announcement press conference, and can not discern whether this event lived up to it's hype (or lack of it, IMHO) so this is as much my own experience of the event.
But from the obvious lack of budget, it felt very much like a fuss-free 'grassroots' event (I abhor the term 'grassroots' but I can see the appeal and distinction of such a description, especially in a local context), of which I am particularly swayed by, as compared to the sparkly consumeristic vibes of events held in downtown Singapore, like STGCC or AFA - as all comparisons will inevitably be - because again, there are not as much geek-events such as this to compare with otherwise, which would seem unfair in this instance, no doubt. But one thing inevitably always remain the same for any events in Singapore - the absolutely torrid loud-speaker audio in which the compare's voice is being muffled when announcements are made. That grates my nerves immensely.
[L: Blackrock Shooter Fan-art / R: Drawing demo with Pencilbrush]
Perhaps it was a temperate Sunday afternoon talking here, perhaps it was my current personal interest in comicbook themes, but at the bazaar venue, it felt more like a "community" versus the desire to buy & sellSellSELL most bazaars might seem to be vibing - but of course that is my personal opinion and tastes working on overtime here. As decent as each individual display-space seemed to have been, as a whole, there still needs to be someway to make them more cohesive as a unit to draw folks in - but hey, I spent near 5 hours in the venue in the first place, so something must be working! In truth, it is the people there that makes things more interesting than it could have been.
And yes, what was available is extremely niche - to which I welcome the intention, as this was pretty much a literal "comicbook-themed" event, isn't it? From Western-influenced comics (of which I procured my fair share of prints for) and as well representation from Eastern-flavoured manga, manhua and local publications, it was a decent "primer" to what it hopefully may become. A slight smattering of "tools"-related vendors helped make the event more fulfilling (aka not just buy "to make you feel better", but buy "to make yourselve produce better works"). "A harbinger of things to remain the same", I hope not it to be, but a decent way to start things up, IMHO.
Of note, this is not particularly an event about HUGE superstar-names, and frankly rightly so, as it seemed focused on locally-based creators, and showcasing up-n-comers, for which I appreciate that much - and what differentiates this event from the larger obviously "super-star"-catered juggernauts like STGCC. I had ended up inevitably at the CXPO Bazaar the entire 5 hours on Sunday and spent most of the entire time yakking away with folks and new found friends! Unfortunately I did not make my way to the other venues to see what the scene entailed. Note that the Goodman Art Center is a reasonably large collection of buildings, which housed different rooms for different purposes, and having their seminar rooms away from the bazaar space, probably needed getting used to. Just imagine you're back at school and are travelling from classes to classes to gym etc lol
[Collection of images from Facebook]
I was told the seminar was exceptional - by which this event has been largely hinged it's offerings on, alongside the 24Hours Comic Day event. In this, I realized my mindset was geared toward the "marketplace" element of the event, no doubt brought on by the many years of "purchasing-conditioning" of events in Singapore LOL
This to me remains both a boon and bane. The downside is things seemed so far apart to become a cohesive event, but at the same time physically differentiates the activities. The "Enthusiast Consumer" versus the "Practising Professionals"? would've been swell to literally be able to see each activity happening from each other, and yet enclosed in their own realm, IMHO.
The seminar was a chargeable endeavor, with a single day priced at SGD$40 and 2 days for SGD$60. Check out the flyer-image for what the program is. what I would have really liked to see, were the resulting pages of the 24Hour Comic - of which copies could have been made and displayed on the wall in the Bazaar area. That could have been a decent connection to the festivities, with having the bazaar and seminars as a singular event, and not a separate notion, IMHO.
Nevertheless, I'll end this post with some snaps of the 'live' art jam element of the bazaar space, where folks were invited to doodle/sketch/draw their fave superheroes (Saturday was "The Avengers", while Sunday was "Justice League"-themed) - interestingly not up on the wall (ala Grafitti Wall in STGCC) but horizontally on a table, as comic-illustrations are to be LOL
[7 x images in slideshow above / Full-screen viewing]
[More still-snaps on my Facebook-album]
