From the 25th to the 27th of May, comic creators, publishers and editors from across North America and Europe gathered in the British maritime city of Bristol for the Comics 2001 festival. Highlights included a live interview with BACCHUS creator Eddie Campbell, the return of the Hypotheticals panel, chaired by WATCHMEN's Dave Gibbons, and a comics celebrity version of The Weakest Link, hosted by Comics International editor Dez Skinn.

Hypotheticals saw Dave Gibbons challenge various pros to give their honest responses to a series of hypothetical situations that reflected the real hot topics and controversies of the comics industry. Dez Skinn dressed all in black and donned his scariest spectacles for The Weakest Link, and gave a hard time to a line-up of contestants that included Dave Gibbons, Alan Grant and John McCrea. The event ended in a face-off between Gibbons and McCrea, with Gibbons going home the victor.

At the National Comics Award, 2000AD took an unprecedented number of awards. Judge Dredd beat Batman to best character, Carlos Ezquerra beat Jack Kirby to best artist of all time, and the magazine itself was voted best comic of all time, pipping WATCHMEN at the post. While the magazine certainly deserved recognition, questions have been asked about the fact that it was the only comic to publish the ballot in its own pages.

The weekend ended with Sunday afternoon's costume parade, but by this stage many attendees were already at the hotel bar, and most looked set to stay there. At midnight in the Marriott, Ninth Art found itself in the company of some of the best and brightest the industry has to offer, though none of them were feeling their best or brightest by then. We asked these drunken stragglers for their reflections on the weekend, and miraculously, they were able to answer. Here's what they said:

BOB SCHRECK (editor, Batman group, DC):

It's been an amazing time. I was just in Pittsburgh a month and a half ago and this was a good complement to it. It's like being at a convention in the middle 80s of this lovely thing that we call comic books, because you can actually talk to people and have a great time and exchange ideas and have a good laugh, and not see people from a distance and think, "Oh, there they go, I guess I'll call them next week". Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves and it was very well run and well organised.

'Nobody gets shot, and everybody walks away with a smile.' It's certainly more relaxed than San Diego. Certainly more relaxed than Chicago. This is kind of like WonderCon and Pittsburgh where you can actually have a good time and sit down and chat with people. I had a wonderful time.

I've been doing comic conventions since 1969 or 70, and my highlight is always the same. It's walking away from the two or three days of an event where a lot of people get together, nobody gets shot, and mostly everybody walks away with a smile on their face saying, "Wow". I love comics and I love the people that make them, and in general it's a good time.

BRYAN TALBOT (creator, HEART OF EMPIRE):

It was great, I enjoyed it. I had a booth for only the second time at a convention. Last time I had a booth and it went so well I thought I'd have a booth this year, and it's great, I never stopped, we were busy all the time.

I saw nothing of the rest of the convention, I was at the booth all the time. Literally, I would arrive at half ten in the morning, and on Saturday it was five o'clock before I had time to go to the toilet. I was talking to people all the time, doing sketches, selling stuff... it was great.

NOEL SAVORY (Ogun Publishing):

It's been a nice atmosphere. I find Bristol is a very laid-back, conducive atmosphere to talk to people, for seeing things, it doesn't have that pressure. I didn't get to see too many of the panels or events, I was mostly talking to people and what have you, but it was a nice weekend, I'm glad I came.

My highlight was the Eddie Campbell talk on Saturday afternoon. That was endlessly entertaining and a lot of fun, and that's the part I liked the most.

JOHN LAYMAN (editor, DC Wildstorm):

I don't really have any thoughts, it's been too long of a weekend. It's 4 o'clock California time, I should be awake by now.

I was put on the spot in both of my panels. They asked me questions where I was like, deer in the headlights. "Yeah yeah, OK, I gotta think this out and tread carefully through this minefield, because somebody's going to get pissed."

The highlight was meeting Dave Gibbons. When Dave Gibbons introduced himself to me and said, "Hi John Layman, I'm Dave Gibbons," I was like, oh my God, the man who drew Watchmen is introducing himself to me, and it was like, jelly at the knees.

RAFAEL GARRES (artist, SLAINE, LOBO):

It was fantastic. I came from Spain, and in Spain we don't have the British comic activity, and I enjoyed it so much. I met great people like Alan Grant, like Noel, amazing people. A great experience. I'm waiting for the next event like this to meet more fantastic people. Most of all I've enjoyed the long nights in this hotel - the drinking, the joking, the kidding... the British girls!

ALAN GRANT (writer, LOBO, JUDGE DREDD):

I've enjoyed myself. I was very disappointed at being voted off on the Weakest Link panel, but then again, it was the question master's fault. Apart from that it was a wonderful weekend. The highlight? The highlight... my mind has gone blank, so obviously the highlight didn't take place too long ago tonight. I'll say no more...

ARILD WÆRNESS (former organiser of Raptus, the Norwegian comics festival):

We've had a really good time here, as we always have. We will be here every year, because this is a fantastic opportunity to meet creators. We hardly go to any of the panels because we're always working, networking, meeting, making deals. The guys we met last year were the stars of our festival in September. The guys we're talking to now will be the stars of this September's Raptus festival in Norway.

'Besides Raptus, this is absolutely the best festival in the world.' I've been to several European and American festivals and, besides Raptus, this is absolutely the best one in the world, I think. With so many creators in one spot, this festival is unique.

Presentations are more for fan people, and we are not fan people at all. Going to a DC presentation or an Image presentation is totally uninteresting to us. We can read PREVIEWS if we want to buy a comic. It's very much fun-fun, the programme points like the quiz games and stuff like that, but a little bit more meat, a little bit more profiling, that's quality presentation stuff.

JIM WHEELOCK (cartoonist and illustrator):

I've had a great time. I like Bristol; I find it a much more fun convention than American conventions that I go to. I like what Kev's done with it. I like small conventions, I like people that are excited about comics, and I think you get that here.

Highlight? Really just seeing people. I have so many friends here. One thing that's good about it is that I don't think the British professionals feel superior to their audience. I think they're regular people and I think that's a good thing for comics, because it's not a business where anybody makes any money. One of the things I like to see here is artists and their fans just sitting around and having drinks. It's not the same as American conventions, which are sort of designed to make a difference.

STEVE CONLEY (creator, ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS):

'I have to bookmark Ninth Art!' It was fantastic, a great show. I had a lot of fun. Kev Sutherland's a genius. The auction got way too pricey, but yes I bought stuff anyway. I met some people I hadn't met before, and I'll be back. I really enjoyed Hypotheticals, a fantastic panel. I had a really good weekend.

The highlight of the show. was chatting to you, meeting you and spending time with you and just hearing about Ninth Art and marking my notebook to say I have to bookmark Ninth Art and really get rid of all my other bookmarks. Maybe even remove my keyboard from my computer, just have Ninth Art as my homepage so I really don't have to go anywhere else...

JOHN MCCREA (artist, HITMAN, THE MONARCHY):

I've had a fine old time. I've got far too drunk, but aside from that there's been lots of cool folks and I've done lots of signings, and I've done a couple of good panels. The reception to generally everything McCrea has been grand so far, so I'm happy. I've had a whale of a time.

The highlight was probably the Hypotheticals panel or The Weakest Link. One or the other. Getting thrashed, ground into the dirt by Dave Gibbons, that was the highlight of my weekend, actually. Will I be coming back? Oh God yes, absolutely. I wouldn't miss it.

DAVE GIBBONS (artist, WATCHMEN, GIVE ME LIBERTY):

My highlight of the weekend was grinding John McCrea into the dirt and feeling my foot upon his neck.

Click here to read Alasdair Watson's convention report written live from the scene. Click here to read Nick Locking's review of NEVER MIND THE COMICS, the aspiring creators anthology distributed at the con.

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