Hi-Ex
Encyclopedia
Hi-Ex is the name given to a Scottish
comics convention. It is held early in the year in Eden Court Theatre
, Inverness
. The organisers are Richmond Clements (editor at FutureQuake Publishing
) and Vicky Stonebridge.
they were able speak to a wide number of professional comic creators and the event rapidly grew into full weekend. They also received advice from people with experience in running conventions, including Michael Carroll
, who runs Octocon
, and the Comic Expo
's Mike Allwood.
Hi-Ex has also been used by the BBC
as an example of how the Internet has helped facilitate developments in the Highlands and Islands
. Clements is quoted as saying "Practically the entire event was organised through e-mail."
They also run an outreach program, running workshops at schools involving comics professionals, with funding from bodies like the Highland Council.
, Colin MacNeil
, John Higgins
, Gary Erskine
and Rufus Dayglo
. The poor weather meant Alan Grant was unable to attend and run a script writing workshop but Al Ewing
, Declan Shalvey
and Ben Clark filled in for him. Also there were the 501st Legion
UK Garrison and a Predator
.
Hi-Ex was the centre of a range of other events organised to promote comics in the region, including "outreach visits" to schools, involving Kev F. Sutherland
, with the help of the The Highland Council
and Scottish Arts Council
, and an exhibition of comic art in Eden Court's gallery.
revealed that Frank Quitely
and Mike McMahon
were booked for the second Hi-Ex, taking place on the weekend of the 14-15 February.
, the 2009 event had a general Watchmen
feel, with the presence of John Higgins
, the colourist, and Alan Moore
's daughter Leah
, along with other guests like Mike McMahon
, Frank Quitely
and Leigh Gallagher. As it also coincided with Valentine's Day
it included a debate on romance comics
, and romance in comics in general.
features Judge Dredd
and Nessie
.
declared it a "complete success."
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
comics convention. It is held early in the year in Eden Court Theatre
Eden Court Theatre
Eden Court Theatre is a large theatre, cinema and arts venue situated in Inverness, Scotland. The theatre has recently undergone a complete refurbishment and major extension, adding a second theatre, two dedicated cinema screens, two performance/dance studios, improved dressing room and green room...
, Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
. The organisers are Richmond Clements (editor at FutureQuake Publishing
FutureQuake
FutureQuake is a British small press comic book founded by Arthur Wyatt, and edited from issue 5 onwards by Richmond Clements, David Evans, Mark Woodland and Edward Berridge. Issue 4 was edited by Clements, Evans and James Mackay...
) and Vicky Stonebridge.
Overview
The idea for the convention emerged from the lack of a major comics convention in the area and a discussion Richmond Clements and Vicky Stonebridge had with Eden Court's Judith Aitken, about possibly bringing in a few guest speakers. Through contacts made because of their involvement with the British small press comicsBritish small press comics
British small press comics, once known as stripzines, are comic books self-published by amateur cartoonists and comic book creators, usually in short print runs, in the UK. A "small press comic" is essentially a zine composed predominantly of comic strips. The term emerged in the early 1980s to...
they were able speak to a wide number of professional comic creators and the event rapidly grew into full weekend. They also received advice from people with experience in running conventions, including Michael Carroll
Michael Carroll (author)
Michael Carroll is an Irish writer of novels and short stories for adults and children. He is best known for his series of superhero novels The New Heroes and his romantic fiction under the name Jaye Carroll.-Biography:...
, who runs Octocon
Octocon
Octocon is the name given to the National Irish Science Fiction Convention, held annually in October.- History :1989/1990: The convention was initiated by members of the Irish Science Fiction Association, and named by artist Peter McCanney, who created the convention's first logo.1995: Advertised...
, and the Comic Expo
Comic Expo
Comic Expo is the name given to the UK's largest comic book event. It is held twice a year: in Bristol in the spring and in Brighton in the autumn...
's Mike Allwood.
Hi-Ex has also been used by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as an example of how the Internet has helped facilitate developments in the Highlands and Islands
Highlands and Islands
The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are broadly the Scottish Highlands plus Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides.The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 applied...
. Clements is quoted as saying "Practically the entire event was organised through e-mail."
They also run an outreach program, running workshops at schools involving comics professionals, with funding from bodies like the Highland Council.
2007
The first event took place at and included Cam KennedyCam Kennedy
Campbell Kennedy is a Scottish comics artist. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, especially the flagship titles Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper.-Biography:...
, Colin MacNeil
Colin MacNeil
Colin MacNeil is a British comics artist, best known for his work on 2000 AD and in particular on Judge Dredd and other stories within his world like Shimura and Devlin Waugh....
, John Higgins
John Higgins (comics)
John Higgins is an English comic book artist and writer. He did significant work for 2000 AD, and he has frequently worked with writer Alan Moore, most notably as colourist for Watchmen.-Biography:...
, Gary Erskine
Gary Erskine
Gary Erskine is a Scottish comic book artist born in Paisley, near Glasgow in 1968.-Biography:Erskine started drawing work for fanzines while at art college and aspired to be a comic book artist. After sending samples of his work to Marvel UK he was eventually given Knights of Pendragon to draw on...
and Rufus Dayglo
Rufus Dayglo
Rufus Dayglo is a London-based comics artist working for 2000 AD and Titan Books in the United Kingdom, and IDW Publishing and Image Comics in the United States...
. The poor weather meant Alan Grant was unable to attend and run a script writing workshop but Al Ewing
Al Ewing
Al Ewing is a British comics writer who has mainly worked in the small press and for 2000 AD.-Biography:Al Ewing began his career writing stories in the five-page Future Shocks format for 2000AD...
, Declan Shalvey
Declan Shalvey
Declan Shalvey is an Irish comic book artist. He made his name with his first comic Hero Killers, that won an Eagle Award, before going on to work on a number of Irish comics, as well as getting work on American comic books most notably Thunderbolts....
and Ben Clark filled in for him. Also there were the 501st Legion
501st Legion
The 501st Legion is an international fan-based organization dedicated to the construction and wearing of screen-accurate replicas of Imperial Stormtrooper armor, Imperial officer uniforms, Clone Troopers and other villains and nefarious characters from the Star Wars universe...
UK Garrison and a Predator
Predator (alien)
The Predator is a fictional extraterrestrial species featured in the Predator science-fiction franchise, characterised by its trophy hunting of other dangerous species for sport, including humans and its fictional counterparts, Aliens....
.
Hi-Ex was the centre of a range of other events organised to promote comics in the region, including "outreach visits" to schools, involving Kev F. Sutherland
Kev F. Sutherland
-Career:Since 2005, Sutherland has written, produced and performed as The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, in theatres internationally and on television...
, with the help of the The Highland Council
Politics of the Highland council area
Politics of the Highland council area in Scotland are evident in the deliberations and decisions of the Highland Council, in elections to the council, and in elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Scottish Parliament...
and Scottish Arts Council
Scottish Arts Council
The Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
, and an exhibition of comic art in Eden Court's gallery.
2008
The BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
revealed that Frank Quitely
Frank Quitely
Vincent Deighan, better known by the pen name Frank Quitely, is a Scottish comic book artist. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with Grant Morrison on titles such as New X-Men, We3, All-Star Superman, and Batman and Robin, as well as his work with Mark Millar on The...
and Mike McMahon
Mike McMahon (comics)
Michael McMahon is a British comics artist best known for his work on 2000 AD characters such as Judge Dredd, Sláine and ABC Warriors, and the mini-series The Last American....
were booked for the second Hi-Ex, taking place on the weekend of the 14-15 February.
2009
As it coincided with the launch of the Watchmen filmWatchmen (film)
Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...
, the 2009 event had a general Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
feel, with the presence of John Higgins
John Higgins (comics)
John Higgins is an English comic book artist and writer. He did significant work for 2000 AD, and he has frequently worked with writer Alan Moore, most notably as colourist for Watchmen.-Biography:...
, the colourist, and Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's daughter Leah
Leah Moore
Leah Moore is an English comic book writer. She is the daughter of Alan Moore and Phyllis Moore, and is married to John Reppion. She has worked with both Alan and John on the comic Albion. She has also written for other comics and publications including Tom Strong and The End Is Nigh...
, along with other guests like Mike McMahon
Mike McMahon (comics)
Michael McMahon is a British comics artist best known for his work on 2000 AD characters such as Judge Dredd, Sláine and ABC Warriors, and the mini-series The Last American....
, Frank Quitely
Frank Quitely
Vincent Deighan, better known by the pen name Frank Quitely, is a Scottish comic book artist. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with Grant Morrison on titles such as New X-Men, We3, All-Star Superman, and Batman and Robin, as well as his work with Mark Millar on The...
and Leigh Gallagher. As it also coincided with Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
it included a debate on romance comics
Romance comics
Romance comics is a comics genre depicting romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published through the first three decades of the Cold War...
, and romance in comics in general.
2010
For the first time Hi-Ex secured Highland Council funding for their schools outreach program that runs in parallel with the convention. The promotional art by Colin MacNeilColin MacNeil
Colin MacNeil is a British comics artist, best known for his work on 2000 AD and in particular on Judge Dredd and other stories within his world like Shimura and Devlin Waugh....
features Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
and Nessie
NESSIE
NESSIE was a European research project funded from 2000–2003 to identify secure cryptographic primitives. The project was comparable to the NIST AES process and the Japanese Government-sponsored CRYPTREC project, but with notable differences from both...
.
Reception
Northings, the Highlands and Islands Art Journal, described the first convention as "inspirational" and said that "By the end of the weekend I felt like a door had been opened on a whole genre of Art that I hadn’t really engaged with before.". Of those that attended, Gary ErskineGary Erskine
Gary Erskine is a Scottish comic book artist born in Paisley, near Glasgow in 1968.-Biography:Erskine started drawing work for fanzines while at art college and aspired to be a comic book artist. After sending samples of his work to Marvel UK he was eventually given Knights of Pendragon to draw on...
declared it a "complete success."
External links
- Richmond Clement's blog
- Vicky Stonebridge
- Hi-Ex in the Highlands, Forbidden PlanetForbidden Planet (bookstore)Forbidden Planet is the trading name of two separate science fiction, fantasy and horror bookshop chains across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States of America, after the feature film of the same name....
, February 3, 2008 - Hi-Ex photographs on FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
- The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre's guide to Hi-Ex, by Kev F. SutherlandKev F. Sutherland-Career:Since 2005, Sutherland has written, produced and performed as The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, in theatres internationally and on television...
- The Predator's footage of event
- We are Family: A conversation with Vicky Stonebridge, Forbidden Planet, July 31, 2009