I was also here in 2019. I planned to write about it, but it was at time that made me put it off until it was time for a different post. Rain in the morning and when it was time to go home, but we did have sunshine in the afternoon. Despite the rain it was a fun event. Pieter Spoelstra, my co-worker at the time had mentioned the Kamper Stripspektakel a few times, but it was Renée Rienties who was a convincing unofficial ambassador.
Moving right along to the 2022 edition. I'm not sure what triggered my brain, but it dawned on me that David den Ouden probably was on the same train. After a short WhatsApp converation I moved to his spot and we travelled to Kampen together.
Arrived in Kampen we joined the swarm of artists on their way to the stands. At the stand assigned to me I met Mike de Bruin and Jordi Zelle. Things were looking rather cramped, four artists sharing a stand. Merel Moonen would join us later. But the organisation had a quick solution, because of cancelations (not that kind!) Mike could move to the stand on our right.
The stand on our left was run by Roxanne Lucker and Esther van de Bund. We would discover later that we were connected. Renée Rienties came along and we had a nice cnversation about me entering the comic contest of the event and her successful crowdfunding projects (Nina and Figments of Passion). Yes, I took second place at the contest! This revealed the connection to Esther, she came in third.
After the conversation and revelation it was nearly time voor the official opening of the event at in the Stadskazerne. Part of the opening was the award ceremony of the Comic Contest. Paul Reichenbach was the host and among the people present was Paul Geerts! Renée was busy maing pictures. De prices were given by the mayor of Kampen, Sander de Rouwe. A big comic fan.
The music was provided by the Mpingo Clarinet Choir. Vick Henriquez and Zie Groenen gave a presentation of their comic workshop present at the event. Another speaker was Kees-Jan van der Klooster of the Wheel Chair Skills Team. They had a Wheelchair Challenge where people could experience being in a wheelchair and discover that they can still extend their limits by learning skills. Hij also presented the comic Sam en Sarah. Een story about two rolling kids that shows the problems Sam and Sarah roll into and how they deal with them.
Back to the awards ceremony. The audience award went to Alex ten Berge. Third place, turned out to be a shared third place. Next to Esther to the work of Rins de Vries was also rewarded. The second place was for yours truly. Coming in first place was Leonore Lichtveld. And after that the connection with Roxanne became clear. She had won a conselation price. And Renée turned out to be a director as well. She, ehm, made sure Roxanne came into focus.
After the opening I was approached by the Pieter Spoelstra's sister. Pieter couldn't make it to the event. She happens to work at the location and when she heard my name she didn't have to look for my stand. She was very friendly, but we had to keep it short as I was expected for a photo shoot. This was a different experience for a hand model such as I. We had fun.
I'm not sure anymore who came before, during and after lunch at my stand. So let's start by mentioning the nice lunch provided by the organisation.
Leonore came by. During the photo shoot Esther and I had read her winning comic, so it was nice that I could let her read mine. She will have her own stand at The Big Draw!. And you can read her comic here to!
Kees-Jan van der Klooster came to congratulate me and he also read my comic. He noticed a sentence that was typically for Rotterdam. Wacht maar hier dan bedenk ik iets. Now I'm wondering if I use more sentences that are typical for Rotterdam.
Merel Moonen joined our stand. I remembered that we had an email exchange a few years ago. She was interested in being a DM (dungeon master) during the DnD event 'Descend into Dungeons and Dragons' at CAPSLOC. Unfortunately the location turned out to be too far away. She remembered my name from social media. Merel was selling her graphic novel. I was allowed to flip through it. It has a nice atmosphere and invites to read. It's one to keep in mind when I'm at an event as a visitor. No comic event is complete without Ramon Schenk. The last time he surprised me, but this time he almost missed me.
Herman Savenije of the Brabants Stripspektakel came by. Always nice to talk to him, especially since it had been awhile. Less long ago was seeing Irene Berbee. This time she was present as a visitor. Irene is now one of the Jan, Jans en de kinderen artists. I've read a lot of the comics written and drawn by Jan Kruis. The ones that had pets in the main role were my favourite. I must confess I haven't read the comic in years, but now that Irene is drawing it I will have to keep an eye on the new albums.
I vistied the stand of Marissa Delbressine. I couldn't pass up on the limited edition print of The Shadow Prophet. Talking about my competition comic our conversation led to children with a rich imaginationand how a couch can become a castle or something else. I certainly was one and she had one at home.
Paul Reichenbach came to see how the day went and to explain the feedback on the competition comic. In 2019 he also stopped by as it was my first time attending the event. What about next year? For a stand it's almost a certainty, for the competition it will depend what I'm doing at the time. I made two drawings for two of the volunteers. For one I could take the time, but I had to be fast on the other.
In terms of sales I'm grateful to Coen Vosveld van KAF and Esther for buying Imaginary Muse #1. I also got more confirmation that the Metal Pedal knight appeals to children. I also thank Willem the super salesman, who gave me the oppurtunity to walk around a bit.
I met Karin when it was time to pack things up and say goodbye. She had a good day. Luckily David also hadn't left yet when I walked by. He too had a good day.
My day was made. Not just because of the contest. The weather was good. I had met some familiar faces and made some new contacts. Paul and the rest of the organisation had organised another great event. Thanks to Renée for the nice photo's. See you next year!
