Top comic creator's words of advice for first-time comic con students
Hamish Steele has had work adapted by Netflix and won an Eisner Award
- Published
"There's been times during this journey that I've been very, very poor," says Hamish Steele.
You might not expect to hear that from a comic book creator who's won one of the industry's top awards and had his work adapted by Netflix.
But that's what Hamish, the mind behind graphic novel and TV series DeadEndia, is telling a group from Staffordshire University.
BBC Newsbeat's got the students on the Cartoon and Comic Arts course together with Hamish ahead of MCM Comic Con in London this weekend.
The three-day event, dedicated to all things pop culture, takes place twice a year and attracts more than 100,000 visitors.
That makes it one of the biggest comic conventions in the UK, and a great place for fans to meet their favourite creators from across the globe.
More than 100,000 fans attend London Comic Con events each year
Staffordshire University has links with MCM, which has allowed the students to host stalls there.
And Hamish has some tips for the students on selling at your first convention.
"Your expectations shouldn't be to necessarily sell out and make tons of money," says Hamish.
"I think it should more be about learning."
With thousands of fans hitting the event, it's a competitive space, even for established artists like Hamish.
"I still try to think of ways to stand out at my table," he says.
Hamish acknowledges that one of the main ways to make it nowadays is through social media.
"Initially I was publishing my comics on social media and just slowly gaining an audience," he says.
He also thinks social media has changed since he started writing comics.
"We're struggling to transition to a version of social media that's much more video-based," he says.
"I find it extremely uncomfortable to talk about," he says. "You know, to be on camera saying: 'Hi, this is my new work'."
He says he tries to not be concerned about follower counts as he wants to keep enjoying his job and not focus too much on the numbers.
Jackson and Theo have been working on a folklore and mystery comic
The students at the uni, in Stoke-On-Trent, have been raising money to get their illustrated creations printed into physical copies for the first time.
They have been working in small groups to create anthologies of short stories covering topics including folklore and mythical creatures in a range of styles such as Manga and newspaper cartoons.
Different art styles have been presented in the books, such as Manga and newspaper cartoon.
Theo Nicol, 23, can't believe that they finally have a physical piece of work published.
"They were delivered to my house, so I was the first one that saw them," says Theo, who uses they/them pronouns.
"I was like 'oh my God, this is so cool!'"
"I've never had my work in formal print before," says Jackson Tuck-Devlin, 20.
"Being able to touch and feel something that's been made by me has been really exciting," he says.
Students at Staffordshire University are selling their comic books at Comic Con
Uni student Jacob, tells Newsbeat he can't believe he's printing out work to sell, and would be "absolutely chuffed" if people wanted him to sign it.
He's treating this as the start of his comic book career and says he hopes it "works out well" after he's "put so much effort in".
Lucinda Belas, 21, is also "pretty excited" for MCM Comic Con.
"I'm quite excited to see everyone in my course have their selling stands together," she says.
"That is what I'm kind of looking forward to more than anything else," she adds.
Em Williams, also on the Cartoon and Comics Art course at Staffordshire Uni, says that she has "only been wanting to do comics for two years" but loves art and telling stories.
She's been to Comic Con once before and is "nervous and excited" to be selling her own work at the event.
"This is the first comic that I've ever got physically printed," says Em, 21.
"I keep looking at it like: 'Oh, this is so cool!'
"I'm excited to try and sell it and get it out there."
Comic book lovers say they are "excited" to be attending the convention
Hamish says he hopes he is the "example of a success story", but you don't need a huge budget to make a start on your own comic.
"I've always wanted to tell stories and create characters," Hamish says.
"Comics are a great way of getting your idea out of your head and onto paper as cheap as possible.
"The good thing about comics is that you don't really need a budget.
"I think you need time."
But he does warn: "I think that comes with some sacrifices".
MCM Comic Con London takes place at ExCel London 24-26 May.
