ConSequential Pub Meet - Unsettling Comics, Thursday 29th August

Who doesn’t like a good scare? Realistically, people with nervous conditions. But everyone else loves it, so everyone else should come to the pub and talk about comics of the uncanny. 

Adamtine, Interiorae, Black Hole, Ed the Happy Clown, Swamp Thing, everything by Chris Ware - there’s plenty of comics out there that unsettle and unnerve without straying into explicit horror.

Unsettling doesn’t need to mean scary. If Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman gives you warm and fluffy Christmas Eve feelings, you should look at out some of his other works, like When the Wind Blows, a slow-burn dark comedy about what happens when an elderly couple follow the actual “Protect and Survive” advice given by the UK government in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. If the little scarf on the ground gives you the sniffles, this will leave you weeping under the stairs.

So bring along the books that send a tingle up your spine, and we’ll talk about that and doubtless more besides. August 29th, 8 p.m. onwards, the Geldart pub, Cambridge.

The First ConSequential Pub Meet Happened!

Last Thursday, I went to the pub. With Dave and Roger. Which wasn't really so different from a lot of other Thursday evenings, except this time we asked the comics fans of Cambridge to come and join us. Also, there were a couple of bags of mini Daim bars floating around, which doesn't usually happen (because they're basically crack in little red wrappers)*. We were pretty pleased with how it went - both in terms of turnout (including people we'd never met before - thanks guys!) and the general enthusiasm of everyone who attended when it came to Talking About Comics. Among other things, we discussed Chew, Prophet, Long John Silver ("that pirate thing"), Sandman Mystery Theatre, plus some old-timey stuff (there was an old edition of Little Orphan Annie comics floating around the table) and bande dessinée, including La Bête est Morte!. We didn't talk about Hawkeye, but might as well have done. Many people admired Swamp Thing.

It was absolutely lovely to meet new people from all over Cambridge with an interest in comics, and the evening positively flew by (aided by beer, of course). The plan now is to organise another meetup for the middle of May, and to see if we can put on some manner of talk. Watch this space for further details!

*Also, we went for a kebab afterwards.

Would you like to come to the pub?

We would. So we're going to one, and we'd like some people to come too. Join us at our comics meetup in Cambridge on Thursday 11th April.

It'll be quite informal, with people welcome to drop in and out as they please. There's no fixed agenda, though the vague topic up for discussion will be, "what's the best thing you've read so far this year?". Failing that, we'll probably just end up talking about what we've read recently. We're none of us experts, and everyone is welcome, from comics novices to those of you who have managed to microchip Alan Moore and are keeping tabs on his whereabouts remotely (please don't do that, though; it's weird).

The plan is to meet at the Live & Let Live on Mawson Road at 19.00, but if signups are overwhelming then we'll try to book a room somewhere (and will let you know in plenty of time!). There's no need to actually print and bring a ticket - signups are more for us to keep track of numbers than anything else.

But given all that, we would appreciate it if you'd let us know you're coming.

If this goes well, we're hoping to organise some more meetups around Cambridge in the coming months, and probably London and Brighton too.

Hope to see you there!