Expocómic 2014

This last week has been jam packed with all sorts of interesting outings but I'll start off where it all began; last Sunday when I went to my first ever comic convention. Aurora from the creative group invited me along with her boyfriend and we arrived to stand in the drizzle to buy tickets. Inside the enormous space was filled with stall after stall selling comics and other merchandise. There was a videogame section with lots of consoles to play with and stands where people could pay to be made up into their favourite comic or manga character.

 

There were graphic artists doing demonstrations on stalls selling their work and other authors signing books and prints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a cosplay competition going on in one corner of the convention with a crowd of people dressed up in fantastical costumes. Ironman won 2nd place in the individual competition:

 

 

 

While a manga character that I didn't recognise won first place:

 

 

There were a couple of Elsas and Annas from Disney's Frozen:

 

 



 

My favourites were the overall winners; a group dressed in brilliant oriental inspired outfits:

 

 

 

 

There were plenty of people wandering around in their costumes too:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really enjoyed it but was a little disappointed in some things. It's true that many different types of comic and graphic novel were represented in some way or another; from superheroes to manga and beyond, but I was shocked at the general oversexualisation of women. From the leaflet advertising the convention to the souvenir mugs and towels some stalls were selling, images of semi-naked, grossly exaggerated cartoon women were plastered everywhere. I've since learned that in Japan pornography in banned and that as a result many people resort to manga and other comics. Erotic images have their place but most of the time it just seemed totally gratuitous; the first pages of the convention guide begin with a cartoon strip of a girl getting up and getting ready to go out to visit the convention...fair enough. Except that the first page is devoted to 3 large cartoons of her bum, crotch and cleavage as she puts on her thong, tight leather trousers and crop top. There were plenty of families with young children dotted around the convention, what kind of message are we sending them if the most common images of women they see in comic books are all either minutely slim, totally naked japanese girls in sexually naive poses or Jessica Rabbit style manga sex objects? Of course not all comics or graphic novels portray women in this way but it seems sad that some artists seem to think that the only way to make a story interesting is to add some random naked girls.

 



 

All in all though I really enjoyed the convention; something's got to be said for a place where you can just sit and eat your lunch with a tail and nobody bats an eyelid...

 

 





Panteón de Hombres Ilustres

Yesterday morning I was enjoying my cornflakes at the dining table and staring out of the window... when I noticed the building opposite our flat. On my first day here Marisa had told me that it was some sort of cemetery and that I ought to visit it as it has a beautiful garden. It was one of those gloriously sunny winter days we get here in Madrid and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so I decided to have a look.

 

 

 

A sign on the gate said that it was called the Panteón de Hombres Ilustres and didn't mention anything about an entrance fee so I hopped up the steps and went in. The building itself is surrounded by an ornamental rose garden with lots of lovely trees and benches to enjoy the sunshine. It being December there weren't many roses still in flower but I managed to find this lovely one:

 

 

 

 

There were also swathes of these white flowers all along the boundary walls:

 

 

 

 

The architecture was interesting with lots of moorish looking touches





 

 

 

 

Inside were the funeral monuments of several famous Spaniards from the Victorian era. I recognised some of the names from streets or areas in Madrid; Calle Sagasta or Ríos Rosas etc.

 

 



 

 

 



 

 

 

 

The sculptures were at times a little dodgy and at others quite impressive; I liked the detail in this foot:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outside there were lots of little sparrows skipping about and while I was watching them I heard a squawking from above. It turned out to be a green parrot or parakeet! I'm not sure what species it is exactly as it doesn't have a ring round its neck or a red beak like a ring-necked parakeet, it also looks a bit like a quaker parrot but I really have no idea. If anyone knows and could leave it in the comments below that would be really helpful.

 

 



 

 

 

The Panteón de Hombres Ilustres can be found in Paseo de la Reina Cristina and is open to the public on weekdays and weekends for free.