| Oct. 16th, 2006 @ 01:03 pm SPX 2006 War Report |
|---|
Just got back from Small Press Expo 2006 in Maryland, USA. The Marriott was nice, the people were even nicer. It was immensely cool meeting all of the folks I've chatted with online for the past hundred years. When you meet up with internet pals, you quickly realize that our online personas are never like our real selves. For example, I may have the most posts on the Crown Commission message board but in real life I'm more inclined to be the dude hiding in the corner. If I were in Paris I'd be sitting in cafes all day watching people, because I love them and they fascinate me. Here are some pics I took during the three-day comics extravaganza.
Landed at Dulles Airport on Thursday at sundown. Turns out it's way cheaper to land at Ronny Reagan and take the Metro to the hotel. I ended up dropping almost 30 ducats on a shuttle ride. But I got to sit next to a cool lady from Germany who told me about her travels, so maybe it was meant to be.
I brought my own "mini," a collection of stuff I drew during the 2005-06 Daily Grind calendar year. Printed 30 and managed to trade all of them during SPX so I brought back dozens of other artists' stuff to read. Also spent a lot of cash on larger items as well. I regret nothing!
Robin McConnell & Ed Brisson chilling in room 705. Ed's drinking from his pimp cup, something I knew he's been wanting for awhile. I just had to buy one with his name on it and present it to him upon my arrival. Later he made us all his stable of hoes and I regretted the purchase deeply.
Here's the greatest cat in the whole wide world, Robin Bougie. The poor dude has to deal with so many uptight assholes attacking him for the sexual nature of his art & writing, it's just ridiculous. If his evangelist detractors could just meet him they'd see what a nice guy they're screaming at, and maybe they'd shut the hell up. Probably not, though. Robin had a rough start to the expo; hotel security threatened to shut him down and have him arrested for violating some local statute about photos involving ping-pong paddles stuck in people's mouths. I can only assume croquet mallets in the ear are A-OK. Robin had the last laugh though: he sold out of everything but t-shirts!
New Reliable & Crown Commission in full effect! Ed & Jason Turner man the table while cybernetic security agent Jeff Bent stands on the left, ready to snap limbs like twigs if need be. Ed's newest publication, You Ain't No Dancer 2, didn't win its crowded Ignatz Awards category ("best SPX debut") but it's still a damn fine book everyone needs on their bookshelf.
Jamie Dee Galey of Found Hat Press scans the skies for invading alien armadas.
Jam Torkberg works his magic on Mike Stevens. Shazam! Your ass is a peanut.
Against his will, Robin is shown The Love by Mike Stevens. At one point during the weekend, Mike was heard to remark, "Tim that is so not who I thought you were." Come on, Miguel...everyone knows I enjoy kicking telephones. It's my thing, man! Well, that and trying new snacks and drinks. Case in point? The 7-11 near SPX had new Godiva coffee drinks. I declare them to be delectable!
Über-cute couple Eric Feurstein & Jess Fink! I can't get over the sheer artistic power of Comics Couples. Drew Weing & Eleanor Davis, Robin Bougie & Rebecca Dart, Tom McHenry & Sara Bauer...the list is immense. I shall build a time machine and go hook up with Hildegard von Bingen. Wait for me here.
See, what did I tell you about comics couples? Jennifer & Matt from Square Cat Comics. They're super nice people and talented to boot! Truthfully, I haven't seen Matt's comics, but I'm going to assume he's a pen & ink maniac so it fits my theory.
A view of SPX from the New Reliable / Crown Commission corner. This serves two purposes: It illustrates the many people who attended this electrifying event, and it proves I'm 7 feet tall. I hide it well.
"Sure, comics are all well and good," you say, "but what about the hotel room binges? The comics parties of Caligula-like proportions?" Fair enough. Let's get to it.
You see the disturbing imagery you're in for, sir or madam? Be careful what you wish for. But since you demanded to see the Friday night Bacchanalia which no doubt gave me this sore throat, let's continue.
Exhibit A, your honor. Mike Stevens assaults Robin Bougie in full view of a crowd and my camera. The trial can not end well for Mr. Stevens.
Brian Fukushima, the coolest pop culture junkie I know, and Jamie's schvantz. Seriously, Brian could work a Nintendo reference into a Bible studies class. Come to think of it, so could I. But I could never hold a candle to his mastery of the pun. The man's a machine. Plus he sings, ladies!
Here's Xander Cook writhing in pain because, as I recall, somebody punched him in the Sacagawea. No idea why though, he's a nice fella.
Speaking of nice fellows, Dalton Sharp was 100% different in personality than I anticipated. His comics have this hypnotic darkness to them, a mystery that is heightened by the elegant lines of his pen. In person, however, he was all smiles and I had some great chats with him.
The theme of the Expo was "Do Homoerotic Things To Robin Bougie." Jamie took it to heart, wrestling Robin on the bed where Mike had done the same thing only minutes before.
Afterwards, Robin fell off the bed into the wall. Here he reacts to the situation in the only manner possible.
Color commentators Famous John Campbell and Tom "Handsomest Man Alive" McHenry discuss whether anything sexier could be done to Mr. Bougie that night.
Here Sara Bauer expresses shock as Jason Turner outlines the plan he's hatched to further degrade Robin with the help of Jamie.
'Nuff said.
On Saturday I hit a couple Q&As with comics luminaries like this guy, Scott McCloud. Mr. McC has written a bunch of stuff about the mechanics of the art form, and here he discusses a theory from his latest book, Making Comics. He said "fuck" about four times during the hour-long speech, which helped keep me awake after a night of fitful sleep. So thank you Scott for your vehemence.
I don't often post pics with me in them because it makes me ill, but this one's funny. I met up with Penina, an internet friend of mine for five years now, and we tried to look tough for the lens. She's now a student at CCS, the coolest comics school on the planet. So is my pal Morgan [not pictured]. I mention this because we comics types like to give each other "shout-outs," which is but one of the ways in which we resemble the hip hop community.
On Saturday night a bunch of us ate dinner at T.G.I. Ruby Bennigan's. L to R: Tom McHenry, Sara Bauer, Xander Cook, Famous John Campbell, Brian Fukushima, Jam Torkberg, and Weatherwise.
Over at the kids' table, Jeff Skinner kept a crazy eye open at all times to make sure Mike Stevens and the others didn't steal silverware.
I can't think of any picture to end with that better sums up SPX 2006 than Weatherwise and a plate of cheese fries. Thanks again everyone for being so cool. I had a fantastic time at my first comics event. I'll cherish even this runny nose when the sun has long since gone dark and crumbled to dust. *smooch!* |
|  |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
tundraboy's journal
