My MoCCA 2010

You know that giggly feeling you get in your belly when you find a comic on the shelf you thought might be sold out cause you couldn't get to the comic shop early enough on a Wednesday, but then it's there and you realize it even has a special guest appearance by someone awesome you didn't know was gonna show up like Deathlok or Kamandi or even FUCKING LOCKJAW?! That's what it's like for me CONSTANTLY when I wander the aisles at MoCCA, and this year's show had my big ol' belly all aflutter.

Unlike last year's oven-roasted death-trap, the show this year felt cool temperature-wise AND crowd-wise. I noticed there was a large hang-out area at the back of the hall I don't remember last year that made for a great meet-up/breather area, and with the show in early April, the weather meant the non-climate controlled Armory housing the event wasn't stuffed with heavy B.O. and WARMTH.

I also ran into an army of friends, co-workers and friend co-workers, which always helps make a show more fun thanks to the constant "Holy balls, what did you buy?!" or "Dude dude DUDE, lemme see the sketch you got from Lucy Knisley!" sorts of conversations. I know Frank Miller was at the show, but I never spotted him. And I didn't even try to break out my Watchmen sketchbook, though I now wish I had (re: Lucy Knisley).

The show was flowing with newsprint comics, which makes me wonder if that's a new grasp at nostalgia or if I was just NOT paying attention to past similarly formatted books. I literally doubled my newspaper-esque comic collection after this show. Meanwhile, I think I bought more comics from creators I'm not all that familiar with at this show than any other MoCCA, which was FUN. I skipped the panels, I took a break to eat (thanks for making me, Emily), I spent all the money I saved for this, and I want to roll the show up into a pillowcase so I can snuggle with it every night of the year. Here's what I bought:

pictured above:

SECRET PRISON - A free newsprint comic from a Philly-based comics collective with a rad yellow cover, this was the first comic I got at the show on newsprint. Flipping through, a creator named Art Baxter stood out.

HERO LAND #1-6 - Esther Pearl Watson's neat screen-printed superhero parody comics. NEON!

ESCHEW #2 - A new issue of Robert Sergel's creepy stark black and white comics!

DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL STICKER - This was available in support of the off-Broadway play based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Phoebe Gluckner. I'ma put it on your face!

pictured above:

EVERYTHING DIES #1-2 - Two great-looking minis from Box Brown, a creator I've only just started reading.

UNSYNDICATED PRESS - Box Brown's comic collection of his online strip Bellen!, this was the second comic I got at the show on newsprint.

HEAVEN ALL DAY - I'm so fucking excited about this book from John Martz that looks like it's about an alien and an average joe trying to find happiness. Reminded me of Jonathan Bennett, Graham Annable and Martin Cendreda all wrapped together!

MACHINE GUM #1 - A little anthology of John Martz's shorter works! Check this guy out!

THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE COCAINE - My BFF Sean T. Collins wrote this based-on-true-events mini about a period in David Bowie's life where he did a lot of coke and had a pretty disturbing mental breakdown. Art by Isaac Moylan, you can find a copy here. This was the first book I bought at the show!

pictured above:

POOD #1 - ANOTHER newsprint comic! This time it's an anthology with Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca (the Street Angel guys) and a whole lot of others including Hans Rickheit. This makes 3...

PHASE 7 #7 - Creator Alec Longstreth's Phase 7 series is usually made up of standalone autobio issues, but the fictional "Basewood" storyline was taking him a while to complete, so he broke up the series by skipping the numbering of the rest of the story arc and left room in the middle of the series for the remaining chapters. Now, three years later, chapter three of "Basewood" has arrived! I'm so excited!

PHASE 7 #15 - See above for why there's a new issue of Phase 7 and it's 8 issues after the other new issue. Alec's comics are so fun to read.

SNAKE PIT 2009 - Ben White's daily autobio comics about hard-party living in Austin, Texas, are now being collected by Birdcage Bottom Books after their last run at Microcosm. I can't explain how much joy I've gotten out of these stories about a young rock-baller kicking ass back in my home-state. That's what made it kinda poopy to hear Ben's gonna stop making the book after 2010's collected - his 10th anniversary of diary comics. MADNESS.

MIGHTY SKULLBOY ARMY #12 - New Jacob Chabot fun!

5 COMING OF AGE STORIES #1-10 - I've never heard of CCS student Max de Radigues, but his cute series of French-translated diary comics - each packaged as 5-issue bundles with a color band - are BOSS.

pictured above:

FRANCIS SHARP IN THE GRIP OF THE UNCANNY CHAPTER 1 - Like something out of a long-lost volume of Flight, this 84-page story about a boy battling back against the unknown looks so AWESOME! Artist B. Sabo also gave me a mer-people print!

INVINCIBLE SUMMER #16/CLUTCH #21 - A new issue of Clutch I didn't know came out last year! I hear there's a big-ole "lost stories" collection coming this year?

WEIRD BUT TRUE TOON FACTOIDS - I got this Craig Yoe book poppin' with useless comics facts for free.

INKDICK #2-7 - Never heard of this diary comic till MoCCA! Unique book dimensions and fresh art style hooked me in for all the issues creator Pranas Naujokaitis had.

BEARD - Another book by Pranas, this time it's about BEARDS! Fun comic flap in the front, too.

pictured above:

MOCCA PROGRAM GUIDE - Cover by Dash Shaw.

THE GLOW - Swedish Comic Fun #1! Creepy-bonkers story about a guy zapping himself on a roof while fixing the TV antennae. Nuttiness ensues. From Shamila Banerjee.

POOR PINKI - Swedish Comic Fun #2! Also from Banerjee comes this (creepy?) kitty tale.

YOU'RE TALKING WITH THE WRONG PERSON #2 - Swedish Comic Fun #3! A Martin Ernstsen autobio comic! Bought the first issue last year at a comic shop in the city. Clean, crisp art.

TRIGGER #1 - Mike Bertino's new mini looks like an ice cream tastes on a hot summer day and he's packed three stories in for maximum flavor fun. Reminded me a lot of Ted May if Ted May had a Cartoon Network show.

HOT TOWN - A summer of diary comics set in New York City from Robyn Jordan.

PEDAL PUSH - Also from Robyn Jordan - a roadtrip comic!!!

GETTING THERE - A comic about the interesting folks who perform in the NYC subways from Robyn Jordan! That's three minis about topics right up my alley and all for cheap! REALLY like this cover.

pictured above:

CABOOSE - MORE newsprint comics?!?! This one from the CCS folks. My 4th at the show and it was free!

CCS FLYER - I've got the last three of these, but this one's from the previously mentioned Max de Radigues and laid out like a letter home from a current student.

LITTLE WOLVES - James Hindle comic starring a kid's book artist who goes through a little bit of a tough time. BEAUTIFUL cover.

EVERYDAY - A narrative comic (of sorts) by Joe Lambert!! Lookit his art lookit his art lookit his art.

HEAVY HANDED - JP Coovert is one of my favorite CCS grads and he had this new comic about a dude getting fired and going on a nuts adventure involving a wizard and some monsters. YEAH.

ONLY SKIN #5 - Do you like small-town mysteries, hand-made comics, ghosts, spooky forests, awkward interactions with your dead dad's secret lover and MURDER? Go right now and find copies of this series from Sean Ford, which is possibly my favorite series to pick up at MoCCA and SPX whenever it comes out.

FUTURE - New volume of the standalone 4-Square anthology series from a rotating crew of creators and I Know Joe Kimpel.


And that's it! Possibly the best thing of all was hanging out with and seeing all my best friends. TJ wrote up the show from his perspective over here and Sean did the same here. Otherwise, it was coooool to see Emily and Amy, Jesse, Ryan, Alex, David, Matt, Alejandro, Jon, Heather, Adam S., Darren, Rex, Rachel and John, Paul M. Adam P, Pornsak, Sal, and more and more and more. Comics and friends!

And this weekend? C2E2 - see you in Chicago!

BROOKLYN COMICS AND GRAPHICS FESTIVAL 2009

There was a new comic show in New York this weekend, so Sam and I headed down to Brooklyn to check it out!

Set up by Desert Island comic shop and PictureBox, the first Brooklyn Comics and Graphic Festival was held in the basement of a church in Williamsburg on Saturday only. I've always heard about comic shows back in the day being held in church basements, so I was glad I finally got to experience one. Generally, between my group of friends, we've all been looking forward to a new alternative comics show located in NYC to give MoCCA a run for its money. Don't get me wrong, MoCCA's been a highlight each year for me, but two shows are better than one, and any natural competition scared up by the presence of a second show should only provide increased entertainment for the show-goers. Besides, it's fucking New York City - there's room.

The weather wasn't the best this weekend. When it wasn't raining, it was slushing or snowing. But that didn't keep the crowd away from the FREEEEE admission and the small room - which the church quaintly decorated with orange and gold foil streamers and dangling accouterments which reminded us all we were still in a church basement - was constantly packed to, "Whoops, excuse me" capacity. Check out the pictures Sam snapped around 3 in the afternoon:

(The above is the view from the front facing the special signing stage set up in the back. To the left of the stage was an Asian hotdog stand)

(The view of the always-crowded far left aisle. We all love the PictureBox short-boxes and Frank Santoro's contagious excitement - you shoulda seen him pitch two kids on Shang Chi issues!)

We knocked the show out in about an hour because we'd seen a lot of the exhibitors at previous shows this year like SPX and MoCCA, but there was still PLENTY of stuff to find and buy that we'd never seen before. And the smallness of the show wasn't a problem at all. It kept table prices low so a lot of great people could afford to come out and it made the whole experience feel a lot more intimate than your average show. Here's what I picked up:

FIRST PICTURE:

• NEW MINI DASH SHAW MADE - Packed with drawings of people partying to the max, this new mini was free from Shaw, who I said hello to for the first time since I spoke to him back when I worked at Wizard.
• ESCHEW #1 - Secret Acres was selling this razor sharp mini from Robert Sergel for cheap! And it was the story inside titled "Thirteen Bad Experiences Involving Water that clinched the sale.
• SNAKE OIL #5: wOLF - Chuck McBuck's fifth issue was at the show! Great cover and I can't wait to read the insides.
• TALES FROM GREENFUZZ #2 - I got issue #3 at SPX this year and I'm still dizzy from the hilariously creative designs and colors inside. Want to see a 2-page spread where French Fry people and a hotdog seize a town of food people? Of course you do. Buy this book.
• FREE SHIT #16 - Charles Burns tossed me this little mini of random portraits.
• LOSE #1 - It's got a glossy cover and pages, it looks like it'll be ongoing, it's by a guy I don't think I've ever heard of and it's filled with cute little designs that remind me of vinyl toys. Check out creator Michael DeForge here RIGHT AWAY.

SECOND PICTURE:

• SMOKE SIGNAL #3 - A free comics paper Desert Island puts together. Garbielle Bell! Anders Nilsen! Chester Brown! And loads of others at the low price of nada.
• EPOXY #1 - I love John Pham (the cover to Sublife #1 is my desktop at work and it should be yours, too) and had no idea this book existed until I read Jog write about having picked it up at a PictureBox table at some show in the past year. Luckily for me, PictureBox had another copy at their table during THIS show, and I finally got it. Now I need to get issue #2...
• PROGRAM GUIDE - Sporting a big image from Charles Burns that I'm certain I saw somewhere else before, the program guide was just a single newspaper print with elements on the front and back. The back had the map of the floor and a list of exhibitors. I passed on purchasing the gigantic poster featuring the Burns art, which you can see here.
• WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS... - I'd never heard of Domitille Collardey, but her ink and brush style has this fierce sort of delicateness I couldn't pass up. The 4-page color section is the real winner here as her watercolor skills are on full, warming display. She also puts the book in an envelope when you buy it, which was fun.

And that's all I picked up other than my new sketches, which I'll post in the next day. All in all, the show was a lot of fun and I was glad to get to see Dave, Sean, Rachel and John while we were out. Hopefully enough people bought new stuff to keep the show going every year - or to at least promote other new shows to give it a go.

My MoCCA 2009

Oh, man, it's been a while since I last posted.

But screw all that noise, cause I'm back with a report on my adventures at MoCCA 2009!

The show was hosted at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan this year instead of the Puck Building as it had been in the past. It was easy to find and after a coffee at Penn Station and a quick stop at the doggie park in Madison Square Park, my girlfriend and I arrived at 11:15 because doors were supposed to open at 11. But there was some sort of mix-up and we had to stand in a line that wrapped the entire block! We stayed in the sun until we got in at 12:15! Blah.

But while in line, we were joined by our great friends Sean T. Collins and Kiel Phegley! Kiel made the trip in from Chicago specifically for the show, too. We got inside and they only charged us $5 instead of $10 because of the wait. Which was nice.

The inside of the armory has this MASSIVE arc-ceiling arena that reminded me of the kinds of civic centers made out of wood I grew up with in Oklahoma where 4H shows and rodeos took place. Imagine the court the team played on in Hoosiers. You get it.

PANORAMIC VIEW FROM ENTRANCE

Bazookas in display cases and mosaics of old American military battles were spread across the venue and it was fun randomly spotting men in Army fatigues slowly creeping through the crowd with bewildered looks on their faces as they came out of their offices to check out the show. Otherwise, it was comics comics COMICS! MoCCA has always been the show that reminded me most why I love comics and this year was the same. And despite the complete LACK of air conditioning or any semblance of a breeze inside the building, I happily hunted down new books and additions to my Watchmen sketchbook. I'd been saving for a LONG while to spend like I could. So, here's what I got:

FIRST PICTURE:

PICTURED:

• The MoCCA program - sports a beautiful cover by Molly Crabapple. And I didn't open it once.
• I finally found a copy of Jin & Jam #1 from Hellen Jo! I love the way she draws people like they're etched.
  
• Calvin & Hellen's Bogus Journey Instruction Booklet - Hellen also had copies of this mini that reads like one of those old booklets that came with Nintendo games where the weapons and enemies and stuff are all outlined with illustrations. Only this is for their new game (which they had on playable display at their table!).
• And I grabbed two of her postcards with her art on them because I am in love with them.

At the Buenaventura booth I snagged (also pictured above):

• Rumbling Chapter Two - the second part of the story Kevin Huizenga started in Or Else #5. I hope a #6 comes out...
• Mistakes We Made - new mini from Lisa Hanawalt that ends with a pretty BRAVE sketch if that is, indeed, her that she is sketching.
• It's Sexy When People Know Your Name - Little random sketchbook/humorous anecdotes collection from Lisa.

NEXT PICTURE:

WHAT YOU SEE:

• Snake Pit 2008 - I can't believe I didn't know this was coming out! I've been reading this diary comic as a mini for about 5 years. It's great to see it still coming out in book form. It's even better to see it when I didn't expect it!
• The nice ladies at the Microcosm booth where I bought Snake Pit gave me a sticker and their 2009 Publishing catalogue filled with neat stuff I now want. Dammit.
• Ten Thousand Things To Do #2 and #3 - Jesse Reklaw's diary comic keeps surprising me with its quality. I've never read his dream comics, but this stuff is GREAT.
• Pixu II - The second and final installment of the horror book by Becky Cloonan, Vasilis Lolos, Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon. yes yes YES! Dark Horse is collecting this self-published book sometime soon (I saw a proof copy on Becky's table) but since I bought issue #1, I figured I'd get issue #2 instead of the upcoming hardcover.
  
• Featherweight - a wordless little story about a snowman in danger from Jamil Mani who was there as part of the Swedish collective of artists at the show. It's pretty and I felt great buying a book from a guy who flew so far for people like me to see it.
• Phase 7 #14 - European roadtrip issue! Creator Alec Longstreth's beard has become epic, by the way.

NEXT NEXT NEXT:

One of my great pleasures at these shows is picking up what's new from the people who have graduated from CCS. This year, they were all clustered together for the most part against the back wall. So I grabbed:

• Prune Hands - It's the newest book from Mario van Buren, the man who brought you Girls Don't Poop. Mario's stories in The Marsh and a recent CCS anthology book were both pretty emotionally shocking/stunning and Girls Don't Poop was clever, so I'm psyched to read this and see where it goes. And dig that baby blue cover!
• Simple Routines #10 and #11 - Two new diary comics from JP Coovert! Once JP started knocking out minis with non-autobio stories, I thought the diary was gonna go away. I'm glad to see it's still kicking. And both these covers are thrilling in their simplicity.
• A Fall A Part - JP's story about his experience with his mother's cancer. From the creativity of the book's construction to the touching moments within the story itself, this is exciting to read as a fan of JP's because his work is just getting better and better.
  
• CCS Guide - Written and drawn by both Alex Longstreth and JP Coovert, this brochure is a fun read about the virtues of the school they both attended (Alec as a fellow; JP as a graduate) and it's in a nice family alongside this bad boy.
• Sundays Three - The newest edition of the CCS anthology is actually three tiny books bound together by a band instead of the over-sized gargantua the group did the past 2 years. It's screen-printed heaven with stellar work from everybody involved.
• Snake Oil #3 - Chuck McBuck does another issue filled with oddness and surreal, delicate lines. I picked the black cover.
• Food/Fall - Joe Lambert does another colorful cornucopia comic filled with fun. Please go check out his site.

AND ANOTHER:

PICTURED ABOVE:

• My girlfriend, Sam, bought some great stickers from Tara McPherson including a little vampire one for me.
• Crooked Teeth #4 - I accidentally discovered Nate Doyle while browsing the mini section of Jim Hanley's Universe in Manhattan one week. I nabbed issues #2 and #3 of this series that looks like a chunky cartoon version of Paul Pope and Nate Powell. I dunno why this guy doesn't have a full-length book from Oni or some other company. And when I asked if he had any issues of issue #1, he smiled and said, "No...issue #1 wasn't very good." I respect a self-evaluating dude.
• Crooked Teeth #4 print - When I complimented Nate on the screen-printing job done on the cover to Crooked Teeth #4, he said he had trouble the first go-round and the white didn't line up like he wanted. So he brought along the printed mis-haps and handed them out. It'll make a cool framed piece of art.
• Paul #1 - another new mini from Nate Doyle.
• Papercutter #9 and #10 - I love this little anthology! Greg Means, the editor of the book, described it to a friend of mine who asked him what it was as, "A book I put out filled with creators I like to read so that other people can read them, too."
  
• Bird Hurdler - Another anthology I grabbed from Greg Means that was FREE (!) and published by Tugboat Press, Spark Plug Comics and Teenage Dinosaur. Filled with great artists like Farel Dalrymple, Theo Ellsworth, some lady I've never heard of named Lisa Rosalie Elsenberg but whose art I now love, and many others. And this thing is FREE in an effort to spread the word about comics. Man...

LAST PICTURE:

ABOVE:

• The Mighty Skullboy Army #11: Skullboy's Nemesis Mod Dog - The newest from the mighty talented and clever Jacob Chabot!
• And Don't Forget the Droids / Only What You Take With You - Two new Star Wars fanbook anthologies from the people who brought you the cutey-puhtootie Harvest Is When I need You The Most! I had no idea these were out!
• The Mourning Star vol. 2 - ANOTHER book I had no idea was out. Alec Longstreth told me while I was at his table. Guh! The cover is so gorgeous! I can't wait to read this.
• Cooking with Food - This is the first book I bought at the show. It stars the creator Evan Palmer cooking cute foods with cute faces. And they don't want to be cooked.
  
• The Ashen Cat - Another book from Evan Palmer, this one, though, features more experimental graphic story-telling techniques than Cooking With Food and stars a cat on an adventure. Again, Nate Powell-esque.
• Kingwood Himself - This is the second book I bought. Creator Reynold Kissing introduces a weird world explored by a curious little girl.
  

And that's it as far as my bought items. Next it's my Watchmen Sketchbook additions!

SETH does Golden Age Nite Owl!

The first one I got was from the very talented (very dapper) creator Seth. Sam and I were doing our first walk of the floor when I spotted him at the Drawn & Quarterly table signing for only one fan. So I jumped right in line, asked him if he was doings sketches, and got this beauty from him. Usually it takes me hours before I gather the courage to ask for a sketch. Something about Seth made me comfortable jumping right in before I'd even made a single purchase. He actually wanted to do one of the Golden Age characters, so after flipping through my copy of the trade I bring for reference, I found the group shot of the Minutemen before The Comedian attacks Silk Spectre. He was polite and very friendly and talked about the virtues of moving to Canada (I'd mentioned I thought about moving there). He said something along the lines of "I sometimes think I want more in a place where I live, but then I realize where I am is all I'll need and I change my mind." I think that's actually pretty perfect coming from him.

Fun tidbit: Seth said he hadn't seen the movie and hasn't read the book since it came out in single issue comic form back in the '80s!

JACOB CHABOT does present Nite Owl!

I'm a big fan of Chabot's work and I see him at a lot of shows, so when I spotted him sitting at MoCCA, I decided to finally ask him if he could sketch for me. What I got back is probably the most dynamic piece anyone's done for me! And look at Nite Owl's belly! Chabot's another guy whose lack of mainstream work baffles me. And he's nice as crap to boot!

Fun tidbit: Chabot drew the wraparound story for the Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular miniseries that came out this year and featured my buddy Alejandro Arbona, who I happened to see at MoCCA this year!

TOM GAULD does Rorschach!!!

HOLY BUTT CRACKS! Tom Gauld isn't an artist I could never catch. He was at MoCCA a couple years ago while, say, Seth hasn't been to America in FOUR YEARS. Even still, he was at the top of my list of artists to tap for a sketch this year...and I got him! I'd even gone over to the Buenaventura line where he was signing and JUST missed his time slot. They said he'd be back shortly, so later in the day, I stopped by to see if he was around and there he was! He even seemed excited when I brought up the sketchbook! We chatted for a bit about his trip to the states and he seemed happy despite both of us melting in the severe heat of the show near hour six.

Fun tidbit: Gauld is now the third cutest man in comics as far as I'm concerned.

Scott C. does a whole damn scene!!!

Here's another dude I didn't know was gonna be at the show! Scott C. has become one of my favorite creators thanks to his hilarious work in Hickee and his numerous gallery showings that feature pop culture-centric paintings. He was SUPER-nice when I asked him if I could get a sketch, and he was the creator I gabbed with the most at the show. And the piece he churned out is one of my favorites so far! I'm glad he included the pebis. I can't get over how nice and happy to talk he was!

Fun tidbit: Scott C. did a David Bowie piece recently and Sean loves Bowie and Sean made me a Bowie mix album last week and I put it on my iPhone and I used the Bowie image Scott C. made as the "cover image" in my phone when the mix album plays. So I showed Scott and he was excited!

After we left the show, we grabbed dinner across the street at the vegetarian Indian place where Kiel had the largest single piece of food I've ever seen in my life.

He ate the whole thing.

And then we headed to the CBLDF karaoke party.

Kiel searches for a song.

And then we searched for a bar after hitting the ATM.

money money money

Before we called it quits and headed home.


And that's that. There was plenty I couldn't pick up or forgot to get like Asterios Polyp, The Gigantic Robot (I thought it was a minicomic and not a $20 book, so I ran out of money by the time I got there), this Jim Rugg Afrodisiac book I found at the AdHouse table randomly (I meant to ask about it, but there was a line and I forgot to go back!), the new Syncopated Comics (I don't own any of these at all!!), Awesome 2: Awesomer, Woman King, Doing Time, Rocket Superb, Flashlight (I picked it up and meant to go back, but forgot!), Remake, Johnny Hiro vol. 1, Far Arden, a whole slew of books I'd never seen before from Lucy Knisley, and Love is a Peculiar Type of Thing.

I also missed out on meeting up with Jon Adams and Dustin Harbin (were you there this year, man?). I almost met Nathan Stapley, but he walked away. Sigh.

I want to say it was great to run into so many friends at the show like Darren, Heather, Adam, Aubrey, Pornsak, Sal, Joe, Laura, Paul, Rick, and anybody else I forgot.

And as I always feel the day after MoCCA every year, I can't wait for the next one. :)