L. Nichols' "Flocks" memoir comics

Just wanted to clue you in to an opportunity to pre-order the next four issues of L. Nichols' excellent "Flocks" comic series. The first issue is available from Retrofit Comics, and the rest will be available through Grindstone Comics (you can get a subscription or order individual issues). They'll all be in full color!

DIGESTATE contributors at SPX 2012

Turns out 18 of the Digestate contributors will be at SPX this year, so we've put together this handy map in case you'd like to get your book signed by them.

Victor Kerlow, Josh Burggraf & J.T. Dockery will be at SPX, although they don't have a table this year. But, if you want them to sign your book, you're in luck! Victor & Josh will be signing at the Birdcage Bottom Books table (H13) from 1:30 until 2:30 on Sunday and J.T. Dockery will be signing from 3:00 until 4:00 on Sunday.

We'll be handing out copies of this map with each book, so don't worry about trying to print out this lo-res version!

King Con II

Been a while since I rapped at ya.
King Con 2010 has come and gone. Sales weren't too great for me this year (they were the first year of King Con, though), but I met some more great folks so I can't complain. The NY Art Book Fair and the NY Marathon were both on the same weekend (I played human Frogger to get to the venue, barely avoiding being crushed by throngs of runners), so I think that put a little damper on attendance. I heard that a lot of small press comic publishers had tables at the Art Book Fair, and the Marathon caused a lot of disruption in bus/subway service.

I'd be lying if I said that sales aren't a part of why I do these comic conventions. So far (knock on wood) I've always made back what I paid for the table, sometimes even making a bit of profit. That's not easy to do selling comics that average about $3 or $4 each. This year I tried adding a "high dollar" item...$20 silk-screened t-shirts. Unfortunately, only one sold at the convention (although I've almost sold out of the first run using Etsy).

That said, the most important aspect of these shows for me is meeting other cartoonists, reviewers and the people that read my comics. As always it was a pleasure to share a table with Sophia Wiedeman. I was dismayed that L. Nichols wasn't in attendance, as she's been a welcome friendly face at every con I've tabled so far. Jonathan Baylis (So Buttons) and Jamie Tanner (The Aviary) are two talented dudes I had the pleasure to meet. For me, the true highlight of the whole con was running into Danny Hellman at a pizza place across the street after the first night. I recognized him from his self-portraits and we ended up flappin' our gums for quite a while as Danny's pizza grew colder and colder. I've followed his work since I moved to New York in 2001 (although he's been active since the late '80s). You can tell how much effort he puts into every illustration he does. The man never skimps, never takes a shortcut. It's always great when an artist you admire turns out to be a nice person as well.

Anyhow, that's my take on this year's King Con. See you at the next one!

SPX 2010

The somewhat bitter-sweet SPX was last weekend, and having a little distance from it now I think it went pretty damn well!

I say "bitter-sweet" because although I love almost every aspect of the Small Press Expo, I felt like people weren't buying many of our comics. Apparently it was an optical illusion, 'cause when I went home and tallied up the sales they were pretty much in line with previous cons. That is to say, we made back what we paid for the table, but lost money once you figure in gas, tolls, parking and food.

Luckily, comics aren't about money. If they were, these conventions would look like the Texas hill-country. I can't stress enough how nice it is to be in a room full of like-minded people. I spend the majority of my (working) time isolated, hunched over a drawing table. When I emerge from my dingy cavern squinting and shielding my pale face from the sun, I have to explain to people that, no, I don't draw comic strips like Garfield or Family Circus. Mine are generally populated by degenerates and addicts (who may or may not hate Mondays). There's no need to explain at SPX. Everyone gets it.

I got to catch up with a lot of old friends. I shared a table with Sophia Wiedeman again. Frienemy Ulises Farinas was to my left and L. Nichols was directly behind me. A surprising number of folks from my past (mostly Richmond era) stopped by the actual convention: A.Thomas Crawley, 'Becca & Jon, Webb and Vinnie Panizo. Even Lulu stopped by to help sell comics.

We stayed with our good buddy Sara Markese, and she showered the whole family with presents (I got a sweet pigeon shirt and a "#1 Pop Pop" hat). I had dinner with my old roommate Patrick Cavanagh and his new lady-friend Crystal, good buddy from Austin Paul Petersan & his lady-friend Kamber (chef extraordinaire at Sticky Fingers vegan bakery) and another VCU alumni Anna West.

All in all, it was a great success. My new comic (available here) didn't sell as well as I'd hoped, but you can't win 'em all.

Reviews in High Low / Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival

Rob Clough reviews a bunch of comics he picked up at SPX including "Old Man Winter & Other Sordid Tales", "Tales of Good Ol' Snoop Doggy Dogg" and "Losers Weepers #1" on High Low (click to read it).

He also reviews my table-mate Sophia Wiedeman's "My Terrible Tearable Heart", new comic friend L. Nichol's "Jumbly Junkery #7" and "J J #8", both of which I just picked up this weekend at the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival, as well as Julia Wertz's excellent "Legend of Rebob Mountain", Noah Van Sciver's depressingly funny eponymous mini comic and Jeff Zwirek's beautifully designed "Pinstriped Bloodbath" anthology of Chicago artists, all of which I also picked up at SPX.

The Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival was the first local fest that I haven't had a table at this year, and I was very upset by that fact. Of all the cons I've attended, this one seemed to jibe with my personal aesthetic the most. Nothing against traditional super-hero comics, but they're just not my bag and there were none to be found at this particular con. There were only about fifty or so exhibitors, and they seemed to all be really great. The place was packed the entire three hours I was there, and I almost couldn't make it to the next table without running into friends. There was no fee to get in, which undoubtedly helped combat the fact that it was sort of hailing outside.

I picked up some wonderful looking new (to me, anyway) comics at the con including a bunch of new ones from Matt Wiegle, an absolutely insane looking one called "I Want You" by Lisa Hanawalt that features lots of anthropomorphic animals wearing human clothing (one of my own favorite things to draw) and a new anthology featuring a two-pager about pigeons by yours truly. The anthology is called "SuperTalk", and it has pieces by some really really great artists that I've had the pleasure of working with in the past.

King Con

Me n' Sophia shared a table at King Con in Brooklyn this weekend. I had to miss the first few hours of the first day to attend a baby birthin' class (some of my least favorite birth-related phrases include "bloody show", "sweep the membrane" and "ripened cervix"), but it was in full swing once I got there.

This was a new con mostly favoring local comic artists. It was a nice change of pace from the sometimes overwhelming MoCCA and SPX. The show was small enough that most attendees perused just about every table instead of homing in on the larger small-press tables (an oxymoron?).

It seemed like Regan, the organizer, was doing just about everything herself, so there were understandably some small problems. Hopefully she'll outsource some of the work next year to save herself from a mental breakdown.

The table across from us was full of talented and especially nice folks (L. Nichols, Darryl Ay0 and Matt Wiegle, some of whom I recognized from previous conventions. I traded a bunch of comics with them, which I look forward to reading.

I'm now finishing up a new two-pager for a comics anthology slated to debut at the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival. I wasn't able to get a table there, but maybe I'll be able to squeeze some books onto the aforementioned anthology's table (if they get one). Anyhow, I'll post that comic soon.