I’m not going to go too in depth, writing about all the people I got to meet or hang out with or all the neat things that happened in New York, but I will say thanks to my dear old friend
Mike Stevens for letting me crash at his apartment for the weekend (as he has done for a few years now), thanks to
Kate Beaton for offering me a ride down to New York (even though it didn’t pan out, but it’s okay! I appreciated the offer so much.), and thanks to everyone that hung out, wandered around with me, stopped by the table, gave me comics, bought comics, said nice things, or even just walked by and smiled.
I’ve only managed to read through a few of the new books I picked up over the weekend (I actually still have comics from the last two conventions I attended that I haven’t gotten around to reading yet), but here are a few favorites from what I read while riding the subway in New York and a few others that I’m really looking forward to reading in the coming days and weeks.
Jan’s Atomic Heart by Simon Roy. Of the books I’ve read so far, this one is easily my favorite. It’s short and simple, but still manages to paint an incredibly detailed picture of the futuristic world it’s set in and the characters that inhabit it. This book really blew me away. And it’s got GREAT art. It was a steal, costing just $6.00!
Spaniel Rage by Vanessa Davis. I realize this book is a few years old, but I’m really into Vanessa Davis’ stuff right now. I’m about halfway through reading it and it makes me actually want to start keeping a journal in comic form, an urge I haven’t had in about six years. I’ve got a huge crush on her drawings. The way she composes the pages in this book just kill me, they’re beautifully organic and every drawing flows right into the next. I was striving to do something similar with my own most recent mini comic. I don’t know if I pulled it off, but she sure did.
True Loves vol. 1 & 2 by Jason Turner and Manien Bothma. Jason is both a friend and one of my favorite cartoonists. I already had all of True Loves 1 in mini comic form from years ago, but this is a comic that I needed to own in book form. And hey! True Loves 2 was JUST released, which is very exciting. Both volumes are wonderful and look great sitting together on my shelf. I look forward to whatever Jason works on next.
The Mourning Star vol. 2 by Kazimir Strzepek. I’ve been looking forward to this book for a while now! I didn’t even realize it was being debuted at MoCCA, but of course almost as soon as I walked into the venue on that first day someone mentioned it to me. This was the first purchase I made. I haven’t started reading it yet though- I want to go through vol. 1 again first!
Never Learn Anything From History by Kate Beaton. I tabled with Kate at SPX back in October 2008. She only had mini comics to sell at that show, but she sold out of them in a matter of hours. This would have been my very first purchase at this show, but Kate wouldn’t let me pay for a copy! Oh well. I read most of the book on the bus ride back up to Syracuse and probably irritated everyone around me as I kept audibly laughing.
A Fall A Part by JP Coovert. I always look forward to seeing JP at these things. He’s a darn nice guy and he makes some of the best mini comics out there. I’d read A Fall A Part once already (I think it was on the internet?), but it was just as powerful and touching on the second read. I’m looking forward to reading the most recent issues of his Simple Routines comics too.
Smaller Parts by Grant Reynolds. I first met Grant at SPX in 2008, but I’d been familiar with his comics for a while as we both contributed to several volumes of the You Ain’t No Dancer books. Anyways, Grant gave me a nice little pile of stuff, including Smaller Parts, which he said was a collection of old comics of his. It’s all stuff I haven’t seen, so I look forward to reading it! He’s got a book coming out with Top Shelf later this year, which I’m also really looking forward to.
Super Spy by Matt Kindt. I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about this book and I enjoyed Matt’s previous books so I couldn’t resist picking this one up (expecially when Top Shelf marked it down to ten bucks on Sunday!). I look forward to reading this one. The book itself is stunning, it’s beautifully designed and printed.
I could go on listing mini comics and books, but it all really looks great! I’ve got a lot of reading to do. But first: off I go to draw new things!
