Saturday, 25 April 2009 23:45
I can't believe I lived 40 minutes from San Diego for three years and never attended the San Diego Comic Con.
You see, I try not to be too much of a fanboy. I imagine that most of what comics writers and artists hear at conventions is "You're awesome!" or "I loved your story about..." or "Will you sign my super-rare, limited edition hardback with slip-cased edition of your masterwork..." Most comic creators are, I'm sure, defined by more than just the stories and characters they create. What could I possible bring to the discussion table that someone else hasn't said before?
I want to be more than a fanboy. I'd like to be a friend. But, I'm not silly enough to think that could possibly happen via a conversation at a comic book convention.
Plus, I'm just not very social around strangers.
So, in an effort to act like a normal fanboy and conquer my fear of being around people I don't know, I went to the the sixth annual Stumptown Comics Fest. I wasn't disappointed.
Held at the Doubletree Hotel here in Portland, Oregon, it took up a 100 foot by 100 foot exhibition hall. About a dozen parallel rows of fold out tables took up the center of the space, with more tables lining the four walls.
I didn't attend any of the panels. Most of them seemed to be for actual writers, artists and creators, and I was there as a fanboy. Shortly after arriving, I decided my goal was to find some good, undiscovered comic books. It was a little daunting at first. In formulating my plan of attack, my biggest consideration was budget: I had $100 to spend, and didn't want to blow it quickly.
Step one: triage. I walked down each row, seeing what caught my eye, making mental notes about what looked interesting.
I noticed very quickly that these creators were very friendly. Bordering on too friendly. Almost everyone I made eye contact with greeted me with a very warm "Hello! How's it going?" The more outgoing people would engage me in conversations that I didn't really want. These people loved comics, and loved their own comics and wanted to show them off to everyone. Adapting quickly, I learned to keep my head down and looking at the comics, not the people.
Isn't that horrible? I'm so anti-social.
After the triage, I started buying things; pretty conservatively at first. I'm horribly indecisive about spending money. This indecisiveness meant I ended up making about six trips up and down each row. Each trip through the room getting the most interesting books I saw.
By about the third trip, fearful of forgetting something that looked interesting, I started taking notes.
My main shopping criteria was I only wanted to buy things I couldn't buy outside the fest. If someone was selling a book I could get at my local comics shop or Amazon, I skipped it.
After about three hours and six full trips around the hall, my eyes and head started to hurt, so I called it a day.
In the end, I'm pretty happy with what I found and bought. I only regret forgetting to do a final review of my notes before I left, which resulted in me not buying Monica Gallagher's Gods and Undergrads. Fortunately, its available online and is now on my wishlist.
The first items I bought were all three collections of the daily strip Welcome to Falling Rock State Park, by Josh Shalek. When I found myself laughing out loud while reading the first few pages, I had to get them all. These strips are funnier than anything I read in my daily newspaper (except perhaps Get Fuzzy). Seldom do daily comics get me to laugh. This one did. Loved it. I will continue to buy future collections. Unfortunately, the author doesn't have a news feed or newsletter, only an archive page.
The next item I remember buying was a collection of three mini-comics by Maris Wicks. I read one at her table, Talk Nerdy to Me, which got me to buy the rest. When I got home and read her Coping with Death comic, it turned out to be my favorite of everything I bought: funny and very poignant. It's available online
The biggest surprise turned out to be Sea Freak, by Jonathan Case, bought on my last trip through the hall. Case took a pretty notable character type (e.g., the creature from the Black Lagoon), and turned him into a guilty-at-snacking-on-humans, Shakespeare-loving, love-sick protagonist, or, as Case himself puts it: "an atomic sea mutant in 1962 with a hunger for poetry and human flesh". These were the three most well written comics I bought: from the pacing, to the characters, to the dialog, to the sub-plots. The complete package. The art is top-notch, and reminds me of Paul Chadwick. I'm not sure why this isn't being published by someone. You can read chapter one online.
There are a couple of honorable mentions.
The first is Iron God by William Schar. I flipped through the first few pages and on the strength of the art and writing picked it up. The book, however, suffers from a quick, jagged pace, and a little too much exposition/explanation. Rather than let the reader discover and come to understand the characters and world as the narrative unfolds, too much of the story and character dialog is used to explain everything too early in the story. In May 2009, Schar will start an online reboot titled The Iron Sea. I think there is a lot of potential here, and will watch as things progress. The original Iron God comic is available online.
The second honorable mention is Kingwood Himself, by Reynold Kissling. Casually flipping through it, I thought it looked like a good little fantasy story. My suspicions were confirmed when I actually sat down and read it. The artwork is very clean, as is the writing. It reminded me a lot of the stories I used to read in Dark Horse Presents. I'm looking forward to seeing more from him. You can read Kingwood Himself online, as well as many of Kissling's other comics.
All in all, I'm happy with the day and what I bought. Upon reflection, I realize I didn't buy very much. I still had about $40 in my pocket when I left. Maybe next time I'll go through the room only once, at more of a snails pace, taking breaks to read what I've bought so my brain and eyes don't get overloaded. Going a little slower will probably give me a little time to interact with the creators as well.
If you're in Portland, or anywhere nearby, for next year's fest, take the time to attend. Bring some cash, and prepare to enjoy some comics.