Unpacking from Comic-Con
My first San Diego Comic-Con was in 1979. Back then, a bunch of us little kids would pile into our mom's friend's van and go on day trips to the old San Diego Convention Center or the El Cortez. A few years into the tradition, it became a multi-day thing where we'd spend a night there, capped off by something like Sea World. For a kid who was into Silver Age comics, it was a dream to see guys like Stan Lee, Jim Steranko, Will Eisner, John Byrne, Frank Miller, or Sergio Aragones wandering around. My brother and I used to pull weeds and do other housework to save 100 bucks to spend on a pile of back issues.
When my brother Greg attended UCSD and got an apartment, we began spending all four days there and began attending evening screenings (Natural Born Killers) and talks (Neil Gaiman midnight reading). By this time, we made the transition from buying comics to buying toys and gear and stuff. It was great when his now-wife Kelly had an apartment that was walking distance from the newly built Convention Center.
GR started having a table early on--maybe 1995--and it's different being on the other side of the table. Well, it's different all together now. There are mega booths by movie companies, video games, and anime with huge screens, booth bunnies, and swag. When I started going, there might have been a Toxic Avenger table, some Atari cartridges, and bootleg VHS tapes with fan subtitles.
But Comic-Con is still cool. Where else do you see Stormtroopers, Jedis, superheros, swords and sandals fans, goths, anime cosplayers, Federation members, Klingons, and nerds of all kinds getting along? I don't shop like I used to, but I have fun working the table with friends--and it's especially cool that my brother Greg will help, too.
In four days and one night, I probably walked around the floor for one hour total (including bathroom breaks) and spent exactly 30 bucks. Here's what I came home with:
I upgraded from the Upper Deck lanyard and got a Peanuts-themed one from my friend Zuniga at Fantagraphics. (They are the Snoopy hookup since they release the Complete Peanuts books, although Paige from the Santa Rosa compound would have probably set me up, too.) See those felt panda pins? Two high-school-aged girls noticed the enjoi skateboard shirt I was wearing, which features a panda and a turd. They asked if I like pandas, and of course I said yes. It turns out they were selling the pins for .50 or 1.00 and sending the profits to the San Diego Zoo or other panda-related charities. (They hadn't decided yet.) I bought two of them.
I also wore this crocheted ghost. Michelle from Crowded Teeth came by to say hi on Preview Night and gave one to me, and I kept it on for the rest of the Con! A ton of people asked me if I would sell mine, so I gave them her Web site. I hope they visit her because she's awesome.
Of course I bought the new book by Jeffrey Brown. Luckily, his publisher Top Shelf was right across from us. Now that the comic artist has got a family going, his life has stabilized and he doesn't have new stories of girls and heartbreak to share. Good for him and bad for his formula! Moving in the new directions of fiction as well as full-color, this is an interesting take on the whole Transformers thing. My favorite scene is where two of the robots make out and you just see clanking sound effects on black panels! I'd imagine this will be on the GR site shortly...
The only booth I got to see was Grass Hut. I wanted to visit Kiyoshi, but he wasn't there! (He and his wife Maja just had their second little girl!) I did see my old friend Bwana Spoons there, though, reacquainted myself with Jeffo Soto and Martin Ontiveros, saw my new friend Scrappers, and met a new friend, the artist known as LeMerde. I got a lot of their stuff.
This is the collective's latest sampler comic. It was the only trace of Kiyoshi I got to see! Other artists included: cover artist Bwana Spoons, Scrapper, Le Merde, Martin Ontiveros...
I read stuff online all the time, but there's still something special about reading a stapled-and-folded zine. I got the first two issues of Scrappers' zine, Old Growth. It's loaded with interviews and articles on artists and bands from the Pacific Northwest. I probably knew half of them, and was introduced to a bunch of new ones. Nice. Yes, everyone up there has a beard but this has more a Built To Spill (I know they're Idaho, but that state is up there, too) aesthetic than, say, Lynyrd Skynyrd or 38 Special. It's totally indie and cool. I liked the "Mushroom Hunting with Bwana Spoons, Apak, Scrappers, and Hazel" article a lot. Artist Justin B. Williams has some interesting things to say and so does photographer Ann Ploeger. The Nikki McClure interview was cool, too. My wife and I actually own one of the pieces in the layout!
Martin Ontiveros knows a thing or two about drawing robots and toys. He's also a metal dude. The worlds collide in this nice piece made in collaboration with Gargamel. I don't collect a lot of toys anymore due to lack of space, but this guy can be squeezed in, no problem.
Check out this cool postcard by Le Merde!
Some more gear by Scrappers. He told me that the patch isn't just for fishermen and that the shirt design (the front has the Grass Hut logo, shown earlier in this blog) isn't just for bikers. The latter is from a Halo Benders song!
When David Horvath came by for signing sessions, he dropped off some Ice Lodge Uglydolls for us. I got Ice Bat (not actually shown)!
There's one more thing that I can't share due to lack of digital camera, the fact that it can't be scanned, and the fact that I look stupid in them. A woman left sunglasses at our booth and never came back to get them! Now I'm wearing some ladies' Gloria Vanderbilt shades when I drive around. Fresh! (If it's yours, send an email and I'll shoot them right back to you....)
When my brother Greg attended UCSD and got an apartment, we began spending all four days there and began attending evening screenings (Natural Born Killers) and talks (Neil Gaiman midnight reading). By this time, we made the transition from buying comics to buying toys and gear and stuff. It was great when his now-wife Kelly had an apartment that was walking distance from the newly built Convention Center.
GR started having a table early on--maybe 1995--and it's different being on the other side of the table. Well, it's different all together now. There are mega booths by movie companies, video games, and anime with huge screens, booth bunnies, and swag. When I started going, there might have been a Toxic Avenger table, some Atari cartridges, and bootleg VHS tapes with fan subtitles.
But Comic-Con is still cool. Where else do you see Stormtroopers, Jedis, superheros, swords and sandals fans, goths, anime cosplayers, Federation members, Klingons, and nerds of all kinds getting along? I don't shop like I used to, but I have fun working the table with friends--and it's especially cool that my brother Greg will help, too.
In four days and one night, I probably walked around the floor for one hour total (including bathroom breaks) and spent exactly 30 bucks. Here's what I came home with:
I upgraded from the Upper Deck lanyard and got a Peanuts-themed one from my friend Zuniga at Fantagraphics. (They are the Snoopy hookup since they release the Complete Peanuts books, although Paige from the Santa Rosa compound would have probably set me up, too.) See those felt panda pins? Two high-school-aged girls noticed the enjoi skateboard shirt I was wearing, which features a panda and a turd. They asked if I like pandas, and of course I said yes. It turns out they were selling the pins for .50 or 1.00 and sending the profits to the San Diego Zoo or other panda-related charities. (They hadn't decided yet.) I bought two of them.
I also wore this crocheted ghost. Michelle from Crowded Teeth came by to say hi on Preview Night and gave one to me, and I kept it on for the rest of the Con! A ton of people asked me if I would sell mine, so I gave them her Web site. I hope they visit her because she's awesome.
Of course I bought the new book by Jeffrey Brown. Luckily, his publisher Top Shelf was right across from us. Now that the comic artist has got a family going, his life has stabilized and he doesn't have new stories of girls and heartbreak to share. Good for him and bad for his formula! Moving in the new directions of fiction as well as full-color, this is an interesting take on the whole Transformers thing. My favorite scene is where two of the robots make out and you just see clanking sound effects on black panels! I'd imagine this will be on the GR site shortly...
The only booth I got to see was Grass Hut. I wanted to visit Kiyoshi, but he wasn't there! (He and his wife Maja just had their second little girl!) I did see my old friend Bwana Spoons there, though, reacquainted myself with Jeffo Soto and Martin Ontiveros, saw my new friend Scrappers, and met a new friend, the artist known as LeMerde. I got a lot of their stuff.
This is the collective's latest sampler comic. It was the only trace of Kiyoshi I got to see! Other artists included: cover artist Bwana Spoons, Scrapper, Le Merde, Martin Ontiveros...
I read stuff online all the time, but there's still something special about reading a stapled-and-folded zine. I got the first two issues of Scrappers' zine, Old Growth. It's loaded with interviews and articles on artists and bands from the Pacific Northwest. I probably knew half of them, and was introduced to a bunch of new ones. Nice. Yes, everyone up there has a beard but this has more a Built To Spill (I know they're Idaho, but that state is up there, too) aesthetic than, say, Lynyrd Skynyrd or 38 Special. It's totally indie and cool. I liked the "Mushroom Hunting with Bwana Spoons, Apak, Scrappers, and Hazel" article a lot. Artist Justin B. Williams has some interesting things to say and so does photographer Ann Ploeger. The Nikki McClure interview was cool, too. My wife and I actually own one of the pieces in the layout!
Martin Ontiveros knows a thing or two about drawing robots and toys. He's also a metal dude. The worlds collide in this nice piece made in collaboration with Gargamel. I don't collect a lot of toys anymore due to lack of space, but this guy can be squeezed in, no problem.
Check out this cool postcard by Le Merde!
Some more gear by Scrappers. He told me that the patch isn't just for fishermen and that the shirt design (the front has the Grass Hut logo, shown earlier in this blog) isn't just for bikers. The latter is from a Halo Benders song!
When David Horvath came by for signing sessions, he dropped off some Ice Lodge Uglydolls for us. I got Ice Bat (not actually shown)!
There's one more thing that I can't share due to lack of digital camera, the fact that it can't be scanned, and the fact that I look stupid in them. A woman left sunglasses at our booth and never came back to get them! Now I'm wearing some ladies' Gloria Vanderbilt shades when I drive around. Fresh! (If it's yours, send an email and I'll shoot them right back to you....)
posted by gr at
12:20 PM
We hart you too, Martin.
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