Brian Ralph and Reggie 12 land in Los Angeles

How cool is it that Brian Ralph’s “Reggie 12″ comic strips have been collected from the back page of Giant Robot mag and compiled into a gorgeous oversize hardback with amazing spot UV on the cover? Even better, Brian Ralph has been on the road and doing signings. The SCAD Professor of Sequential Art concluded the West Coast leg of his journey at Secret Headquarters in Silver Lake yesterday, so I got to do some catching up with him.

Of course, the cream of Los Angeles’s indie comics community gathered to see the Ft. Thunder co-founder and pick up his new book featuring the wise-cracking, kaiju-fighting, kitten-petting robot boy. Above: Martin Cendreda suggests that Brian heads over to Burbank and Mr. Mike shares some vintage sketches from Comic-Con.

From 7:00 to 9:00, there was a steady stream of good friends, old readers, and new fans. How nice is it to gather with artists like Jordan Crane, Steven Weissman, Sammy Harkham, Trevor Alixopulos, and Vanessa Davis (left to right), even if we talk about our families instead of doodle on napkins when going out these days. I had Brian sign my San Diego Comic-Con advance copy to Eloise…

Thanks to Drawn & Quarterly for assembling a beautiful publication and making the book signing tour possible. Thanks to Secret Headquarters for being cool hosts. Am I forgetting anyone? Will there be time to go to the Bronson Ditch?

Brian concludes his book signing tour on Friday night at Atomic Books in Baltimore, followed by attending the Small Press Expo in nearby Bethesda. Stalk him at the Drawn & Quarterly booth (W1-4) and have him sign your very own copy of Reggie 12!