More APE Action

Now this is more like it. After the visit to Emeralc City Comic Con in Seattle last month, APE was a breath of fresh air. I felt like I was back with my people. Cons full of dealers, overpriced old piles of newsprint, TV stars, movie memorabilia, and costume contests really aren't my cup of tea, and that's essentially what Emerald City is all about. The dealers' area takes up a good 3/5 of the convention floor, leaving publishers and artist the remaining silces. For some people, wheeling and dealing to improve their collection is what these shows are all about, and I'm not criticizing that, but it's just not for me.

APE, on the other hand, is all about the things I like about comics, creativity and discovery. The convention regularly features the companies willing to put out books that will only appeal to a tiny core audience, but push the boundaries of the medium in ways that larger companies aren't willing to. Buenaventura, Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, Young American, Oni, AIT/PlanetLar, and others large and small are the heart of the event. Artists like Art Spiegelman, Kazu Kibuishi, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Hope Larson, Kevin Huizenga, and others are the stars here, and there's always an atmosphere of comraderie. Plus, there's a treaure trove of talent you've probably never heard of just waiting to be discovered. This year, some of our favorites in this category were the incredible books produced by Icelcreamandia, Robin Enrico's clever Controller minicomic, Sarah Oleksyk's work in the criminally under-hyped Papercutter anthology, and Liz Baillie's My Brain Hurts books.

This year's event was a little less crowded, or at least it felt like it. It was definitely a large, successful event again, but it felt like there was a little more breathing room in the crowds, and that led to a more intimate feeling as well. Running into cartoonists, bloggers, and fans that we knew (or were just meeting) made this year one of our best experiences for sure.

There's a reason we've made APE an annual pilgrimage, even after moving away from the San Francisco area, and this year's event helped remind us of that. Even though we couldn't make it to any of the panels we really wanted to attend, due to travel logistics, it was well worth the trip. And of course, being able to meet up with old friends was icing on an already sweet cake.

APE aftermath

After a few days of recovery after APE, I'm still unable to do a proper round-up. Why? Because it's as awesome as it always is. Not much else to report beyond that. So rather than take my lack of enthusiasm as any negative reaction to the con, I'll just do a link dump:

The Daily Crosshatch pt.1 and pt.2
Ian Brill's PW coverage
Bryan Lee O'Malley's food journal
Fart Party's pt.1 and pt.2
Brent Warnock's wrap-up

To ensure this isn't total waste of data space, I can say that for the first time we felt popular. Bryan Lee O'Malley and Hope Larson both recognized us. The Hot Mexican Love Comics guys both thanked me for the review last year and criticized my dismissal of the low rider story as "standard fare." I've never been asked to justify my opinion, particularly to the artist, so that was an awkward moment for me. We ran into Sophie from Gumpop, which was as pleasant this year as it was last year, despite some overt fangirling over a sketch that Hope did for her.

APE Approach

For the past two years, Dylan and I have attended APE together. As anyone in a relationship can testify, attending a con with a boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/etc can be as difficult to do together as airline travel or buying a house or trying to rent a video together. The fact that we can do APE without getting annoyed with each other and both find things to amuse ourselves speaks volumes to the variety of this con.

This year is no different. In fact, it might even be better, with the attendance of a certain Canadian couple that we love so dearly. So, with bags packed and selected books pulled for artist signing, I'd like to offer some last minute advice for attending APE:

1. Do walk the entire floor. There are many, many artists that you may not be on your radar that put the "awe" in awesome.
2. Talk to the awesome people mulling around the Comic Relief spot. You will hear good recommendations and probably bump elbows with some of the special guests. This is fun, but for the love of Gob don't squeal (though to be fair, I haven't encountered this reaction from anyone but Jhonen Vasquez fans).
3. Don't try to fit in with the hipster crowd. They might try to convince you skinny pants look good. They do not.
4. Bring a large bag. There are many treasures to be found, from crafty goods to wallets to photocopied minis.
5. If you see us, say hi. I command it. We are nice people, I swear.

Okay, that's all my undercaffinated mind can muster at this moment. Here's to an awesome weekend!

And then...

A quick addendum to Dylan's Emerald City ComiCon post...

While walking around the artist gallery I had my first bona fide fangirl moment.

I was mulling around Brian Wood's table, waiting for some space to clear so I could get a copy of Demo to be signed. Once space cleared I stepped forward. He looked up and said "I know you...You are an internet friend." I stopped dead in my tracks and melted into an emotional puddle. What felt like hours, but was probably mere seconds, I composed myself enough to have some awkward conversation about things to do on a Saturday night in Seattle.

Walking away with a floating sensation, I could now identify with the never ending stream of fans waiting for Brian Michael Bendis: I now officially entered retarded fandom.

The rest of the time I spent in a haze and didn't really care much about what happened around me. I wasn't really into everything else the Con had to offer, so I listlessly picked up stupid toys and fingered poly bagged issues without a care in the world.

Emerald City

I'm not exactly a hardcore conventioneer. Most of my experience comes from repeat visits to San Francisco's long-running Alternative Press Expo (which I'll be attending again this year!), a sort of haven from the costumes and dealers that tend to overrun your average con. APE makes the artists and publishers the central focus, rather than the crate-digging and bargain hunting. But at some point, I guess I have to dip my toe into the waters of mainstream comic conventiondom. So why not start with the Emerald City Comic Con, a mere 10 minute drive form my apartment?

Upon arriving, it seemed that the choice of venue might have been overkill. The entire convention as tucked neatly into a third of the available floor space at the Qwest Field event center. The con itself was actually a good size, but it was dwarfed by the massive empty space off to the side.


The floor was split into several areas, with artist's alley wrapping around two sides, a gaming area along another edge, and dealers and exhibitors filling out the middle (with an emphasis on dealers). There was a certainly a lot of eye candy from the moment we arrived, with tons of toys and posters and other collectibles covering much of the convention floor. A lot of the booths were not necessarily comic-related, or combined comics merchandise with assorted other pop culture items (like Lost figurines, old sci-fi DVDs, and even a booth covered in vintage Pez dispensers.

There were tons of costumed attendees as well, and a lot of storm troopers. Appropriate enough, seeing how Peter Mayhew (of Chewbacca fame) was a featured guest. In fact, one of the first things we saw upon arriving was a Storm Trooper conversing with Cobra Commander, both voices muffled by their face masks. There was a pretty inventive Ghost Rider costume, involving a mane of shaggy hair dyed various shades of yellow and orange. I somehow missed getting a picture of that one. And of course, there were the obligatory booth babes, though not in huge numbers (thankfully).


One of the coolest tables was the Denny Middle School Cartoonist's table, which featured the work of various teenaged artists. I didn't get the full story on this one, but it looks like the product of a class or club devoted to the art of cartooning. Many of the students were present at the booth, drawing and sketching and offering up a variety of minicomics for sale. It was nice to see some aspiring cartoonists given an opportunity to show off their work, and hopefully get some encouragement and support.

On a negative note, I have to mention that the choice to keep only one concession stand open in the hall was a poor one. The line-up for $6 hot dogs was probably at least 15-20 minutes long, and there was a second concession booth upstairs near the panel stage that could have easily been utilized.

Aside from that one minor irritant, it was actually a pretty fun con. It seems like it's been growing steadily over the last couple of years, attracting some high profile guests in a variety of genres. Maybe some day they'll be able to fill that big empty space in the even center.

Viva la B.D.!

Our previously mentioned trip to France became MY trip to France due to insurmountable challenges from the Canadian passport agency. So armed with a less than elementary command of the language and a devalued dollar, I went prepared to take Paris by storm as an empowered female tourist. Or something like that.

Apprehensive and nervous, but rested after a six hour nap, I ventured out of the hotel in the Latin Quarter my first night. I had no agenda, no idea how the neighborhood was laid out, and was in desperate need of food. So began my trek down an unmarked side street. I saw a neat painted door and swooped in for a closer look. Much to my delight and surprise it was a comic book shop! Around the corner from my hotel! Filled with cute old men pouring over Golden and Silver age books. This encounter was a signpost for adventure that soon followed.



The comic book shop and the book shop selling comics is very much alive in Paris. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but my suspicion that the French, being a cultured society, would have at least some discernible amount of love for the "B.D." In my naivety, I thought that if nothing else, at least L'Association brought cool indie books to the French and English speaking world (think about David B. and what the world would be like without Epileptic - depressing, right?).

Boy was I wrong. They don't love the B.D. They LOVE the B.D. Like shouting from the rooftops love. Like taking it behind the middle school and...well, you get where I am going.

Maybe it was just because I was staying in the student-centric Latin Quarter, but in the ten minute walk from the Notre Dame to my hotel, I encountered FIVE comic book shops. And not just little shops. Big multi-level shops. Big multi-level shops crammed full of young and old, male and female, nerdy and not. It would've brought a overwhelmed with joy tear to my eye had I not suspected everyone laughing at my wretched French.

So I am back in Seattle with a nice array of back issues and a Jim Woodring book in French that is thankfully text free, an even higher opinion of the French, and a sad feeling that the frenzy I witnessed on that Saturday afternoon at Album on Blvd St Germain would never EVER happen here.