With the rise of the Web over the past eighteen years, the number zines about personal interests, hobbies, and plain old obsessions has decreased dramatically, and I miss those zines dearly. I’ll never part with my old copies of Exploitation Retrospect (trash cinema), Beer Frame (odd consumer products), Thrift Score! (thrifting), Murder Can Be Fun (weird deaths and disasters), and other amazing self-published creations about quirky subjects. I’ve even got a zine about vintage toasters tucked away somewhere.
However, it’s easier and more efficient to build a website or maintain a blog about a niche topic than publishing a physical zine. It’s cheaper, reaches more readers, puts out-of-print issues back in “print”, and can be updated quickly and easily. While I like having easy access to more “weird stuff” (the “stuff” I used to have to dig to find in the 80s and 90s), and don’t begrudge publishers going electronic-only, there’s nothing like holding in your hands and reading a well done zine on an eccentric topic.
Although I pretty much suck at playing it, I very much enjoyed reading the new pinball zine DROP TARGET from Jon Chad and Alec Longstreth. These two cartoonists are obsessed with pinball, so they decided to start up a zine about their passion. The first issue is a mix of articles, interviews and comics all about pinball. There’s a glossary of pinball parts and lingo, a “walkthough” of how to beat the Star Wars Episode One game, an interview with the publishers of Multiball (a pinball zine from the ‘90s), two “dream machines (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by Alec, and Lawrence of Arabia by Jon (shown below)), and finally a 17 page comic “From Zeros to Heroes. Part One: Obsession” by Alec. This is a professional, polished zine with clean layout, edited and proofread articles, organization, and high production values.
I think it’s the sign of an excellent zine when I read the entire issue through twice (and the comic three times), even though I’m not obsessed with pinball, and don’t have any urge to start playing. (Seriously, I cannot think of a single place near me where I could find a machine.) Jon and Alec have another six issues of DROP TARGET planned out, and hopefully they’ll come through, because I certainly want to read them.
DROP TARGET #1 features a limited edition screenprinted cover and is available for $5 plus shipping from the Drop Target Store. Be sure to also subscribe to the Drop Target Blog for lots of pinball news and pretty pictures!
Way back in 1998, I found Semibold #4: The Music Issue at Quimby’s in Chicago. It was Kathy Mosley’s personal music history, from her first “record” (an Archies flexidisc cut from the back of a cereal box) to current day, including memories of bands, albums, radio stations, live shows, and all the music that helped shape her. This issue inspired me to write my own music-related one-shot, Speaking Phairly: Growing Up with the Music of Liz Phair in 1999. (Now long out of print, don’t bother asking.)
Kathy is back with a new issue of Semibold, her first since 2003! After reading it, you’ll understand why it took so long between issues. Semibold #10 is Kathy’s experience with Crohn’s Disease, which she was diagnosed with in 2004. Over the years she tried a wide range of dietary changes, drugs, acupuncture, more drugs, yoga, and even more drugs to try to alleviate the pain, but was constantly sick and miserable. Finally in 2009, she had surgery to remove part of her terminal ileum, requiring the use of a temporary ileostomy, and a second surgery to stitch the two halves of the intestine back together after they had a chance to heal.
Kathy tells the entire story in graphic and yet entertaining detail, and never once - repeat, NEVER ONCE, is she a heap of self-pity.
For example, the description of her temporary ileostomy:
“And yes, the ileostomy. It was unpleasant on many levels, the most obvious being, “Ew, I’m pooping into a bag attached to the front of my body.” But gradually I learned to deal.”
Even when she has an accident and meltdown first changing the bag on her own, she seems to shrug it off: “I did get better at it eventually, and after a lot of trial and error, I developed a system that worked for me, and I never had another big mess like that again.”
What impressed me the most about Kathy’s medical ordeal is not that she survived all the unknown pains, misdiagnoses, the surgery, the ileostomy, and the removal of the ileostomy (or “takedown” as it is technically called), it’s that she bravely and fiercely advocated for her own damn health, through the mountains of paperwork, screwed up prescriptions, missing pages from supposedly faxed medical documents, piles of insurance forms and shitloads (sorry) of bureaucracy. As someone who has difficulty calling doctor’s offices to schedule tests, much less call back for the results, and has let certain health issues slide due to terror of the medical and insurance industries (and being diagnosed with any sort of “pre-exisiting condition”), it is inspiring how Kathy took charge of all the detritus of treating her Crohn’s Disease, with help from her incredibly supportive family and friends. I don’t know if I could go through what she did without just wanting to give up.
I’m just so happy for Kathy that she can just eat raw fruits again, get to work in the morning without having to take a rest break on the way, go to concerts, hang out with friends, and just live her life without having to have contingency plans or pack an extra pair of pants.
Rounding out the issue is an interview with Julie Anne Rhodes (ex-wife of Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes), who also has Crohn’s Disease and now works as a personal chef. There’s a list of all the books Kathy read in 2009, which she said “were invaluable in helping me forget my own personal woe”. She read Infinite Jest TWICE in 2009!
Semibold #10 is one of the best zines I have read all year, a great personal memoir.
Is it selfish to hope Kathy keeps publishing now that she’s feeling better?
Semibold #10 is available for $3 from Kathy Moseley, 1321 N. Milwaukee Ave. #403, Chicago IL 60622. You can send payment via Paypal toim.semibold@gmail.com. (PDF only copies are $1.50 via Paypal.) There’s also aSemibold blog.
Residents bitch and complain about Philadelphia, but the truth is, most of us are just content enough not to leave. If we do leave, many of us return five, ten, fifteen years later, as if drawn back by some huge, invisible, urine-stained magnet buried underneath City Hall. It’s the city we love to hate.
In Philadelphia Noir, the latest installment in Akashic Books long-running Noir series, editor Carlin Romano assembles a balanced collection of stories from local writers reflecting the neighborhoods and sensibilities of the of the city and residents without romanticizing them. There’s not a single mention of Wawa, the Broad Street Bullies, water ice, or even Frank Rizzo.
The anthology is arranged in four themed sections. Part I: City of Bursts contains violent stories spreading from Strawberry Mansion to South Philadelphia. Asali Solomon’s “Secret Pool” (West Philadelphia) is the standout here, a sad story narrated by a fifteen-year-old girl who lives with one foot reaching just outside her neighborhood. “Princess” by Aimee LaBrie captures the dirty desperation of South Philadelphia, plastic covered couches, tacky decor and all.
Failed love is the theme of Part II: City of Other Love, which includes Laura Spagnoli’s “A Cut Above”, a sly homage to Philadelphia’s recent “Bonnie and Clyde” scumbag scammers.
I enjoyed Part III: The Faker City most of all, the stories of common residents striving for more than what they think the city can offer them, like the wannabe social climbers in Meridith Anthony’s “Fishtown Odyssey” and Jim Zervanos’ “Your Brother, Who Loves You”. In “Seeing Nothing”, Diane Ayres really captures the “I didn’t see nuthin’” code of Bella Vista (which is vastly different than “Stop snitching”, since it doesn’t involve coercion) with humor and an eye for detail.
The collection concludes with Part IV: Those Who Forget the Past, historically-set stories, like Duane Swierczynski’s “Lonergan’s Girl”, which is also a primer on the politics of the Philadelphia Police. “The Ratcatcher” by Cary Holladay borders on the fantastic, as does “Reality” by Cordelia Frances Biddle.
Perhaps I am biased, but there’s no story in Philadelphia Noir that should be excised, and nothing that I can’t believe couldn’t happen, even the presence of fanciful dancing rats. As someone who didn’t notice Independence Hall covered in scaffolding for a month, but is still peeved about Septa dropping “R” labels from the train lines, the absence of all the usual Philadelphia cliches in this anthology is a welcome respite. After all, it’s the little things in the city that we notice, that irritate us, and that give us something to complain about. We don’t want it any other way.
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Upcoming Philadelphia Noir local author events
Wednesday, November 3, 7:30PM
Head House Books, 619 South 2nd Street
Sunday, November 7, 2:30PM
Moonstone Arts Center, 110A S. 13th Street
Wednesday, November 10, 6PM
Penn Bookstore, 3601 Walnut Street
The obligatory “not so good” list, only speaking from my experience at NYCC 2010:
Crowd control, or lack thereof. This indeed was a problem and needs to be addressed better at future conventions. The “security” staff did little to manage crowds, or even keep the escalators from overpacking. The construction created two chokepoints between the two major areas of the exhibition hall, which could have been remedied by making each passageway “one way only” and actually enforcing it.
Aritsts Alley finding guide. While Artists Alley was nicely spaced out (even more so than the exhibition floor) the one poster listing all the artists’ names in table order was useless.
Not announcing earlier there would be after 7pm panels. Enough said already.
Disruptive photo taking practices. But would setting up “designated photo areas” really work?
Lack of panel information. The panel information listed on the NYCC site and in the official program was terrible. The web interface required you to click on the name of each panel to display information, and the program only listed titles of the programs. Heidi MacDonald of The Beat blog was kind enough to assemble all of the information in one long, detailed list on her site.
Did anime get shortchanged? After all, this was the “New York Comic Con / New York Anime Fest”. There are reports that the anime kids felt shortchanged by the event, with their panels, exhibitors, and artists remanded to second-class areas. I really can’t address this, but it wasn’t until I was coming home on Saturday that I flipped through the program and found an entirely different NYAF Artists Alley, hidden down in the lower level of the Javits Center. Also, Tokyopop and Viz Media didn’t even have booths on the exhibition floor, and Vertical Inc. was hidden in the small press area.
Finally people, please STOP complaining that the Javits Convention Center isn’t “near anything interesting”. Hell’s Kitchen is the western ass-end of NYC, with heavy traffic coming in from the Lincoln Tunnel, leftover warehousing, and more residences than restaurants. (It’s about the only area in NYC where there isn’t food available every 10 feet.) But it’s the only place in Manhattan that has the facilities to hold NYCC. If you don’t like it, don’t show up. Also, concerning food, CB Cebulski provided great tips on his Eataku blog for places a 10 to 15 minute walk from the Javits Center.
Overall, I had a good (not extraordinary, but certainly far from disastrous) experience at NYCC 2010, but in some ways, I wasn’t the typical attendee. I attended as press, avoiding lines for entry. I wasn’t interested in gathering swag, so I didn’t fight my way to some booths. The panels I wanted to attend were in smaller-sized rooms, and were perhaps less popular. I also wasn’t willing to stand in lines. If I couldn’t get into a panel, I didn’t get upset. I was a “casual” NYCC attendee, unlike the “dedicated” or “volunteer” attendee I am at small press cons like MoCCA, SPX, and (hopefully someday) APE and Stumptown. My purchases at NYCC totaled a mere $20 for one small press book (from Vertical Inc.) , and a subscription to an indie magazine (Bust).
In all, I found NYCC a closer, cheaper alternative than SDCC, a show I love attending but requires time, money, and travel commitments to get to from the east coast. If they expand NYCC to Thursday next year (as rumored), I would willingly attend NYCC for at least the weekdays of the con.
During the day on Friday, ReedPOP stopped selling weekend and Saturday tickets for NYCC on their website and at the Javits Center. This caused confusion on Saturday for people who arrived at Javits on Saturday morning hoping to get in. It was a clusterfrack for attendees trying to pick up passes, or just get into the building. I slipped in with the press pass and took another walk around the exhibition floor.
The Javits was much more crowded, much less controlled, and entirely more unpleasant than the (relatively) relaxed Friday. There were more anime kids, more cosplayers, more families, more everything.
I arrived too late for the Fan Fiction: From Mary Sue to Shakespeare panel, and was shut out of The History of Superhero Movies panel. The day was not shaping up well, and I was frustrated with people stopping in the middle of high-traffic areas - like right at the top of the escalators - to take pictures of cosplayers. After a while I gave up on politeness and accidentally photobombed many shots. Even worse were people who were trying to interview and film people in the middle of the exhibition hall aisles, in front of the crowded Marvel, DC, and Fox Entertainment booths. Please people, how about a little common sense?
The panel for THE THING (prequel) started late, was held in the arctic-chilled, cavernous IGN Theater, but got me eager for the film, set for release April 29, 2011. The same-named prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 epic takes place three days before that film’s events, and centers on the doomed Norwegian team. The panel included director Matthijs van Heijningen, producers Eric Newman and Marc Abraham, and a few of the actors, including Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr. Eko from Lost) and TV regular Eric Christian Olsen. (Ramona Flowers, uh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, also stars, but she was too busy getting married to attend the panel.) They showed an extended trailer (which the cast hadn’t even seen), but no other footage. Based on the discussion about the sparse use of CGI, close study of the Carpenter film, and the use of the same title (because it IS the same monster, after all), I remain optimistic about the forthcoming results.
After THE THING panel, I had a limited edition copy of Darwyn Cooke’s latest Parker adaptation, THE OUTFIT, signed for a friend and stumbled into the Spotlight on Dean Haspiel as it was warming up. It was a rollicking roast of Haspiel from friends and collaborators, including author Jonathan Ames, who told the audience that the cartoonist character of “Ray Heuston” (played by Zack Galifianakis) on HBO’s Bored to Death is loosely based on Haspiel. Moderator Christopher Irving talked a little bit about Haspiel’s work on Act-i-Vate, the online comics collective/petri dish, and the forthcoming Dean Haspiel: The Early Yearsby Christopher Irving (Graphic NYC), publishing in November from IDW/Desperado.
The Vertigo: On the Edge panel featured so many artists and writers they packed the stage three deep in some areas (the count was at least 20 people). I am excited that Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly are doing The New York Five miniseries, a sequel to The New York Four, an original graphic novel from the now-dead Minx line. The next story arc of American Vampire (Scott Snyder, story; Raphael Albuquerque, artist) will be set during WWII. Three Vertigo novels I need to pick up soon are Cuba: My Revolution (Inverna Lockpez, story; Dean Haspiel, art), How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less (Sarah Glidden, story and art), and Aaron and Ahmed (Jay Cantor, story; James Romsberger, art). Anthony Bourdain is writing a chef-themed GN with artist Joel Rose titled Get Hiro!, due in 2012. Finally, editor Karen Berger announced the special Vertigo: Resurrection project, 100 page issues of never-reprinted or “lost” stories, including “Shoot” by Warren Ellis, a Constantine story about a school shooting from 1999 that was pulled in the aftermath of the Columbine High School incident. (Note: the first issue, which includes “Shoot”, just came out 10/20 and it is awesome.) A very satisfying panel that will empty my wallet further (eventually). I don’t purchase many DC (or Marvel, really) comics, but when I do, they are almost always the Vertigo imprint.
After the Vertigo panel, I had a Super Ray comic signed by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel (and didn’t pass out in the process, even after telling Ames he was very brave for going full frontal nude on the latest episode of Bored to Death). (The entire minicomic is available on the HBO Bored to Death site, with the huge penis panel notably absent.)
By late afternoon/early evening, the exhibition hall was still packed with cosplayers who looked better six hours ago, tired kids, trash, frustrated “security” staff, and exhausted attendees. It also didn’t smell so good anymore. As I headed up 8th Avenue to the bus (once again peeved that ReedPOP neglected to mention evening panels at an earlier date), I seriously considered if I needed to attend Sunday, but decided to get some sleep and decide in the morning...
Sunday
... and since I slept through the bus I was planning to take up that morning, Sunday at NYCC didn’t happen for me. Which was probably just as well, since it was Kids’ Day, and three panels I had been interested in were all running simultaneously. Sure, I was going to miss The Walking Dead panel, but that would be covered by all the major blogs, anyway. I was also worn down from logging nearly 9 hours of bus time in two days, although I have no complaints about the rides.
(Yes, somewhat late, a bit long, short on photographs, but still relevant and hopefully interesting.)
After reading a myriad of writeups about NYCC 2010, consensus seems to be the show went well, but not without problems, many concerning the crowds. I haven’t come across any reports that ended with “This sucked and I’m never coming back”, at least not yet.
Friday
Arrived at the Javits Center in Hell’s Kitchen, secured my press pass fairly quickly (as quickly as possible with 2900 registered press attendees), and scoped the layout. Took some time to fill out a survey for a doctoral student of Teachers College Columbia University, and walked the entire exhibit hall before the crowds packed in.
My favorite moment from Friday happened when I walked past two women, one wearing a FEED button on her press pass. FEED by Mira Grant was one of my favorite novels of 2010, a zombie story with intelligence, wit, and a great plot. I sputtered, “Oh... where did you get your FEED pin? I absolutely LOVED that book and can’t wait for the next one!” She pointed at the other woman with her and said, “Oh, actually, she’s Mira Grant”. I blathered on (hopefully making sense) about how much I enjoyed the book, how it was reviewed on my blog, and here’s my card so you can see it. The next book of the Newsflesh Trilogy, DEADLINE, will be out in June 2011. It was just a cool little, low-key author encounter, something I didn’t expect to happen at a large con without standing in a signing line.
The first panel I attended was Will Eisner’s New York, and it was disappointing that the room was less than a third full. The hour was a brief overview of how New York City was an integral part of Eisner’s work, but mostly remembrances from colleagues like Jules Feiffer (who walked into Eisner’s studio at age 16 looking for summer work and got put on The Spirit), Paul Levitz (who helped compile The Eisner Library), and David Hajdu (author of the excellent Ten-Cent Plague).
During the session, Denis Kitchen mentioned an interview Eisner gave with the Philadelphia Bulletin in 1941, where he first proposed that comic strips could be a serious art form. Apparently, the reporter stifled his laughter at this suggestion. That reminded me of a debate I’m having with a friend who refuses to even take time to think about considering comics as art. He also refuses to learn about comics, comics history, different comic genres to deliver an informed critical opinion. He doesn’t care about comics, therefore comics are useless. If I show him Eisner’s THE CONTRACT WITH GOD TRILOGY: LIFE ON DROPSIE AVENUE, and the immense detail and passion he put into these New York stories, maybe he’ll at least wake up and perhaps consider comics a little differently. (But probably not. I’ve given up hope on even trying to introduce comics to staunch non-comic types.)
After the Eisner panel, I wandered the rapidly-filling exhibition hall again, chatting with a Creative Director from The Warner Archive Collection about the forthcoming release of THE GREEN SLIME, a Japanese science fiction film from 1968, possibly best known for inspiring the RPG The Awful Green Things from Outer Space, but more so for the incredibly funky theme song composed by Charles Fox:
The Warner Archive Collection is a “print on demand” service for out-of-print, lost, odd, and forgotten movies. Since launching in 2009, they’ve added over 600 movies and television shows to the catalog, including the old “Night Flight” favorite Urgh! A Music War; B-horror flicks like Bad Ronald and Endangered Species; trashy television miniseries such as Lace (“Which one of you bitches is my mother?”); and lost animated abominations like Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space. As someone who spent her teenage years trawling small video stores for weird films, or waiting for them to show up on cable or UHF at 3AM, a service like Warner Archive Collection is much appreciated.
The nicely-filled Remembering Harvey Pekar panel was moving, wonderful, and a little bit sad, considering that day (10/8) was Harvey’s 71st birthday. The panel was moderated by Jeff Newelt, the editor of The Pekar Project at Smith Magazine. (Newelt also does an eerily accurate imitation of Harvey’s voice, which he broke into from time to time.) The rest of the panel consisted of artists who worked with Harvey over the years, including the freakishly young looking Sean Pryor (seriously, he looks like he’s 14), Rick Parker, and Joseph Remant, all of The Pekar Project. Dean Haspiel, artist of The Quitter told the story of his first disastrous encounter with Harvey. The panel was rounded out with longtime friend Peter Kuper and Vertigo editor Jonathan Vankin. It was a great hour of stories and memories about Harvey (such as the fact that he called people at 8AM, no matter what the time difference might have been). They also showed photos of his original scripts and “page layouts”. The movie American Splendor captured these exactly - pages of crude stick figure drawings with dialogue. Harvey kept the U.S. Postal Service in business. He never sent those pages via FedEx or UPS, faxed them, or scanned and e-mailed them. They were always folded up, stuffed into an envelope and mailed to the artist.
Next year, Zip Comics will be publishing HARVEY PEKAR’S CLEVELAND, illustrated by Joseph Remnant. Newelt mentioned plans to publish an anthology of all the comics in The Pekar Project.
Feeling the warm fuzzies from the Pekar Panel, I spent the rest of the time checking out the south end of the exhibition hall, physically ghettoized from the rest of the floor by massive construction in the Javits Center. The south end had a huge, loud, Intel-sponsored video gaming area, traditional RPG gaming areas, the small press section, podcast alley, and the very large, nicely spaced Artist Alley.
Unfortunately, the only finding aid for Artists Alley was a single large poster perched on an easel, listing all the names of the artists according to table, not according to name, publisher, or any other logical order. It was printed in 8 point font, and impossible to access around the crowds of people looking for their favorite artists. Fliers listing all the artists in alphabetical order (first name, last name, whatever) and their table assignment would have been helpful. (Not that it mattered much to me in the end, as I was still too chickenpoop to approach any of my favorite artists and ask for a sketch, even though I purchased a new sketchbook for the event! I need to ease into asking for sketches at cons that are more my milieu, like MoCCA and SPX.)
I finally met Charlito of Indie Spinner Rack podcast in the flesh (but not nude), which was awesome. Speaking of awesome, if you don’t have the two ISR Anthologies: AWESOME and AWESOME 2: AWESOMER, it would behoove you to purchase them immediately, as they are excellent collections of the best indie comic artists working today.
As the exhibition floor was closing, I wandered outside, past the accordion-playing Boba Fett, headed up 8th Avenue, and onto the ride back to Philly.
I’ve written previously about my aversion to overloading on needless (and often useless) free swag from conventions, and how I’m now very selective what comes back with me. If it’s something I can read (books, comics, samplers, magazines) or use (notepads, totebags, helpful geegaws), it’s okay. And pinbacks!
So, unlike many NYCC attendees who left loaded down with freebies and purchases, I was easily able to schlep my bag around the Javits Center and home. (It also kept me from looking like, eek!, a tourist.)
Swag
2 issues of BUST magazine (June/July 2010 and Oct/Nov 2010)
Notepads from Tor/Forge (promoting HELLHOLE) and American Airlines (to promote their flights to Japan)
Judah Friedlander tote bag (!), promoting his new book HOW TO BEAT UP ANYBODY (Judah was also there signing and posting for photos, but his line was out of control. Luckily, he’ll be in Philadelphia next month.)
It’s always fun when the finalists for the annual Dance Your Ph.D. are announced!
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ifixit is an open source repair manual site that anyone can contribute to, a sort of repairwiki. One of their regular features is Teardowns, where they carefully disassemble the newest gadgets to show what’s inside, like the latest iPod Nanos and the iPad (which probably give Apple fanboys chest pains to see). They recently featured a week of retro gaming console teardowns, including the Magnavox Odyssey 100 and the ubiquitous Atari 2600 (below).
There are at least 300 different panels at NYCC/NYAF 2010, demos, screenings, spotlights, etc. to choose from, but these piqued my interest as I went through the programming schedule. (Keep in mind I have a small press, comics-as-art, not-so-much-superhero interests.)
I’m obviously not going to attend all these panels, since many of them conflict. Also, if I tried to do that, it would be exhausting and there would be no time to explore the exhibition floor. It would make me cranky. (Plus, with the Javits Center located kind of in the middle of a culinary drought, getting decent food will take some time, even with CB Cebulski’s excellent guides.)
FRIDAY 10/8
Will Eisner’s New York
2PM / Room 1A14
This is likely to be a packed (and hopefully cerebral) session, since the panelists include Jules Feiffer (!!!, again, !!!), David Hajdu (author of The Ten Cent Plague), Paul Levitz, Denis Kitchen (founder of Kitchen Sink Press and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund), Michael Schumacher (Eisner biographer), and Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and Creation of the Superhero). I am not going to miss this panel.
Image Comics: The Writers
4:30PM / Room 1A14
Includes Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), John Layman (Chew), Nick Spencer (Morning Glories), Ron Marz (Firebreather vs. Dragon Prince), and Steven T. Seagle (The Crusades). CHEW is one of my favorite new books of the past two years, I’ve started to read all the back issues of THE WALKING DEAD, and was intrigued by the first two issues of MORNING GLORIES. Image puts out great material. But of course this panel conflicts with...
Remembering Harvey Pekar
4:30PM / Room 1A22
This is another panel I must attend, since I missed the Pekar panel at SPX a few weeks ago, and several of the panelists are the same: Jeff Newlet (curator of The Pekar Project), Peter Kuper, Rick Parker (contributor to The Pekar Project), Dean Haspiel (artist for The Quitter, American Splendor) and Danny Fingeroth (moderator). Again, not going to miss even though also interested in...
Adapting Public Domain Texts into Graphic Novels
4:45PM / Room 1A23
A week or so ago a friend mentioned that she wanted to try adapting the children’s classic The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett into a graphic novel, or at least an illustrated novel. There’s so much material available in the public domain for the taking!
IDW Sneak Peek 2011
5:45PM / Room 1A14
Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke & Key, which was just optioned for television) will be interviewed. (Also repeats sunday at 3:45PM.)
Dark Horse
5:45PM / Room 1A24
Of course the Dark Horse panel and IDW go head to head. But DH also repeats Sunday at 2:30PM
Dash Shaw and Chip Kidd in Conversation
8:15PM / Room 1A14
Dash Shaw (BodyWorlds and Bottomless Belly Button) and uber book designer Chip Kidd chat it up.
Fan Fiction: From Mary Sue to Shakespeare
10:45AM / Room 1A15
Not sure who is going to be on this panel, but hopefully it will be an academic take on fan fiction, as opposed to some sort of writing workshop.
Image Comics Show
1:15PM / Room 1A22
Similar to Friday’s “Writers” panel, lots of the same panelists.
The Thing
1:30PM / ING Theater
I’m curious. Plus, I’m not sure Universal presented about The Thing (prequel) at SDCC.
Spotlight on Dean Haspiel
2:45PM / Room 1A23
One-on-one with Dean Haspiel, but I doubt he’ll take his shirt off as he did at the Ignatz Awards last month. If I ever sell a comic script, I want Dean Haspiel (or Darwyn Cooke) to draw it.
Vertigo: On the Edge
3:45PM / Room 1A06
Loads of good people scheduled for this one: Jason Aaron (Scalped), Sarah Glidden (How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less), Dean Haspiel (Cuba: My Revolution), Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth), Inverna Lockpez (Cuba: My Revolution), Sean Murphy (Hellblazer), Scott Snyder (American Vampire), Peter Straub (Green Woman), and Brian Wood (DMZ, Northlanders). Considering that Vertigo just bounced three critical editors, it should be an interesting panel. (Although not as interesting as the planned Wildstorm panel (10/9, 1:15PM, 1A24) since that entire imprint was axed a few weeks ago.)
Darwyn Cooke Spotlight
5PM / Room 1A06
If I ever sell a comic script, I want Darwyn Cooke (or Dean Haspiel) to draw it.
Del Rey and Specta Books
5PM / Room 1E14
Vertical Inc.
6:15PM / Room 1E14
This past year I’ve read a few of the Vertical reissues of Osamu Tezuka manga, and am planning on reading the Black Jack series next, and checking out 7 Billion Needles by Nobuaki Tadano. Vertical Inc. has some great books, both manga, fiction, and non-fiction.
[And now, for my only pre-conference kvetch.]
When I arranged transportation for NYCC (from Philly, not economically feasible to stay overnight), I did it based on the show hours posted on the site, listed as: Friday 11-7, Saturday 10-7, and Sunday 10-5. There was NO mention these were just the Exhibition Hall hours, and that panels would run after 7PM on Friday and Saturday. When the programming schedule was finally announced, there were many panels and screenings after 7PM on these two days. A little early warning about this would have been appreciated, even if schedules weren’t final. Just a note saying “while the exhibition hall closes as 7PM, there will be panels and screenings until 10PM”, something like that. I’ve got my return tickets purchased for each day, and later departures for the buses are already sold out, so I’m kind of SOL for these next panels.
Indie Cred: Why Indie Comics Matter
7:30PM / Room 1A17
Featuring some of my favorite artists! Alex Robinson! Julia Wertz! Mike Dawson! Jason Little! Chris Radke! Okay, yeah, I’ve seen them all speak before. So, if you’re still at the Javits at 7:30, you must GO to this panel. Indie publishers represent! Wooo!
Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?
7:45PM / Room 1A23
Featuring Mac Montandon, Mira Grant, Justine Larbalestier, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Robin Becker, Alan Goldsher, and Richard Kadrey. Mira Grant wrote FEED, which was one of the best books I’ve read in 2010. It’s part of the “Deadflesh” Trilogy, and I was hoping to find out when the next book, DEADLINE will be published. (Some searching brings a date of June 2011 - do I really have to wait that long?)
It’s Butters! An Evening of Chaos!
8:15 PM / Room 1A06
Yep, an entire Leopold “Butters” Stotch event. Aw, shucks guys, I hafta miss it!
Oni Press Presentation
1:15PM / Room 1A14
Oni always puts on a good show.
How to Fail in Comic Books
1:30PM / Room 1A23
This panel is a tie-in with a documentary of the same name. Not sure if the film is done yet, or if they are still working on it, since there’s a notice that this panel will be recorded.
Culinary Manga
1:45PM / Room 1E12
Looking for recommendations beyond Oshinbo.
AMC presents The Walking Dead
2:15PM / ING Theater
AMC promises to show “the first full scenes”, whatever that means. (And whatever it means, it will probably show up on YouTube mere hours afterwards.) Actors on the panel include Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, and Steven Yeun. Writer/director/exec producer Frank Darabont will be there, and other exec producers Robert Kirkman and Gale Anne Hurd.
Full disclosure #1: I attended the first New York Comic Con in 2006, organized by convention company Reed Exhibitions. It was a bit of a disaster. Only a small part of the Javits Convention Center was utilized, disorganization was rampant, and people were denied entrance on the Saturday of the event due to overcrowding, even if they had pre-paid admission. I left very early feeling completely worn out from the short day, and a bit cheated, too. [Here are some old posts/news items about the event: Comics Worth Reading 1, Comics Worth Reading 2, Prep Time Posse, Comics Reporter.]
Since that cold February many years ago, I’ve attended many excellently run conventions including the behemoth San Diego Comic Con (2x), Small Press Expo (4x), MoCCA Fest (2x), and other smaller events. Although I had heard that NYCC was improving each year, I was still hesitant to give it another try.
Reviewing 2009’s programming schedule and coverage after the event ended, I decided to maybe give NYCC another chance in 2010. Which leads to...
Full disclosure #2: I am attending NYCC 2010 as press, and was provided a press pass (but no other amenities). (Since this is an Ad Free Blog, I felt it important to state this up front.)
NYCC 2010 is a balanced mix of geekdom with an emphasis on comics (mostly mainstream, but some indie panels and exhibitors), supplemented with gaming and TV/movie presentations. This is not a con that has lost its comics focus. There are many comics publishers, retailers, and ancillary exhibitors (e.g., collectibles insurance companies, art supplies, etc.), and even somewhat of a “webcomics pavillion” on the floor, in addition to Artists’ Alley, a podcast area, and small press tables.
The programming does have Hollywood media (although mostly confined to the ING Theater), but it also features Comic Studies Conference panels from the Institute for Comics Studies, lots of librarian and educator panels, and many, many comic panels. There are also a few “big name” (paid) autograph opportunities with celebrities, as is the norm at every comic convention. There’s also a Kids’ Day (Sunday), Masquerade, and D&D gaming.
It is the combination New York Comic Con/New York Anime Fest, so there are plenty of manga and anime panels, exhibitors, and happenings. Since I am only a very casual reader of manga, and not a watcher of anime at all, I can’t really judge if it’s a “good mix” of stuff. Two of the manga publishers I do read books from will be there, Vertical Publishing and Viz Media (Viz Signature books), but that is the extent that I can address NYAF.
Overall, my (cautious) impression is that most attendees will find what they came for at NYCC 2010: film and television teasers, comics, anime, autographs, books, or videogames. And since Reed Exhibitions now has created a separate division (called ReedPOP) for the NYCC and similar events (C2E2, PAX, PAX East), hopefully it will run as smoothly as possible. Look for my Twitter posts during the event, and blog posts when possible.
Woody Guthrie inspired pencils inscribed with “This Machine Kills Fascists”, which is the slogan he had on his guitar. (Unfortunately they’re $22 for a (nice wooden) box of 10! Wonder if you could get them printed up by some promotional giveaway company, instead?)
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Totally awesome! Laptop skins that look like a row of home-recorded VHS tapes. And it’s not a photograph, but done with markers by artist Hollis Brown Thornton called “VHS Heroes”.
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Looking forward to this series of film studies books from Soft Skull Press, called Deep Focus. They are going to concentrate on cult films of the 70s and 80s, and the first two books are about John Carpenter’s They Live! (written by Jonathan Lethem!) and Death Wish. I’m very glad that there’s going to be long-form criticism about not-so-artistically-inclined films that many people relate to more.
I met Sarah Becan at SPX 2010, where she was nominated for an Ignatz Award for her webcomic I Think You’re Sauceome! (She didn’t win.) She was also participated in a panel about presenting your “Autobiography in Pieces”, which I enjoyed.
In this (mostly) daily webcomic, Sarah draws her food consumption, along with a little diary comic about that day’s events, and sometimes a thoughtful essay as well.
While I adore her daily comic entries, I also like her goals for the webcomic, the first of which is:
I have a few personal goals for this little project here. First and foremost is to find a way to stop hating myself so much. I know I have some pretty unhealthy ingrained ideas when it comes to self-image, and I had them when I was a size 7, and I know people who are a size 3 who have them too, so I’m pretty sure it’s not about what size I actually am.
Selection from Sarah Becan's webcomic I Think You're Saucesome!
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Daniel Raeburn’s infrequently published The Imp is frequently called an essential zine about various comic-related topics. He’s published issues about Dan Clowes, Chris Ware, Chick tracts, and sleazy Mexican comics, all in different sizes, designs, and formats (e.g. newspaper, tract, etc.). Issues of The Imp have been very difficult to find, but Raeburn has just released all four issues in PDF form on his site for free. I highly recommend The Imp #2, a research essay about Chick Publications, including a concordance!
Illustrator Jana Christy donated one of her kidneys to her brother to help save his life, and created a comic to help her get through it: The Kidney Thing. It’s a fascinating read. I’m not even going to spoil the “Fun Kidney Facts”! Instead, I will go for the cheap laugh of the pee collection panels:
Collecting urine in Jana Christy's The Kidney Thing.
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So, I’ve been harboring a crush on Lucy Knisley since very early in 2010, when I fell into her book French Milk at just the right time. I “squee!”ed all over her at MoCCA Fest in April, whereI bought Make Yourself Happy and Radiator Days. I’ve been wanting to write about her work for months, but haven’t really been able to put into proper words how good her work makes me feel.
Recently, Lucy endured some rough life events. However, she’s slowly bounced back (as I knew she would), working in her shared studio The Burrow, and making new art again (including Cat Experiment videos!). To help process what she endured this summer, she created the comic Salvaged Parts, a great story about crawling from the wreckage. It’s available as a PDF for mere $2, and well worth more.
