To say the least, I had a phenomenal time. Spirits seemed to be up this year. Most of the creators I talked to had comics in the pipeline and we’re successfully working the indie comics hustle. There’s a coterie-like group of comic book creators doing interesting work largely outside of the mainstream right now, outside of art comix for that matter too. Somewhere in the slipstream. And they seemed to be thriving at the con.
Here’s a look at SDCC ‘06 through my (sometimes sober) eyes.
1. One of the most disturbing things that I saw all weekend was a woman dressed in fantasy garb, holding a chain with her much older male concubine attached at the end. The man had big foam gears attached to his hands and a bizarre sexual apparatus covering his twig ‘n berries. The prospect of the duo being a father/daughter act made me a little uncomfortable and I had to walk away quickly.
2. MBQ’s Felipe Smith was like Glenngary Glenn Ross on the convention floor. You either leave his booth with MBQ or a fat lip. Nobody has more passion for comics than the Argentinean Assassin!
3. Comic artist Mark Texeria wins the weekend award for worst convention etiquette. I watched, irritated, as he completely ignored a friend of a friend for 15 minutes. Finally, he grabs the kid’s comic, signs it, and hands it back with zero acknowledgement that Fan Of His Work even exists. Nary a word spoken in Fans general direction. For shame.
4. Image Comics was hopping all weekend. There was genuine excitement for a lot of their titles. I hear Matt Fraction sold out of Casanova #1 and #2 completely. From across the pond, Kieron Gillen and Jamie Mckelvie were spreading the good word about their new comic book Phonogram. The Image guys were trying to bring some class to comics this year. I noticed quite of few creators rocking some dapper suits.
5. Speaking of suits, I was introduced to The Isotopes James Sime. He was wearing one of his signature digs. He looks kind of like an evangelical comic book bible salesman. Nice guy.
6. I never saw the smoking Klingon.
7. But I did see the lounging Wookie, being bicycled through the Gaslamp district.
8. Virgin Comics’ panel with Grant Morrison and Deepak Chopra was one of the highlights of the convention for me. They spoke about the 7 states of superhero spirituality. I mostly smiled and nodded and tried to pretend that I understood the words coming out of their mouths.
9. SPECIAL BLIND ITEM! Which former television super-hero was seen at the Horton bar semi-molesting one of his female fans? After asking her to dance for him and massaging her shoulders with his incredibly huge hands, he mentioned that he couldn’t get all the kinks out with her bra on and that she should come up to his hotel room. After finally taking a hint, he downed two glasses of chardonnay and walked out of the bar with a limp.
10. Word on the convention floor was the film 300 looks like it’s going to be phenomenal.
11. Joshua Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain had a preview of their new comic book Punks. It looks like nothing else on the stands. They were searching for a publisher and I really hope they found one.
12. Alan Moore’s Lost Girls was selling like crazy. Expect Marvel and DC to invoke slash fiction by 2011.
13. Frank Miller now rolls with an entourage. Daniel Clowes does not. I’d love to see Clowes with Hollywood-types surrounding him. I think his hanger-ons would last a day before they started to feel an existential sense of uselessness and self-loathing.
14. I chatted a bit with cartoonist Jeffrey Brown who was walking the convention floor in claustrophobic anxiety. He looked like he wanted hide in a closet with a Linus-style safety blanket. His new book I Will Be Small looks beautiful. Available in both hardcover and softcover from Top Shelf.
15. Was I the only one who noticed IDW’s lack of presence at the con? Most of their creators were spread out across the convention floor like artistic refugees.
16. The Hyatt, apparently, is the place to be for nightly drinks. Or one too many drinks in the case of a comic book creator who ralphed on the lobby floor Friday night. Advice: Pay the extra couple bucks for a room at the Hyatt. If for no other reason than to be stumbling distance from the elevator up to your room.
It’s a good time for comics, judging by the general energy at the con. Five years ago there seemed to be more of a doom and gloom cloud spreading over the convention floor. Chalk it up to more opportunities, an increase of awareness, or even just better work being produced, but our beholden bastard art form has a spring in its step.
