6.29.2005
6.24.2005
Hmm-Hah! So Long, Myron!
I'd be incredibly remiss if I didn't take a moment to note the retirement of Myron Cope from the Pittsburgh Steelers Radio Broadcast Network...as a longtime Stillers fan who has never actually lived in Pittsburgh, radio was often the only option for following my favorite team, whether it was via crispy AM frequencies when I lived in NE Ohio or more recently over the internet while residing in NC and Virginia. Myron, with his loopy catch phrases and self-described "nails-on-a-chalkboard" voice, was always a treat to hear. True, other teams' fans usually found him more annoying than endearing (especially those in Cincinnati, whose team Cope consistently referred to as "The Bungles"), but that just made him more special to the Steelers Nation. And no one could deny he was one of a kind.And to top it all off, he invented the Terriblle Towel! How cool is that?
Photo by Peter Diana, Pgh. Post-Gazette
6.16.2005
A Delicious Hot MoCCA
I made my trip up to New York last weekend for the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art (or MoCCA) Artsfest, driving up on Friday with my pal J Chris Campbell. We rolled into Brooklyn at around 6 pm or so, grabbed some awesome Thai food at a great little joint in our host Greg Babb's Park Slope neighborhood, and walked the busy streets a bit before turning in a little early in anticipation of the busy weekend ahead.
Saturday morning we called a car service for easy transport and lugged all our stuff over to the lovely Puck building in SoHo where the show was being held. J Chris, who publishes his book ZigZag with AdHouse, was sharing space with AdHouse head honcho Chris Pitzer. I personally had decided to only rent a table for one day, Sunday, and I figured I'd just peruse the con as a fan on Saturday. However, when I saw where the table I was assigned was located, on the absolute ass-end of the con (a lurid.com tradition!), I was despondent. It was probably my own fault, as I'd waited til the last minute to apply for a table, but I was nonetheless quite disappointed to have such a horrendous location, where I was virtually assured to make no sales at all.
Thankfully, I happened to whine about my bad fortune to Chris Radtke and Mike Dawson, creators of the fantastic Gabagool! funnybook, and they let me set up at their table gratis! (apparently an adjacent exhibitor hadn't shown up and they ended up with twice the space they paid for.) Truly a spectacular gesture. I was humbled, but only for a moment, as I quickly scurred over, grabbed my goods and set up shop. Good thing too, cause most of the sales were on Saturday!
Sunday was good as well, if a bit slower somehow...lotsa browsers, but not as many buyers. As always, I saw and got to hang out with all kinds of great old friends and made some new ones.
And the heat! There's nothing quite like NYC in the summer, which is when I always seem to be there. It sticks to you, follows you like a shroud...being in the subway tunnels on a scorching day is like being inside someone's lungs! You start to question what you're doing with your life when it's 95 degrees out and you're standing there on the street lugging around a fifty pound box of comic books you photocopied and stapled yourself.
But anyways, overall the show itself was pretty great. I went in '02 and '03, when it was only one day, and it was way too crowded for my taste and sanity. The switch to two days has alleviated that problem, and while I'd still pick SPX as my favorite show, MoCCA is a blast and I'm sure I'll head back next year.
Saturday morning we called a car service for easy transport and lugged all our stuff over to the lovely Puck building in SoHo where the show was being held. J Chris, who publishes his book ZigZag with AdHouse, was sharing space with AdHouse head honcho Chris Pitzer. I personally had decided to only rent a table for one day, Sunday, and I figured I'd just peruse the con as a fan on Saturday. However, when I saw where the table I was assigned was located, on the absolute ass-end of the con (a lurid.com tradition!), I was despondent. It was probably my own fault, as I'd waited til the last minute to apply for a table, but I was nonetheless quite disappointed to have such a horrendous location, where I was virtually assured to make no sales at all.
Thankfully, I happened to whine about my bad fortune to Chris Radtke and Mike Dawson, creators of the fantastic Gabagool! funnybook, and they let me set up at their table gratis! (apparently an adjacent exhibitor hadn't shown up and they ended up with twice the space they paid for.) Truly a spectacular gesture. I was humbled, but only for a moment, as I quickly scurred over, grabbed my goods and set up shop. Good thing too, cause most of the sales were on Saturday!
Sunday was good as well, if a bit slower somehow...lotsa browsers, but not as many buyers. As always, I saw and got to hang out with all kinds of great old friends and made some new ones.
And the heat! There's nothing quite like NYC in the summer, which is when I always seem to be there. It sticks to you, follows you like a shroud...being in the subway tunnels on a scorching day is like being inside someone's lungs! You start to question what you're doing with your life when it's 95 degrees out and you're standing there on the street lugging around a fifty pound box of comic books you photocopied and stapled yourself.
But anyways, overall the show itself was pretty great. I went in '02 and '03, when it was only one day, and it was way too crowded for my taste and sanity. The switch to two days has alleviated that problem, and while I'd still pick SPX as my favorite show, MoCCA is a blast and I'm sure I'll head back next year.
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