Crowbar Benson

So last weekend I was in Seattle, and was lucky enough to attend the Emerald City Comic Con as an attendee. It was pretty cool, I got the chance to meet lots of people, buy lots of books and geek out on comics in general. Here’s a few of the creators I talked with, in no particular order:

Monster Commute is a web comic run by Daniel M. Davis and his wife, and they had one of the coolest booths at the show. It was tough to choose, but I eventually bought the book below. I still haven’t had a chance to read it, to busy gawking at the great artwork in in… His sense of design is really good, all the posters/books/buttons were a treat to look at.
I also had a chance to talk to him briefly at the ‘Drink and Draw’ event Saturday night, he’s a super nice guy on top of being really talented…

I also met the guys who produce the webcomic Woody After Hours and picked up their ‘Super Spiffy Limited Edition Emerald City ComicCon MiniComic’, which was really fun to read, and very nicely printed. I got print number nine of a fifty print run, which is my hockey number, so that was a good sign. I really like the clean artwork by Paul Westover, it’s very precise and a easy to follow.

As well, I met Angela Melick of Wasted Talent fame, who was very nice, and I only wish she had a book I could have bought. I’ve been following her autobiographical webcomic for quite awhile, and it was kind of bizarre to meet her in person. There’s a real disconnect when you feel a bit like you know someone through their work, when in actual fact you don’t know them at all, and they certainly don’t know you.

Also falling into the category of autobio webcomic artists was Erica Moen, who did have a book I could buy. I really like her drawing style, and I’m a big fan of black and white artwork. Her work kind of reminds me of my sister Carmel’s artwork.

I had the chance to meet in person Indigo Kelleigh who I had met online a few times. Another great guy, with more drawing talent that a single individual should be allowed to have. His style is reminiscent of Herge (Tin Tin) and just looks unbelievably good. I got his sampler mini of the Ellie Connelly series he is working on, and although it’s not in colour like the web-version, it still looks great. It was also nice to read the story in one shot, it’s a bit harder to follow on the web for some reason. I can’t wait for the full on book to come out…
I also got to meet, if only briefly, the Half-Pixel crew of Dave Kellet, Brad Guigar, Kris Straub and Scott Kurtz. Talking to them was like listening to a podcast, a bit surreal. I kept waiting for Dave’s Skype connection to crap out. I also attended their panel, which was genuinely funny, if the webcomics thing doesn’t work out, they can always find work as stand-up comics. I ended up only buying books from Scott Kurtz and Kris Straub, but I’m sure I’ll pick stuff from the others in the future.
And I also scammed a quick sketch from Jeph Jacques, mega-star, for Mr. B, who is a big fan of Questionable Content (as am I).
Okay, I know I’m missing a bunch of people I met, but this post is already over long… Here’s hoping I can make it back next year with a table to call my own!

So who had a good time last week?  That would be me…

We got to attend the Sunday afternoon of Expozine in Montreal, which was totally cool and inspiring.  I got some great books, including Kate Beaton’s ‘Never Learn Anything from History’.  She was nice enough to do a little sketch in it, as well, so now I’m tempted to tear the cover off just to hang up the drawing.  Sadly, I’m temperamentally unable to wreck books, so her drawing will have to stay hidden…

One of the coolest things about Expozine is finding artists and writers you’ve never heard of before… I got the book ‘The Hipless Boy‘ by Sully, and it’s really excellent.  The artwork is deceptively simple, but really flows and carries the story along, rather than just illustrating the words.  The writing is what really sets it apart, however, the stories suck you in.  Usually writers that good tend to get carried away and use to much dialogue, but this book strikes the right balance.

I haven’t read all of the books I got yet, but they all look pretty decent.  One surprise was two books of poetry by Ralph Alphonso, I pretty much got it for the cool illustrations, but it’s been fun to read.  I wish I had got more of his stuff now…

Two nights after Expozine I got to go see the Montreal Canadiens.  And they won.  And the Bell Centre was insane.  And Carey Price stood on his head, played amazing.  Many thanks to Jack Peterson of Cogmation who came up with the ticket, and who has probably forgotten more about the Canadiens than I’ll ever know…  Did I mention the Canadiens won?  In a shoot-out?  Just sayin’…

Then it was Quebec City, which was a blur of cool people, good food and better times.  Aside from how beautiful the city was, I think the highlight was meeting Vincent of SagaFilm.  That guy has an insane amount of talent…