Emerald City ComiCon 2014

Seattle brought the rain this year, as promised. It also brought a much bigger convention than last year. The crowds swelled first thing Friday at 10am and didn't ease until Sunday afternoon. Even the absence of Captain Picard this year didn't keep fans at home. It seems that a bunch of indie cartoonists can be a draw unto themselves. (Excuse the pun.)My sometimes-tablemate Reid is doing his convention victory lap this year. He has been accepted into a fancy college for science illustration and will trade his cartoonist brush for an illustration brush this fall. (They are actually the same brush.) We honored our shared history by taking lots of photos of our table decorations and ourselves. What could possibly top a three day convention high? Only the 39th President of the United States!Jimmy Carter came to Elliott Bay Books on Monday to sign his latest book, A Call to Action. I, along with a few hundred old hippies, waited amiably in line for the chance to meet one of our greatest Commanders in Chief. As readers of this here blog can attest, I'm a big fan of President Carter. Since I was wearing my Carter t-shirt, I got interviewed for a local paper. Unfortunately I take a lousy picture, and it turns out I was semi-incoherent after meeting my hero. On our way home, Reid took me to the best pizza joint in Olympia, Washington: Old School Pizzeria. It wins at delicious thin crust pizza and at being a time machine to 1986. Most importantly, it features a mural of all the superheroes you could ever need in a dicey situation. I felt very safe eating at Old School.That about does it for the first convention of 2014. Next up: Linework NW right here in Portland, Oregon!