SDCC 2013

My second year exhibiting at the Greatest Show on Earth was a raging success. I did my best sales ever, beating last year's record. I saw lots of old friends and met a few new ones. I wasn't devoured by zombies. I've already applied to next year's show, so with luck you can find me back in Small Press, row O, same time next July.http://instagram.com/p/cE2kMsjiU9/#Frequent table-mate Reid decided to take a year off, so I had a whole table to fill.http://instagram.com/p/cCKLGXjiSh/#Although I was technically tabling alone, I had plenty of help. My friend Rachael, a San Diegan and a biology student, was my official assistant for the show. She gave me lunch breaks and allowed me to get away to see cartoonists and illustrators I've long admired. William Stout was back - I think he's been attending every ComicCon since the beginning - and he drew me a stegosaurus and told me of the new discoveries regarding its famous plates. Rachael rode her motorcycle to the convention center, which was bar none the coolest thing anyone did that whole week.http://instagram.com/p/cDK_oxjicl/#http://instagram.com/p/cBKPBjDiRM/#Once again my neighbors made the show for me. Four full days plus one evening is a marathon. You're handing out cards, shouting greetings to strangers, rattling off the same pithy phrases about your books over and over again until you lose your voice. Without the good humor and support of those tabling around me, I'd never make it.http://instagram.com/p/cCK-1IDiTz/#Jeff was my neighbor for the second year in a row. Although we didn't get into a heated Twitter battle like we did in '12, we joked around plenty. I also got to meet Jeff's mom and sister. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Jeff's mom, who stood behind my table when I needed to take bathroom breaks. She became as good, if not better, at selling my books than me.http://instagram.com/p/cCK4gAjiTr/#Corey and Yomi were new to ComicCon but you'd never know. They are naturally friendly; every time I looked over they were surrounded by a new and exciting mix of people. I can't wait to read the books I traded them for.http://instagram.com/p/cBKB2ljiRA/#http://instagram.com/p/b6ZNkhjiVL/#Ben was once again on my right. Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of Ben, but trust me, no photograph would do that man justice. He came with the second volume of his mighty work Pang: The Wandering Shaolin Monk. If you are unfamiliar with Ben's work, I would highly suggest tracking down his zine about a boy who grows a cloaca when he hits puberty.http://instagram.com/p/b6aDLQjiWR/#Occasionally the river of people running in front of my table yielded a familiar face. Palle Schmidt, my friend from a country where the government supports the arts, was back in San Diego. This time he was plugging his latest graphic novel for the English-speaking market. Palle interviewed me for his podcast. He grouped me with Nate Powell, which is as huge a compliment for me as it must be a dubious distinction for Nate. Listen if you want to hear me expound on self-publishing for three minutes.http://instagram.com/p/b_i5scA01p/Henry Barajas. This guy. We first met at last year's Con, but he's from Tucson. We tabled next to each other at last year's Tucson ComicCon, where I realized that he is the most outgoing, networkingist cartoonist I've met. He is quite literally a Renaissance Man. He does stand-up, writes for the daily paper in Tucson, writes comics, and knows just about everyone in the business. For some reason, he took time out of hanging with Neil Gaiman to help me sell books at my table. Henry gave me the energy boost I badly needed on Friday afternoon. I was in a bit of a rut, caffeine loosing its effectiveness, and he shook off my cobwebs and got me back in the game. Can I throw any more metaphors in there? He was my con coach.http://instagram.com/p/cABjDyjiTG/#Joel Schroeder, director of the documentary Dear Mr. Watterson. If you asked me what sort of movie I most wanted to be a part of, I would have said, duh, a movie about Bill Watterson. Well kids, I'm here to tell you that dreams really do come true. Joel emailed me last fall, requesting permission to use a Falling Rock strip in his documentary. I held off responding for a good ten minutes before mashing all the keys on my keyboard until I typed YES OF COURSE. Now the film is complete and Joel is preparing for a nationwide theatrical release in November. He sent me a poster for my table and stopped by on Saturday to deliver a stack of postcards. Turns out, everybody at ComicCon loves Calvin and Hobbes. People walking quickly by my table would stop in their tracks when I handed them a card to ask about Dear Mr. Watterson.Mr. Watterson, if you happen upon this blog, I want you to know that people dressed as zombies, people in capes, women, men, young, old...every single person who goes to ComicCon loves Calvin and Hobbes dearly. There is no other single comic (or movie, or TV show, or viral video) as universally loved as that strip. If you ever want to come to ComicCon, even in disguise so nobody will bug you for a snowman drawing or whatever, I think you will have a great time.Also, I think you should make a Spaceman Spiff graphic novel. Think about it, get back to me later.http://instagram.com/p/b6aOhFjiWf/#I figured out that people on panels had a special badge, so I began asking everyone with a Panel Badge what they did. It always yielded interesting answers. I met a scientist who works at Jet Propulsion Labs. He is a consultant on an upcoming film about a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa. I hadn't heard of Europa Report before, but based on his description I am 100% going to see this movie - especially given my longstanding dream that NASA will devote a mission to the ocean moon.I also saw Lawrence from Office Space! I had no idea what to say to him as he walked by. I just said "Heyyyy!" He turned, smiled, and said "Hello!"http://instagram.com/p/b4tP40jiXW/#There was, inevitably, talk among cartoonists about the watering-down of ComicCon. I've only been attending for the past five years so the crazy crowds are all I know. With the movie and television and video game and toy companies comes a much broader audience. The people who are there to see Game of Thrones or Hunger Games are not necessarily going to spend any time at Small Press or Artist Alley looking at self-published minicomics. I understand the need to sell well at this show. It is expensive to stay for five days, it is difficult to stand up all day shouting the same pitch to passerby. It can get tiring even if you do well. I come back exhausted. If you don't do as well as you'd like, it can be disheartening. That's true for any show. But I disagree that ComicCon is less good because of all the hoopla. If anything, people can get exposed to more pop culture than they ever would have anticipated. I have personally sold comics to people who say they don't read comics. At ComicCon, it's all about discovery.For me, ComicCon is more than just another show. The jarring cocktail of pop culture produces something bigger than any of us. Fans, cartoonists, Stormtroopers, publishers, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers all share space in the sprawling convention center. I'm certainly glad I've done we'll the two years I've exhibited; it has made it worth coming back. But more importantly, it exposes me to a phenomenon. ComicCon is the epicenter of popular culture. We come out knowing what the trends will be for the next year. We are part of the zeitgeist, a moving target that perches in the Gaslamp Quarter for a week before heading for parts unknown. It feels good to know that my work can fit into that huge swirling mass.Until next year, ComicCon.http://instagram.com/p/b8_vpXjiU2/#