Photo by Penina Gal

Well, despite the miserable conditions – rain all Friday and an almost unbearably hot convention floor – this year’s trip to the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival was really, really fun and uplifting. So many great moments including:

• Finding out from the illustrious Matt Madden that Steve Bissette’s Secrets & Lies contribution was nominated for inclusion in the forthcoming Best American Comics 2009. It didn’t make the final cut, but did get an inclusion in the Honorable Mentions at the end of the book. This is a really nice epilogue to the book, which totally tanked at last year’s MoCCA and enjoyed a lackluster at best afterlife (in sales).
• Getting a mention from Rick Marshall on the MTV comics blog’s MoCCA report , as well as a nice shout out from Fleen
  
• Getting the royal treatment courtesy of Comicspace, including a very tasty dinner and face time with old friends. Thanks again, guys!
• Having someone I didn’t know come up to me and tell me that he’d been reading my work for many years and enjoying it. “You’re like webcomics history standing right in front of me,” he said. Made my whole weekend. Thank you.
• Selling watercolors to people that genuinely wanted them. Always nice when someone buys a piece of art from you because they really like it.
• Of course seeing old friends again, reconnecting, talking shop , getting out of town, riding trains, going to amazing comic stores – I really live for this stuff.

There were some low points as well, like finding out Nickelodeon Magazine is folding, thus squelching yet another venue for cartoonists/illustrators/freelancers and an amazing and fun entry point for kids and comics. It’s just as depressing (if not more) as when Disney Adventures died. It also puts a couple acquaintances of mine out of work at a time when jobs are scarce in our field. The convention floor was HOT and muggy which made for a sweaty time for all. My buddy Keith Knight punked out on coming out to the show, so I missed him this year. Didn’t get enough time with other buddies as well, but there’s always only so much time at these things. Next year?

There’s many photo evidences that I’m just too lazy to link here.

In other news, I hit the ground running the minute I got back having a page I’d started waiting to be completed when I got back and was able to get a good work day in yesterday. I’m hard at work on YOTR2, the Inkwell Reader, some anthology pieces, a couple commission pieces that need completion and some freelance work.

Here’s a preview of what I’ve got going on with no comment but only for your eyes to feast on because I’m itching to get back to work and tired of trying to post this. OK!

An image to be included in the Inkwell Reader... (click to enlarge)

almost have this one wrapped up... (click to enlarge)

click on the image to get a larger view!

I’ve done most of my scanning and working on finishing up the book this week. To answer some questions, this book will be P.O.D. for this first run. It’s really the most logical way to put out the book because I can put out a quality product that anyone online can order and I’ll make a modest profit which will definitely help me out right now. I’m leaning heavily in the direction of one particular online P.O.D. service but would love suggestions/ideas from anyone that’s had more experience with this sort of thing. The book will be retail $10 (plus whatever shipping and handling is when you buy the book online). I’ll be buying copies to sell at cons, etc. as signed editions for the same price) and the page count right now is sitting at 64 pages and will be quite a nice little package. I’m getting excited!