Aug 09, 2016 My San Diego Comic-Con 2016 stash
Hall H has been decontaminated, Stormtrooper uniforms are being Turtle Waxed, and bloggers have moved on to the next big thing. You might be able to go to a Bertos without running into a Klingon. But I still have Comic-Con Fever, and am almost done plowing through the stack of publications I picked up. Yes, I actually bought comics at Comic-Con. Who does that?
One of the first tables I check out every year is Drawn & Quarterly. Despite having to lug around fists full of Eisner Awards and smile and accept handshakes for the entire show, they are the nicest and funniest people. Their comics rule, too. Brian Chippendale’s Puke Force collection collects his B&W comics drawn between 2009 and 2015. They originally ran online but look way better on the stark pages of a book. The narrative is harsh, fast, dark, and funny–kind of like Chippendale’s band Lightning Bolt. The edition at Comic-Con was signed, numbered and limited to 100.
Daniel Clowes was hanging out signing copies of the brand-new paperback edition of Wilson, so how could I not buy one? I thought it was going to be like Notes from the Underground, but our hero’s big mouth and misanthropy that stir up trouble are also what make him human. Somehow, he’s likable. The cover text says this book has been adapted into a movie and I think Woody Harrelson will be an excellent Wilson.
Shigeru Mizuki is no longer around to sign books, but I immediately grabbed the first installation of the brand-new Kitaro translations. The Birth of Kitaro paperback has the origin of the one-eyed half-yokai and his eyeball dad who solve problems for haunted humans. Creepy, funny, and iconic manga for all ages of weird comics fans. I can’t wait for the next installments.
Who knew that Jeffrey Brown’s comics would eventually be found on almost every kid’s bookshelf? It is pretty awesome to see a guy from the world of indie publishing have such success with the Jedi Academy series and it’s even better to see him starting a new and original set of books. We ran into Jeffrey at the Chronicle table and he shared that he has become obsessed with the Age of Mammals and told me to ask the Random House booth for an Advance Reader’s Copy of Lucy & Andy Neanderthal. The all-ages paperback mixes Brown’s effortless style, silly sense of humor, and actual facts that might even improve your Jeopardy viewing!
My friend Gaston was hanging out at the Fantagraphics Booth and pointed out to me that Lawrence “Raw Dog” Hubbard was signing a collection of Real Deal comix. The “Urban Terror” genre is pretty much owned by Hubbard and his pal Harold “R.D. Bone,” whose inner city stories were spawned by the same culture responsible for NWA and Geto Boys. “More rage per page!” and “More slaughter for your dollar” are spot-on cover text, and the interview is as heavy as it is gnarly. This is indeed the real deal.
I kept stalking Artist Alley trying to find Paul Gulacy, but he was never there. So I bought his art book from the Vanguard booth, went to his panel, and crossed my fingers. I love his Master of Kung Fu comics, whose starting point is Sax Rohmer pulps, channel the spirit of Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon, and have an eye-popping, post-Steranko aesthetic, and was super stoked to get it signed by the artst, who happened to be as affable and he is cool. The book is gorgeous and also features key work featuring Batman, Sabre, and James Bond, as has quotes from the artist as well as friends such as Doug Moench and Jim Steranko.
I already bought both volumes of The Humans, but didn’t have the soundtrack cassette or any of Keenan Keller’s solo comix. My pal’s trashploistation epic mini series Galactic Breakdown (a.k.a. Space Battleground 666) is kick-ass mutation of professional wrestling and The Story of Ricky. How nice to get all six issues at once. Holy crap, Force Majeure is amazing, too, as if Clint Eastwood got turned on to Prison Pit before making Dirty Harry. I saw on his Instagram feed that the third installation is in the works and am all over that.
Oh, Keenan has great taste in music just like he does comics, movies, and art, and the cassette is a rad mix of garage punk and lo-fi soundtrack noise. Good thing I brought the van with a tape deck so I could jam it at full blast during my San Diego stay–at least before Wendy and Eloise took the train down from Los Angeles to join me and the crew at the Con.
I’ve been a fan of Sergio Aragones since I first started collecting comics and I often wonder where all my Mad paperbacks went. Groo vs. Conan has a lot more dialogue than his famous pieces, but I was happy to see that his table had a stack of this Comic-Con exclusive from last year. Warehouse find! Of course, the master doodler was there to scribble a quick picture of the his dim-witted warrior and indie comics pioneer. What a gentleman, and what a legend at the San Diego Con who always takes part in the quick draw panel and is famously gracious to his fans.
MARCH Book Three was something I really looked forward to getting at this year’s Con, and I was hoping not only how to score a signed copy but also a picture with the autobiographical work’s subject, Congressman, Freedom Rider, and Civil Rights hero John Lewis. I settled for buying a signed Con exclusive before getting shut out of the panel, but our daughter was able to join the children’s march that followed down to the floor and into a signing line! We picked up a second copy of Book Two to make a complete signed set and got pictures of Eloise with him, too. Yes! My fandom does not end with superhero and underground comix; activists make the cut, too. (Pretty cool to find out I’m friends of friends with Nate Powell, but that’s another story–one that has to do with an Adolescents T-shirt and Save Music in Chinatown zine.)
I’m a sucker for special stuff at a band’s merch table such as a zine or CDR of live stuff or demos. Same goes for artists at Comic-Con, especially when it’s a badass like Geof Darrow. Hard Boiled, Shaolin Cowboy, The Big Guy and Rusty The Boy Robot–anyone who’s seen his intricate line work will instantly recognize his effortless, immaculate style. Yes, when he sketches something in a book it’s perfect, too. His 2016 edition mixes in with the fantastic heroes and odd creatures a real-life villain with small hands.
I have to admit that I was on Heathcliff’s team when I was a kid, but I’ve grown to appreciate Garfield as an unironic and pure comic strip like Nancy–although there are moments where I wonder if it’s more like Zippy The Pinhead. So I was pretty excited to see that Jim Davis would be attending Comic-Con for the first time. Excited enough to stand in a two-hour line to get him to sign this coffee-table book that traces his career but mostly the lazy cat’s evolution from a Kliban-esque cartoon to a pop icon.
I don’t buy as many toys as I used to, but I couldn’t resist this mini figure from Super7. I love how Super7 came from indie publishing and is fueled by punk rock, comic books, robot toys, skateboarding, and other stuff I’m into. (Doesn’t hurt that Brian, Luke, and crew are the raddest dudes…) And this figure is based on a skateboard graphic drawn by Steve Caballero, an O.G. Bones Brigade members and another bona fide nice guy who I met way back in the late ’90s but have have kept in touch with now and then ever since. This figure has a detachable head that reveals the mascot to be the Faction axe player himself!
Another pickup from the Drawn & Quarterly. Anna & Froga: Out and About is much more than a stylish kids book. The talking animals are so weird and honest–much more interesting and entertaining than typical, boring, lying humans. There are so many great strips (overdosing on Fudgsicles, yoga and detox, hot air ballooning disaster…) but as a Scrabble player and fan of monster movies, I liked the gag where the gang plays a game with their new neighbor, a vampire, who starts to feel sick after they play GARLIC and make a cross on the board. Genius!
There’s more (including a lot of stuff I got for my daughter) but this list is already too long. Hopefully, we’ll score passes, meet up in San Diego next year, and gush about cool new comics.
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