*SPX/BETHESDA WRAP-UP...
Woo-haa! Another show in the can. Best SPX ever!! A very rare occasion in which just about all my contemporaries in the indie newspaper political cartooning field were present. Tom Tomorrow, Ruben Bolling, Jen Sorenson, Ted Rall, Mikhaela Reid, Derf, Stephanie McMillan, Lloyd Dangle, Ted Rall, August J Pollak and more were on hand for a weekend of comics, panels, food and drink at the finest Small Press convention in the free world.

The weekend started off with a trip to the Library of Congress, set up by comics historian/all-around good chum Warren Bernard. He got us a special tour that took us behind closed doors to see originals by Thomas Nast, Ollie Harrington and Barbara Brandon-Croft. Also, some drawings from the Civil War. Amazing stuff.

We then took in a Tom Tomorrow slide show at the fine D.C. bookstore Politics and Prose, which followed a presentation by none other than the incredible Lynda Barry.

I've always wanted to meet Ms Barry, but circumstances always made me just miss her. The line was so long on Friday that I almost missed her again. But we got to meet her and she said the nicest things about my work. It was a pleasure to meet her and my inflated head bumped the top of the doorway on the way out of there.

Saturday at SPX was gangbusters. The place was packed and sales were brisk. I realized early on that I could've brought more Complete K Chronicles books. Oh well.

I also got to meet Richard Thompson, the man behind the fine daily comic strip Cul de Sac. He had nice things to say about the Knight Life, and I was glad to hear it. Cranking out the daily is a grind, so it's nice to hear some good feedback once in a while.

That night, most of the Cartoonists with Attitude crew went out for dinner and drinks. Hitting the Ignatz after-party for some free beer and whipped cream. Congrats to Laura Park for her win. She's gonna be a star.

SPX on Sunday found me selling out of some of the books. Both (th)ink book and the Completes. I also sat on a panel about cartooning the election with Ruben, Mikhaela, and Jen. Shout-out to my Aunt Yvonne, who showed up during the discussion.

The day ended with me hunched over a computer in Kinko's, feverishly trying to finish my dailies for print so I can catch the last innings of the Sox game. I was there for HOURS. But I got back to the closing hotel bar to see the Angels win in extra innings.

But the Sox would get their revenge the next day. Sorry, Rob Goodin.


Thank you, SPX. For finally switching to Saturday and Sunday, instead of Friday-Saturday. It is a better show because of it.

And thanks to Warren, proprietor of Chez Bernard, the official hotel of the Cartoonists With Attitude.

Labels: spx 2008