MoCCA 2007: The Late Edition
Posted on 2007.07.09 at 14:01
I've gotta tell you, never has a comic convention laid me on my back as hard as MoCCA did. Falling hard upon Charlotte's Heroes Con, it exhausted me in new and exciting ways. I'm probably the last person to post about MoCCA. It's still well worth posting about.
First, it was totally worth it. One of the great conventions of the year. I'm glad I was able to go.
One of the big determining factors weighing in MoCCA's favor was my roommate. Yes, it was determined long in advance that![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1)
m_monique and I were sharing a hotel room. The City is just too expensive to go solo. We were lucky enough to have a third roommate, the redoubtable Eric Knisley. Eric flew in from his job in the United Kingdom, and joined us at the hotel, just a few blocks from the Puck Building where the show took place. A terrific artist, cartoonist, and conversationalist, we were very glad for the company.
Friday night, Steph and I got checked in at the hotel, got registered at the Museum itself, and took the subway uptown to see the adult Sesame Street show, Avenue Q. It's an oddball show, very funny, with puppets and a woman playing a pretty convincing Gary Coleman as the building superintendent. No Tom Hanks sightings, but I was okay without that.
Saturday was a strangely slow day. The theory that I heard that worked best for me was that it was too nice outside for people to come to the show. Clear, and in the low 70s, it was an amazingly nice day to be in New York City. Still, I was wondering where all the humans were. The relative lull did give us a chance to catch up with old friends, though. Chris Reilly, Steve Alquist, Paul Friedrich, and Gus Fink all made excellent neighbors. I picked up a copy of Chris' early Rogue Satellite Comics, Gus' new horror short story collection-- he did the illustrations, and oohed a lot at the Eisner-nominated "Onion Head Monster Attacks!" I already owned it, but I still enjoyed oohing.
Our left-side neighbors were pretty terrific as well. Ellen Lindner and Emily Lerner are fun, interesting people. I shared a brief lunch with them on Saturday, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I picked up a preview of Ellen's noirish graphic novel, Undertow, and how could I not buy a feminist comics anthology called The Whores of Mensa?
I made at least one other great discovery-- Durham, NC's Mineshaft Magazine, which is kind of unbelievable. Perhaps the best anthology you've never heard of, it regularly includes the work of luminaries like Mary Fleener, Robert Crumb, and Peter Bagge. And it's in Durham.
Yeah, I'm freaking out too.
It turns out that the editor, Gioia, is a Tai Ch'i enthusiast as well, which gave us something to talk about. It was a great surprise.
Sunday things heated up. Not only were things considerably more crowded in the building, but people were buying things. Our things. We sold out of Dada Detective books-- both full-size and preview size-- and were dangerously low on copies of the Dada Alphabet by shows end. The message? Bring more books! Still, it was kind of a thrill to exceed our expectations. We'll definitely be making a return trip to MoCCA next year. In fact, we already reserved our table.
First, it was totally worth it. One of the great conventions of the year. I'm glad I was able to go.
One of the big determining factors weighing in MoCCA's favor was my roommate. Yes, it was determined long in advance that
m_monique and I were sharing a hotel room. The City is just too expensive to go solo. We were lucky enough to have a third roommate, the redoubtable Eric Knisley. Eric flew in from his job in the United Kingdom, and joined us at the hotel, just a few blocks from the Puck Building where the show took place. A terrific artist, cartoonist, and conversationalist, we were very glad for the company.Friday night, Steph and I got checked in at the hotel, got registered at the Museum itself, and took the subway uptown to see the adult Sesame Street show, Avenue Q. It's an oddball show, very funny, with puppets and a woman playing a pretty convincing Gary Coleman as the building superintendent. No Tom Hanks sightings, but I was okay without that.
Saturday was a strangely slow day. The theory that I heard that worked best for me was that it was too nice outside for people to come to the show. Clear, and in the low 70s, it was an amazingly nice day to be in New York City. Still, I was wondering where all the humans were. The relative lull did give us a chance to catch up with old friends, though. Chris Reilly, Steve Alquist, Paul Friedrich, and Gus Fink all made excellent neighbors. I picked up a copy of Chris' early Rogue Satellite Comics, Gus' new horror short story collection-- he did the illustrations, and oohed a lot at the Eisner-nominated "Onion Head Monster Attacks!" I already owned it, but I still enjoyed oohing.
Our left-side neighbors were pretty terrific as well. Ellen Lindner and Emily Lerner are fun, interesting people. I shared a brief lunch with them on Saturday, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I picked up a preview of Ellen's noirish graphic novel, Undertow, and how could I not buy a feminist comics anthology called The Whores of Mensa?
I made at least one other great discovery-- Durham, NC's Mineshaft Magazine, which is kind of unbelievable. Perhaps the best anthology you've never heard of, it regularly includes the work of luminaries like Mary Fleener, Robert Crumb, and Peter Bagge. And it's in Durham.
Yeah, I'm freaking out too.
It turns out that the editor, Gioia, is a Tai Ch'i enthusiast as well, which gave us something to talk about. It was a great surprise.
Sunday things heated up. Not only were things considerably more crowded in the building, but people were buying things. Our things. We sold out of Dada Detective books-- both full-size and preview size-- and were dangerously low on copies of the Dada Alphabet by shows end. The message? Bring more books! Still, it was kind of a thrill to exceed our expectations. We'll definitely be making a return trip to MoCCA next year. In fact, we already reserved our table.
