T Campbell's Blog

First things first. I don't know what this is about, but I know that Maritza Campos does not cry wolf, so keep an eye out for her.

Second: I have TWO articles about comics up this week. For the cartoonist in training who wants to give us some action, here's How to Make Action Move, Part One. And for those who want a really, reeeeeeeeeeeeeally in-depth discussion of early webcomics creators, The Artistic History of Webcomics, Part One.

Also, I see that the Penny Arcaders, especially Gabe, had a less than pleasant encounter with Harlan Ellison. I owe both parties for their kindnesses to me, but this nevertheless seems like a plausible story. Harlan has a THING about points of classical education, he proudly calls himself an elitist, and he's not shy about confrontation. I just hate to see people toward whom I feel friendly setting up hostilities.

My computer memory issues, it seems, are not fully behind me, which is slowing down critical activities. I had to type out some URLs in this post by hand just to be sure I could finish it before my browser started acting up. Dave, my Meanwhile buddy, is helpin' me out here, so this should be good in a day or two.

SPX! SPX was a lot of fun, though every year I treat conventions more and more as a tax write-off than a sales venue. That may change next year once I get some big-ticket items to sell, but Alexander, Bryant and I would have been lucky to make back our investment on the table in pure sales (ignoring the sunk costs of printing and production).

Still, we had some nice conversations, I got to talk a lot with the great Ryan North, Dave and Raina are as cute in person as in comics, Ryan Estrada is surprisingly retiring, and Harvey Pekar is hilarious, pretty much just what you'd expect from the movie. His Ignatz speech began with "Wow, a standing ovation!" and ended with "Okay... That's it."

I was a terrible amnesiac. I mixed up names, forgot faces... failed to recognize Meredith Gran whom I'd met and hired a couple years earlier, mistook John Green for Dave Roman-- I was terrible, and I know it's only gonna get worse in years to come as I accumulate more people whom I only see once or twice a year if that. Sorry about that, folks.

During the Ignatzes (a lively affair, thanks to Keith Knight's liberal use of tequila) I was telling Alexander about a previous year's speech by Frank Miller and described it as a "you-had-to-be-there thing." I think SPX in general is a you-had-to-be-there thing. You'd think it'd be depressing, all these self-confessed "little guys" setting up their lemonade stands and essentially selling to each other or to people who want tables next year, but it's uplifting. The removal of impersonal work (DC, Marvel, Archie, most imports) means that most of the comics you see are embodiments of the people behind the tables. The dealers' rooms are a reflection of a society, not an industry or "industry."

Cool stuff.

Tomorrow or the next day: some more personal reflections. Right now: to work...