Inkstuds Radio

In our continued journey of a radio host in New York. Joined by Fantagraphic’s shill, Jen Vaughn, I had just left a magnificent visit to the Mad Magazine office’s and was making my way across the city to the heart of Brooklyn to go see an art show of the work of Ruppert et Mulot. The show was really amazing and just what I was looking for from their work. I first came aware of their work, when I saw Bart Beaty talk about their Maison Close project, an illustrated brothel project by French cartoonists where the women drew themselves at prostitutes and then men as johns. They do a lot of really interesting conceptual work, which I really enjoy.

They had these pieces, were you would take the record off of the art, and put it on a record player that spun when you stepped on a peddle and a strobe light would go off as well.

This was  a 3d piece that would spin and strobe when you stepped on a pedal. It would seem as these dice headed figures where puking up paper. I think it was the favorite of everyone I talked to that night.

It was awesome to see this tough gang of artists. Any visit with Keith Jones is great. Here is in-between Jeff Ladouceur (a former Vancouverite with whom I share many common friends) and Domino publisher, Austin English. Austin is publishing some really great forward thinking comics. He is a great comics talker and taste-maker.

Jen and I ran into funny man Sam Henderson. Sam is one of the funniest guys in comics, if not one of the nicest. Here he is with Olivier Schrauwen, whom i had interviewed a couple of weeks previous. His work is also amazing. Seriously, this trip to New York was all about seeing amazing cartoonists.

After what can be described as a subway ride from hell, we eventually made our way to the second destination of the night, Bergin Street Comics for the Oily comics party, which featured so many cartoonists, I am surprised there was room for anyone else. I was very quickly accosted by mr Josh Simmons. another favorite of mine. Have you read Furry Trap? Go read it and then feel uncomfortable for days. We both talked about how much grey hair we have gotten since we last saw each other several years ago. He is threatening to visit Vancouver soon. I hope he carries through with said threat.

The host of the night and man of the hour, Charles Forsman with the always talented Melissa Mendes was there. I think Sam was in the process of picking Charles’ back pocket.

I turn around, and there’s Edie Fake, Mickeyyy ZZZZ, Hellen Jo and Calvin Wong. A-list talent in every corner. Although judging by Hellen’s face, they may not be happy to see me.

I also got to introduce Josh to his handler for the weekend, the often photographed, Jen Vaughn. Ask Jen about the time she drove me around New England and I spent the day drinking 5 hour energy shots to stay conscious.

Really, Joseph Lambert was happy to be there. Have you read Annie Sullivan? Come back when done.

The previous night, I got a photo of Edie Fake with one of his publishers, this time, here he is with the other half Secret Acres, Leon Avelino. Go read Leon’s Brooklyn report so your heart can break a little. That man is a trooper. Secret Acres is a great publisher and He and Barry are great guys too.

Michel Fiffe and Tucker Stone showed each other some tender respect, but i was too slow on the uptake for it. So here they are looking handsome as always. I was either very exhausted by this point, or had just a few too many beers, so it was time to split and crash before the very long day.

I went for breakfast on Saturday with Jason Levian, Ben Marra and his wonderful lady, Matt Seneca and “White Shasta”. I was giving mr Shasta crap the previous night for some comments stuff online. I may of been mean. Sorry Shasta.

First thing I did was get a picture of the Stokoe Galactus print. I had a minor hand in getting this to happen, and I was happy to see it in person. It was biggggg.

Oh hey, it’s happy salesman, Jordan Crane. How can you not buy a comic from this face.

Ryan Sands and Zack Soto were catching up on the floor. Notice that Ryan is shamelessly wearing his own tshirt. Those guys are at the forefront of publishing good small anthologies. Ryan with the Thickness and Zack with StudyGroup. You can pick up anything either of those guys are involved with, and find someone new, whose work you will love. Later that day, I wandered the floor with Joe Mcculloch and watched him lay on platitudes of respect and love for what Zack has been doing with the online iteration of Study Group. Zack was also launching a new issue of his Secret Voice series. It was a big moment for him, several years in the making, and he should be proud of all the good shit he is doing.

And of course, it’s Matt Groening. All i could do was take this photo of him talking to John Porcellino. He would not be the first cartoonist I see that day that would leave me nervous going in another direction. I don’t know why I still get so nervous around these guys.

It’s early in the day, and already crazy and crowded. Liz Hickey had a stack of originals for $15 each. I wanted to buy a stack and totally forgot to hit her table, even though she was sitting right behind me.

Conundrum publisher, Andy Brown and I would take turns watching the table and running around the floor, getting comics and just seeing all the exciting work. I think he did pretty well that day. It was his first time there, even though it’s the third time that Conundrum had exhibited.

Michael McMillan was one of the features of the show for a lot of people. His work was really advanced for when it came out in the 70s. Here he is sitting next Matt Thurber. I have heard some great things about Matt’s art space he is running in the heart of Brooklyn, and bummed that I never made it there.

I had just incorrectly referred to both Tom Spurgeon and John Porcellino as Illinois boys, and was corrected that one of them is from Indiana, I don’t know which one.

Here is my awkward photo of Charles Burns signing for folks, and David Mazzucchelli just happened to be hanging out chatting with friends. It was one of those shows, where everywhere you turned, there was another super great cartoonist.

Like when I turn around and run into Meathaus bro’s Tom Herpich and Dash Shaw. I have heard about Tom for years from Brandon Graham and Farel Dalrymple who both think the world of his comics and him as a person. Someone needs to do a Meathaus collection.

Dash just happened to be carrying around his new book with him. It looks awesome. Dash moves in leaps and bounds with his cartooning, and I am happy the he doesn’t stray too far from comics, while also making phenomenal videos.

From there, I am trying to make my way downstairs, and run into Ryan again, only this time, he is hanging out with Michael Deforge and Leslie Stein. TALENT FOLKS! So much talent at this show!

Like when you grab a photo of Chris Ware gabbing with Jen Vaughn about the Texas art school experience. Chris is another guy I get too nervous to talk to. Robin, step it up!

CF and Dan Nadel held court. I bought one of those beers that CF did the design for. I think it made me hungover but tasted great.

Josh Simmons was trying to get me to join some kind of cult. I respectfully declined.

On my next walk around, I saw that Art Spiegelman was doing a signing. There were only 5 people in line, and I had my sketchbook on me, so I knew I had to get something. He was only announced the previous morning, so not a lot of people knew he was going to be there. Folks were very excited and were getting him to sign the program that they were giving for free at the door. He drew really nice sketches for everyone, filling the page with bold black lines. Art will be in Vancouver in the new year for an art show at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I am very excited for it, and will hopefully get the chance to talk to Art when he is here.

I have no idea what I said to Tom, but it probably wasn’t pleasant.

And here are 2 of the 3 men of the hour. Gabriel Fowler and Dan Nadel. Both probably exhausted. Bill Kartalopoulos is missing from this shot. Probably because he the grand total of an hour actually on location to see what people had made, as he had been off site running, from I understand, to be very stellar programming.

New post con secret. Just go for dinner with a handful of people, have a great time and no stress about finding a place big enough. Josh, Anna and Jen were awesome dinner company.

And hey, it’s me. Josh took this and sent it over. Thanks Josh.

Here are some obligatory photos of my purchases from the week.

All in all, it was an amazing show. As you have probably heard, it was hot there, I was suggesting that next time, we just have very thin robes to wear. I think only 3 people liked that idea, and they were all creeps. Congrats to all involved. You done good. I hope to make it again next year. It is the show where I see the most modern comics that are really pushing forward artistic boundaries as well as new young creators that get me jazzed and excited about comics. It’s hard for me to complain about a show where I get to meet Richard Mcguire, walk across a room and talk to Art Spiegelman, go downstairs and buy Heather Benjamin’s new book, madly try to check out the Closed Caption Comics table and realize you probably missed a ton of stuff 5 minutes after everyone packed up, even though your back pack is wildly uncomfortable and heavy.

I also want to thank MK Reed and Robin Enrico for being the best hosts that one could ask for. MK made me a list of places to go that she knows I would like,with detailed instructions on how to get around. Robin was election watching company, as we both sat glued to the tv, watching the footage on Fox News as they looked like someone pissed in their cornflakes.

Also thanks to Jen Vaughn for being my party buddy. She’s good people.

Now to end with the oddest purchase I made. Cartier put together this comic anthology that comes in 2 books, one that is all just photo’s of watches and the other with comics by Moebius, Mattotti, Jiro Taniguchi, Francois Schuiten and illustrations by Charles Burns. I love the strand.

The two small press comics shows I can make it to this year are a week apart and separated by a lot of land. The first was Short Run, in the heart of Seattle on November 10th, just 3 hours drive from my house. The second was Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Fest in, obviously, Brooklyn. for some reason, i made crazy plans that involved me leaving the country twice within 48 hours. This may have been a regrettable choice in plans on my part.

I went down to Seattle with the White Swallows crew and Joel Rich. The trip down was nothing short of boring, gearing on almost horrid. the weather was crap and the border was worse. We didn’t actually make it to the show until 430 and the show ends at 530, so there was a lot of quick shopping. It was a good show, and in a way, I am glad I showed up late, so I had room to get around easy. it is still in a relatively small space. For the most part, it is a very regional show, featuring some of the pacific north west’s best. People like to talk about the halcyon days of mid 90s hate era Seattle, but what is happening now is really great and well worth checking out. Now onto the photo’s.

Alec Longstreth and Greg Means were my first visit. Alec and I talked about how he needs to be on the show at some point soon.

Aron Nels Steinke gave me a copy of his Big Plans, which he is signing for me here. I am a big fan of his stuff and glad to see a nice big book of it. He is going to be coming to Vancouver at some point in the new year.

Sean Ford made the trip all the way from New York to promote his Only Skin collection. I would end up seeing him a lot over the following week. We became good bro’s.

Speaking of good Bro’s, it’s Aaron Mew and Kaz Strzepek. I like anything they do. Kaz is in the Horror Hangover art show I am putting together.

If you have seen Noah Van Sciver’s strip about going to Seattle in the mid 90’s, you can tell he is feeling pretty happy here, with Pat Moriarty and Peter Bagge.

Jesse Reklaw had his amazing sketchbook there and was selling off his quote “final mini-comic”. Who knows what that means.

The always sharp looking, Corey Lewis and Maré Odomo. I was apologizing to Corey for being so mean to him on twitter and he laughed because it was nothing compared to how Bryan Lee O’malley treats him.

and then there was JFish.

I went for dinner with my traveling crew, Sean Ford and Seattle friends Ryan and Jen.

More Seattle trouble. At the after party with Chris Cilla, Tim Root, Noah and August Lipp. Talented folks all around.

Sam Alden and Sean Ford got into a deep talk about comics for sad teens.

They had a really great place to wash your hands there. I decided the party was a bit boring so i did the dishes too.

Here is tireless driver Daniel who was very excited for the 3 hour drive home.

Here is my haul. lots of good stuff to read. Including a collection of comics by triangle slash. Who’s art name was just a symbol. Instead of signing the book, she just left a bloody thumb print. No joke.

The next day, Noah Van Sciver came to Vancouver escorted by marketing king pin, Jen Vaughn. I have no photo’s of the afternoon. But it did happen. we went for a rainy lunch and I got to show Noah a little bit of Vancouver but not enough for my tastes. My flight was that night, so less 24 hours after getting him from Seattle, I was off to New York. I flew in at 6am New York time. Sean Ford was also getting in that morning, so I waited for him at JFK and traveled into the city together with style. Because of the damage to the subway system, we had a bit of a run around finding a way into town and eventually made it into the city 2 hours later. While Sean went off to work his regular job like a trooper, I crashed out hard for about 4 hours at my host’s place. It was a wonderful nap.

After a huge meal where i was shamed by the waitress for my lack of American Appetite, we went off to Bergin St Comics. It was a great store, while lacking in old work, it had a great selection of minis and new work. A classier store, I have rarely seen. This was also my first time meeting Matt Seneca. He is a smart writer for a cocky kid(just kidding, you are great Matt, even if young).

They even carry my book. So you know, that’s good.

Tuesday, I went all the way out to Richmond Hill in Queens. It was a personal trip to see a park that was named after my great-uncle Frank McConnell. He was my grandfathers eldest brother. My grandfather’s family lived in that neighborhood from the late 19th century to some point in the into the 1920’s at least. Great-uncle Frank was a student at Princeton when the US entered the First World War and died in combat like many others. It is a horrible thing for a family to lose a member in such a way. The First World War was a terrible exercise in imperialism which has cause untold damage that we are still feeling to this day, even down to simple impact of how one man was taken in his prime.My family only recently found out that there was a park named after him, so it was obvious that I had to go see it.

The area still has some remnants of the distant past, with some great old houses lining the streets. I can only wonder what it was like there 100 years ago when my grandfather was a boy.

The area has had a cultural shift over the years, which features some amazing additions to the yards.

I didn’t see much damage from Sandy, but this was a pretty good example of how strong and furious the storm was.

It was deep into the city for me.

Elmo wants to be your friend. or else.

I found the droids he was looking for.

These guys were rocking it at Mcdonald’s. They were so excited for me to take there picture. I was just shocked they still existed. Ninja for life.

Wednesday’s are for lunch with Nate Bulmer. He was as funny in person as his comics are! He brought me to this neat little sandwich place that was a hole in the wall of a garage. The food was delicious. Nate is coming to Vancouver in late December at Luckys and will be on the Inkstuds as well.

Every trip to New York should include a visit with Jerry Moriarty. Jerry is turning 75 in the new year and still has an amazing energy that leaves me excited for art after a visit. Here he is in front of his latest work, which he was kind enough to give me a tour of. While visiting Jerry, the city got covered in snow, making the rest of my evening very perilous. I am not a good person in the snow.

The night was capped with Brooklyn drinks with Tucker Stone, MK Reed and Barry Matthews. You can tell how impressed they are with my two drink Canadian accent.

Thursday was the beginning of the event madness. First stop was the B.U.L.B. art show in Brooklyn, where I got a chance to meet Mathieu Christe. He came all the way from Switzerland for the festival.

Next stop was Bergin to go see Patrick Kyle and Michael Deforge. It was a packed house with lots of great folks in attendance.

Tucker Stone was also man of the hour that night. Playing a great host. It was announced that night, that Tucker would become a partner in Bergin Street Comics. Congrats to Tucker. He is a good man that does good work.

Edie Fake arrived that evening in the very capable hands of Barry Matthews. Who was a little happier to see me than the previous night. Edie is a great cartoonist making very important work.

Oh hai Canadian favorite Keith Jones.

Thursday, I found that James Stokoe had made it New York recently.

Jen Vaugh, Mk Reed and I got to get a tour of the mad magazine offices by Ryan Flanders. Jen has a great post on the trip here. Check it out, to save me posting a million images.

Art Director, Sam Viviano had a ton of great Mad stories for us.

Jen appears to have found the grossest thing in the office.

Ryan pulled out this old Jack Davis piece that had been hiding in the art drawers. I love anything Jack Davis. He had a great story about how this was printed in a different version, most likely due to Harvey Kurtzman wanting specific changes.

And from there, we go see some art. More to come tomorrow.

I am getting pretty excited about this art show I am putting together. The list above isn’t complete, as there are likely some more folks that are still working out some details. It’s a great crowd of really diverse talents. Special thanks to Al Columbia for providing the image and White Swallows for putting this poster together.