Yesterday was the big MoCCA Art Festival. I confess I wasn't looking forward to it--I tend to get depressed at shows when I don't have a new book to focus on--but I actually wound up having a pretty good time. It was fun catching up with some folks I don't get to see very often, and I really did make an effort to pick up some new stuff.



Some observations:

--I got to meet comics legend Arnold Roth. The book he was promoting (the massive Humbug collection) was sold out but I got to shake his hand and tell him how much I loved his Comick Book of Sports as a kid and he seemed like a really nice guy. I didn't get to meet Al Jaffee but it was great to see him on the receiving end of so much love.

--Toward the end of the show yesterday it felt like it was about 19,000 degrees in the hall, and with all that warm, wet air I was convinced that if anyone in the building had the Swine Flu we now all have the Swine Flu. Kristen came by with Wrigley to meet me for lunch in the park and it was very, very hard to go back in on such a gorgeous day.

--I do think the Puck Building (where the festival was held from 2002-2008) was a classier venue The Armory was definitely roomier and it's nice that they had everyone in one room.

--I had about ten to fifteen people come up and mention the Ink Panthers Podcast, which was a pleasant surprise. Obviously I knew that there was a chance someone would listen to them, but this was the first time that fact really connected. Considering that the podcasts are way easier to do than comics, maybe it's time for a career change!