Hello again!

Here’s a final wrap-up of our fantastic weekend at APE 2010.

As I introduced myself yesterday, I forgot to mention that I am also the author of Sim-I, announced today as part of Semantink’s 2011 lineup. Sim-I follows the comical misadventures of a lab monkey on the run from a mad scientist.

Today’s APE adventure was more low-key, mostly on account of the rainy weather. Our morning was low-key, warming our hands by the heat of coffee. Daniel and Kevin’s pencils burned through several on-the-spot sketches, which they then handed out for free to some lucky visitors to the booth.

Ben hands lucky winner Todd the MYTHOI lithograph from Avitech Graphics

We sold out of the Mythoi graphic novels on-site, and one lucky winner, Todd, walked home with the limited edition (1 of 3) Mythoi Lithograph. The lithographs were donated to Semantink by the very generous and talented folks at Avitech Graphics. A huge thanks to Avitech (go check out their stuff!) and congratulations to winner Todd!

More friends

‘Stache!

Skirting past the rest of the expo hall, we met Daniel Davis, at Steam Crow, who, among other artistic endeavors takes vintage movies and books and regenerates the titles using original art concepts built out of the Steam Punk genre. And he has a mustache he intends to grow and sculpt for at least another year before perfection.

There was also Jules Rivera, who created, writes, and draws her self-published stories of Marsh Rocket, a superspy in the vein of James Bond but without those pesky jetpacks.

Armadillo!

And then there’s Amelia and her drunk armadillo, Emilio.

I even got a custom drawing of my cat Sneakers munching dog brains from Charlotte with a Kay!!

More Treats

There were two snack areas within the concourse, the first served pastries and delicious chili dogs with a touch of beer flavoring. The second bar is … well … a bar. The smell of booze hovered around some folks as they passed by our booth, but that only increases the smiles when discussions occur. When I ordered two beers, one a Blue Moon, the bartender put an orange slice in the other, a Sierra Nevada, despite confirming I would want it in the Blue Moon. But I digress…

Mythoi writer James Ninness was interviewed off-the-cuff by G4. Pretty sweet! Check it out…

Comics Collaboration Connection

Z Blade XX

At Wondercon this past year, I attended a small “speed-dating” style talent convergence, wherein artists and writers gather in a room to hopefully find a collaborator on their next projects. You pitch, you show what you’ve done, and hopefully come away with a new talent connection. They tried this at APE this year, and on Sunday there were about ten writers to meet with three artists. Chatter aplenty, followed by an exchange of information occurred. A festival staff member said they’re hoping to integrate this type of program into all three Con events (Wonder, APE, SD Comic-Con) in the next year or two, and hopefully bring some balance to the experience, as well as make it more like true speed dating.

I think it’s a great idea and brings the idea of collaboration back into the world of comic creation.

APE is a great place for young artists and writers of comics to come together and celebrate their works, no matter how big or small. A booth is just as big as it needs to be. There’s no Marvel Thor throne, there’s no Green Hornet car. There’s just people (most talented, and even a few who could use improvement) who like to talk and look at comics and art. That’s it.

Until next convention, keep on reading the Undergrounds, Mythoi, and (upcoming) Sim-I!

Oh hey! Here’s a sneak-peak at Sim-I, a sketch that Daniel Touchet zinged off while sitting at the booth all weekend! Enjoy!

Joe P.

Ben and I weren’t to sure what to expect at APE (the Alternative Press Expo) in San Francisco this weekend.  We packed our bags on Thursday night and hit the road bright and early Friday morning, leaving San Diego some time around 9.  We drove up to San Francisco with a few brief stops and arrived here while the evening was settling in across the bay.  We’d never been to APE before and while we knew it was meant for independent publishers, we didn’t know what that means — would there be anyone we were familiar with?  Was this the right place to try and sell MYTHOI?

We arrived at Ben’s brother’s place, who had been kind enough to offer up his couch for our resting, but upon arrival we realized that there were cats present, two of them.  As Ben and I both suffer from a disease called allergies that usually ends with us killing cats, we thanked his brother and found accommodations elsewhere — at 12:30am.  Most places were booked for either APE or the Treasure Island Music Festival and if they weren’t booked, the price was a mere $250.00 per night and nobody had rooms for both that night and Saturday night, just one or the other.  So right about the time we began discussing the legitimacy of sleeping in Ben’s car right outside of the Concourse (where APE is held) we got a hold of the greatest man in San Francisco: Gandhi.  Not that Gandhi.  Our Gandhi is the late-night concierge at a hotel without a name in an alley behind a bar in the Mission District.  And bless Gandhi for all time because he got us a room for both nights, under $100.00 per night, free valet and only 2 blocks from the Concourse.

SF Concourse: where red paint goes to die.

The only other thing we did that night warranting any recognition was to make a brief appearance at the ISOTOPE party (thanks Amir Malekpour) featuring Dean Haspiel, (THE QUITTER, OPPOSABLE THUMBS, AMERICAN SPLENDOR, and THE ALCOHOLIC).  Ben and I both agree that it is one of the coolest comic book shops we have ever seen and if you are ever in the San Francisco area, stop in and say hi to James Sime, the super-friendly owner.  The whole thing is 1-part comic book store, 1-part nightclub, and 1-part design — just go, trust me.

Isotope: The Geek’s Nightclub

Ben and I awoke on Saturday, trudged down to a coffee shop and made our way towards APE.  And what did we think?  It was awesome.  If San Diego Comic Con is meant to blow your mind with all the million-dollar bells and whistles, and Long Beach Comic Con is designed for the more intimate encounters with industry professionals, then APE is a secret fort where only fans congregate to go over their own good ideas and opinions on art, writing and everything mainstream.  Sure, people are there trying to sell their product, but at APE you can talk to them and find out why…  Writers grill each other on the presentation of information and misinformation, Artists trade work with each other and discuss their inspirations, while Publishers peruse through the aisles, taking it all in and maybe picking up some new talent…  It’s very neat — like the Swap Meet of Comic Cons.

APE from entrance: Left

APE from entrance: Center

APE from entrance: Right

Obviously, since it’s cheaper than some of the other cons, there are a lot of people presenting who, well, maybe shouldn’t.  But what’s great about APE is that they can!  One man’s Koontz is another man’s King!  Right?

Well Ben and I went through every single booth, one at a time, over five or six hours and met some great people, many of whom you will probably hear us mention in the future… or now.  Like John C. Narcomey Jr. from High Tower Comics, or Russ Kazmierczak Jr. and Brent Otey from K.O. Comix.  All good people, with good products, so check ‘em out when you get a chance…

High Tower makes death pretty.

Check out the blog — Nice guys!

After the convention Ben and I went back to the hotel, vegged out with some Dexter episodes and cleaned up before jumping into our favorite out-of-town-convention activity:  Drinking.  Luckily, the bar next to our hotel was fantastic:  Bloodhound.  This bar was perfect for us.  Good beer?  Check (and served in mason jars).  Nice people?  Yup.  Environment?  Got that too.  We moseyed down, caught the end of the Angels/Yankees game (and sighed when the Yankees won — damn them), had a few beers and talked to some, uh, interesting (?) people.  Then it was time for sleeps.

Drinks, Games and Entertainment!

We’re not going to APE today.  Instead we’re going to head home.  APE is a doable-in-one-day kind of event as it doesn’t have much change from one day to the next and is more for floor-walking than anything else.

We had fun and we’ll definitely be back next year…

James Ninness