Stumptown 2006 Wrap-up.

My goodness, what a weekend. A full week, actually, if you count the gut-wrenching late nights at the computer and the copy shop, getting everything together for the table, buying treats to put out, gettin' yo hair did, planning parties, wondering how you were gonna haul everything to the Convention Center and back... and then the big day comes, you sit and talk for hours, and then once night falls the curtains open up and tentacles of debauchery pull you backstage for the finest PDX nightlife has to offer. And NOBODY can party like a bunch of drunken cartoonists.

Me, my table, my merch. Photo by Joshin Yamada.

I got all set up on Friday and checked out everyone's stuff. Business was slow this weekend; I blame a lack of advertising, since no one I knew had even heard about Stumptown (until I mentioned it) besides those who were going to be tabling. I ended up spending more than I made all weekend on other peoples' books and prints. Some highlights of what I acquired:

The Mourning Star by Kaz Strzepek (I read this already and I have to tell you to go out and get it, now, cause it's unique and incredible and it gave me dreams while I was simmering in flu fever yesterday on the couch).
Fart Party #1-3 by Julia Wertz (this chick is so fuckin' hilarious. By far the funniest shit I read all weekend. She puts everyone to shame.)
Headgames (Meathaus #8) (excellent anthology with some of the best pen work I've seen in a while - check out Farel Dalrymple's stuff, as well as Matthew Woodson, Mickey Duzyj, and Esao Andrews. Also a nice Nate Powell piece.)
Jen Wang's Monster Sex prints - I saw these at Erika Moen's house and wanted them so badly, and almost cried when Erika told me she thought they were sold out. Yet they weren't, and how I jumped for joy!

God, I got so much stuff. But the weekend didn't end there...

Pre-Apocalypse liquid courage. Colleen Coover, Liz Prince and Daniel (I think).

Friday evening came the call for the latest Comic Art Battle, a.k.a. Comix Apocalypse. And this time we had a set. Ezra really went all out this time; we had gauntlets of silver and gold, and even champion belts, though no one felt confident enough to rock one.

Ezra rocking the prelim round. Check out the set! (No, not *that* set...) Photo by Joshin Yamada

Our competitors, "Team USA" - Aaron Renier, Kaz Strzepek, Lilli Carre, Liz Prince, Jeremy Tinder. Photo by Joshin Yamada

Good times. By the way, Joshin Yamada took about 10,000 photos of the Battle, so go check them out on the Stumptown Flickr Photostream when you have the time.

I was ex to the austed by that night, so after checking out the Know and having one low-key beer, it was beddybye time. Up early to ride through the fog the next morning for another day at the tables. While I didn't sell all that much, I did have some very exciting moments. Both Philip Simon from Dark Horse and James L. Jones from Oni Press approached me about publishing Ivy! Heeeyeeeaaaaah!!! I got to meet Scott McCloud, who I'm sure rolled his eyes about seventeen times into the back of his head when I started on my "Your book made such a huge impression on me and changed the way I do comics" spiel, but whatevs! And Steve Lieber - who I have to thank for sending so many people over to my table after chatting with me - invited me down to hang out with the crew at Mercury Studios downtown. And believe me Steve, once I kick this flu I'll be on Phantasy and headed your way in no time.

Deep breath.

Now for the parties. I drove Greg Beans and Kaz out to the Fake Believe reading at Guapo in a ridiculously large Flexcar, but since I had to get the monstrosity back at its scheduled hour I didn't have a chance to hang out and schmooze as much as I'd like to. But I met Allie and Jeremy, co-owners of Guapo, and I must say if any of you are ever in the SE region of PDX go check their store out! I was super impressed - it has everything, and will soon have coffee too!

I raced home, hopped on the bike, and fled downtown to catch the Top Shelf/Oni party at Voodoo Lounge. I was taken aback when I got downtown - I hadn't remembered that it was the Saturday night before Halloween, and the streets were flooded with people. People and boobs. There was a huge line of non-comics people waiting to get into the Voodoo, and I saw a group of comickers split up and scatter to the winds before I approached them. Yay for Erika Moen, who came out and told me there were a couple of nerds left inside, but beware the $10 cover charge. I zoomed in, escaping payment, and found my brethren in the back patio shaking ass and slurping booze. They disappeared to the VIP room, and I was held back by an irate bouncer cause my name wasn't on the list. That seemed like the moment of despair, till the sweet-faced Top Shelf intern Jacq grabbed me and hauled me in to safety.

Unfortunately most of my shots looked like this. I didn't want to flash everyone out, but it was dark, and red, and... steamy. That's Greg Beans dancing, Liz Prince's head front and center, Julia Wertz to the right, some hot ladies shakin' it to the left...

Craig Thompson sittin' with the girls, looks like Corey Lewis standing behind them...

Trevor Alixopolous talking to a girl I haven't met, and I think that's Fredo to the right... Zack Soto is the blur in the foreground.

Then, the next night, came... karaoke.

Aaron Renier and Nicole Georges. The style!

Nate Beaty and Jesse Reklaw. For someone who claims not to do much comics these days, Nate always has a pen in his hand.

Francois Vigneault and Galen Longstreth. That's Vanessa Davis and Andrice Arp inthe background.

Matt, Carolyn Main and some dude I don't think I've met before.

Me and my Magic Man.

Zack Soto doin' "I Will Survive." By the end we were all dancing and screaming along.

After closing, a bunch of us rode down to the Doug Fir to get some grease into us. I felt so lucky to have these folks around me, new friends and old, such creative minds and immense talents all able to come together at the same place and time.

Matt in the foreground. Back: Francois, Kaz, Aaron, me, Zack. Greg took the shot but I wish he was in it too!

And that, my friends, was Stumptown Weekend Aught Six. Nobody parties like a cartoonist. NOBODY.