HEJIRA

Another year in the bucket. Around here, things are cuspy. I mean, they're on the cusp of change. It's not always fun or exciting. It's that period when the old way has passed its time but the new way hasn't yet started. Limbo. Waiting, wondering.

In my case I'm talking about my future on this planet. As an artist, and as a person. The big news is I'm in the process of slowly backing away from the Spit and a Half distro.

When I restarted Spit and a Half, in 2009 or so, it was with the hope I could grow it into a part-time job... something to do a few days a week to bring in some extra income and lift the financial burden off trying to survive as an artist alone (which is tough, everybody knows). Then there was a point when things kept growing where I thought, "Wow. This is really filling a need in the comics community… this is a real business." It became a full-time job (but it didn't really pay like a full-time job). And then it became a six-and-a-half days a week job that paid like a full-time job. (Thank you!)

Now if you're working a six-and-a-half days a week job, packing comics in boxes, answering the endless parade of emails, texts, Facebook messages, Instagram messages, twitter messages, dealing with problems, headaches, setbacks, mistakes, first of all, one thing is clear -- you sure as hell aren't gonna be drawing your own comics. Second -- every tiny lapse compounds upon itself. Wait, you have a doctor's appointment? The pile of work grows higher. You have to take your dog to the vet? Higher. You're just so depressed and tired you can't get out of bed? Higher.

It was a case of bad timing. If only this had happened when I was 25... When I had a community around me (ie in the same town as me) to help out, hell, to hire... And when I had energy and nerve and youthful idealism. But I'm fifty years old now and I have none of those things.

So now I'm fucking up. Maybe not super bad, but the writing's on the wall. I'm hundreds of books behind on updating the website. I've got 1000 titles scattered throughout our house (and a storage unit!), spilling everywhere and messing with the Feng Shui. I'm misplacing people's books... which one of a dozen stacks of boxes are those twelve missing minicomics in? I DON'T KNOW.

Like Cometbus said, "I wish there was something I could quit." So I just kept getting deeper and deeper behind, and feeling worse and worse. And then I was listening to Joni Mitchell's Hejira album. I've listened to it many times and never wondered about the title. Turns out hejira is an Arabic word meaning "a journey, especially when undertaken to escape from a dangerous or undesirable situation." (Good ol' Merriam-Webster.) And it clicked. I need my hejira. My tactical retreat.

Like all of us I'm sure, I grow more and more alienated from the modern world with each new day. I'm broken down by the constant cycle of bad news, horror, stupidity, greed, anger. In the pre-Distro days, if I was overwhelmed like that, I'd be able to retreat for a while, hide for a bit, regroup. Draw, think, walk in the woods, heal. But with the Distro that's an impossibility. There's always another email, always another order. PLEASE don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly humbled by and grateful for the support the Distro has gotten from the community. It's an honor to serve you all! But the time has come for me to pass on this mantle to the next generation. It's just not a job one old dude can do on his own anymore.

As a survival instinct, I've started drawing more (from life), and playing music again... and in those acts I've begun to touch parts of my spirit that have been neglected for a long time. It feels like the start of a rebirth. I'm fifty, and I hate to talk about it, but men in my family don't live very long. Early sixties maybe. My Dad made it to 64 by a few weeks. I have a lot of work still to do in this life... personal work. Comics to draw, letters to write, birds to feed. So I'm beginning to break down the distro... culling old titles, returning books to publishers... in an effort to restore some balance. Knowing me, it will be a long slow process, but over the last few months I've begun taking the first steps.

More soon.

I love you all! Thank you,
John P.

PS: Thanks everyone for the well wishes I've received in response to this blogpost. To clarify, I'll (likely) continue to run the distro going forward, but it will be at a drastically reduced level, with a small, highly specific and rotating selection of books. Something that I really can take care of easily on a one or two day per week schedule.

AUTOPTIC REPORPTIC

Hey it's been a long time since I've posted regularly on Ye Olde Blogge®. Partially it's because now that I've achieved Total and Complete Domination of Social Media™ I spend most of my time posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Myspace. Also, I write a monthly recap for my Patreon supporters (hint hint) and that takes up a lot of what was once known as My Blogging Energy®.

That said, we all know how sinister Social Media is, and how inescapable Corporate Culture™ is nowadays... so I would like to focus more energy here going forward. I know Blooger is a wholly owned subsidiary of some Mega-Corp or another, but at least this is something with my name on it and there's no ads...

So without further ado, here's my report from the Autoptic Festival, which I attended this last weekend in Minneapolis.

- - -

I have to admit I'm burned out on shows. I'm burned out on a lot of things (watch for upcoming Blogge Posts on this subject), but I'm burned out on shows. It used to be that after a weekend of traveling, tabling, dehydration, not eating well, and not sleeping well, I felt awful, and it took me sometimes close to a week to recover. Nowadays I feel that way before I leave for a show. Also, after two decades of utter chaos and upheaval, I'm in love with my current domesticated, backyardish life, and I'm usually loathe to leave even for short trips of a few days.

Prior to leaving for Minneapolis, though, I'd been fried out by several months of six-and-a-half day workweeks at the distro and I was kinda looking forward to seeing friends. Plus, Minneapolis in the summertime is never a bad idea. So off I went.

View from atop the lookout.

Traffic was bad through the Dells, as usual, but then it opened up into some of the prettiest interstate driving in the Midwest. I stopped at a rest area I'd never visited before, that promised a "scenic overlook." Sure enough, across the parking lot was a nicely maintained path into the trees. It wound up a hillside, onto a meandering boardwalk that spanned some nice gullies, and out onto a platform. The view was beautiful, with hills and woodland green spreading out to the horizon. I took some deep breaths and headed back down. I had to be in Minneapolis that evening for a panel discussion.

I was hungry and tired, and looking for a Burger King (don't judge me), and finally found one across the river in Minnesota. I parked and went in. It was grimy and dark. A few lonely people milled about at tables, nursing coffees. At the counter, ordering problems ensued, and the guy couldn't get the register open to make change; they made my gluten free burger with a bun, then they gave me a burger with no vegetables or condiments. When the guy was unable to give me a receipt I felt so sad that I couldn't even broach the subject with him.* The staff was clearly unhappy with each other, the management was bugging people about extra shifts etc etc. As I ate, I thought "Is this the World's Saddest Burger King?" I had my phone out and was about to tweet that, when a young woman and three little kids came in, bought frozen Cokes and proceeded to run into the Indoor PlayGround, laughing and smiling. No way it could be the World's Saddest anything anymore. So I put my phone away.**

A few minutes later I was in town, pulling up at Moon Palace Books, where Autoptic events were being held. Lots of Comix-looking people milled about, and one of the panels was in progress when I arrived. Soon it was time for me to get up there. It was a panel on "Destigmatizing Vulnerability in Comics," hosted by Aaron King, with Sage Coffey, Alexis Cooke, and me. It went well. Afterwards people hung out in the bookstore café talking about comics, salami, and exhaustion.

Vulnerability panel. Photo by Melanie Gillman.

That night I stayed with Uncivilized publisher Jordan, his wife Jess, and Shoe the Cat. BFF Ben Sears was there too. We stayed up late talking about My Bloody Valentine and Gluyas Williams. Then off to Dreamland.

In the morning I drove Ben to the Autoptic venue. When we got there he realized he'd left a box of books back at Jordan's. He apologized profusely, but I assured him it was no big deal, and we headed back. On the way, he kept apologizing and beating himself up over it. Ironically, we had earlier been discussing whether Louisville (where he's from, and still lives) is the Midwest or not. I have to say, after his impressive display of self-deprecation and apologetics, even if it's not, I hereby ordain him an Honorary Midwesterner. (Sorry!)

Anyhow, we went in and did the show. Autoptic is in an amazing space, some kind of massive vaulted former warehouse. In that way alone it feels very different than most comics shows. It doesn't feel claustrophobic or oppressive. It also attracts a slightly different crowd than your average comics con. There were a lot of older people attending, as well as families and groups of friends. A number of people came to my table and told me they had just happened to be in town for the weekend and saw the show listed in the paper, and decided to check it out. So there was a kind of openness and curiosity to the attendees that I usually only feel at a zine show. (It should be noted, Autoptic has a somewhat larger scope that just a "comics show," featuring zines, printmaking, and other small press publications as well.)

Ye Olde Spit and a Half table.

I was located between my old buddies Kevin H. and Zak Sally, so it was nice to get to hang during the show and make fun of each other etc. I had a great time tabling, even though I had the usual con-related dehydration and blood sugar problems (nobody's fault but my own, folks!). In the afternoon I moseyed on over to a nearby Whole Foods and got something hot and non-sugary to eat and then it was smooth sailing through the end. All in all, sales were wonderful, I saw a bunch of old friends, met a bunch of new ones, and got to pick up some awesome comics.

Help! I'm trapped inside a comics festival with no protein!

Afterwards a group of us walked over the bridge to the official restaurant/afterparty location. I shared a table with Gabrielle Bell, Hannah and Anna from Philly, Jesse McManus, Zak, Ben, Iona Fox, and Kevin. Wow. I kinda hate comics sometimes, but I love cartoonists! God Bless 'Em All.

After having a lengthy discussion with Gabrielle about spontaneous kundalini awakening, and a mutual apology session with Nick Drnaso, and chatting with Ted Intorcio, and eating a few of Aaron Renier's gigantic Potato Chips, it was time to go.

Aaron Renier illustrates the Wisconsin Food Pyramid: Beer and something deep-fried.

Zak and I met up at his house where I was leapt upon by the bundle of nervous, unbridled energy known as Polly the Dog, or as I came to call her, Lynette. We stayed up til 2 AM talking about drugs, Buddhism, relationships, money, noise, dogs, and life. I had the choice of either the couch or Zak's son's bed. It was determined that if I chose the bed, Polly could join me. So I got in bed, slapped the sheets and exchanged slobbery dog kisses for belly-rubs all night long.

Miss Lynette "Da Lovebug" Sally.

And there you have it, kids: comics will break your heart, but they'll also lead to lifelong friendships, big laughs, and, possibly, tongue baths.

Next morning -- coffee, gas, and on the road. Through rain so intense outside of Madison that I ended up on an off-ramp because the roadsigns were unreadable. It was slow going, but I was home. Gibby gave me jazz hands and Iris snorked my arm... I took a shower to wash the road off of me, and got into bed. I turn fifty in three weeks.


*Cartoonists and Comics Industry Peeps: Always, ALWAYS, get your receipts and write this shit off your taxes. The less money you pay in taxes the less bombs they can drop on innocent brown people.

**I should mention that I would never hold it against a fast food worker for any seeming unruliness, exasperation, sadness, anger, or despair. That's a tough life, folks. Cut 'em some slack.

KING-CAT 78 AVAILABLE NOW!!!

Hey everyone, King-Cat 78 is at the printer! Subscriber/Patreon copies will be going out ASAP. If you would otherwise like to (pre)order just one copy of this issue, the best way is to PayPal the money to me directly, as follows:

USA: $6.50
CANADA: $7.20 USD
REST OF WORLD: $8.75 USD

Payable via PayPal to: kingcat_paypal AT Hotmail DOT com

If you want to order KC 78 along with other books, please visit www.spitandahalf.com.

Thank you!
John P.

- - - 

King-Cat 78 features lots of funny animal stories like “A Story About Ninny,” “Lady Tuff ‘n’ Tender,” and “Nighttime Encounter with the Void”; tons of Nature Notes featuring Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle and “Shrews Thru History”; an extensive letters section with notes from T.E. Bak, Megan Kelso, and more; plus poetry, Top 40, a Zen Story, and the Usual Gang of Schtuff. 40 digest pages in eye-catching black and white. (Spit and a Half)

(Click images to enlarge)

FROM LONE MOUNTAIN Available Now!

Hey everyone, my latest KCat collection from D+Q is out now!

FROM LONE MOUNTAIN compiles issues 62-68 of King-Cat (2003-2007), along with a selection of previously unpublished strips and detailed commentary. It features such classic stories as “Trombones No. 1,” “Great Western Sky,” The Sound of the Birds,” “Like a Pigeon,” “Iowa City,” “Las Hojas/Football Weather,” “Freeman Kame,” and the first batch of Diogenes comics. Every page of the original zines is reproduced in order including front and back covers, letters columns, Snornose pages, and Top 40’s. Also includes the standalone zines 3 Poems About Fog and The Ones That Everybody Knows. 308 pages, 6″ x 9″, two color cover, black and white interiors.

You can purchase it from your favorite bookseller, Amazon, D+Q, or even directly from me at Spit and a Half. I'll also of course have copies with me at my upcoming festival appearances.

D+Q's Tom Devlin writes about FLM here and Charles Hatfield has an extensive review up at TCJ.

Thank you! And don't forget I'll be on the road a bit reading from the book. Full tour dates can be found here.

LOVE - John P.

2017/2018 YEAR IN P/REVIEW

2017 was a hell of a year, and we all know it. On the personal side I spent much of it dealing with family health issues, which was hard too. I was always an idealist, but never an optimist. I don't know what this new year will bring, but let's hope somehow it's better than the last one.

Comics-wise, it was busy for me. In the spring I published King-Cat 77 and Jenny Zervakis' Complete Strange Growths book in quick succession. Then in the fall I put out a new edition of Pascal Girard's sweet and funny Apartment Number Three. Additionally, the fine folks at Uncivilized Books published my South Beloit Journal. These can all be purchased online at the Spit and a Half distro site.

Speaking of the distro, it continues to grow not only in size, but in the time it requires of me. I'll turn 50 this year and at some point I will need to refocus my attention on my own comics. But the distro is also such a big part of who I am, and how I want to function in this world. It's tough to balance.

Balance may be my key word of 2018. Things are out of hand -- in the world, in my head -- and I'm looking to restore some steadiness. On my Patreon page I wrote recently about the three things that have never let me down in this life: Zines, Nature, and Zen. As the world outside rumbles off its axis, I'm finding myself in retreat towards these grounding forces in my life. I also have the feeling that I'm running out of time. Fifty is young in most terms, but not for Porcellinos. I'm hoping I have fifteen more years. Anything beyond that will be gravy. If I'm looking at the limits of life in the suddenly foreseeable future, I need to make some serious decisions about what that life is going to entail. I feel like I'm on the cusp of change again.

One of the changes I plan to make is to limit my time spent on social media. In many ways social media was made for me as an artist. I love to share, to communicate, and especially in the form of small tidbits and little asides. But the rise of anti-rationality, argumentativeness, and snark on social media is depressing to me. I'll still be online on Facebook, and Twitter, and Instagram, etc etc, but in a less interactive way. If I can swing it. Addictions are hard to kick.

Meanwhile, this blog has languished somewhat. I hope to come back to it again this year and begin posting more things here rather than on other more corporate platforms. Look for my "Fave Comics of 2016" (!) list shortly, and then my 2017 List soon after.

I have King-Cat 78 in its wrapping-up phase, and hope to publish it in February. After that, the next two issues are already conceived and I should be able to get a lot of work done on them quickly, with at least one of them also being published in 2018. And my next D+Q book, From Lone Mountain, will be published in March, collecting King-Cats no. 62-68, plus bonus material.

So, we'll see. Thanks for all your support this last year, and all these years. It means the world to me.

Talk soon,
John P.

MORNING GLORY RESTAURANT PRINT (STRANGE GROWTHS FUNDRAISER #3)

Wow, after a whole lot of fits and starts, the COMPLETE STRANGE GROWTHS by Jenny Zervakis is at the printer! Barring any unforeseen difficulties, it will be debuting at CAKE in June in Chicago. Jenny will even be on hand at the Spit and a Half table to sign copies! (See below for info about the book...)

I'm still raising money to cover the printing expenses, and am offering the following prints for those who may be interested. This is a design I've had in the back of my mind since last year. I finally put it together for a benefit art show organized by Matt Davis of Chicago's Perfectly Acceptable Press.

Based on the complete drawing I made for the cover of King-Cat #76, this is a memorial print of the Morning Glory Family Restaurant of Machesney Park, Illinois, which recently closed after a great many years of service to the community.

The image s available in two editions, one is the limited (25 copies) risograph run printed by Mr. Davis himself. The print is in black and metallic gold on a nice soft off-white paper, with an OFFICIAL™ Stamp of Authenticity on the reverse, and signed and numbered (again, on the reverse) by yours truly. The print measures 11" x 16" and is Suitable for Framing®.

 Morning Glory Restaurant, Machesney Park, Illinois

Black and Gold Risograph, 11" x 16"

Edition of 25

Prices include Shipping:

USA: $38.00

CANADA: $40.00
REST OF WORLD: $45.00

Payment via PayPal to kingcat_paypal AT hotmail DOT com

Thank you!!!

The second version is a hi-res inkjet print in black ink, made at home by your humble narrator, 8.5" x 11", printed on this delightful gold-foil embossed paper I got at Walmart. Signed and dated on the reverse, this is an unlimited edition. I'll make as many as I need for those who want one. And it's Suitable for Framing®, natch.

Morning Glory Restaurant, Machesney Park, Illinois

Black ink on gold embossed paper, 8.5" x 11"

Unlimited edition

Prices include Shipping:

USA: $23.00

CANADA: $30.00
REST OF WORLD: $35.00

Payment via PayPal to kingcat_paypal AT hotmail DOT com
Thank you!!!

Questions: johnp_kingcat AT hotmail DOT com

Still some cool old King-Cats available from our previous fundraiser! Click here.
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ABOUT THE COMPLETE STRANGE GROWTHS

Jenny Zervakis is one of the great unsung creators of 1990's DIY comics. Her zine Strange Growths was gentle and sincere at a time when most alt-comics were loud and sarcastic. They were poetic and allusive, delving into the heart of the human experience, and they were one of my biggest influences as a cartoonist.

In 1997, as the Spit and a Half distro grew, I had plans to begin publishing a series of nice but simple book collections of my favorite underground cartoonists, and Jenny was at the top of that short list. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, I fell seriously ill and had to spend the next 10 or 12 years focusing on my health issues. So this publishing venture was delayed... for twenty years!

The Complete Strange Growths, 1991-1997 will be approximately 240 pages, and collect the entirety of Strange Growths numbers1-13, plus an assortment of rare comics from anthologies, and a new interview with Jenny conducted by Robert Clough. It should debut this June at CAKE in Chicago.

2016: YEAR IN PREVIEW

Hi folks,

It's 2016, and things are set to really kick into gear... I have high hopes for a productive year. For a long time, the unpredictability of my living situations led to me getting less work done that I would have liked, but now I find myself in Domestic Bliss: two dogs, two cats, a backyard with lots of birdfeeders, a stable, loving relationship with a wonderful woman... it's been great! So I'm really hoping to get back to a two per year schedule with King-Cat. KC #76 is already well on its way to publication (likely in February sometime), and that will give me plenty of room to get #77 out in the fall. Additionally, I'm finally going to be publishing my South Beloit Journal, a three month span of daily diary strips from 2011 (a few were excerpted in King-Cat 72).

Even bigger news is that this summer will see the release of Spit and a Half's first book form publication, a 200+ page collection of Jenny Zervakis' seminal Strange Growths comics. This is something I've wanted to do since 1997, and the time is finally here!

I'll be travelling some in 2016 too, but truthfully, I'm hoping to wind down the amount of road time I've been putting in over the past seven years or so. As I get older, it's begun to really wear on me. With the upgraded Spit and a Half distro site, it's now easier than ever to get tons of great comics delivered to your doorstep, so I'm hoping that will pick up some of the slack from me not travelling as much.

And finally, after a lot of soul searching and hand wringing, I'd like to announce the debut of my Patreon page. Patreon is a web platform that allows fans of an artist's work to make small, regular, monthly donations to help support that work. Mine is set up with a number of levels, where contributors receive anything from a simple "thank you" to an ongoing subscription program. There will also be an exclusive monthly e-newsletter for Patreon supporters, The Boney Island Observer, featuring chit chat, comics, photos, samples of work in progress, and up to the minute Groundhog news, delivered straight to your inbox.

I realize times are tight, but if you find yourself in a situation where you can afford to donate something, it would be greatly appreciated. As you no doubt know, comics and underground publishing are still mostly labors of love. Your support goes a long way towards keeping all this going.

Thanks! I'll see you around...
LOVE John P.

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

So, there is still plenty of time left in 2015 for wonderful, terrible stuff to happen, but in the world of comics, things every year start to wind down about now. CAB was a few weeks ago, Milwaukee Zine Fest was last weekend [historically my last (and favorite) show each year]. The publishers are dropping their final holiday-hoped releases on us. So, time to pause and reflect.

I feel like I was on the road non-stop this year, but actually I did a few less shows than usual. That goes to show you how many festivals there are now. Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter reflected recently on the unavoidable scheduling conflicts coming up nowadays, with two, sometimes three competing shows all scheduled for the same weekend sometimes. C'est la guerre.

I LOVE shows. I rarely feel more alive than I do while behind the Spit and a Half table putting great comix directly into the hands of readers. But the ceaseless travelling wearies. In a practical sense an artist or a publisher travelling great distances, paying for a table, paying for lodging, food, gas etc all to sell a comic book to someone is not exactly the most efficient way of doing business. But what else do we have? Aside from our handful of generous, open-minded retail outlets, from Desert Island in Brooklyn, to Copacetic in Pittsburgh, to Quimby's in Chicago, to Seite Books in LA, the general comics shop market continues to remain ignorant or even downright hostile to "Art Comics." Most people looking for unusual or challenging or non-sexist comics fled the comics shops a generation or two ago, but nothing substantial has risen up since to cater to those folks. So the shows fill a gap in the market.

Let me pause to suggest that good old-fashioned mailorder is maybe the best way to get these comics if you can't make it to the shows, or don't want to wait for a show to pick up a new title. I'm biased of course. I've run the Spit and a Half distro off and on for over 20 years now. One of my biggest accomplishments this year was bringing the website into the 20th Century (!) (Thank you Fran López!) with a cart, automated postage calculator, online checkout, etc, and the results have been great. More customers come through all the time, but I would say my total business is still about a third of what it was in the 90's, when mailorder was generally the only way to get these comics. I think and hope the distro will continue to grow as more people find out about it. (And of course there are plenty of other comix mailorder distros out there-- see the sidebar on my site.)

Looking back I feel like I barely got anything done this year.  I'm STILL adding books to the distro site that I picked up at SPX or earlier, and all the travelling left little time or energy for drawing. When I really think about it though, over the course of the past year and a half I drew almost 300 pages of comics (producing both The Hospital Suite and King-Cat #75) -- still, the creative work seemed to get swallowed by the busy work this year.

I do have a head start on #76 and hope to have it out "early"-ish in 2016. I'll be travelling a bunch in 2016 too, but I'm trying to visit some of the shows and cities I've missed in recent years. We'll see how it all goes.

Anyhow, thanks to everyone who came out to signings, picked up a King-Cat somewhere along the line, visited my table at shows, and so on. Once the tired fog clears from my eyes, I realize what an amazing time for comics we live in. Here's to next year!

-John P.

APPLESEED CON

US Route 30, between Valparaiso and Fort Wayne

So, last weekend I drove out to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to attend the 2014 Appleseed Comic Con.  My buddies Jim Rugg, Ed Piskor, and Tom Scioli were attending, plus who were the Special Guests? None other than both PETE BAGGE and JIM STERANKO!  So I'm there.

The trip wasn't too bad, once I got out of Chicago.  I made it to Ft. Wayne early enough Friday afternoon to quickly hit all the comics shops in town.  I managed to pick up like ten 1970's Marvel Horror Comics that were on my list, and I was ridin' high.

Checked in to the hotel, and stayed up way too late talking about comics with Jim, Ed, and Tom, three hardcore comics enthusiasts.

Beautiful downtown Fort Wayne

Next day I got up early to set up for the show.  The Con was held in a gorgeous new Events Center, right in the heart of downtown.  Day One went well, met some cool people, including, for the first time-- Pete Bagge.  Then I lurked around the Steranko table a bit checking out all his cool old memorabilia (old Marvel black light posters from 1973 etc).  When I tried to take his picture he said "No Pictures!" and held up his hand.  The guy has class.

Managed to rustle up six or seven more comics I was looking for, and had lunch at the King Gyros next door.

Spit and a Half table, Northeast Indiana Stylee

Saturday crowds

The Great and Honorable Peter Bagge

Ed Piskor and his Hip Hop Family Tree

Jim Rugg and fan

Cool old Steranko Star Trek poster

That night we all went to dinner downtown and sat at a long table-- Steranko held court at one end, and Bagge at the other.  Two generations of Classic American Cartoonistes, wow.  Got out of there and went back to the room where we stayed up too late talking about comics again.

Fort Wayne Skyline

In Search of: BREAKFAST

"This is the idea we could have rolled with from the beginning!"

Downtown Post Office

Grand Wayne Center, home of the Appleseed Con

Tom and Jim share a knowing glance, Day Two

Jim with just some of his amazing and prodigious output

(I bought a copy of the Black-Lite Barbarianess poster!)

Tom never stopped working, all weekend-long

Day Two was slower than Day One, but that only meant I got to shoot the breeze with cartoonists more, and dig through more longboxes.  Afterwards, we all met up for a final calzone-fueled goodbye.  The Con Fatigue miraculously wore off, and I realized how much fun it was just hanging out with these guys.

Then, the road home...