Dretime

Wow.  What an amazing and fun time.  This year’s fest was a lot bigger than last year’s.  There was a lot more of everything.  There were definitely way more attendees this year.   I saw a bunch of familiar faces there.  A handful of Philly cartoonists were there mingling such Art Baxter, Cyn Why, Bob Pistilli, Mike Sgier, Tommy Rudmose, Brady Russell, Jo Jo Sherrow, Skuds, Ed Choy, Lance and more.   Box Brown, Pat Aulisio, Ian Harker, and former Philadelphian Jesse Moyinhan had tables there.  I also saw people I got to know by going to comics expositions. I saw Josh Bayer who was at Box Brown’s Retrofit table. I ran in Kevin Czap who is from Ohio.  It was great seeing all these people.

The panels were down the street at Union Pool. There was a bouncer at the door checking IDs, so people had to be over 21.  That is too bad for some of the younger comix enthusiasts, who remained at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church where the books were being sold.  I tried to get in the Jack Davis Q+A at 1:30 but I could not fit in, the room was over capacity.  So I made a mental note to get in to see the panels I didn’t want to miss, I would have to be there early.

Luckily, my friends and I did catch the Chip Kidd and David Mazzucchelli panel: Comics By Design.  It was a very lively discussion about graphic design in comics.  They shared the behind the scenes of Mazzucchelli’s graphic novel Asterios Polyp, which was edited by Kidd.  They struggled with printing malfunctions and had a challenging time on their mission to get the book picked up by the publisher Pantheon.  They also mentioned Jurassic Park, Chris Ware,  and ended with a plug for an art show at MoCCA, called Bat-Manga: The Secret History of Batman in Japan.  It is an exhibit at MoCCA featuring pieces from Chip Kidd’s personal collection. I’m really glad we were there because this panel was also super packed.

The next panel I saw really blew me away.  One of my favorite artists ever, Phoebe Glockner, was there and presented her current work at a panel.  She wrote and illustrated A Diary of a Teenage Girl, and Child Stories.  I love those books.   I made sure to get there early to get a good seat.  Her new work is very different from her previous projects.  She is making dolls with superimposed faces and structures, photographing them, and using the photographs to tell the story. She is currently researching for a story in a book called “I Live Here” (Pantheon Books) about the murders of women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.  Phoebe shared some of her experiences and photos from Mexico investigating what happened, and documenting her progress.  After her panel, I had the chance to meet her.  She couldn’t have been nicer or friendlier.  Meeting her was a great experience for me.  If the younger me was told there was a chance I would meet her later in life when I received Diary of a Teenage Girl for Christmas in 2002 from my best friend, I wouldn’t have believed it!  It is all thanks to the Brooklyn Comics and Graphic fest, thank you!

Here are some photos by Phoebe Glockner and me.