SlowpokeBlog

This was, by my count, my tenth Small Press Expo. I began going in 1997 and have gone every year since, except for 2001 when it was canceled due to 9/11. The show has grown a lot since those early days, and I daresay the crowd is a lot more diverse. It's nice to see comic book geekery knowing no racial or gender boundaries.

My sincere apologies to anyone who came looking for me on Friday afternoon and didn't find me (and I hear there were a few of you). My weekly cartoon deadline is Friday afternoon, and I was holed up in my friend Warren's house in Bethesda slaving away on the thing. I had fully intended to get it done ahead of time, but was not quite as successful this year as I was last year. In the past, Friday afternoons at SPX have tended to be pretty quiet, with most people showing up after work. Not so this time around, from what I gather.

Friday night I attended an event featuring Washington Post cartoonist Richard Thompson, creator of "Richard's Poor Almanac" and the newly-syndicated strip "Cul de Sac." Richard was apparently in the crowd at the Cartoonists With Attitude slideshow at Borders in July, unbeknownst to me. We were introduced, and he kindly lobbed a couple questions to me as I sat in the audience during his public interview. (One of them came as I was immersed in his portfolio, which was being passed around. I felt like the kid in the back of class caught reading comics instead of paying attention. Which in fact, I was.)

Saturday I was more responsible, and stayed at my table for much of the day (see photo above). As always, thanks to Warren and his cats, and Mike R. for schlepping me around.