San Diego Comic Con report! Pt. 2

Continuing my coverage of San Diego Comic Con 2007 ( Pt. 1 can be found here )...

Friday night's EL MUERTO screening may have been the big highlight of the weekend, but it was by no means the only fun to be had. Saturday was a day filled with catching up with more friends and really just enjoying the show from the point of view of a fan, not just an associate producer of a comic book movie.

Speaking of promoting movies, I think the 'buzz booth' of this years Con was the Weinstein Company's stunt to promote GRINDHOUSE. Here's a one-legged model dressed up as Cherry Darling! Now that's exploitation!!


Not to be outdown, I was lucky enough to stroll pass this lovely lady. Miss Jessica Rabbit. Remember, she's not bad, she's just drawn that way!


My friend Will Caulfield and his son Nicholas came down to the show on saturday.

I've known Will some 22 years. He's a trusted friend and he actually gave me my start in a graphics art career. I was in college at the time, not really sure what direction I had wanted to pursue as far as art. He hired me to work part-time at the screenprinting shop where he worked at (he was the Art Director) and eventually I moved to full time. All the skills I learned their absolutely helped me later when I began to publish my own comic book. It was at that job where I actually first learned about computer graphic design. Some years later Will and his wife had their son, and Will left his position to raise Nicholas at home. I assumed the position of Art Director and a few years later, when we experienced a growth period, I was able to hire him back! So we have a long history of working side by side as well as becoming each other's boss over the years! A few years ago Will decided to create his own comic book ( THE ADVENTURES OF BAT BAT ) and he's attended a few shows with me as an exhibitor. He told me that I and my friends had inspired him with our own creations. And he tells me that his son Nicholas wants to create his own comic book! The two of them are hoping to attend Comic Con next year as exhibitors. That's a heck of a lot of circles being completed!

Another good friend of mine exhibiting this year was Jason Martin. His full-color independent comic book series SUPER REAL has recieved a lot of favorable notices. Jason's probably the saviest guy I know, as far as us self-publishing cartoonists, who uses the internet to his full advantage as far as advertising and networking. He'll use a nice signature banner on various message boards he visits, for example, in order to drive traffic to his site. He and I met a few years ago in the Small Press area at Comic Con and hit it off really good. He's actually contributed to the El Muerto DVD release, but I'll have to talk about that in another post!

By the way, Jason's got a very good blog where he in fact has his own Comic Con report with lots and lots of cool pics of the various booths and fans in costumes. Check it out right here!

Comic conventions are about two things when you're self-publishing: Selling comics and befriending other cartoonists! Here's Jose Cabrera, creator of the online strip CRYING MACHO MAN, and his lovely wife Naomi.

I met them about a year ago at APE (Alternative Press Expo in San Fransisco). They live in LA but so far we haven't had a chance to get together locally! We always hook up at some show or another. You'd be surprised how often that happens! Jose recently published a tradepaperback collection of his strip and asked me to write him a blurb, which is on the back of the book. He's got the blurb on his website if you want to read it. And while you're there, check out his comics and order his book!

Speaking of being all macho and stuff...here's me and my girlfriend Bernyce. Often we wandered the floor together, but sometimes we'd go our own ways. There's only so much old-school, geeky superhero nonsense she can take! Although, she does have her own brand of comic book nuttiness she enjoys. We actually do have a lot of the same tastes in comics and art, but we also have enough differences to keep the two of us out of each others hair once in a while!


Wandering the floor of the convention is always interesting because you never know what neat little book you're going to find or who you're going to run into. One such encounter was bumping into cartoonist and radio host, Lalo Alcaraz. His strip LA CUCARACHA is nationally syndicated and he's been a strong supporter of my work over the years and a good friend. He was on a couple of panels invovling cartoon strips this past weekend.


If friday's highlight was the movie screening, then saturday's highlight was the annual Mexican dinner in Old Town San Diego me and my friend Michael Aushenker started several years ago. To this day, believe it or not, I never remember the name of the restaraunt nor can I ever give anyone decent directions on how to get there! But every year we gather a bunch of friends and fellow cartoonists and take the trolley down to Old Town and enjoy a feast of good food and strawberry margaritas.


Me and my co-Mayor of Margaritaville, Michael Aushenker!


That Old Town dinner is always a great way to cap off a busy day at the Con. Regardless if I'm exhibiting there or just enjoying the Con as a guest, I hope this annual tradition continues for a very long time.

My next and final post about Comic Con 2007 will cover my sunday at the show. See you then......