What Just Happened

MoCCA 2011 - NYC

Stumptown 2011 - PDX

The bird a nest,
the spider a web,
man friendship.

~William Blake

I'd say ol' Bill Blake is on to something, given the past couple months of my sleep-deprived, chaotic mess of a life and the plain fact that I could not have possibly gotten through them if not for the diligent efforts of my friends. Without fail, my friends stepped up to help me not just keep my wits, but to help me thrive. Whether with getting around and housing me in a foreign land, laying out, editing, printing, and putting together books, tending to my needy kitties, helping me table at conventions, getting me around town after my car breaks down, setting up websites, sounding off my crazy ideas, getting me to or into afterparties, festivals, and so so so much more.

My comic odyssey started with an impromptu visit to the Emerald City Comicon in March, which was considerably more...diverting than I thought possible.  I had intended to just go as an attendee, but ended up something else entirely. Still sussing that one out. Perhaps in a future post. Anyway, two weeks later I went up to a Vancouver Comicon to try my hand at Steve Rolston's homemade Canadian parlor games. After another two weeks of constant scrambling, I headed out for NYC for the MoCCA Festival in early April. Any visit to NYC is a trip which I would gladly lengthen, but I had to cut my East Coast time regretfully short and get back to Portland too soon. I was required back the Saturday after MoCCA, which happened to be my birthday, to attend the first day of the Stumptown Comics Fest and the grand opening of the Samo Lives gallery, where The Matter is on permanent installation.

The week from MoCCA to Stumptown was a sleepless, bewildering juggernaut that I couldn't stop, slow, or even comprehend most of the time. Like any good show should be. Not surprisingly, the Monday after Stumptown closes up, I tailspin into a week-long illness as my body stops fighting whatever nastiness I got from the NYC subway handrails. However, since I'm a con/fest/party animal, I was rewarded by scoring free all-access wristbands to the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. I live at the epicenter of the fest, and the last two years I've been unable to go, so this was sweeter than Sweet Reward. And as usual, it was all on account of my friends. In this case, Mr. Josh Bremer, who did the Festival's website, let me use his passes.

On that note, I suppose I should end this senseless, rambling post. I wanted just to stress that I have the best friends ever.  I might gloss over the details of Emerald City and the last Vancouver Comicon, but expect posts about MoCCA, Stumptown, Samo Lives, Bridgetown, and more as time rolls along.  I'll get to the fests soon, because I have some neat pictures, but most importantly, a jam comic about lil' ol' me by, I kid you not, the finest artists at Stumptown.

Now that I'm done with all manner of fests and conventions (besides an occasional Vancouver jaunt), it's time to get cracking. The Matter no. 3 is near it's printing, though we've already printed the Issue no. 3 Teasers. We'll have an electronic version of the teaser up before the week is out, which should be concurrent with launching the Kickstarter for the issue as well. Anyway, I'll have more to say later. I'll endeavor to make it more exciting if you endeavor to make it back for it.

Thank you again, friends. You know who you are.

-=-

P.S. Sorry to get all blabby on everyone. There's been a ton of crap what done gone on since we last talked, and I had to start somewhere. My thoughts got a little bottlenecked, so forgive the 90s-era blogginess of this post.