Now that I’ve had some time to recover, a few words on the trip that caused me to resort to guest comics and a filler strip. (No, seriously, though, the guest comics were great. Thanks to all!)
First, I flew to fabulous Portland, Oregon, to finally see the city for myself and visit some folks!
Cute, interesting Portland neighborhoods.
I was in Portland for a few days. First I got to see the new studio space where Meredith Gran and Aaron Diaz both do their voodoo. Being an artist without her own private workspace — I have a drawing nook next to the living room in my house — I’m a little jealous. I also made a point of hanging out copious amounts with Peter Wartman, the fellow who drew this guest comic right here.
In addition to that, I went by the studio of freelance illustrator/cartoonist/rockin’ fella Kevin Cross, where he, Joshua Kemble, and I did two podcast recording sessions over the course of four hours. I ALSO got to spend a very valuable day with the people at Periscope Studio, where Pete (see above) is an intern. They helped me reorganize my portfolio and get my head on straight. Those are the best kinds of people to know, for a cartoonist.
Lovely day on the river walk.
Portland really is a beautiful, interesting city. I can really see why so many cartoonists have been flocking there in the past few years. I love Minneapolis, but I’m tempted to make the move myself in a year or two. I know that I need to go back at some point, anyway, so I can do all the things I didn’t have time for on this first visit. There were just too many things to see and people to meet in the few days I had before heading down to San Diego, California, for Comic-Con International.
On the bus.
It was about as exciting as you might guess.
The less said, the better, really.
If you’ve ever been to San Diego Comic-Con, you pretty much know the drill. I spent very little on books and junk at the con, though, and used most of my time to walk around, show my portfolio, and hang out with a bunch of cool people, including Iron Spike (with whom Pete and I were sharing a hotel room), Dirk Tiede, and Magnolia Porter. Good times were had by some.
Oh, and I pitched a 5-minute cartoon idea to the people at Titmouse in 2 minutes. Beat that!
Yup.
San Diego was exciting, but aggravating, as any big con is bound to be. I’m looking forward to being able to make an actual presence there in a year or two. Or three. For now, I’m fine alternately floating about and riding the coat tails of anyone I know who’s more accomplished than I am. (Kidding. I love you guys.)
That’s it, I guess, until the next big con trip. So many plans to make now. Plans, plans, plans.
