Stuff I Got at MoCCA 2008

• Harvest is When I Need You the Most by Braden D. Lamb, Jacob Chabot, Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, et al. A Star Wars fanbook that I had to pry from my son's hands, because he couldn't stop reading it. His favorite stories? "Under 21" and "One of the Tribe." I have to admit, those are good choices. He's a smart kid. You are probably jealous that I have a smart kid AND own this book, and you have neither. Too bad for you.

• The Pirates of Coney Island #3-6. I might own a couple of these issues already, but I wasn't sure, so I bought the most recent three. I definitely own the first three, and, seriously, when is this comic going to wrap up? It is good. I have a Pirates of Coney Island promo poster hanging in my classroom, and everyone always asks me about it. And all I tell them is, "it is good. You should read it." That's the extent of my critical insight. While I was hanging around Rick Spears's table, deciding which issues to buy (seriously, I really should keep better track of the stuff I already own), some super-creepy guy came up to the table and started showing Spears some really poorly-drawn original art pages done on typing paper, apparently. "This is what I'm working on," he told Spears, "it's page 3 of a hentai book." Classy.

• Rudo #1, Rudo: Special Edition, and Callinazo #1, from Calavera Comics. Alexis Ziritt draws like an angry Paul Pope, and the comics from this company are filled with drunken, gun-toting luchadores. Also Zombies and Dodge Chargers. These guys are still young, and they're producing some cool comics already. I'll be keeping an eye out for their future projects. Plus, no hentai fans at the table.

• Advance preview copies of The New York Four, Janes in Love, and Burnout, all from Minx. Am I the Minx demographic? No, but I did read P.L.A.I.N. Janes and liked it, and I'm definitely interested in The New York Four. I will read them all, and comment upon them. When I have time. DC is the only big company to have a presence at MoCCA, and I think it's cool to see them there. They have a little Vertigo section (with a preview of Air #1 on display--I will definitely be buying that comic), and their Minx table. I also got to meet Casey Seijas who is good at editing. He edits like a madman.
  

• Chiggers, by Hope Larson, who, as we all know, is great. You're obviously going to buy this book, but will your version have a personalized drawing of a hamburger on the cover? No. Does mine? Yes. I win.

• Super Spy, by Matt Kindt. This book was hard to find online for a while? Is it still? I don't really care, because now I have one straight from Matt Kindt, and I will probably read it too!

• Johnny Boo: The Best Little Ghost in the World, by James Kochalka. I bought this for my kids, and they had read it twice before we even left NYC. That is some good comics mojo, right there. My son, who's seven, also has "Hockey Monkey" on his iPod, so he's part of the Kochalka demographic already. If you are older than seven, this book might be a little too whimsical and fun for you. If that's the case, I know a guy who can draw some really creepy-bad hentai for you.

• We Lost the War but Won the Battle, by Michel Gondry. I read this comic last night, and it was exactly what you'd expect from Michel Gondry, and I loved it. Also, he drew a picture of me when he signed the book, so now I am a strange and dreamlike Michel Gondry character. You are jealous about that, too. Michel Gondry, signing his comic at MoCCA, and nary a line to wait in? MoCCA is cool like that.

• Skyscrapers of the Midwest, by Joshua Cotter, the hardcover version (of the book, not Cotter). I've looked at Cotter's comics several times over the past couple of years, and I determined that they weren't for me. But I kept hearing how good this book was, and I am a sucker, so I bought it. Now I understand. I've only read the first 40 pages or so, but I completely get it, and see what Cotter's doing here. I fell in love with it the minute the characters reference the smell of Moss Man. Although I didn't grow up in the midwest, I did grow up in rural Massachusetts, and this comic is the closest thing I've seen to my childhood experiences. Plus, robots. Wow. This is good stuff.

• I also got a million business cards, and with the projects I have planned, my summer just got a whole lot busier. Thanks, Lawrence Klein!