As always, in no particular order.

Urban Nomad #1-3: Alisa Harris
There are a ton of creators making autobiographical comics and so they can often become a blur of relationship dramas and pretentious introspection. Alisa Harris, however, has a charming eye for the ups and downs of city life. The vignettes presented here showcase a smart young woman with a sense of adventure and her clear-eyed style capture moments perfectly. My favorite is the story of how she and her boyfriend Allan became domestic partners (for health insurance purposes — which I think is totally great). It’s sweet and simple and if you don’t want to hang out with them after reading this, something is wrong with you.

And speaking of Allan …

Things I’ve Seen at Shows (#1): Allan Norico
This is what it say: things (and people) Allan Norico has observed at rock shows. His commentary is funny and all-too accurate. Norico’s art evokes Jaime Hewlett at times, but he has a cleaner, bolder style filtered through a designer’s eye. I would love to see his work on T-shirts.

O.G.: Road Trippin’: JustJENN
Everyone’s favorite stationery-designing, Star Wars-party-throwing, cake-maker to the stars also makes comics. Based on actual conversations Jenn had with her grandmother while driving, this is hilarious and adorable. Jenn’s art here mostly consists of basic, bold shapes, but the simplicity works perfectly.

Thanksgiving Party and Hey!: Chris Uphues
Chris Uphues draws adorable cartoon hearts with arms, legs and big eyes. As a vegetarian, I dislike the punchline of “Thanksgiving Party” but it’s gentle and obvious enough (and suggests that his work may not be as cloying as it seems). “Hey!” would make a lovely Valentine, however. Uphues also sent along a book of images draw on paint chips. Looking at his website, he’s obviously interested in color and surreal design. I’d love to see more of his art, comic or otherwise.

Spaz #3: Emi Gennis
Emi Gennis presents herself — or at least, a version of herself — as a highly neurotic young woman. I actually had the thought while reading this that she’s like a younger, more vulgar version of Cathy, and I mean that as a compliment. Her one-page comics “Shit I Worry About” and “More Shit I Worry About” has small panels illustrating everything from the plausible “Everyone laughing at me” and “Debt” to the less-than-likely “Being pushed in front of the subway” and “Being poisoned.” She also feels conflicted over possible procreation — illustrating conversations with a person-sized zygote. Her art is cartoony and loose — all huge, round eyes and just enough detail. Her comics aren’t going to be everyone’s thing, but there is fun to be had here.

Review copies provided by Chris Uphues and Emi Gennis.

But it’s still pretty accurate. King Con was definitely fun. I am very happy I went.

It’s a small, laid-back show. The Brooklyn Lyceum has a pleasantly rough industrial aesthetic and I think it lends itself well to DIY culture. The space for exhibitors wasn’t very big so there wasn’t that many of them, but I liked that it was small.

I’ve been to a bunch of comic-related shows this year so I’ve seen many of the same people multiple times, so I sought those I hadn’t. Among them were Alisa Harris and Allan Norico, a fun, artistic couple.

I also had a nice chat with Dave Roman, who I was surprised recognized me. Roman and Raina Telgemeier are always awesome and I think they’re really good for comics.

As fun as the exhibitors were, King Con’s strength is in the programming. On Saturday I caught most of the Kyle Baker presentation with Chris Irving and it was delightful. But honestly, it’s Kyle Baker. How could it not be? I am always impressed by Baker’s work and I need to read more of it.

Next up was the Bored to Death panel. I don’t have HBO because I have the cheap cable, so I’ve never seen Bored to Death (yes, I know about this thing called the “Internet” and these things called “DVDs” but nonetheless, I’ve never seen the show). This panel was packed — I think quite a number of people came to King Con just for it.

Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel have an easy chemistry with each other and it was fun to hear them talk about the show, even though I was only vaguely familiar with it. Moderator Jeff Newlett did a great job — directing the conversation when he needed to but mostly just letting it evolve organically. I really enjoyed it. Even the giant drawings of penises.

(My friend says she saw Jason Schwartzman in the audience. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had been, but I didn’t see him so I can’t confirm.)

I stuck around afterward for the Daily Cross Hatch panel because I was interested in everyone on it (Robert Sikoryak, Julia Wertz and Lisa Hanawalt along with Alex Cox, hosted, of course, by Brian Heater) but I think most everyone can agree it kind of ended up being a mess.

I actually don’t think that was anyone’s fault in particular that it went badly — the room was cold, it was getting to a slumped part of the day (it started at 4:30 p.m.) and while there’s nothing wrong with comic book people not actually talking about comics, I think the creators were a little thrown off by being initially asked about sports and fast food. There was plenty of fun — Sikoryak is wonderfully sharp and Cox would randomly give people points for certain answers — but once it went off track, it never really recovered. I think everyone pretty much knew it (it will be interesting to see what the podcast version ends up being).

Today I did attend the Kid’s Stuff: Making Comics for All Ages panel, but that will get its own post, likely later tomorrow.

Other than a couple other small things (there’s a panel in town next week and maybe a couple of other events), King Con has capped off a very busy year. It did serve as a great finale.