This year is already kind of blurry. It was certainly dominated by Small Press Expo for me but I’m OK with that. It was an incredible amount of fun and I’m already looking forward to next year (we’re already working on it!).

I also read a tremendous amount of comics. There were plenty I loved — many I didn’t expect to — and I still get a thrill picking up new comics. Yes, there was certainly some silliness with regard to the DC reboot, but Wonder Woman has me hooked (in a lazy way — I read it when I remember). It was also an amazing year for indie comics — I am awed by all the talent that’s out there.

I didn’t get to travel to shows as much as I would’ve liked to — most of that was a money issue, but I was feeling pretty burned out on the usual ones. I didn’t attempt to go to the MoCCA Festival or New York Comic Con; KingCon III was postponed and as much as I would’ve loved to have gone to Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival, the timing just didn’t work out. SPACE was fun but I don’t know if I’d go back. I always love the Baltimore Comic-Con, but that was more of just a hanging out opportunity for me this year.

(I will totally take sponsorships if people want to send me to Stumptown or Alternative Press Expo next year. Kids Read Comics Celebration is taking place in Ann Arbor on my birthday weekend and that’s a definite possibility. It may end up being mandatory.)

For some reason, in 2011, I expanded my “media” “empire.” I started up a Tumblr account (or started using it?) and a Facebook page. I also appeared on local show Fantastic Forum and Rusty and Joe interviewed me during SPX (I need to learn to speak into the microphone better. Also? No real idea what I said).

I was also greatly honored to be a part of Big Planet Comics Podcast #17 and I do hope they invite me back at some point because it was a great deal of fun (you should always listen to the podcast — even when I’m not on it).

And the photo on this post? Well, that’s me sorting through Dean Haspiel’s minicomics. Now, everything is going to the Library of Congress (I believe all are in the LoC’s possession now), but Warren Bernard just wanted to do an initial sort/inventory before we sent them off to see what was there. And certainly, it’s fresh in my mind, but when I think about all the things I’ve been privileged to be able to do this year, this felt like one of the bright spots. It was thrilling seeing all these incredible comics, even if I didn’t get to keep any of them.

I am lucky to know such amazing people who let me do so many cool things. I hope that continues in 2012.

Moderated by Heidi MacDonald and shamefully under-attended (yes, I know it was 12:30 p.m. on a Sunday, so most people were probably recovering from the night before and there was a marathon going on right outside, but still …), it did not disappoint.

MacDonald opened by asking Telgemeier how her tour for Smile had gone and what sort of reaction she’d gotten. Telgemeier said it had gone “amazingly well” and talked about a girls’ school that did a school-wide purchase of Smile and she got to make comics with 150 girls. She said in two weeks and 15 stops, she was able to connect with 1,000 kids and that Smile really resonates with them.

Abadzis was asked about Laika and he said he didn’t intend it to be a young adult book and was surprised it was marketed as such. The book’s publisher, First Second told him not wot worry since it would widen the audience and not reduce. That was later echoed by Venable, since people who love comics don’t really pay attention to age groups, just if something is good. (It’s maybe the opposite way to look at this, but Laika is one of the few graphic novels my mom has read.)

Roman then talked about the history of his upcoming Astronaut Academy — it started as a webcomic and a few minicomics and then he reworked it as a graphic novel. He also said there will be a lot of new stuff in it and he redrew about 80 percent of it (so you see, you will really have no reason not to buy it when it comes out, even if you have read it online). He says he doesn’t necessarily intend to make comics for kids — it’s just what he likes.

Both Roman and Telgemeier then talked about the X-Men manga from Del Ray and how the second book was canceled (sniff) and that there wasn’t one reason, but several (but mostly, it came down to the licensing cost). I am happy they got paid for the second book, but I’m going to continue to be upset that I’ll never get to see it.

Venable talked about the series of books she writes for Graphic Universe, Guinea PIG, Pet Shop Private Eye. The series is aimed at second to fifth grades and she said she’s having fun and getting good letters from kids.

MacDonald asked about some of the covers Venable has designed for First Second, including Foiled. Venable said she’s always been a big Jane Yolen fan so it was fun for her, but she always got nervous when she had to call her to discuss the cover.

The discussion then turned to how comics get shelved in libraries and bookstores. Abadzis said that kids don’t want to read books that are too “young” for them, but comics are mostly missing those sorts of divisions. Roman said that shelving comics can be hard because usually, they can only be in one place. He was a fan of multiple sections for graphic novels — not just one huge section that has everything.

Venable said that librarians have figured this out a little bit more quickly than booksellers.

Everyone basically agreed that comics can be great gateways to reading. Telgemeier said she’s had a lot of parents say that Smile was one of the first books their children read voluntarily. Roman praised teachers for taking the initiative in introducing comics into the classroom. Abadzis agreed with all of this, but said that comics still need to get past “gatekeepers” — people who may doubt their value.

MacDonald then asked the panel what they thought of the big two publishers — Marvel and DC — and their failure to market to kids.

Roman said that the direct market is the problem — kids don’t go into comic book stores. And while I know of stores that have really wonderful sections of kids’ comics, if kids aren’t going into these stores, the comics aren’t getting to them. Roman said that other publishers — like Scholastic — are able to sell through school book clubs to kids directly.

Telgemeier brought up there’s almost too much variety in mainstream comics and it can be hard for a parent to pick which Iron Man would be good for kids. Roman said that while there are things like Marvel Adventures, kids don’t want to read Spider-man Jr. when dad is reading regular Spider-man.

MacDonald asked how kids where getting into comics. Venable said web comics were big with teens and that actually, she didn’t read comics until she discovered web comics. Roman said kids don’t discriminate about reading on a screen and that classic newspaper strips like Calvin & Hobbes and Garfield are still gateways for kids … they’re just not reading them in the newspaper (and there was some painful and knowing laughter from the audience when that was said. Or maybe just from me).

A question from an audience member asked the panelists what they thought of the floppy/pamphlet format for kids. Roman said it wasn’t dead, but it was once again the matter of the direct market. MacDonald brought up that kids are more used to reading larger chunks — like manga volumes — so floppies aren’t necessarily as satisfying. But everyone seemed to agree that electronic versions of floppies could still probably work, and no one was declaring print dead.

MacDonald asked if anyone had any final advice for kids who wanted to make comics. Telgemeier said they should learn to write short stories and start small as well as draw. Venable said they should read constantly.

I didn’t take a photo because I forgot, but it would’ve been bad anyway (it was a dark, warehouse-y space and there were windows behind the panelists) so I grabbed a panel from Abadzis’ “Cora’s Breakfast”, which he did for the Guardian before they cut their childrens’ comics pages (sigh). This story needs a publisher right now.

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.