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.

I wouldn’t really define this as a con, personally, but I suppose they can call it whatever they want. It’s one room of people selling comics — mostly back-issue type stuff, but a few small press people.

Small press people including, of course, AdHouse Books, which is mostly why I went (I figured if I wasn’t going to MoCCA — I couldn’t exactly afford it and it seemed like a hassle — I should still get to have some comics-related fun). I make no secret of my love for AdHouse. I love the diversity of books AdHouse publishes — even if they’re not all going to be to my taste, I know they’re going to be intriguing and original. Publisher Chris Pitzer just obviously loves comics and that shows in the books he releases.

So yeah, I basically just went there to see Pitzer and pick up some AdHouse books and to drop off some copies of Magic Bullet #2 for distribution in Richmond (the people behind the registration table looked at me a bit strangely when I asked if there was a freebie table, then eyed the copies suspiciously. It’s a comic newspaper! It’s cool!).

I tried to hand-sell Remake to two different people. The first young teenage boy wearing a Nightmare Before Christmas hoodie, so I figured he was the target audience for this comic. But he seemed a little put-off by my insistence and ran off with his friend. Then we tried to sell it to a young woman by telling her “It’s like Scott Pilgrim!” After she informed us she didn’t like Scott Pilgrim, I said “It’s better than Scott Pilgrim!” I failed there, too. (It’s not like there was anything in it for me — it’s not my comic. I just like Remake. Sadly, Remake Special wasn’t ready for this show).

I wandered the rest of the show a bit, but it wasn’t that big (about what I expected) and mostly various back issues. Since I just cleaned out a bunch of comics and I’m not a collector anymore, there wasn’t anything in particular I was looking for. But I like shows like this. I liked the few people who actually came in costume. After all, I grew up here, and while Richmond is a different and cooler place than it used to be (or at least, that’s my sense of it), I also know it’s not always easy to find where you fit. If there’s a sense that other people like what you do, that can go along way.

Would I go out of my way to go to this show again? Probably not, but it worked out nicely that I got to go.

Still, no one seemed particularly excited about it this year. I was, more or less, but it wasn’t the all-consuming “I can’t wait!” excitement I’ve had in the two previous years. Basically, MoCCA (when I finally got it into my head what days it actually was) became a good excuse to get out of town for a couple of days.

I remember spending brunch last year on the Saturday of the show studying a print out of the long list of debuts that Robot6 had posted. That blog had three posts this year, as far as I can tell, on MoCCA, and none of them were that extensive. The Beat had a little bit more, but still, it didn’t seem like there was really that much new stuff. (A lot of the coverage of MoCCA seemed to be more about events surrounding it — pre-parties and signings and after-parties and such — than the show itself.)

And my experience with the show kind of made that clear. I mean, certainly, when you go to a bunch of these things that are all centered along the Mid-Atlantic, you’re going to see the same creators again and again, quite often with the same comics. But I saw very few mini-comics that I hadn’t seen before. When I compare it to last year, where I felt like everything I saw was new and exciting, this just felt like more of the same.

The bigger publishers — First Second, Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, etc. — were doing good business and my web searches seem to indicate that’s why a lot of people were there. Don’t get me wrong — I was delighted to have Mike Cavallaro sign my copy of Foiled!, but I’m not someone who really cares about getting books signed all that much. If I want books from these publishers, well, that’s kind of what Amazon is for. (I know that sounds terrible, and I’m only partially serious, but you get my point.) The bigger-name guests like Frank Miller also kind of seemed out of character for the show.

So what do I think happened this year?

I think the change to April — even though people knew it since last year — threw some people off. Comics take time and when you’re used to knowing you need to have something done by June, you may be hard-pressed to get it done by April instead, even if you have a good amount of warning.

I also know exhibitors weren’t too happy about various issues last year — floor layout, the heat, and even the building itself. I don’t know their reasons, but there are a handful of people that I’ve seen in the previous two years that weren’t there this year. (A friend overheard on the train home that exhibitor space didn’t sell out — which would explain the random round tables occupying some of the space in the back.)

MoCCA this year faced some competition — both from Boston Comic Con and Stumptown Comics Fest in two weeks. The economy being what it is, I think some West Coast creators that may have done MoCCA otherwise had to pick between the two and stuck with the one that was closer to home. (That happened to me — last year, I had every intention on making it to Stumptown this year.)

And about that: I’m not necessarily blaming this all on the economy, but I have noticed that so far this year, some other events have seemed a little scaled-back. I think last year, we were all hurting but we had plans in place and were able to go through with them. This year, we’re still hurting which meant we had to make some choices. Maybe solo creators couldn’t afford the table fees; maybe they didn’t have the funds to get their comics printed. And so that left the “bigger” indie publishers — who are in the one part of the publishing industry that’s not entirely sucking — to pick up the slack.

I don’t really know, though. I think MoCCA’s in transition and I think that’s OK. It’s still a good show and I think it will continue to be a good show, even if it changes into something else (on Geek Girl on the Street, I mentioned I think there’s absolutely room for a “literary” comic con, and if that’s the direction MoCCA moves in, that’s cool).

Still, I think for me, if next year is a choice between going to Stumptown and going to MoCCA, I’m going to Stumptown (mostly because I’ve never been).

But Drink & Draw Like a Lady was blast and I’m glad I came here just for that.

Yeah, there were the usual suspects, but there were also a lot of newbies. And I mean that in the best possible way. Look, I love (just about) everyone that makes comics but the more you go to cons and shows and such, the more you see the same people over and over again.

A lot of the women at this were young (like I probably have a decade on many of them) and that’s awesome (I will probably be using that word too many times here). I love that many of them came to this by themselves because they thought it sounded like a neat thing. And while there were some “names” there (and I mean that with respect — to me, some of the women there are famous), everyone felt like equals. We were there because we loved comics and we wanted to meet other people who loved comics.

I know some men have kind of grumbled (even if it’s mostly jokingly) about how it’s sexist and exclusionary. And maybe some of them sort of have a point (but I’d also like to point out that men who make comics have no shortage of opportunities to hang out with each other), but this didn’t feel like anyone was being left out. It felt very welcoming and very friendly.

I’ve been reading comics a long time (almost longer than I think some of the attendees tonight have been alive — no, I’m not kidding) and there was a time I figured that such a thing like Drink & Draw Like a Lady could never exist. It’s a powerful and wonderful thing and I’d love to see the concept take off even more (I know there will be one before Stumptown this year). It’s really that good.

(And now, I am crashing. I spent six hours on a bus — when it should’ve been about four and a half hours — in front of a group of guys going to a bachelor party in New York, and oh, from their conversation, it showed. Tomorrow will be a long day at MoCCA and running around the city so I need my sleep.)

This weekend is the kickoff (yes, I realize that’s not quite April) — and the Family Day is always entertaining and cute.

The next weekend is the Freer’s annual anime marathon. They only have three movies this year, one of which I’ve seen, but I’ll still get up early, head into the city and get in line to see Chocolate Underground. Also that day is Silver Spring’s Big Cherry Block Party, which will be my substitute for the next weekend’s Sakura Matsuri, which I’m missing because …

That’s also the weekend of MoCCA Festival, with Drink & Draw Like a Lady that Friday. I’m still finalizing my travel plans, but I will try to be there Friday night for that. (And there’s also the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA and Japan Society’s j-CATION – A Taste of Japan event with a show by Asobi Sesku if I thoroughly want to exhaust myself that weekend).

The next weekend I’m going to go see my mom for some downtime and to go to Richmond Craft Mafia’s Spring Bada-Bing.

Then, wrapping up the month is the final weekend of Festival Imagé at MICA. This is tentative because it depends on how dead I feel once the month is over.

Also occurring in April are two events I won’t (or can’t) be going to: Wondercon and Stumptown. One of these years, I swear, I’m going to make it to Stumptown. MoCCA shifting to April prevented me from going this year.

Thus far, May is wide open. And I’m thinking that’s good because I’m likely going to want to sleep through the entire thing.

Next to You — Yali Lin

This is my sadly-missing mini-comic.

I remembered Yali Lin from last year’s MoCCA. I loved the comics I bought from her so I was glad to buy something else. She has a sweetly soft manga-style to her art that’s beautiful and her stories are equally meditative. This is a young woman’s dream where she’s thinking about all the things she needs — mostly simple things, like a notebook, a pillow — only to discover she already has what she needs. The whole thing has a quiet grace that really touched me (I am happy to see it’s online here so I can reread it).

PS Comics — Misty Lewis

PS Comics #4 was my favorite thing from Small Press Expo last year, so I’m delighted to have this collection. Lewis’ characters — who are, for no particular reason other than it’s hilarious and awesome, talking fruit or animals — usually end up in mundanely painful situations. She seems to intimately understand the ins and outs of office life and dealing with roommates. Her humor would still work well if she told these stories using humans, but it’s just that much funnier when they’re Yorkies. Buy this and laugh and then buy copies for your friends.

(It also came with little scratch-and-sniff cards, which were awesome.)

Little Miss May & Her Kitty, Jub-Jub — Patricia Burgess

I picked this up because I liked that Burgess had bound it together with yarn and she was sitting at the table working on crafts (she was sharing a table with fellow comic creator/crafter Megan Baehr).

Little Miss May is an odd fish-looking woman (all of Burgess’ humans have distinct shapes — a neighbor is blocky) who adores her cat, Jub-Jub, perhaps a little too much. Little Miss May faces some devastating tragedies regarding her cat but in the end finds out she’s not so alone in the world.

Burgess tells this story wordlessly (for the most part — there’s no dialogue) through six squares on each page. I liked the format quite a bit — the layout reminded me of storyboards (not surprisingly, Burgess works in animation) and her style is distinctive and fun. She told me this was her first comic and I hope it’s the first of many.

Infandum! Ad Infinitum — Molly Lawless

Lawless has quickly become one of my favorite comic creators and I think everyone needs to know about her. Her style of art is one part realism, one part cartooning with a depth provided by shading. Her faces are open and expressive and really draw me into her stories. She has a playful sense of humor that’s a little self-deprecating but also innocent. She’s a fan of old baseball so some of her comics are about that, which is uniquely fun. Her baseball history lessons have a spirit of silliness about them while still being informative. I am not a particular baseball fan — old or new — but I really enjoyed reading her comics about it.

And since she’s a fellow Arlingtonian, I think we totally need to hang out.

That’s it. The rest of the stuff is longer. I have two anthologies I may put together into one review, but I need to finish them first.

Starfish — Marguerite Dabaie

In this beautiful, wordless comic about a sailor who meets a mermaid who saves his ship, Dabaie plays with the form of mini-comics. It’s horizontal with two fold-out pages in the middle. Her art here has a simple, anime-inspired feel and she definitely knows how to express a story through images alone. This is one of the comics from MoCCA that surprised me the most.

Click — Sara Ryan & Dylan Meconis

Ryan’s and Meconis’ simple tale of a confusing friendship between two high school seniors is well done but fairly standard slice-of-life mini-comics stuff. Ryan’s story does capture the emotions nicely, but Meconis’ art makes the characters look a little too old. While I enjoyed it while I was reading it, its poignancy was pretty temporary.

Lipstick & Malice #1: So Hot Right Now — Monica Gallagher

I loved this. Honestly, though, what’s not to like about a supermodel who is also (more or less) a deadly assassin. Gallagher’s art is sexy and gorgeous and she has a good ear for the gossip of the beautiful people. The tall format of the comic is a lot of fun and compliments our heroine’s stature. This is definitely one of those “should’ve bought the other two issues while they were in front of you” cases. I really look forward to where the rest of this story is going.

Gang of Fools: Paper Trailer — James Smith III

This is, in case you were wondering, where my last $2 went. This is meant to be a preview of the Web comic and I’m suitably intrigued by the futurist urban paranoia that’s presented here. The art very dark — mostly black with only our character’s faces emerging from the gloom. It definitely provides the right feel for where the story seems to be going. Sadly, at least right now, the Gang of Fools web site doesn’t seem to be working. I’m looking forward to when it’s back up.

Jin & Jam No. 1 — Hellen Jo

I believe I first encountered Hellen Jo’s work on the back page of Giant Robot and I’ve been crazy about it every since then. She has a dangerous and quirky sense of humor and awesomely bad attitude to spare. Jin & Jam is full of angry girls badmouthing each other and getting into hilarious fights. It is sometimes intentionally off-putting, but it always feels playful. Jo’s artwork is amazingly detailed and expressive and her style is like a mix between manga and Robert Crumb while being absolutely distinctive. Jo is a creator to watch.

Green Blooded — Cathy Leamy

Subtitled “An Introduction to Eco-Friendly Feminine Hygiene,” this is an informational pamphlet done in a comic style. The subject matter isn’t for everyone (I can kind of imagine that half of the population isn’t going to be too interested) but it’s done in a fun way while still being educational. She lists the pros and cons of different “green” products and includes drawings of how to use each. I think that this subject is something a lot of women haven’t thought about and I actually learned a few things. Even if the subject isn’t appealing to you, this does show how comics can be utilized to inform people in a quick, easy and fun way.

That’s it for the mini-comics. I have some less-than-mini comics that might go up tomorrow. I’m still reading so there will be more reviews. Oh yes.

The 69th Armory building is a really great space for this show. Last year was my first time going to MoCCA, so that was my only experience with The Puck Building as the venue. I think while the Puck Building is a nice space with a lot of character, MoCCA had clearly outgrown it. Now, MoCCA seems on the same level (or nearly) as Small Press Expo and I think that’s an excellent thing.

As crowded as it was (and there was a line to get in when we showed up around 2 p.m.), it never felt claustrophobic and there was plenty of room to move around. I felt like I had plenty of opportunity to see everything I wanted to see.

Yes, it got hot, but it was not unbearably so.

The first major thing I noticed at this show is there was a lot of new faces and new comics. I’ve been going to such things (off and on) for nearly three years now and there has always been a lot of the same exhibitors. I understand why that’s the case, but really, once you’ve bought all three of someone’s mini-comic title, you don’t really need to buy it again. So it was great to see a lot of people I’d never seen before mixed in with old favorites. It felt very welcoming.

The second major thing I noticed was the shift toward a longer format. I still love mini-comics and I’m still more than happy to buy them, but a lot of my money went to anthologies or compilations. I think this shift mirrors what I saw last year at SPX — the move away from autobiographical comics to more ambitious stories. I also saw several people playing with the mini-comics format — rather than your typical five pieces of 8 1/2 by 11 paper folded in half width-wise and then stapled together, some people where doing more vertically oriented comics or included fold-outs. That’s not something I’ve seen before and I like the inventiveness.

I was also delighted by the craftiness of some of the exhibitors. I think comics fit nicely into the DIY ethos of crafting and I love both.

I’m not exactly sure how much money I spent because I’m bad at math (and I would’ve spent more if I’d had it — I didn’t see Lark Pien‘s table until it was much too late) but I got a good haul and I had a lot of fun. Complete exhausted and wiped out now (but that’s kind of how these things go), but I’m so glad I came this year.

I met a few people, including the ever-lovely Raina Telgemeier and Jenn Jordan, the co-writer of the web comic Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell. There are a couple more people whose names escape me right now (no disrespect to them meant — I am tired and suddenly, it became late).

It was very cool to see this. I’m glad it happened and it definitely makes me excited to see what MoCCA will have tomorrow. This just feels like a really exciting time for comics.

My train leaves tomorrow at about 3:30, putting me in New York around 6:40 (probably more like 7, but let’s just hope everything is on time), just in time for Drink & Draw Like A Lady at Madame X. That’s the plan anyway.

Saturday, I’ll have all day for MoCCA and possibly KRAZY!, which despite my promises, I haven’t managed to get to. (My trip to MoCCA always seems to coincide with some Japanese awesomeness — last year, we did the Takashi Murakami exhibit.)

Then I depart on Sunday, but I won’t be in a rush, which is nice.

It looks like a great year for MoCCA Fest — the new venue promises to be “bigger and better” and all of that, but I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of people who will be there. I may even try to get to some of the programming this year since I won’t be in such a weird caffeinated rush. It also seems like it will be a nice weekend in New York, unlike last year where it was entirely too hot.

I will probably be Twittering — those will show up on the sidebar (you can always follow me, of course) and I will be bringing my netbook so there will probably be a Saturday night update (possibly a Friday update, but we’ll see).

This should be fun. But after this, that’s it for a while (I probably, sadly, won’t have it in me to go hang out with Timothy Lantz at Wizard World Philly, but he could try to talk me into it).