Friends! Let me know you’re here by smashing that little heart!
Last weekend was THE social event of the NYC comics scene, MoCCA, the comics fest presented by the very illustrious Society of Illustrators! Each spring is heralded by thousands of comics fans gathering in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood for a weekend of industry experts sharing their wisdom and showing off their amazing sequential artistry, a huge floor full of comics artists selling their wares in highly creative ways, and luminaries signing their books. Which is how my brush with fame came about. But we’ll get there! I promise!
First, let me set the stage…
Because WRASSLIN’ CENTAURS is new on the comics scene, I printed up a bunch of WC zines to hand out as a gift to lucky recipients. I made sure to give ‘em to the students who were the helpful staff at this year’s event, plus LUMINARIES, but we’ll get there. (*Explanation of headline: I refer to the Centaurs, as well as my husband and myself, as Derps. So, Derp Landing means both the Centaurs and we have arrived at the fest. Gosh, insider lingo; how fun, LOLLLL!)
One of the esteemed comics luminaries I met was Caroline Cash, creator of the Eisner Award-winning comic PeePee PooPoo and the new artist of Ernie Bushmiller’s legendary Nancy comic strip. Also one of the nicest comics artists I’ve met so far. If you’re ever at a comics fest where Caroline Cash is signing, stand on the long line, get a bunch of her genius stuff, and prepare for a really nice experience. (Check out “I Am A Comic,” which Cash did for The Museum of Modern Art’s online magazine, here. You can also find Cash’s graphic novel Girl in the World here and on some library apps.)
Bayer Hell, that is, as in the shared table of Josh Bayer and Hyena Hell, two of the most influential comics artists and teachers around! I’ve raved before about how Josh broke me out of years of art school conditioning and freed up my style. Once out of that purgatory, I was ready to go straight to Hell, where I got the kind of nurturing mentorship and tutelage I didn’t even know I could dream of. My Centaurs would not exist today if not for these two, who create fascinating, innovative, intense, fun comics. If you’re into making comics, you’d be wise to take a class or two with Josh; find his schedule, and comics, here. Check out Hyena’s comics here; they teach at Sequential Artists Workshop.
Break for lunch, because LUNCH. Thankfully MoCCA’s main site is located near The Grey Dog Chelsea, which a) makes great food and coffee; b) has a super-friendly staff; and c) has gluten-free bread, which is vital to my existence. Voila: comics fest sustenance in the form of a chicken salad melt, butternut squash soup, and a decaf oat milk latte. Jerry would’ve been really good with all of this.
Saturday at MoCCA is so packed, I can’t even take pics of the tables where comics artists display their art and wares; it would be like a pic of the back of a zombie invasion (albeit a really cheerful one with no brains eaten). Sunday is slightly less packed, so I got these pics.
In order: The very nice Street Noise table, full of excellent books; Caitlin Du’s work totally rocked; not sure what comics were associated with this, but a cool table; same; award-winning horror comics artist Gigi Murakami’s super cool booth; I like the way this artist created a little curtained sanctuary within the booth.
Social media is not all evil all the time; it’s only via Instagram that I found out that John Leguizamo would be signing the graphic memoir version of his theatrical show Ghetto Klown at MoCCA. My AH (Amazing Husband): “Leguizamo! NOW!!” Couldn’t agree more. We waited (and waited) while fans ahead of us squeezed every moment they could out of their meeting, until the publisher’s staff person realized said fans had not even bought a copy of the comic. Ahem; if you’re gonna talk a star’s ear off, buy the book?? Which we had already done, and would’ve done even if John Leguizamo hadn’t been there, and hadn’t been THE NICEST PERSON IN THE WORLD (aside from Caroline Cash). He signed our book, posed for pics, even happily accepted an offer of a copy of WRASSLIN’ CENTAURS Mini Match #1.
We all chatted like old friends, or more like two starstruck fans and a star, about Leguizamo’s Ghetto Klown comic, as well as VOCES American Historia, his PBS series about the often hidden, always fascinating stories of Latino/Latina contributions to American history and culture. “It’s been renewed for a second season!” he excitedly told us after we raved about it. “Which is amazing, since public broadcasting has been under attack this year.” (Don’t we all know it; we are PBS supporters.) “I’ve been collecting these stories for years,” John (are we at the point where I can call him John? I think so??) said, “so it’s amazing to finally be able to share them in this show.” Find VOCES American Historia here and get your copy of Ghetto Klown here.
Oh, and he said WRASSLIN’ CENTAURS was cool. I’m still vibrating with glee over that.
After two days of thrilling panels, comics artists close encounters, and a brush with fame, I went home to gaze upon my haul (above). I think I have enough comics to read for a while—like until The Centaurs and I invade SPX in September for another Derp Landing…
What more can I say? What do YOU say? Have you been to MoCCA? What was your favorite MoCCA moment here? Can I call Leguizamo “John” at this point?? Inform me of your feelings, friends!!
You can read more about MoCCA and The Society of Illustrators here. If you’re in NYC, make sure you stop by for a visit to this unique and elegant museum, and have a drink in their dark wood paneled bar!
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