With the show’s move from the spring to the fall, there were a lot of unknowns going into this year’s Alternative Press Expo. I also upped the ante a bit by trying to help organize TWO tables and run THREE events at Isotope. Somehow, someway, EVERYTHING managed to work out. Don’t know if I can really write up a coherent convention report. I think I’ll have to stick to a random list of memories this time around. And, of course, if you want to skip my ramblings altogether and cut right to the pictures, scroll down to the bottom of this post and click the link!

For a more comprehensive set of reports, Tom Spurgeon has done his usual smashing job of collecting all the links associated with the show!

1. •Had a wonderful time teaching my Thursday afternoon graphic novel seminar thanks to special guest, Julia Wertz. Lots of great shop talk with the students during class. The evening ended with beer and pizza at Lanesplitters with Julia and Serena. Really nice way to start off the weekend.
   

1. •I always enjoy picking up comic creators at the airport or driving them around the City when they arrive for events at the store. In the past, I’ve given lifts to industry superstars like Tim Sale and Mark Millar. This time around, it was a quick SFO to pick up old friend Joshua Cotter (Skyscrapers of the Midwest). Josh played a crucial role in making the argument that I could make comics. It was great to hang out and catch up a bit before the weekend really got underway.
   

1. •And sometime in the midst of the airport run, I stopped by CCA to pick up the last of the student comics created for the Expo table. We ended up selling work by twelve different students at the show. We had fourteen different students working the table in two-three hour shifts and my entire graphic novel class stopped by to check out the Expo floor. I was so proud of all of them. More on this in a bit.
   

1. •Before the evening festivities were to get under way, we made a quick stop at Isotope to get into costume and to prep the store for the weekend’s events. Josh helped get the supplies ready for the CBDLF live art auction and everyone else pitched in to get ‘Evel’s’ costume ready for the night. For more on that, check out the photo set below!
   

1. •Then it was off to the Last Gasp warehouse for the official Alternative Press Expo Exhibitor mixer. Saw lots of my favorite people there having a few drinks and checking out the amazing collection of oddities on display at the Last Gasp headquarters. Again, check out the pictures at the end of this post!
   

1. •Next stop was the Isotope sponsored Triple Cobra concert at Fat City. Lots of costumes. Lots of pictures in the set. I’m really not painting a very vivid picture here. Sorry. Really, the weekend was a kind of strange and wonderful blur. I do know that Emily Stackhouse had a good night. Not only was she debuting her very first comic at APE this year, but she was also a finalist in the costume contest at Fat City. For more on Emily’s weekend, check out her post over at the Writers Old Fashioned Blog!
   

1. •The Saturday morning set up at the show was a little tricky with the downpour and the Halloween hangovers. Attendance was light. Both the Writers Old Fashioned and the CCA table did well in spite post-Halloween gloom. The Writers Old Fashioned table attracted a nice steady crowd with Emily’s debut book, Brazilianoir and Jason’s recent hit, The Martian Confederacy. By the end of the weekend, we’d paid for our table and then some. Oh, and we even had a last minute mini-comic debut by Danger Bob and one of my students, Jafe Meltesen-Lee! Between both tables, we had a terrific showing over at Newsarama. We were featured in their daily coverage and the CCA table was also at the center of a longer piece about comics and education!
   

1. •Visited with some of my favorite cartoonists during the show. Congrats to Lost in the Dark Press for five years at APE. I heard some good news from Chris Wisnia. I watched the table for Molly Hahn while she walked the floor. And the lads hawking the Nearly Infamous Zango and Scurvy Dogs never fail to crack me up.
   

1. •The APE Aftermath at Isotope was a tremendous success. We had an awesome live art show by Josh Cotter and Nate Powell. Top Shelf publisher, Brett Warnock, mixed the drinks. And Jonas Madden-Connor walked away with the coveted Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics for his book Ochre Ellipse. Lots of shots from the event in the photo set below.
   

1. •On Sunday, the Expo was greeted by both sunshine and a nice, healthy crowd. It was at this point that my camera ran out of juice. Which is a shame because the Dame Darcy concert at Isotope on Sunday night was something to behold. Antique instruments, sea shanties, murder ballads, and a capella love songs filled the comic book lounge. It was amazing. She brought a tear to my eye. I wonder if anyone noticed. I’m such a crybaby. But seriously, after the last song of the evening there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
   

So, no more conventions in 2008. I’m happy to have ended on such a good note.

If you are on facebook, check out this weekend’s pictures right over here. Tag yourself if you are lurking in the background of one of the pics!

Otherwise, enjoy the photos in the gallery below!