February 22, 2004

cursory curl

Back from APE, deluged with stuffIgottado, but just to recap ever so briefly:

Most time-consuming-in-a-good-way new discovery: Jason Shiga's Hello World, a Choose Your Own Adventure-influenced graphic novel/exercise in elementary combinatorics, by the guy who did the rather remarkable Fleep.

Heaviest indulgence: the Coldcut Distribution 45-cents-an-ounce ding-and-dent table, where I stocked up on a bunch of copies of things I mostly already own but will probably give people as presents eventually.

Most expensive indulgence: vol. 6 of David B.'s phenomenal "L'Ascension de Haut Mal." My French isn't quite good enough to understand it, BUT I CAN LOOK AT THE PICTURES.

People I was surprised and a little delighted to meet for the first time: Alison Bechdel, Carol Lay, Deni Loubert. Alison B. is working on a full-on graphic novel, which makes me very happy--my favorite stuff by her is the longer narrative pieces at the end of her recent books.

Gracious dinner companions, first-night division: Stacy Wakefield, Amber Gayle and Windy Chien.

Thing I'm sorry isn't a public museum: the gallery of curiosities in the Last Gasp offices.

Moment that made me really wish I could draw: going out to dinner at Bissap Baobab with Leela and Tom and a bunch of their cartooning friends, and watching them pass around a sketchbook (my Moleskine notebook, which was the only one available) and all make wonderful little pictures in it, drawing cleanly and without hesitation--you know, this is what cartoonists do when they get together. Writers don't do stuff like that--!

Posted by Douglas at February 22, 2004 10:20 PM
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