Timing was on my side on day one. After we arrived and wandered around to figure out the lay of the land, I decided to go to the info desk to find out when Brian Lee O'Malley would be signing. I was told that he had just arrived and would be signing in a few minutes. Since I had already figured out where he would be sitting, I bee-lined it to his table - grabbing Myles on the way - and we ended up about 3rd in line - a line which turned into a snake within seconds. Here's the best thing about Brian - a dude behind us asked if he would be sketching, and Brian turned around, saw the long line that had formed and said, "Yeah, I think I can do some sketches..." And do some sketches he did...here is my Stephen Stills:
My good timing continued while I wandered some more. This time, I ended up at Tara McPherson's table just as she was setting up. I mentioned that I didn't have my sketchbook the night before when we were at her gallery opening and asked if I could grab a quick sketch from her. She asked for a few minutes to set up, so I lingered until she was ready, and then I got this little piece of awesome:
There are a few artists from whom I try to request sketches of characters they've never done before. Usually it's someone who's style I love, so Jeff Lemire falls right into that category. I first asked for a sketch of Death, to which Jeff responded that he's drawn her a few times. I said I would think of something else and get back to him. A little while later, I decided to ask for a Cthulhu, but he wasn't comfortable drawing one without reference. Back to the drawing board! After some careful consideration, I settled on a Spock, not knowing if he would be into that at all. This is how our conversation went.
Me: "Ummmm....how does Spock sound?"
Jeff: "That sounds...pretty awesome."
Neither of us are real Trekkies, but he whipped up this bad boy pretty quickly, complete with an Enterprise, too!
OMG...this is going to take waaaaaay too long. I'm just going to point you to my web album instead. I'll add some descriptions so you're not left in the dark...
Just to sum up, TCAF is pretty much the awesomest of all awesomes...and it's FREE TO ATTEND. Next time, my niece should be old enough to check out the OWL Kids stuff, which should be fun. I wonder if they'll keep it at Met Ref. Small logistical and ventilation issues aside, it was a pretty neat place to have a festival. I'm already excited for TCAF 2011!!!
HOLY CRAP!!! I forgot to mention the awesome conversation I had with J. Bone about crocheting! On day one I noticed some AMAZING crocheted superheroes at his table, with a sign that said 'Not For Sale". There was a full bodied, crazy amazing Wolverine, and uh...eek! I can't remember who the girl doll is!!! But she has some kick-ass boots! And he made a cute little Spider-man with the eyes, and front and back logos all made from yarn! So, on day two I packed up my Cthulhu, Mysterio and Penguin so I could show him. J. is a crochet purest - he makes his dolls completely from yarn, all the details and accessories - everything!!! It's really amazing. I'm not good enough or patient enough to figure out my own patterns for stuff, so I use felt and baked clay to dress up my characters. Anyway, I had to come back and add this part cuz it was one of my favourite parts of the weekend! I can't wait to see some of J's other creations...I think he mentioned a Dr. Doom, which I can only assume is totally kickass!
