Howdy Y’all!
(Pic of Peter Riiiiiiiiiios, one of the CGS podcast crew enjoying a chuppachup!)
I just wanted to drop a few thoughts about the wonderful time I had this past weekend at the Comic Geek Speak Super Show. For those possibly not in the “know”, CGS is a podcast produced by a few individuals up in Reading, PA about their love of all comics. I’ve listened to a few episodes, cruized their forums, and decided to take them up on coming to visit them, their friends, their listeners, and the citizens of Reading.
Now, to be honest, I had to wonder how this show was going to go down. And to sum it up, this show is VERY popular! They had guests that flew from Austrailia, the UK, California, Texas, and little ol’ Virginie. (Their attendance to distance ratio has to beat SDCC!) My other fear was that people might not dig what AdHouse was doing, but boy was I wrong. EVERYONE was super friendly and very interested in our stuff.
So, here’s a few random thoughts on my trip to Reading, PA to take part in this historical event…
Got up WAY too early Saturday morn to make the 5 hour trip to the show. Part of me was worried that my trip might have to get canceled due to ol’ Hana. But that was not the case. We scooted out and eventually beat the rain to the show. When we got there, I was amazed by the building where the show was going to be held. It’s called the Expo Center, now, but it was a factory for something-or another in a previous life. As my flickr shows, I took a good many shots of my just going in for the unload.
(blurry nerdfight photo)
The room where the show was being held was pretty spacious too. Actually, this show kind of reminds me of what the first few SPX shows were like. Just a gathering of the tribes for their love of comics. The diff. this time is that there was a nice big table where they had their podcasting, just a few dealers, and the rest were mostly creators. One of the other publishers I met was Markosia, who came all the way from England for the show. I got a chance to talk to one fo their guys about our Diamond woes before the show opened.
The first table buddy that showed up was Mr. Phil from the Indie Spinner Rack. He drove alone, so I think that was how he beat the others. I REALLY enjoyed hanging with Mr. Phil over the weekend. I think we basically love the same type of comics, and grew up collecting the same type of stuff. His knowledge of Indieness knows no bounds. We were then joined a little later by JOHNNY HIRO creator Fred Chao and Phil’s broadcasting buddy Charlito.
One of the other reasons I chose to attend CGSSS was that Fred was going to be there. This was the only show that we’d both be attending this year, and I like hanging with him. We talked A BUNCH about all types of stuff. We also got to share (at least in my eyes) the fear of staying at the Econolodge. I should have known it wasn’t a good thing when the sign was way different than every other Econo sign I’ve seen. Other signs of impending doom? When Fred reaches for the toilet paper, the hardware comes off the wall. When I go to turn on the TV, there are no batteries in remote. The guy watching football in the front office (ie: employee) tells me that he’s surprised, since they usually steal the whole remote. So.. you get the picture.
(Bryans perusing PULPHOPES)
Back to the show… EVERYONE IS SO NICE THERE! Seriously. I recognize a few since they’re wearing their avatars on a badge, but sometimes it takes a while for me to click a name to an avatar to the person. Vince was one. I met him while going up the elevator, but did’nt make the connection until an hour later. (OK, I’m slow most of the time!) I would like to say thanks to everyone for stopping by and talking. The show went pretty quick because of that. It was mostly dealing and stuff. Fred was doing sketches. Then around 4pm, they started the show’s podcast, and that was a treat to hear. It really gave you a sense of their community and from where they came. Part of the “show” was a nice song by one listener (Paul) and then Charlito stole the show with his puppetness. Part puppeting craft, part geek, part really offf-broadway, and you might get the picture. I was pretty amazed by it all.
After the show was over, most everyone headed over to The Works, which is like a Dave & Busters. I dig those type of places, but this one was a bit smokey (we were eating at the Bar), the waitress was way overworked, and the music was too loud. Fred and I downed our food and drink rather quickly, and headed off to play some games downstairs. Some air hockey (guess who won!), shooting zombies (Fred won) and boxing! The boxing was fun, but whew, you can get a workout there.
(Freddie Boom Boom Chao!)
Most everyone headed over to Third & Spruce after that, but I could feel my energy bar depleting, so I took off for scary Elodge. I was pretty worried that my tires might get slashed, but all that happened was a cig and some cheese were thrown on the car. I recall waking up when Fred got in (2am?) and telling him to lock the door behind him!
The next morning was freaking beautiful, so I wanted to get out of the hotel asap. We drove over to the Wawa to grab some eats, and after figuring out that Hyde Park is a place and NOT a park, we ended up just heading on to the Expo center to enjoy the weather and hang outside before the show started. We walked up to a nice green section that had some benches and talked, chillled, and waited… waited for.. READING DRIFT!
(One car, three tires.)
Around 8:45am, Sunday morning, I hear some engines reving in the distance. They get closer, and I look up to see two cars coming down a road into the upper parking lot of the center. (Think big open Walmartish lot.) They come careening in and just floor it and start taking turns, doing donuts, what have you, around for 10 minutes or so. I look at Fred, and after having just survived killerlodge, told him to be ready to move in a moments notice. We keep taking in the show, until BOOM! One of their tires explodes. I think “well that serves them!” now they’ll have to stop and change the tire. But no! They continue riding around all over the center on their rim. I just thought the whole thing was weirdly beautful. What a way to start day two, eh?
Sunday was still good. We sold some books to In Stock Trades, so look for a post when they have them up for sale. They’re really nice people. We actually picked up Simone Lia’s Fluffy that Dark Horse put out from them. We sold out of the SKYSCRAPERS that we brought (but honestly, we didn’t take that many) and I guess it was due to Charlito’s championing of the book. I think Fred had a good show (ie: his selling of his comics). One of the creators stopped by with his flyer promoting his new “blankie” designer toy, so I told him that I’d mention it here. Go, check it out! One of the last person’s I met was a nice lady who was taking a break from her job of getting out the vote. She had good taste, since I saw a copy of Tara McPhearson’s art book in her hands. We started talking, and come to find out she’s friends with Laurenn. It is a small world. Her daughter actually recognizes Joey’s work from Flight, too.
With the long drive looming before me, I decided to take off around 3pm. The drive back was super. The weather was fantastic, and I didn’t hit a single jam.
I think this show is going to get bigger and better. If they want to have me back next year, I’d consider making the trip back. But yeah, I’m staying at a different hotel next time!
