Last weekend was the ever growing Stumptown Comics Fest! How do you capture the reality of all of the zones that were experienced between the universes of the odd world of commerce, and the magic world of being a creative being? Its a weird thing to be a part of. I believe Devo expressed what I am feeling best in a song they wrote just shortly after I was born.
It's a beautiful world we live in,
A sweet romantic place,
Beautiful people everywhere,
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say,
(Chorus)
It's a beautiful world (x3)
For you (x3)
It's a wonderful time to be here,
It's nice to be alive,
Wonderful people everywhere,
The way they comb their hair
Makes me want to say,
It's a wonderful place (x3)
For you (x3)
Tell me what'd I say?
Hey, tell me what I say,
Boy 'n' girl with the new clothes on,
You can shake it to me all night long,
Hey, Hey!
It's a beautiful world we live in,
A sweet romantic place,
Beautiful people everywhere,
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say,
It's a beautiful world
For you.
Yes, that's how it was. I was surrounded by friends! I was tabling with my mega friend Theo, for his publisher who I was so proud and lucky to represent, "Secret Acres"!!! People were so positive and genuinely excited by everything Secret Acres had to offer, along side Theo and I's individual books and prints. Only one person in the whole festival picked up one of my books and read the whole thing in front of me (Cover to cover) loving it the whole way through, and walked away without buying anything, (most obnoxious behavior in the world!) which normally happens like a million times. "Play Overlord", the collaborative comic between Theo Ellsworth, Amy Kuttab, and myself sold out! That's right, we gotta make more, they are all gone!!! It fealt great!!! There is love in this world!!!
The only thing that was a mega bummer to see was that for some reason The festival organizers faced the back right wall of tablers so they were staring directly at the convention room brick wall, away from all of the festival!!! One of Portlands best comic talents Chris Cilla had to stare at brick as though he was in jail while the festival went on behind him! Yes very lame! Worse was that mega talents and friends Kelly Froh, and the Max Factor Max Clotfelter along with Jason T. Miles Profanity Hill comics table, ironically was facing the wide expanding entrance to the rectally tense men's bathroom!!! What!!!??? Can you believe that??? Thats probably a torture practice in some third world country. Try to sell comics surrounded by the smell of poop and men adjusting there fly with spattering wet hands around you!!! My heart goes out to those doods!
Otherwise it was a totally awesome time full of magic, and laughter! I even had a woman at my table immediately flip to that most embarrassing page (you know the one) where my cute cuddly and very innocent characters (from "what are Crass") unexpectedly engage in a strangely erotic act of projecting liquid from there mouths on each others faces to an orgasmic paralysis. Her eyes immediately widened and I began to sink out of site under the table! But unexpectedly instead of running screaming, she laughed and looked me in the face as I apologized, and she said , "No way, I was just about to do this to you"! YES!!! It truly is a beautiful world we live in,
A sweet romantic place, Beautiful people everywhere,
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say,
It's a beautiful world
For you!
