Comicsgirl

Archive for February, 2009

• 07:55 And I’m off! #
• 13:15 This is ridiculous. #
• 14:04 This never ends. #
• 14:17 I have yet to spend money. #
• 14:31 OK – first purchase was an Aranzi Aronzo mug. #
• 16:04 First comic purchase is "I Saw You" edited by Julia Wertz. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

I did bail around 5 p.m. and it was still very crowded when I left. I am here tomorrow too and I’m happy to go back, but I think overall, New York Comic-Con may be too big for me.

I wouldn’t mind shopping more, but with such a large, packed crowd, it was hard to look. There didn’t seem to be much of a system to the layout, either. I know there was sort of majors on one side, media/video game companies in the middle and smaller presses on the other side, but everything kind of ran together. Costume booths butted up against retailers selling back issues that were next to an indie creator selling his comic. Or maybe it just seemed that way because of the crowd.

I’m glad it was well attended, but I do wonder how much people are actually buying inside the show. The convention itself is definitely entertainment — lots of good people watching and things to look at — but I know that selling their wares is essential to a lot of the vendors here and I would hate if it wasn’t worth it for them.

Tomorrow, there are several panels I’d like to go to and I think shopping will be more fun once the crowd thins out late in the day (provided that the crowd does thin out by then). I’m glad I have another day of it, sure, but I think people that do all three days by choice are crazy.

I do realize that not every show or convention can be or even should be like my much beloved Small Press Expo, and I’m certainly not an indie snob. But I do think this con may be too big for me overall. It’s been a fun — if exhausting — experience so far, but I honestly don’t know if I’ll go back next year (but since it’s in the fall in 2010, I have what, nearly 20 months to decide).

They’re rough and unedited, but you can find a bunch on my Flickr page.

And on that note, I think I’m done for today.

(yes, some ended up there twice. I will fix that later when I make the photo set.)

I got into town at about noon and then there was lunch so I probably made it into the convention at about 1:15 or so. We basically just got done making the first round through the show. It went on forever and ever.

It’s huge. I didn’t really expect it to be this huge. And packed. I think we were probably in there at the peak of the crowd (I read yesterday that Saturday sold out and I think weekend passes have also sold out). The crowd is surprisingly diverse — not a lot of little kids with families, but a good mix of genders. I think that’s really neat to see.

I know that these cons have kind of moved away from just comics — there are a lot of video game booths here, and media companies, but I’m OK with that. I think there’s something to be said for the idea of “comic book culture” as a whole. There’s kind of something for everyone here.

I’ve only bought two things so far (other than a cup of coffee — caffeine is fuel) — an Aranzi Aronzo mug and a Gama-Go T-shirt. Neither of which I needed but hey, that’s what this is for, isn’t it?

I think tomorrow is going to be mostly panels, but I’m not really sure yet. I’m a little overwhelmed at this point, but in a good way. Which is why I’m currently taking a break to blog.

Well, OK, not quite yet. I’m not getting there until Saturday. But close enough.

But I will be attending New York Comic Con this weekend. I haven’t decided which panels or events I want to attend, but I’ll decide once I get there.

I’m excited about this. I didn’t go last year so after some waffling I decided just to do it.

I will have my shiny new MSI Wind with me, as well as a camera. I will re-activate my Twitter account so feel free to follow me there (updates will show up here around midnight each day). The amount of actual blogging I do depends on many things.

I’d tell you to say hi, but that means you’d have to recognize me. But if you’re going, I’ll see you there. Even if neither of us actually realizes it.

There are going to be certain expectations attached to a manga-style comic book featuring vampires that is created by a young woman — and mostly, these expectations aren’t good. It’s something that in incompetent hands can be disappointing amateur, too much of a self-indulgent fantasy for the goth girl behind it.

I’m glad to say that Vampire Free Style defied those expectations. In the hands of London-based creator Jenika Ioffreda (who was kind enough to send these copies for me to review all the way from England), this series is a surprising delight.

Young boy witch-in-training Padroncino is mourning his missing girlfriend when he finds a black cat he dubs Micia. Micia also grabs the attention of the mysterious Edward, who sees a mysterious young woman any time Micia is around. There’s also an ancient curse, a necklace and a creepy hooded figure known as the Master. These are all typically delightful stock characters from any dark shoujo manga you can find.

Self-published and obviously a labor of love, Vampire Free Style does start off a bit shakily — it does feel like it takes Ioffreda a little while to find her voice — but even from the first issue, she has a good eye for detail (Padroncino’s room is wonderfully messy, with an unmade bed and posters taped to the wall). As the series progresses, so does Ioffreda’s art — it was lovely from the beginning, but it becomes stronger and more expressive with each subsequent issue.

Ioffreda doesn’t seem afraid to let her influences shine — she says she’s a fan of Death: The High Cost of Living and Nana and echoes of those titles can be felt here from the cute artwork to the wonderful attention paid to the clothes.

Ioffreda seems like she is still growing as both an artist and a writer, though. The goofy bits with Auntie Margherita, who likes to dress Micia in various cute outfits, feel like unnecessary comic relief. And by the end of the fourth issue, it felt like the story was really just getting started — too much time was spent on establishing the characters before the plot kicked in.

But these are relatively minor complaints — Ioffreda is a talent to watch, and there’s a playfulness to her work. Her love for what she’s doing shines through and left me with a great affection for her work. I was surprised at how engrossed I became in the story and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Image from Vampire Free Style #4 by Jenika Ioffreda