Goodbye to '08, Hello to '09

Strike that; reverse it. First, in with the new - this weekend (February 6-8) is this year's New York Comic-Con, the first comics-related thing I'll be involved with in what feels like a very long time. I'll be sharing table space with GB Tran and Fred Chao, outstanding cartoonists and fine gentlemen, the both of 'em. I'll have copies of The Aviary, a minicomic (featuring one of the very very few - two, to be exact - comics stories I've managed to draw since completing The Aviary almost two years ago now), and a fancypants print for sale. The print is largeish (13x18 or so), and looks like this:



Next, out with the old - a few highlights of my 2008, in no particular order: Got married, became an Eisner Award nominee, went to Greece, became an Eisner Award loser, went to Japan. Lowlight (is that a word?) of the year is that I drew virtually no new comics at all. Spent the year as a consumer far more than a producer of any sort of "art". Saw, heard, and read quite a few things I enjoyed, so for no particular reason, here are some lists of favorite/best entertainments/distractions of 2008 (The Proverbial Top-Whatevers):

Comics: Skyscrapers of the Midwest, by Josh Cotter; Freddie and Me, by Mike Dawson; Pocket Full of Rain, by Jason; Acme Novelty Library #19, by Chris Ware; The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard, by Eddie Campbell; Ganges #2, by Kevin Huizenga

Movies: The Dark Knight, Synecdoche, NY, Let the Right One In, WALL-E, The Wrestler, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Visitor, Snow Angels, Cloverfield

Music: The Night Marchers - See You in Magic, The Hold Steady - Stay Positive, The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia and Adorata, Metallica - Death Magnetic, Girl Talk - Feed the Animals, Greg Dulli - Live at Triple Door, Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak

Laffs: No funnier show of any kind than the Never Not Funny podcast. And I offer the highest possible recommendation for the album Impersonal, by Mr. Paul F. Tompkins.

That's all for now. If you're coming to NY Comic-con, come on by and say hello...