Whimper Fest
So, Howl Fest 2009 was kind of a bust for NERD comics.
I hadn’t done this festival before, but had high hopes for it being an indie press event. Now, I’m not dissing the event as a whole— there was some great music and exciting theater events all over the Lower East Side— but I am not sure the “Carl Solomon Book Fair” really worked out. While the staff were really nice, swell folks, there was little to no communication leading up to the show once we had signed up and paid.
There was little in the way of coordination or information ahead of the event, so I barely was able to find out when to arrive for set-up. There wasn’t much in the way of signage and the table layout was sparse, so there was no “book fair” feeling…just some spread-out tables in the park that hadn’t been assigned to anyone. Thank the gods I had Colin to keep me sane and help me set up in the windy morning among general confusion. Basically, the fact that I registered and paid didn’t seem to be an important factor; anyone could have walked up and taken a spot in the fair. Nice idea, maybe, if I hadn’t signed up and paid for a table :\ …
We met some cool people in the book fair, as disjointed as the layout was. First, there were the local heroes of indie comics publishing, World War 3. I was really flattered when one of the founders bought one of my mini-books (the sacreliscious one I just printed).
To my left were the husband and wife team of Daria & Patrick McQuade, who recently finished and published Magical Tales of Enchanged Mysteriousness Vol 1. You REALLY need to get a copy of this delightful book (hell, it’s even kid-friendly). They were kind enough to trade and sign me a copy, and I hope to drag them to future comics hangouts.
To my right were the fine cats runnin the Jack Kirby Museum. Awesome collections of Kirby’s best known works as well as unpublished treasures. Thanks to them for preserving and cataloging the fantastic history of comic book art!
Again, Howl Festival is a nice local festival celebrating independent literary and performing arts. There was great, free music in the park and lots to see and do. But, since I am an unknown trying to scratch out a name in the comics industry, it probably wasn’t the best place for NERD comics.
The wind was kinda blowing the mini books about and the sun was merciless, but we stayed optimistic as long as possible… at least until we got a visit from a lost, somewhat creepy, singing old man by the name of Sonny November. He literally took a chair from a nearby exhibitor, plopped it in front of our little table, and sat there for an hour, babbling about puppets and singing songs that he apparently was writing on the fly. Kinda like that weird uncle your mother is nice enough to keep from visiting as much as possible. And when he does, you feel only a deep, inexplicable sadness about life in general.
Yes, after that, the wind was gone from our sails and we made the decision, Foley and I, that Howl Fest was definitely not the show for us.
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