Back from Pittbsurgh, late with reviews

Since I'm a perpetually lazy blogger, I didn't get those reviews done yesterday, nor did I blog about the surprisingly excellent Pittsburgh Comicon (but David and Rose already did).

Pittsburgh has always been a strange show for me, both in terms of scope (the guest list is always very, very hit and miss) and outside factors (one year, I had to leave early for family stuff, and last year I had to leave in the middle of the show to get a replacement battery for the video camera work sent me for filming purposes). Rose, Steven and David were such great company that I not only enjoyed the show, but stayed at the show almost all day.

Originally, I had planned to do a list of things I had purchased at the show, but all that stuff is at home. Almost everything I bought was local minicomics, because I learned too late how to maximize my dollar at a retail-oriented show (MoCCA and SPX are retailer-free shows). Watching David, Rose and Steven shop, I learned that it's surprisingly easy to get good deals on most independent and small press trades and graphic novels, as they don't seem to move very well for the more mainstream stores--there was lots of great stuff in the $5 trade bins, including Scooter Girl, various Ait-Planet Lar trades, A Few Perfect Hours, When I'm Old and Other Stories (which I forced David to buy), and others. Of course, there were also plenty of really crappy things available (I always forget how many comics got their names from simply juxtaposing two random words--BRAINCHILD! DARKLIGHT! MINDNIGHT! I don't remember specifics, but that's about right). I'm sure I'm going to hate some of the things I bought, but at least I know for next year that travelling retailers are not the devil I once thought them to be. I do regret not taking up Steven's find of getting the Thor trade that had the first appearance of Beta Ray Bill, Shawn Hoke's favorite space donkey, and not budgeting better in general, but I've learned my lesson, and I'll make sure to search for deals first. Also, I found a retailer to order from the next time I'm looking for old and independent stuff--Mostly Independents, which I think is where David snagged his Even A Monkey Can Draw Manga from.

Now that Jason Richards is blogging his sketchbook, I'll make sure to do my doggie sketchbook at some point soon, because the one I got this weekend really is all sorts of ass-kicking.