Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival

One of my favorite events is the June Mocca arts fair because they concentrate on small press and more adult books and art. So it was fun to visit a newer version of that in a church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's called the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival. It was a small affair, one room on top for the book tables and then in the basement was the speakers' room.

But for such a modest event, it was packed with friends and celebrities. Cartoonist and animator Mark Newgarden did a show, and I got to chat with Charles Burns and Doug Allen.

Also Steve Guarnaccia, Mark Stamaty, Jake Armstrong, Dan Pinto and Will Krause were there. But the headliners were Matt Groening and the ever glamorous Lynda Barry – what the hell were they doing in a tiny church basement in Williamsburg, Brooklyn? Apparently they were on their way to a comics convention in India and they stopped in NY to meet up and take the plane to India. I chatted with Lynda about her great book “Cruddy” and how much I loved it. Then I ran into the great Gary Panter of Pee Wee Herman Show fame. We chatted for a while, he told us about his frustration not working on the Pee Wee Herman stage show.

It's too bad the festival doesn't have a larger space, 'cause I'd love to take part. But maybe they don't allow DVDs or animation. Anyway, check it out next year, you may see me there at the DVD table.