MoCCA Arts Festival

I love the Society of Illustrators!  It's my favorite institution in NYC, and every year they have what's called MoCCA Fest (MoCCA stands for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art).  What's great about it is that it's exclusively for independent artists. No DC Comics, no Marvel, no Disney, strictly artists who have unique styles and make their own illustrations and comics.  I've been working a table there for years (I don't remember the first year I went) and I'm usually the only animator in the bunch, which is good because I don't compete with all the other comic artists.

Lately, I've noticed that my DVDs don't sell as well as they did in the past, so I concentrate more on my original art - and it seems my art is now very collectible, especially pieces from my early films, like "Your Face", "How to Kiss" and "Guard Dog".  Thank God people remember my old films.

Also, it's great to see a lot of my illustrator friends there - people like Steve Brodner, John Cuneo, Felipe Galindo, R.O. Blechman, Arnie and Carolyn Roth.  I'm also looking for a publisher for my new book, "The Art of Revengeance", so I was able to cruise the indie publishers and talk up the book. 

                         with Felipe Galindo, Andrea Arroyo, Peter Kuper and Steve Brodner

One thing I noticed this year, compared to years past, is that there seemed to be a majority of female artists, which is great!  Their stories seem to be a lot more quirky and relationship-focused, which is the kind of stuff I love. 

So if you're around next year, definitely check out MoCCA Arts Festival - you'll have a blast and you'll be supporting young comic artists.

--Bill