Monitor Duty by Randy Lander "San Diego 2002 - Part Two" You know what I really love about the San Diego Con? It's the time after the Con. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the Con and I'm usually there from when the doors open to when the doors close (at least I was this year), but it's when I go out afterwards that I really have a great time. This is one of the only times when I feel like I'm surrounded by people who know and love comics. This year, I had dinner with the same group of people every night, including my wife, my friend and co-worker at Dragon's Lair Dave, Dallas-based couple (and publishers of After the Facts) Robb Turnage and Christie Turner and Colorado Springs-based couple (and web designer to several creators) Maida and Doug Scott. And every night, the conversations about comics were more informed and entertaining than I usually get to have with a large group, and it was fun to have a common base from which to discuss other things, including movies and music. It's always interesting to see how tastes in comics and other media overlap, and those dinners were one of my high points for the Con. Another thing that I love about the Con is the mini-comics. I really didn't get into mini-comics at all until the first time I visited the SPX, but now I always try to pick some up at each Con. Some of them were just ashcan previews of upcoming or online comics, some were experiments (like Alex Robinson's 24-hour comic), some were by creators I know but whose mini work I hadn't read, and one was even an anthology, but what they all have in common (besides being reviewed in this column) is that they are done up in the stapled, folded paper format that is the hallmark of the self-publishing small press creator. They're a testament to doing it yourself, and to the truism that if you really want to do comics, nobody is stopping you. Slices (www.opi8.com) by Andrew Dabb and various artists - I've been following Slices throughout its 52-week, new 3-page story every week, schedule, and from early on I've been hoping to eventually see a print collection. 156 pages, plus maybe new material, commentary, scripts, etc. could make one hell of a package for a publisher like AIT/Planet Lar, IDW or Cyberosia. What I got in San Diego was a peek at what that might be like, as Andrew Dabb has taken six of his favorites and put them out as a free ashcan. The subjects of these stories range from child molesters to abortion to serial killers to racism to kidnapping, and there's plenty more to be said about how Dabb tackles all of these. In addition, the artists are very impressive, mostly new talents but also including artists who have since built a stronger reputation in print such as Brett Weldele (Shot Callerz, The B-Sides) and Ben Templesmith (Hellspawn, 30 Days of Night). Drive (www.frequencypress.com) by Nate Southard & Shawn Richter - Nate Southard is an Austin native, so I actually got the chance to meet him about a week before the show and get a copy of this ashcan, but he was handing them out at the show to promote the release of the first issue in January, so it counts as far as this column is concerned as a San Diego comic. Drive is based on the story of a cabbie and what happens when a guy gets into his car, puts a gun to his head, and says "Drive." Assuming that makes you want to find out more (it did for me), you can check out the ashcan online at the Frequency Press website, and then you can anxiously await issue one along with me and everyone else who got a copy of the ashcan in San Diego. Brilliant Mistake/Death Row Junkie (members.aol.com/ ComicBookAlex) by Alex Robinson & Mike Dawson - I read about Alex Robinson's attempt at creating a 24-hour comic in his column at Slush Factory just a week or two before the Con, so I sought out Alex at the Top Shelf booth to get a copy. For one thing, the column was fascinating, and I had to see how the comic turned out, and for another, I've been itching to read new Robinson stuff since Box Office Poison ended. The flipside of the book is a 24 hour comic by Mike Dawson, a strange and dark little tale about a woman, her husband, an executioner and a fixation on seeing an execution that is a bit of a choppy read, but is quite disturbing. Both Brilliant Mistake and Death Row Junkie show the strain of something done in a time crunch, but it has fun moments, and is well worth a read if (like me) you can't wait for the next Robinson project at Top Shelf. As an aside, the column by Robinson and a similar, more recent experiment by some of the folks at Ninth Art (with one squatter from Comic Book Resources) have given me the feeling that I'd try my hand at a 24-hour comic, if I had any drawing talent whatsoever. Thank God I have no talent for drawing whatsoever, as what sounds good before the 24 hours is up probably wouldn't sound nearly as good after. But you should check out the results from Ninth Art, Robinson and Dawson and see what can be accomplished... it's really quite impressive. 40 oz. Comics (www.40ozcomics.com) - I first saw Jim Mahfood's work on the Clerks comic from Oni, and then, stupidly, I lost track of him for a while. At the Con, I finally got a chance to check in on some of the work I'd missed, including his hilarious one-shot We Love Porn and four issues of 40 oz. Comics, mini-comics that contain familiar Mahfood characters like Smoke Dog, the Grrl Scouts and Zombie Kid. Mahfood's love for smoke, music, zombies, guns and all things (or many things) 70s gives his work a very distinctive appeal, and I look forward to seeing more of this kind of thing when Stupid Comics makes its Image debut. Comics-A-Go-Go (www.cartoonmilitia.com) - This was a new one on me, a mini-comic anthology. A lot of the book is done by Zach Trover, whose work boasts a simple and cartoony look with definite influence by Jim Mahfood in particular, and most of the pieces he does are fun and funny. Not all of the pieces in the book connected with me, but there's definitely a lot of talent in the Cartoon Militia, and they have played host to creators including Jim Mahfood, Scott Morse and Steve Rolston. I should also note that I picked up some punk compilations from Springman Records from the Cartoon Militia guys which have been in constant rotation in my car CD player for the last month. That's it for this time. One more installment of these reviews, I think, where I'll cover Cartoon Militia's full-sized work among other things. Although I've still got a couple more columns relating to stuff that I picked up in San Diego, including a look at the new Cathedral Child edition from Cyberosia and a fairly comprehensive look at AIT/Planet Lar of late. Expect those in the coming weeks. To read part one, click HERE. Email Randy Lander comments about this column, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.