March 09, 2009
Tron visits Staple! Independent Media Expo 2009
I let this guy drag me to a comics convention, and all he could talk about was a rabbit. Granted, it was a Samurai rabbit, but a rabbit nonetheless.
Saturday, March 7th, the DeathSquad got together and invaded the Monarch Event Center in Austin, Texas for our first Staple! Independent Media Expo. Staple! is a celebration of small press artists and independent comics and the Squad represents everything from the hardcore (me + Nate) to budding fans (Ninja Mike and Mexomorph) to the politely interested (Magnum) so we figure this is a great afternoon of discovery and mayhem. The Monarch Center was a very good choice for Staple!. The two vendor rooms were big enough, for the most part, to accommodate and the auditorium was spacious with ok seats. There seemed to be less people than I expected but that was Staple's! genius. By running 11-7 you had a constant influx and exodus of people throughout the day, reducing congestion as much as possible. By waiting a few minutes at most you could get where you wanted pretty easily. We got there around 2 and stayed until 5 and witnessed the rotation and I must say it never really got crowded but the turnout was good. Of course there was too much on display to do it reasonable justice but beneath follows some things that caught my attention, as well as the real reason I was there.
Bean Pot Toiz out of San Antonio was a highlight booth, carrying a wide and varied selection of genre toys from around the world. The owner, Greg Hernandez, is a super guy; well spoken and knowledgeable as hell. He told me the website is more of an info site as he is as much a fan as he is a retailer (and the whole time I felt that too. I would hang out with that guy) and preferred to hit conventions to meet his customers, dig what their into and help make his business more of what people want. I highly recommend checking his site out and definitely get to a convention and meet Greg.
Brad Marshall Wilson (bramarwil.com) from Texas by way of Michigan was another stellar find of Staple. Ninja Mike and I were arrested immediately by a stunning mini-poster Mr. Wilson did of Street Fighter 4 characters. His clean line and use of color is what drew us in but Mr. Wilson's manga-blended Western art style really stands out upon inspection, adding his own flavor to iconic characters while still visually maintaining their look. He also gave out an ashcan preview of "New Balance," whose only flaw is that it's not longer. The preview centers on a swordsman and a child on a subway. The swordsman is returning to the city for the first time in five years. A kid asks him about his swords and the dude spins a tale of cursed swords (hmmm) to keep the kid off his back. It's way more clever than what I just wrote and Wilson's art and pacing are surprisingly deft. The passage of time and the design are essentially manga but the construction of the story and flow are Western in nature. Mr. Wilson was my surprise of Staple! and deserves to be watched. It won't be long before this kid's working for a major so check him out now.
Ubiquitous cartoonist Jeff Brown (of Sulk and Incredible Change-bots) was a huge hit and received a lot of traffic as did cult fav Jason Horn, who does Ninjasaur and Kristian Donaldson of DMZ fame and deservedly so, having been on the scene for a while and developed a fan base that grows with every convention. Another talent to watch is the very cute and hip Monica Gallagher (webcomicsnation.com) whose clean, catchy art style and great dialog make titles like Boobage and Degree of Separation fantastic reads and Ms. Gallagher another standout to watch.
Yet I was mainly in attendance for the rabbit. Stan Sakai, letterer of Groo the Wanderer and creator/writer/illustrator/etc of Usagi Yojimbo, one of my all-time favorite comics now celebrating it's 25th year, was in attendance!! I go back at least 15 of the 25 years (even when I periodically quit collecting I still got Usagi) and I never in a million years thought I'd get to meet Mr. Sakai. I figured I'd have to go broke hitting like San Diego to see this guy so I had mentally filed him in the same category as John Byrne or Jim Steranko - Not Ever Gonna Happen - so imagine my surprise when Mr. Sakai is announced at Staple! I had all kinds of questions and many, many things for him to sign; literally, I was the one fan he did not want to meet. By the time I got to his table he was totally chilling and proceeded to sign and sketch on anything I had with me with unusual speed and graceful linework. Of course this was my chance to dazzle Mr. Sakai with my charm, articulation, wit and worldly knowledge so I proceeded to open my mouth and for five minutes babble the most incomprehensible garbage and meaningless noises it has ever been my pleasure to produce. I may as well have worn a "Retarded Fanboy" t-shirt and asked when the X-Men crossover was gonna happen. I knew it was gonna happen, too. It's hard to throw me but when placed in front of someone I so admire and respect - truly on deep levels - my awe takes over, turning me into a nervous moron which was exactly the case here (I've done it to Neil Gaiman too - the first time). I even apologized to Mr. Sakai for my being an idiot but he's a pro. With just a few questions of his own (sketching all the while) he calmed me down and I was able to glean that he has one more Space Usagi story to tell but my favorite dude, Gennosuke, will sadly not be getting a deserved 1-shot or mini-series. Mr. Sakai is a very patient, well-spoken and engaging person as well as one hell of a fast and amazing artist and I cannot say enough about this man or his talent.
We also attended Mr. Sakai's Q+A which had a decent turnout. He told stories about Stan Lee (who is apparently the exact same in real life as he's is portrayed in Entertainment), Sergio Aragonés ("I learned to draw faster because of Sergio...he used to tell me 'you draw like a girl with a broken wrist'...so I have learned to draw faster."), George Takai, Jack Kirby ("A true Giant"), traveling the world and, of course, answered Usagi-specific questions. Sakai did say for fans of Groo a 6 issue Groo Meets Conan is on the way, then a small Groo mini series, then Groo Meets Tarzan! With Usagi, the emphasis is on the 25th Anniversary, cumulating in the original 60 page graphic novel Yokai available in November but he did tease a "Last Avengers Story" Usagi with giant Gundams and major character deaths but no hope of that anytime soon. Mr. Sakai spoke for about an hour and it seemed a fraction of that. He is tremendously engaging and his digressions, or as he says "reminiscences," are fascinating.
Magnificent "Magnum" Bastard kept pointing out that, though he enjoyed Mr. Sakai, he's not a comic guy and doesn't know who the rabbit is so allow me to give you all the 411 (or 911 because I'm here to help). Usagi Yojimbo (rabbit bodyguard) takes place in turn of the 17th Century Japan and is loosely based on the life of Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) except in our case the hero is a rabbit and all the characters are anthropomorphic; ie. animals that dress and act human ie. "funny animals" like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which Usagi guest-starred in, was published by for a time and had figures made by). This clever device allows Mr. Sakai to tell actual stories and myths from Japan without alienating his audience with the more hardcore Lone Wolf and Cub-style manga approach; indeed, Usagi Yojimbo is used in libraries and University's the world over. His stories range from "A Kite Story" which is largely about the construction of giant kites to the fire brigade story, illustrating a wealth of culture and history (which he documents on his letters pages) while also allowing him to do battles and duels and drop in iconic cultural references ranging from Lone Wolf and Cub to Zatoichi. His closest analog is Carl Barks, who also provided actual history combined with entertainment in his Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck comics. Mr. Sakai is also a comics visionary, providing a unique look at feudal Japan combined with humor, grace and humanity all wrapped up in a lushly illustrated anthropomorphic bow. A true treat for lovers of the medium and a great introduction to comics. Usagi Yojimbo earns my highest recommendation.Staple! impressed me greatly with it's size and dedication to independent media, comics in particular. Cybermonkey will probably represent next year as well and we encourage you to join us in supporting independent comics.