My two purchases at the show were Paul Pope's gorgeous PULPHOPE manifesto and a sweet mini-comic titled BOOBAGE by Monica Gallagher [http://www.eatyourlipstick.com/]. I met the lovely Molly Lawless who furnished me with a set of her cool INFANDUM! comix [http://www.sleepwalkercomic.blogspot.com/]. I've heard a lot about Molly from buddy, Jim Dougan, who plans to collaborate with her in the near future. I hardly had time to peruse the show which was a damned shame but I managed to hug and high five some folks before it was time to skedaddle.
[Heidi MacDonald, me, and Charlie Orr. Snapshot c.2007 Alex Cox]
I experimented wearing a buttoned up shirt and tie dressed in a pair of black Dickies and forgot to don my badge only to discover that I was still recognizable [thanks to years of internet shenanigans and *cough* naked pix]. My good pal, Josh Neufeld, did the best double-take I've seen in years. I told him I was "representing and respecting the art form I so dearly love." Which is only half bullshit. Anybody who knows me well knows I don't get dressed for my mama. So, it was fun to pull wool [literally, that tie was annoying] for a lil' while until I stripped the business attire for my traditional black t-shirt for later that night at Top Shelf's 10th Anniversary party. I raised a rocks glass of Maker's Mark with Chris Staros and patted Brett Warnock on the back and praised them for their publishing vision and commitment. I was there the night Chris and Brett decided to shack up together and cheered them on from the get go. It was Top Shelf's belief in my talent [they published two issues of KEYHOLE, DAYDREAM LULLABIES, and BOY IN MY POCKET] that sent me spinning into the comixverse with confidence.
The precious little time I spent at MoCCA this year reminded me how important events like these are to our industry. It was really cool to see Vertigo/Minx and a whole row of Finnish comix folks get into the mix, too. MoCCA is slowly but surely expanding into a perfect hybrid of Angouleme International Comics Festival and the early, vibrant years of SPX.
Chris Mautner wrote a nice piece about MoCCA at Newsarama and used a silly quote I quickly conjured as he captured my doppleganger in full guerilla glory: http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=118101
Heidi MacDonald furnished some fun photo parade's at The Beat.
Day One: http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2007/06/24/mocca-photo-parade-day-1
Day Two: http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2007/06/25/mocca-photo-parade-day-ii
Tom Spurgeon has all MoCCA links and reports at The Comics Reporter: http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/collective_memory_mocca_art_festival_2007/