SDCC photo explosion

First, I am going to subject you to a little tour of the D+Q SDCC BOOTH THROUGHOUT THE AGES (er, past three years).

2009:

2010:

2011:

Check it out! Posters all the same size, enormous trash pile nearly gone... We're really starting to figure it out. Now if we could only remember to wear proper footwear, we'd be set.

Speaking of proper footwear, did you know that Chester Brown always signs standing up? Not only that, but he signs for like five hours at a time and NEVER COMPLAINS. It's incredible. I think the rest of us all start complaining the second we get behind the booth or even before. Not Chet. Nope.

Brian Ralph and Anders Nilsen decided to meet Chester's challenge, though they don't look quite as happy about it. Was this before or after Chester's banner fell on Brian? Who can remember.

Tom decides to try out his new comedy routine while supposedly acting as moderator on the "Epic Literary Adventures" panel, to mixed results.

(Anders, let's talk.)

Brian Lee O'Malley and Hope Larson stop by the booth; Peter matches his outfits to the books (this day was Moomin.)

(Peggy made us delete the pics of the Paying For It day)

American Elf goes in a new direction

This is what nightmares are made of. (I'm, of course, not speaking about Eli Kochalka here, but, rather, his enormous, surly smurf friend. What, you don't see him? If you'll look, he's just behind the bridge. Ah yes, right. There.)

Aww look at these cuties celebrating their tenth anniversary in the Bone twentieth anniversary photo booth!

(I can call my bosses "cuties," right? HM?)

Maybe that'll be us in ten years. WHO KNOWS.

OK, seriously, what is going on in there?

Ah, perhaps the blurriness of this, the only pic we actually took, might give a clue as to what was going on.

Moving on...

Mary Fleener stops by the booth!

Here's a pic of Chester's spotlight panel. I can't really think of a joke here, so can I just take a moment to talk about how great CCI is for continually taking care of us (relative to the rest of the con) "little guys?" Jackie Estrada, Gary Sassaman and their whole crew make sure that, as Comic Con grows perhaps increasingly inclusive of other aspects of pop culture, comics remain at the core of what the show is about, and it's clear that the medium is something that they all feel passionately about and promote whole-heartedly. Thanks so much, guys!

Chester is the proud recipient of a surprise Inkpot award! And deservedly so.

Calvin Reid and his wife, Jody Culkin, along with Chester, genuinely laughing at the Eisners (see what you're missing, naysayers?!). Probably (though not definitely as there were several funny parts), due to this man:

Ladies and Gentlemen, the one and only Jonathan Ross! Jonathan stopped by the booth on a few separate occasions, and, while he may be lesser-known across the pond, he's a HUGE celebrity in the UK (and a huge Chester Brown fan).

I swear to god, minutes after this photo was taken, a young British couple came up to me completely star-struck, barely able to speak for just having seen him. I kid you not, they were crying. CRYING.

Oh sure, he may look all "dark," "mysterious," and "sexy" now, but, please keep in mind that this is the same man who said "Mama likey" when a steampunk Sherlock Holmes walked by the booth earlier in the day.

Joyce Farmer gets her copy of Paying For It, mentioning that the literal spanish translation of Special Exits means "having a hooker for the evening." Chester casually jots it down.

By this point, you've all read Special Exits, her recent memoir from Fantagraphics? It's wonderful. We all talked about it in the office for a week after it came out. I would, however, not recommend reading it in public like I did, as it's a tear-jerker.

Actually, for that matter, I don't know that I'd read Paying For It in public, either, though for different reasons...

John Heder stops by the booth! Minutes later, he would leave the booth, apparently upset by our request to "do that thing where you breathe through your mouth."

How jealous are you of this bound copy of all of the issues of Yummy Fur?

Seriously! This is so awesome.

Even Chester was impressed. I didn't get to see it in person, but he was so taken by it that he brought it up later.

And, now, time for a quick stop-over at the Fantagraphics booth.

Why, yes, that IS Fantagraphics employee "Ajax" dressed as Johnny Ryan's "Cannibal Fuckface."

I kid you not, my camera ACTUALLY STARTED SMOKING when I took this picture.

Chester and his very sweet handler, Maria!

Judah Friedlander was SO PLEASED to hear all my great 30 Rock suggestions. Well, I mean, he didn't say as much, but I'm pretty sure that his face here gives that away. Right? RIGHT?

And, finally, while Tom may have "edited down" our SDCC photos, we still ended up with these gems. What's going on? Don't ask me.

OK, we're walking. Good.

Really couldn't tell you.

Ah yes, this was after Brian lost his shoes in the ocean. Somehow. Later, he would step on a cockroach.

With Love,
Drawn & Quarterly

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