- Dungeon, Vols. 1 and 2 by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim (NBM)
- Lords of Death and Life by Jonathon Dalton (Lost City)
- Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010 by Michael Kupperman (Fantagraphics)
- Isle of 10,000 Graves by Jason (Fantagraphics)
- Incredible Change-Bots Two by Jeffrey Brown (Top Shelf)
- Luci's Let Down by Marjee Chmiel and Sandra Lanz (Baba Yaga Books)
- Tragic Relief and The Trials of Sir Christopher by C. Frakes (self-published)
- Stargazing Dog by Takashi Murakami (NBM)
- Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz (Three Rivers Press)
- Any Empire by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
- Black Mane by Michael V. LaRiccia (One Time Press)
- The Time Traveler's Pocket Guide by K. Sekelsky (self-published)
- The Show Must Go On by Roger Langridge (Boom! Studios)
Single Issues/Minicomics/Zines (all self-published, except where noted)
- Jay's Brain by Jason Viola
- The Gremlins Movie Incident by Cara Bean
- Strangefruit #1 by Joel Christian Gill
- People on the Streets, Here Come the Aliens! Run!, Professor Badger's Cabinet of Curiosities, 12 Heads Under My Bed, Jesus of Nazareth, PA, and Hot Dog Ted and the Living Dead, all by Jim8Ball (whew!)
- Fable Funnies and Ghost Rabbit by Dakota McFadzean
- Mr. Ryland & Mr. Yoder: Vaudeville's Duo! and Giant Naked Baby by David Yoder
- Booty #25 by Anne Thalheimer (which I will be adding shortly to Black Light Diner distro, although I may write a review here as well)
- Island Brat by C. Frakes (Koyama Press)
- So Buttons #4 written by Jonathan Baylis (with art by many different artists)
- Snarked! #0 by Roger Langridge (Boom! Studios)
- Monster Isle: Big Monster Stuff by Joey Weiser
- The Matter #1 and #2 edited by Matthew Ocasio (anthology)
- Make Like a Tree by Kelsey Werner
- Myths & Monsters Vol. 1 edited by Michael O'Sullivan (anthology)
- Blammo! #7 by Noah Van Sciver (Kilgore Books & Comics)
- Coal by Jeff Sharp
- The Devil's T Table and Ride: Bite the Dust by Erik Siano
- Invincible Summer #20/Clutch #23 by Nicole Georges and Clutch McB
- Ghost Story by Katie Rose Leon
- Too Fast: The Story of Blood Billin by Michael LaRiccia (One Time Press)
- The Amazing Adventures of Bill #12 and Bar Scrawl #1 and #2 by Bill Roundy
- Awkward Posture by Matt Young
- Watermelon by Whit Taylor
- The Trial of Sweetie Snake, Secktacular!, and Life Is Good #1-#4 by Steve Seck
- Write Now! and What Is This? by Neil Brideau
- Bamn #1 and #2 by Jay Payne and Troy Jefferey Allen
- Dr. W #A and #2 by Andrew Cohen
- Old-Timey Hockey Tales by Robert Ullman and Jeffrey Brown (Wide Awake Press)
- The Doug Wright Awards 2011: An Essay in Comics and Diary Comics #2 by Dustin Harbin (Koyama Press)
- March by Bill Burg (Wide Awake Press)
- Gay Kid #3: The Anxiety Issue by Katie Omberg
(Holy crap, I'm finally done!)
We attended the Ignatz Awards on Saturday night (a first), but only went to the show on Sunday, due to Rob's work commitments. Compared to SPXs of past years, it was very crowded. Attendance reached a record high on Saturday, and even on Sunday, the crowds were still thick. This made it hard to browse, but I'm sure the vendors were happy! Next year, SPX plans to increase their floor space by 50%, which will both lead to a lot more breathing room, plus provide space for new vendors. I hope to see a lot of new people there next year.
Only a single panel was attended, since most of the ones we were really interested in took place on Saturday. The majority of time was spent in the dealer's room, which is also where you want to spend most of your time, since there are easily a hundred tables to go through. I noticed a little less emphasis on webcomics this year, which honestly I didn't mind. I love webcomics, they're great, but I can access them any time I want. It's a lot harder to browse minicomics (especially for you unfortunate souls who don't live up the street from Atomic Books), and I'm very pleased that minicomic creators were out in full force this year.
Okay, now that I've said the positives about SPX 2011, a tiny pet peeve: packing up early. I didn't get everything I wanted from the Top Shelf table because they decided to tear down early, and I saw a few other people tearing down early as well. Maybe I'm unusual in this regard, but most of my buying happens in the last hour of a show, both because I've finally made my decisions and also so I don't have to lug around a full bag of comics all day. Unless you have a bus or train to catch, or you've sold out of everything (something that potentially happened to the minicomics vendors, I saw a lot more interest in minicomics this year, which is awesome), stay up until the end!
Did you go to SPX this year, dear reader? What did you buy, and what are you most interested in reading?
