The first annual LATINO COMICS EXPO took place at the CARTOON ART MUSEUM in San Francisco on May 7-8, 2011. My cartoonin' colleague and crony (and the event's co-founder/organizer with Ricardo Padilla JAVIER HERNANDEZ ("El Muerto, Aztec Zombie") did a terrific blog capturing the event right here but I thought I'd add a few notes and photos.....It was a successful new comics-industry event and an amazing weekend, to say the least....
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The City of San Francisco had declared the first day Latino Comics Expo Day..I look back on it fondly...
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Javier Hernandez and I drove up together from L.A. and we stayed at this house across the weekend. There's Jav now. He's got his comics and he's ready to make the long drive back to Los Angeles after a triumphant weekend at the CAM.
...Toto's Pizza in San Bruno, the favorite pizza spot of our Grand Hostess, Rosa Padilla.
That's Anthony, left, and Rosa on the right. Boy, she was right, the pizza was terrific, especially the extra cheese pie (more on that later...)
The next morning, our ol' pal Jarrod (with skateboard) surprised us as we came up to the entrance of the Cartoon Art Museum to set up shop. We also met fellow amigo cartoonist Jaime Crespo (bowler), a new friend we made this time around in S.F.
It's always great to see Rhode Montijo, the cartoonist behind PABLO'S INFERNO and the children's books CLOUD BOY and THE HALLOWEEN KID. Rhode, in the '90s, was our original Bay Area connection. Everything we learned about SF and his old stomping grounds, Oakland, we learned from him....and he NEVER lets us forget that! JUST KIDDING, he's the most modest art genius we know and he's a gentleman. Rhode's a mensch!
Armed with my discount designer McCoffee, I was ready for this new comics festival they call LCX!
It's always a treat to run into Rhode Montijo. Rhode's now a New York-based children's book creator, but back in his cartoonist days, we'd often stay at his place in Oakland, off beautiful Lake Merritt, when doing an SF area conventions. In fact, Rhode introduced us to breakfast at Ahn's Burgers (more on that later...)
There's Jarrod, flashing the peace sign. He's actually mocking S.F.'s hippies. Jarrod's always looking for a good fight...
..And he found one, as my buddy, the CRYING MACHO MAN cartoonist Jose Cabrera and Carlos Saldana ("Burrito") joined me in discussing the art of creating humor comics on our Sunday panel. That's my panelist-eye view of the panel...
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Here's a view of our panel from the hecklers' row...back over by the crates of rotten tomatoes.
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Let's take a break and jump ahead in time to the evening of Sunday, May 8...back to some pizza action in San Bruno. Yes, on the last night (on Mother's Day, to top it off), we returned to Toto's once again. Ah, that great extra cheese pie. Ricardo Padilla, the lead founder and organizer of the Latino Comics Expo and our host, can not seem to get over the fact that we became more enchanted with the extra cheese pie than the ones with the meat toppings. Somehow it happened. Life is crazy that way.
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Anyone who finished off a pie at Toto's was welcome to take home an official Toto's spatula. I took home two. BUT I DiDN'T WANNA GO HOME! By this point, the Lakers had lost the playoffs (in disgrace) and I felt too ashamed to return. I pondered the idea of making a spontaneous purchase, buying a house, and staying in San Francisco for good, rather than go back to L.A. Then I remembered that I didnt' have a spare $25 million to drop on real estate and nixed that idea...but not before indulging myself in more Toto's pizza!
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All weekend long, Gras kept saying how she missed animator Jim Lujan and how he would've loved it and how she wished he went was there with us at the show (He had a prior commitment). Well, after Gras had brought it up a few times, I began to miss Jim, too, and I began to wish he was there with us....so we could shut her up! Sincerely, Gras was the Judy Garland of Toto's...if Dorothy was a man-eating, drunken-sailor-swearin' barracuda, of course! JUST TEASING, GRAS! WE LOVE YOU AND YOU KNOW IT!
A funny thing about the place we were staying at...
...Last year when we stayed there, Jav admitted that he was a bit spooked by the empty house we were staying at....Don't forget that Javy sees a LOT of movies, some of them with zombies and supernatural creepy-crawlies....Well, it then became even more disconcerting when we found the following parked nearby....
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Mario Hernandez of Los Lobos Hernandez was the show's guest of honor, and he let his hair down at the gallery party after the Saturday show (Free Comic Book Day, by the way, where I handed out stacks of THE NINE LIVES OF EL GATO, CRIME MANGLER as my tip o' the hat to the geek holiday).
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Ah, what a place, what a place! It was great to be back...
...in line...for some great Mexican grub....
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This was the reason we came all the way to El Farolito. Wouldn't you? (By the way, YES, we hit Mitchell's Ice Cream, too!) By the way again, I still have leftovers from this meal...AND IT'S ALMOST JUNE!
Raf got tired of our company and made a beeline for the pretty Cabrera woman for a quick sketch. People all over the restaurant huddled around Raffles as he drew and drew and drew...The result?
Another Navarro masterpiece! (Note how Raf takes his sweet time on the sketch of Naomi while the caricature of Jose was done in 1.5 seconds flat. No offense, Jose, but if an artist gotta choose....)
"Mike! MIKE! Will you get in the car already? You've been standing in a daze for 30 minutes!" That's Jav calling, snapping me out of my trance faster than the movie adaption of PRIEST went from development to the DVD bargain bins. Yes, it was time to get back....get back to the place where we came from....L.A. City of Angles. Like the 180 degree angle the Lakers took in the playoffs. (Hey, isn't punching part of the boxing sport?)
Another thank you to our hosts, Ricardo and Rosa Padilla, and their daughter, Sophie, who gave us the keys to the city the entire weekend through. In this photo, we're saying thank you back the best way we knew how: taking them to Ahn's for a victory breakfast. (By the way, they don't wait for us to come to town anymore to go to Ahn's...they go there all year long, from what we hear!)
As organizers and showrunners of the event, the Padillas made the first annual Latino Comics Expo a success, and if there's a second one, I'd like to be there! So I better not run out of El Gato, Crime Mangler comics and keep my honorary Latino cartoonist status intact!
4 comments:
Heavens to murgatoid, Michael!! This is gotta be the epic convention/travelogue of all time!!
I thought I wrote some pretty snazzy recaps of our weekends on the road, doing shows, eating it up like kings...Man, you knocked this one out of the park. And if I counted right, ya took two shots at under-performing movies!!
The only thing better than this dazzling write-up was actually experiencing it with you that weekend. Let's do it again....
Javier, the event was fantastic but it would not have been as great without you there. Not to mention, it's always extra exciting when we each have a new book to lay on each other. I relish those conventions....
Thanks as always for your friendship and the 10,000 laughs we share every time we hit the road together. It's always a good time!
Wow, sounds like a cool event! I got a good feel for the expo with your vivid descriptions ....but remember, your'e practically family now...so, you don't have to rely just on your "honorary" status....We love Mikey! .....
Aw, thanks, Sophia! You're a peach!
Besides, if you go back to 1492 and before, I have Spanish blood on my Mom's side! And who does NOT like to go back to the 1400s? It's fun back then!
Thanks again, Sophie, for being the coolest teen on the planet....only second to "Snapper" Carr (Ha ha! look it up!)
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