Third time's the charm: Finally got that latte fix from Ramsay's Caffe Rosso that I'd been dreaming of.
I met Damian long, long ago when it seemed like we were among the tiny handful of Calgarians who were creating indie comics. I've been out of the scene for a few years (see Alec's Year Book for details) but I knew Damian's Dorkboy Comics was still out there. Now we finally met again at the Calgary Expo and confirmed our apparently mutually long-held suspicion... that we're still among the tiny handful of Calgarians who are creating indie comics.
Is there anybody else doing this? I mean, Damian has been doing it for more than a decade (so have I, on and off)... but are there any other folks writing and drawing print comics in this town? Is this a dead art? Does Calgary have - or want - an indie scene? It's the element of the Calgary Expo - despite its amazingly all-encompassing embrace of all things geeky, nerdy, and comic-booky - that I've found lacking. Maybe because there just isn't an indie scene. Or is there?
Is there anybody else doing this? I mean, Damian has been doing it for more than a decade (so have I, on and off)... but are there any other folks writing and drawing print comics in this town? Is this a dead art? Does Calgary have - or want - an indie scene? It's the element of the Calgary Expo - despite its amazingly all-encompassing embrace of all things geeky, nerdy, and comic-booky - that I've found lacking. Maybe because there just isn't an indie scene. Or is there?
A sign you'd never see anywhere else.
Why I need to get a bit more high-tech if I want to do this kind of thing at next year's Expo.
Ashley's dinosaur met all the stars it had hoped to meet, including Gillian Anderson - who apparently rode the dinosaur. That t-rex will remember this weekend forever. Let's hope Ashley will be able to live vicariously through its adventures. And that she's grateful to her dinosaur-lugging friends.
And here's one more note for the end of the Expo: It was really a fitting day for me to be surrounded by crazy obsessed star-struck fans, because it also happened to be the 17th-year anniversary of a star-struck day of my own: the anniversary of my first Bob Dylan concert.
By now you might have figured out that, much as I love the Calgary Expo, I'm not really in tune with the Expo scene - I don't have any costumes, and I hadn't actually heard of most of the celebrities who were coming (which may have something to do with the fact that I don't have... and never have had... a TV). But that's not to say I can't relate to people who are wildly, madly passionate about the ingenious work of a celebrity icon. I saw Bob Dylan perform for the first time on April 28th, 1996. I don't know how many times I've seen him since - I stopped counting after about 40 shows. Bob Dylan still rocks my world (even though I don't follow his tour around the way I used to). You can read some comics about my touring adventures here. Suffice to say - all you Expo fans who are right now coming down from your Expo high - I know how it feels. Just hang in there till the next show comes to town.
By now you might have figured out that, much as I love the Calgary Expo, I'm not really in tune with the Expo scene - I don't have any costumes, and I hadn't actually heard of most of the celebrities who were coming (which may have something to do with the fact that I don't have... and never have had... a TV). But that's not to say I can't relate to people who are wildly, madly passionate about the ingenious work of a celebrity icon. I saw Bob Dylan perform for the first time on April 28th, 1996. I don't know how many times I've seen him since - I stopped counting after about 40 shows. Bob Dylan still rocks my world (even though I don't follow his tour around the way I used to). You can read some comics about my touring adventures here. Suffice to say - all you Expo fans who are right now coming down from your Expo high - I know how it feels. Just hang in there till the next show comes to town.
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