Minneapolis is a great place for comics. Have I said that enough?

Last weekend, two of our best festivals fell on the same date.  For one day only you could attend either the Rain Taxi Book Festival or FallCon.  Pretty good for the people of Minneapolis.  Pretty tough for cartoonists wanting to exhibit at both shows.

The exodus from FallCon this year was substantial — at least ten indie cartoonists went to the Book Festival instead of FallCon.  By all accounts, this year’s FallCon was the best yet.  It’s still a great show, but decidedly more mainstream, which is why more cartoonists are spending money for space at Book Fest instead of enjoying the free tables and wonderful hospitality at FallCon.

No hard feelings, FallCon.  Sometimes a cartoonist just needs to get out and try new things.  Experiment a little.  Test a new market.  And they did.  So how was it?

Danno Klonowski, Minneapolis cartoonist and prominent International Cartoonist Conspiracy member, was kind enough to write us a little something about his experience exhibiting for the first time at the Rain Taxi Book Festival.  Full particulars after the cut.

– SM

This past Saturday, October 16th, the 10th Annual Twin Cities Book Festival was held in downtown Minneapolis. In the decade that Book Fest has existed, this weekend marked only my second time attending. The first time was in 2003, and then only as a spectator, when a few of the early Cartoonist Conspirators and I went to go hear a talk from, and then meet, the legendary Peter Kuper who was that year’s cartooning Guest of Honor.

In the years since, Book Fest has played host to the likes of Harvey Pekar and Jaime Hernandez. But — and it still shocks me to say this — the vast Minnesota comics community of both creators and fans were largely oblivious to such greats being in our own backyard. The reason for our collective ignorance is simple: In the years following 2003, Book Fest and FallCon (MN’s own take on the standard, big-time comic con) have always fallen on the EXACT SAME WEEKEND!

As an exhibiting creator, the choice of which event to attend has always seemed more or less obvious. FallCon offers creators free (yes, FREE!) tables but charges an admission fee for attendees.  Book Fest lets everyone through the door at no cost, but exhibitors pay a table fee (albeit a reasonable one compared to the aforementioned standard, big-time comic cons).

FallCon is run by Nick Post and the fabulous Midwest Comic Book Association.  They have been pushing our thriving indie comic scene on attendees largely hungry for superheroes and action figures.  The level of appreciation for indie cartoonists at FallCon, then, falls into some middle ground.

According to Book Fest organizer Eric Lorberer, “We’ve always wanted more involvement from the local comics community.” Still, if you were a MN comic book fan, would you go to the show without the word “comic” anywhere in the description? Until last year, FallCon was a two-day event whereas Book Fest only occurs on Saturday. While basic math proves both events could be attended in a broken-up weekend by a creator, it’s been my experience that Saturday is the “money day” at FallCon, and Sunday is mostly reserved for socializing, networking, nursing hangovers and spending all the money you made on Saturday. So until this year, I only exhibited at one show. The comics one.

In 2010 two events transpired which caused myself (and several other indie creators) to skip out on the autumnal fanboy classic in favor of the gathering for the literary set. The first event was that FallCon and it’s little one-day sister MicroCon switched places, turning MicroCon into the two-day SpringCon and FallCon into the micro one-day event it will remain for here on out. The second event was MIX — The Minneapolis Indie Expo — our little fly-over hamlet’s first big indie show. MIX was everything my fellow indie creators and I had always hoped for. Instead of a day spent making awkward eye contact with each other as a gaggle of Storm Troopers sauntered past, we were all too busy engaging a very large crowd of curious, fascinated, and genuinely appreciative indie-friendly fans. Best of all, the Midwest Comic Book Association was so cool with this upstart indie show that they even helped with the physical set-up and promotion of it.

So when offered by my friend Kevin Cannon to try something new, something possibly MIX-ish, and join him at Book Fest I jumped at the chance. Kevin is one of the very few regular comic exhibitors at Book Fest. In years past he did Book Fest on Saturday while his Big Time Attic studio partner Zander Cannon (they’re sisters or something) did FallCon. Both would then be in attendance at FallCon on Sunday. The same goes for 2D Cloud, a local mini-comic publisher operated by Raighne and Maggie Hogan. Half the team goes to Book Fest, half the team to FallCon, and then the grand reunion occurs on the Lord’s Day.

Michael Drivas, owner and operator of Big Brain Comics, has always had a table at Book Fest, being for many years the lone representative of the graphic novel form that the NPR-listening attendees had been hearing so much about. Drivas chooses Book Fest over FallCon because he feels it to be much better promotion for his downtown Minneapolis store than FallCon, which occurs at the State Fair Grounds in St. Paul.

While I didn’t get into the particulars of “Why Book Fest?” with all the indie comic creators on-hand, the ones I did speak with more or less echoed my decision-making process. And there were several of us, including Lars Martinson, Tom Kaczynski, Zak Sally, Will Dinski, Lupi McGinty, Mike Toft, Bill Prendergast and Cartoonist Conspiracy founder Steven Stwalley (who actually did double duty, leaving the FallCon Conspiracy table in capable hands halfway through the day so he could hit up Book Fest). The Minnesota Historical Society Press book Superheroes, Strip Artists, and Talking Animals: Contemporary MN Cartoonists by Britt Aamodt debuted a month ahead of its official release date at Book Fest and features many of the artists listed above, as well as Ken Avidor and Andy Singer who also showed up to show their support of both the book and Book Fest.

While there was a limited amount of Aamodt’s books at FallCon, the publishers put most of their advanced copies in Book Fest’s hands since author Britt Aamodt was moderating a panel on MN cartoonists at the show. The panel brought out even more creators including recent MN transplant, and Vertigo darling, Bill Willingham. While I didn’t get a chance to speak with him, I did meet and chat it up with panelists Michelle Silva, creator of Love Buzz from Oni Press, and Duluth’s Chris Monroe, creator of the syndicated strip Violet Days.

Aside from finally getting to hold Aamodt’s book in my hands (yes, I am one of its featured cartoonists), meeting Monroe was the highlight of the show for me. In addition to being a fan, we’ve been social network “friends” for a while and it was thanks to dear old Facebook that she recognized me, leading to a delightful conversation. As for the panel itself, talk of what it “means” to be a MN cartoonist broke down pretty quickly into an informational session on what it “means” to be a strip cartoonist, a new-comer in the age of the internet, a mini-comics and Top Shelf artist, and a Big Two war-horse. If the panel’s purpose was to open the average, non-comic reader’s eyes to the varied world we’re all deeply familiar with it more than succeeded. Willingham and Dinski did a great job of keeping the levity going, and the final, totally non-ironic Q&A question of “Who are your influences? Like the guy who does The Simpsons or Cathy?” had everyone in stitches.

Organizer Eric Lorberer said, “I’m heartened that so many indie cartoonists have opted to join our show and bring their work to a wider-than-comics-only audience. There’s no question that indie comics have benefited from increased awareness on the part of traditional book readers — and vice versa!”

I’d have to agree.  I think with such an undeniable presence this year, people will hopefully come to EXPECT a cartoonist turn-out next year. “We’d absolutely welcome an ‘indie comic show within a book fair’ vibe,” said Lorberer, “and we’re even looking at renting more space so that an expansion like that can happen.”

Ultimately though, the question has to be “Book Fest: Was it worth it?”

Like every show I’ve ever done, the final tally for other creators is a closely guarded state secret, but everyone seemed to be happy with the choice they made. The overall consensus seemed to be that a crowd who would never attend FallCon was well-served at Book Fest, and everyone they missed at FallCon would be well-served at SpringCon next April.

“I wouldn’t want to take anything away from such a beloved and longstanding show as FallCon,” said Lorberer, “and I think it’s unfortunate that our date coincided with theirs. In the past their shows have been two weekend days, giving both comics enthusiasts and professionals more opportunities to see both. Hopefully enhanced communication can prevent something like that from happening again.”

Well, I guess we’ll have to wait until 2012 to find out. Both FallCon and Book Fest 2011 will occur on October 15th.

– Danno Klonowski

Brian Bastian is the writer of Tommy Chicago and the occasional writer of Manly Tales of Cowardice which was created and illustrated by Danno Klonowski.   Bastian also wrote the upcoming Uptown Girl original graphic novel Big City Secrets.

Bob Lipski is the creator of Uptown Girl and has written and drawn her adventures for over 7 years. After 75 monthly issues, the series concluded in 2009. Lipski now focuses on creating original graphic novels based on Uptown Girl and her friends.

- Sarah Morean

Last Wednesday I braved the cold just long enough to drive up to Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and take part in the Twin Cities’ chapter of Indy Comic Book Week. It was well worth the trip.

The event was held at The Source, a local comics and games store. The Source has a large back room that they use to host, among other things, gaming nights and Free Comic Book Day. This was the first time it was used for Indy Comic Book Week. “When I heard about the event, I thought it was a great idea,” said Burl Zorn, a Source employee with a gray ponytail and a long earring dangling from one ear. Zorn has been working at the Source for ten years, and plans to be here for many years to come. Zorn’s job requires him to wear many different hats, and he does it all with a smile. Throughout the night, I watched him interact happily with all the different attendees, restock the free chips and pop, and talk excitedly with the artists about their work.

In all, there were 17 local artists tabling at the event, and over 150 different local comics represented on the racks that usually house the regular sampling of D.C. and Marvel titles. (Some artists submitted multiple titles.) The event lasted from 5:00 to 9:00, with a steady crowd throughout. “Things usually die down an hour earlier in the winter,” said Zorn, “because it gets so cold and dark, and people want to go home.” But the Indy Comics event seemed to keep things bustling longer.

The creator tables were covered with bright red and blue tablecloths, and a fancy name card marked each person’s place. I quickly found my own card next to Danno Klonowski’s. Klonowski is a pivotal member of the Minneapolis branch of the International Cartoonist Conspiracy, and throughout the evening, our corner of the room was visited by many different cartoonist conspiracy members, including Steve Stwalley, Dan Olson, Ryan Dow, and Mike Toft. Cross Hatch correspondent Sarah Morean also made an appearance (I was excited to finally meet her in person!). The small size of the event, and its emphasis on being local, gave it a friendly, intimate atmosphere that is often absent at larger conventions.

A highlight of Klonowski’s table was the first two issues of False Witness! The Michele Bachmann Story. False Witness was written by Bill Prendergast, and features the artwork of many local cartoonists, including Klonowski. Other brilliant offerings from Klonowski were issues from his ongoing series Many Tales of Cowardice, and his latest 24-Hour comic, from last October. Klonowski recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of his comics site, Staple Genius. To celebrate, he wrote up an insightful, hilarious, and self-deprecating history of his life as a cartoonist and posted it to his site, complete with images of Xeroxed copies of his early comics. In the last 10 years, Klonowski has created an impressive body of work, and the strength and variety of his work far outshone my own two pitiful minicomics.

Other creators at the event included Jennifer Menken, who is not actually a cartoonist but the creator of an online web series called Transylvania Television, populated by a cast of gorgeous handmade puppets. Menken was in fact sketching a puppet design during the event. Beside her was Michael May, of Cownt Tales, a comedic series “for moo-chure audiences.” He works on the series with fellow Minnesota cartoonists Gavin Spence, Paul Taylor, and Jessica Hickman.

At the next table over were Mitch Gerads and Scott Dillion of Johnny Recon. The two grew up together and have been close friends since second grade. Though they parted ways for college, they stayed in close contact, and eventually decided to collaborate on comics. Dillion’s the writer, Gerads is the artist—and the comic looks really cool.

Beside those two was Mike Bullock, a comics writer who has been part of many different collaborations over the years. One of the comics at his table was Lions, Tigers and Bears, an ongoing series that he says has a “Pixar movie feeling” in that it’s kid-friendly, but has something for all ages. Bullock is also currently writing for The Phantom, a job he originally got because he had a friend at Moonstone Books. It was supposed to be a temporary gig, but just as his temporary issue was finishing up, the regular writer quit, so Bullock became a full-time Phantom writer. Bullock declares himself a “lifelong comics fan,” who became interested in D.C. comics at age three. “I used to irritate my brother because I’d make up stories to go along with the pictures before I could read the actual words,” he said.

Sharing a nearby booth were Becky Grutzik and Matt Wendt, a comic-creating team and married couple. Their booth was full of beautiful colorful, expressive artwork, including Wendt’s dark comedy series Peep about an evil chicken, which Grutzik later spun off into a series called Peep Lite, for kids. Wendt and Grutzik do a number of art-related jobs to help pay the bills, including illustration work for Lerner Publishing in Minneapolis, and teaching a Tuesday night art class.

Across the room was Brent Schoonover with some fantastic and stylish books, including Horrorwood, a 1950’s murder mystery and Astronaut Dad, which follows “three NASA families from Houston, Texas during the boom years of the space race.” “Minneapolis is a great place for artists,” says Schoonover, who attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, which is where he met his wife, a photographer.

Near Schoonover was Carl Borg, of the Christian Comic Arts Society. He’s not a comics-maker, but a distributor. He was there with comic work by a number of his friends. Borg was born and raised in the Twin Cities area, and has been going to Fall Con for ten years.

Next to Borg was Bob Lipski, another Cartoonist Conspiracy regular, who has been working on his Uptown Girl series for six years now. Initially interested in working on children’s books, Lipski eventually decided to try his hand at comics and has been working on Uptown Girl ever since. He’s currently working on a giant Uptown Girl graphic novel. “I still enjoy writing and drawing these characters,” he says. “They feel real: it’s like I don’t have to write it anymore, they just tell me where to go. I’m not sure I could ever do a different series; it would be like cheating on my characters.” Lipski self-publishes all of his work, and sells it at various local comics events.

Towards the end of the evening, Burl Zorn circled the room with a large cardboard box, from which he pulled popcorn balls with a flourish, handing them out to the artists and their friends. We all munched on them happily (albeit awkwardly—that’s a difficult food to eat!). As the hour approached 9:00, comic books were piled into boxes, cardboard cut-outs were folded and tucked away, and comic fans piled into their cars and drove home. It was still ungodly cold out, but selling a few of one’s own comics (and acquiring a stack of new ones by local talents) kept us all a little warmer.

- Athena Currier

Jon Thompson tells the crowd about his favorite myths.

Some of the best mini-comics I own came from a friend of mine who no longer makes them.  It’s a sad truth for comics that when you’re good at art and good at writing and good at storytelling, you’re often good at many other things.  Anders Carlson was just a guy who moved on.

Still, before he exited the comics scene (that never even looked to recognize him — which is why you’ve never heard of him), he let me in on a little secret. “Read your comics aloud,” he said.  “Read them to your friends, like a bedtime story.  Then take their advice.”

It’s a program that really worked for him.  Somehow, it shaped his cartoonist’s voice in such a way that his comics always sounded smart and whole. The pacing perfectly broken up with expressive pencil-drawn imagery that told really excellent, interesting stories.

He was also the first person to tell me it was worth the extra money to get the edges of your books trimmed, so the pages don’t stick out beneath the cover.  More good advice.

At the 2009 Zinefest (I swear this will be the last time I bring it up), authors and artists were encouraged to get up in front of a crowd and read their books to each other.  It’s not quite like what Carlson imagined – there was no critical feedback – but it’ll do. And if you’re ever in the habit of writing comics, I recommend you do the same.

Below the cut, some examples of comics read – live! – without the use of imagery.

Adrean Clark from Sarah Morean on Vimeo.

One of the most interesting performances at the show.  Adrean Clark, a deaf cartoonist, signed her comic The Lemon.

Aaron Poliwoda from Sarah Morean on Vimeo.

The world isn’t ready yet for Aaron Poliwoda. But I guarantee, he is going to surprise you someday.  His books are so honest and unchecked, they’re addictive and repulsive at the same time.

Toby Jones and Madeline Queripel from Sarah Morean on Vimeo.

Toby Jones and Madeline Queripel are, like, totally dating. They are also totally going to MCAD for comics and they also totally contribute to the blog Better Zits – which takes Zits punchilnes and improves them.

Ryan Dow from Sarah Morean on Vimeo.

Ryan Dow writes the wonderfully funny and thoughtful webcomic Introspective Comics.

William Schar from Sarah Morean on Vimeo.

William Schar is an MCAD comics grad currently freelancing as an illustrator, designer and colorist in St Louis Park, MN – home of the Coen Brothers.

Danno Klonowski from Sarah Morean on Vimeo.

Danno Klonowski has been making comics and zines for a long time.  I think he is hilarious.

- Sarah Morean

Daniel Olson is a mustachioed and sideburns-laden indie comics creator based in St. Paul, MN. He is responsible for publishing the anthology Super Fantastica Comix.

Along with his wife/collaborator AJ Niehaus, he creates the series Super Maxi-Pad Girl, which was named Best Indie Surprise for 2008 by Ain’t It Cool News.

This summer he teamed with writer/artist Bill Prendergast and artists Ken Avidor, Lupi Miguinti, and Danno Klonowski on a comics exposé about U.S. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. You can find out more about it at biasedliberalmedia dot com.

Daniel’s work is also featured in Big Funny. Big Funny is an oversized newspaper tribute to the beleaguered and dying newspaper comic. Big Funny is co-produced by Altered Esthetics, Big Time Attic, and The International Cartoonist Conspiracy.

Currently, he is methodically working on his first graphic novel, Shenanigans. The first chapter can be read at his website/blog/thingy: bewilderedkid dot com.

- Sarah Morean

Brian Basitan is the writer and creator of the comic series Tommy Chicago, which was drawn by Bob Lipski before the hat was recently passed to Danno Klonowski.  The Bastian/Klonowski team has collaborated on two issues so far.  Bastian expects to publish a 36-page Tommy Chicago collection later this year.  Previously, he made indie films with his brother Dan Voltz, wrote several issues of Lipski’s Uptown Girl, and created stories for Danno’s Manly Tales of Cowardice.

Danno Klonowski AKA Danno AKA Staple Genius AKA Dank! writes and draws the series Manly Tales of Cowardice, which is up of 5.2 regular issues and several specials to date. Danno is currently finishing up a comic series about Minnesota State Congressperson Michele Bachmann called False Witness which is a collaborative effort between Bill Prendergast (writing, pencils), Lupi Miguinti (inks) and Dan Olson (inks). The first issue of this series is expected to release early this summer, with a preview running in the City Pages next month.  Danno is also working with Steven Stwalley to finish up a Kirby-esque one-shot called Phenomenal Tangents for the semi-defunct Mini-Comics Dump Truck project.  You can also see his work in the Super Fantastica Comix and Good Minnesotan comic anthologies.  Danno is an International Cartoonist Conspiracy member in good standing, and although he became a vegetarian, his paternal grandfather was an actual butcher.

- Sarah Morean