Baseball was always my thing, much more so than football. When I was a kid, my best friend and I, along with his little brothers sometimes if they weren't acting up, would spend hours playing catch in the park. We'd go into the local Modell's and downstairs they'd have a giant bin full of gloves, and we'd go through them searching for that perfect one. It wasn't enough for a glove to fit well, o course; it also had to have the autograph of a player we admired. Being lefthanded, I always had a much tougher time searching for that perfect glove, but the search was part of the fun in a lot of ways. I'm convinced that if I hadn't chosen to go into art, I'd probably be a jock - it was always my fantasy to play right field for the Mets, like Darryl Strawberry. Yeah, 1986 was a defining year in my childhood - though the Mets were only one reason why. But that's a tale for another time...

 

This weekend I'll be at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD. No matter where I am in the world, no matter what my financial situation may be, no matterwhether I'm making comics or writing about them, this show has always remained my own personal touchstone and I've always made it my business to be there. I've attended every SPX that has been held since 1997 (excluding 2001, of course, which was cancelled due to 9/11). I can't begin to describe how much this show has meant to me as a comics artist and as a person.I've made so many wonderful friendships there, learned so much about the industry, and I've even managed to sell a few comics. I'll write more about it next week.