WonderCon S.F. short report

just got back and i have to say that the San Fran WONDERCON is by far my favorite convention in the U.S.!!
it still feels like an oldschool convention, with a flea market atmosphere and all kinds of dealers (many local cali dealers...who probably only do this show). the biggest plus for me: a mostly low-key presence for the big publishers (marvel & d.c.), which i prefer....and very little movie & t.v. stuff.

a big tip of the hat to Dan for all the great underground comics. his buddy who sold me a couple of Ted Richards strips. it really was hard for me NOT to buy more comics...but space is always an issue at home.

there are so many people i can see out there...so it was nice to hook up with my old friend alan and his wife jinky!

hanging with Spain Rodriguez again was fantastic. cheers brother!

we had good sales all 3 days and i was sad when the show was over.

why L.A. ?

-Because it's sunny and nice in late March!
-because where my brother lives (near sawtelle ave.) i can walk to a gazillion Japanese restaurants...oh and did i mention the sun?

other notables:

-45 minutes to Malibu Canyon hiking trails
-Venice Beach canals
-my brother lives here
-i love the garden behind his house (otherwise known as a back yard)
-in that garden a humming bird visits
-pitch and putt golf up the hill at the V.A.
-jamming with my bro...him on guitar, me on bass
-eating Ramen almost every day!

i'm usually on vacation here...so i love to chill.

that's why !

Millionaire opening highlights!!!

Whatta night!! Driving to the gallery felt completely surreal. The streets and cars buried in snow and traffic moving at a snails pace. We stopped at Union Square Wines to pick up xtra supplies and then we were lucky to find parking in Dumbo. Benjamen Walker came early to do an interview for WFMU radio. It was a pleasure listening in and gaining some xtra insight into Tony's approach to art. And then the faithful started to arrive...and they kept coming ALL night long. I wasn't sure what would happen because of the weather, but Tony has some great fans!! It was a helluva show.
Some people drank too much. Ahem. But everyone was quite well behaved...for a change! I made a lot of new friends and got to meet a lot of cool people! So a big shout out to all the friends and family who showed up and all the new friends we have. Dig the pictures here

cops !? & 2 more days!! TONY MILLIONAIRE art show...

my latest run in with the law. oy!!! i was in Williamsburg postering for the latest show and wouldn't ya know it...the cops nabbed me! ug. i received a summons and have to show up in court. probably getting a $50 fine! it blows.

but everything else is shaping up well for the show. the silkscreen prints are ready, the walls are finished being spackled and painted...most of the art is already hanging! i convinced Tony to show up early...

Big snow storm here this morning. i love it when it's storming like this. the city is SO BEAUTIFUL in white.

s

Lucca Comics - and trip to italy....

waaaaaaaaaaaay back around Halloween. yes....it was that long ago.
i had a great time going back to the Tuscan town of Lucca. It's been many years since i attended the comics festival there and there have been some major changes. the show seems to have gotten bigger! good...there were tons of attendees and a crazy energy about the town. "cos" players...as they're known it Italy...the people who dress up in costumes, were in huge throngs....probably the most elaborate and passionate cos players i've seen. The old Lucca festival used to take place outside the wall of the town...and now it's inside. I guess it's better for the show, and probably better for business in town...but gone is the tranquility of the town. the THRONGS of comix fans can get overwhelming at times. but it's all part of the scene now. the FOOD in Lucca is still fantastic. absolutely wonderful. i got in the que at my favorite Foccaceria...and it was just like old times! had wonderful dinners out with my friends Massimo & Marina (my kind hosts in Roma) and our other friends Martina & Giovanni (Milano), and also Carsten (Berlin) & his girlfriend. Many others...but the names are slipping into the either.

after doing some fine biz in Lucca, and suffering thru the bad weather (so typical) we headed back to Roma, where i spent my last 4 nites of the trip. the rest of my stay was tinged with the sadness for my friend Massimo whose father suddenly passed away. Massimo & Marina were kind enough to let me stay in their apartment while they attended to family matters down in Sorrento.

Roma is still Roma, although i was alone, and feeling a bit strange, i managed to have some very nice times. More time walking and just enjoying the good weather. I finally managed after years of visiting Roma to make it to the Castel S'ant Angelo which had some of the most impressive views of Roma i've EVER seen.

Bought some great shirts and sweaters for myself, and brought back some nice gifts for Marcia & Lena.

ciao

fedex...your worst nightmare....but

I ship a lot of art. all over the world...mostly never have a problem. but this summer after
the San Diego comic con, I shipped home 14 boxes....mostly art. This is incredibly stressful for me because some of these boxes are VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERY valuable. and i had good reason for this stress * fedex lost 1 of the boxes. a gazilion $$$'s worth of art in it.

This happened at the very beginning of the summer trip with still nearly 1 month of travel ahead. i only had a master list, so i couldn't say exactly what was in the box. the people at fedex have a SHITTY system for finding lost packs. It turned out that when we finally started dealing with the "trace dept" that they weren't even in the same state of the warehouse with the lost boxes!!! all they had to go on were the Keywords to search from. we went around in circles until they told me, sorry...just make a claim!! after this Marcia wrote letters to ALL the most important people at fedex, and we were beginning to negotiate with the insurers. when they called and our package was FOUND !!!! the letters worked...because they re opened the investigation. 2 months after being lost...it shows up in Utah. ??? ohhhhhhhhh, where they auction lost packs!!!! BASTARDS !!!!! they told me on the phone that they wait more than a year before things go to auction houses.

Moral of this story: don't give up hope!!!

summer highlights!

soooooooooooooooooo, i've been outta the loop. guilty as charged. it was a long, fun, at some point difficult, at other times amazing summer.
the highlights:!!!
1- San Diego. Terrible marine layer the whole time we were in S.D., but we managed to have fun anyway. Fun at the beach except that nasty stingray assault on my friend's son Sam. He's ok...the kid's a trooper. and OF COURSE there's the food we love: Great Asian, superb farmers' market, 2- 2-our friends from the Netherlands (the Mokken family!!!)... they were in S.D., and they joined us for camping in the Sequoia forest. awesome times.
3-Camping in the Sierra's. ALWAYS a blast. Did some new things this time, the big fire almost blew our plans...but we ended up trying a new camp for the first 2 nites. absolutely amazing and completely pristine.
4- the drive North: short form...
a- dinner at a polish restaurant (chopin) in Walnut Creek
b- the drive up to Mendocino...passing thru wine country with a very nice afternoon lunch in Sonoma
c-MENDOCINO !!!! great seaside town. superb food, great coffee shops and nice architecture and lush gardens everywhere.
d- THE NORTHERN REDWOOD FORESTS !!! amazing.
e- Southern Oregon coast. DUNES !!!!
f- Staying with Marcia's Uncle Ed & his wife Anne in Eugene OR
g- Portland. great city, stayed with Marcia's cousin David and his family.