May 7, 2011: Thank you for taking me to geek festival!

We were pulling out of the parking lot, headed for home, when Akemi sunnily intoned: "Thank you for taking me to geek festival!".  I explained that, despite all evidence to the contrary, it wasn't a geek festival per se.  It was the Toronto Comic Arts Festival which, over the course of May 7th and 8th, will showcase a variety of comic book creators and their diverse works.  Space Channel Producer Mark Askwith was our intrepid guide through the colorful, crowded, at times overwhelming terrain.

The view from the second floor. We were there early and, as we were heading out, roughly ten times as many people were heading in - a few in costume.

We did a lay-of-the-land tour, then retraced our steps and actually spent time at a few of the tables, talking to the creators, and picking up a few things. Akemi tired out quickly and so, I didn't have the opportunity to speak to as many of exhibitors as I would have liked to, but some of the highlights included:

Ken Turner, Filmaker/Illustrator - like the sign says. Akemi and I loved his Edward Gorey-inspired illustration and ended up picking up a pack of postcards.

This one thoroughly enthralled Akemi.

You can check out Ken's work here: Ken Turner

Mark introduced us to Salgood Sam (who goes by Max) who seemed to recognize me from somewhere.  Reruns of America's Most Wanted perhaps?  Turns out his wife is huge Stargate fan.  I had to break the news that the series finale that airs on Tuesday will, sadly, be it for the show – and the franchise – for the foreseeable future.  He wanted to know why.  I gave him the impolitic version, usually reserved for drunken gatherings and comic book conventions.

Max!

He was kind enough to personalize a signed copy of his post-Rapture graphic novel, Therefore Repent!

You can check him out online here: Salgood Sam • Illustrator • Comic Artist • Generally Handy

Adrian Alphona was seated right beside Max, and I immediately recognized his work on Marvel's Runaways.

I already have the first few volumes of Runaways, so I elected to pick up a print instead. This one reminded me of my pug, Maximus.

Check out Adrian's work here: Sweet Bizarre – Adrian Alphona

Eric Vedder has worked for Dark Horse, Marvel, and DC, and done a bunch of video game concept art.

Among other things, he's presently on an online comic book called Aardehn. Love it.

Check out Eric's work here: Aardehn – by Eric Vedder and, possibly (I say possibly because the link wasn't working the last time I clicked on it), here: Eric Vedder

Hey, it's the Kill Shakespeare gang.  I heard about the comic book about a year ago.  Given my Masters studies in Renaissance Drama, I was intrigued.  But given my generally lackadaisical nature, I never got around to actually picking the book up – until today.  Below, creator and co-writer Anthony Del Col with colorist Ian Herring.

Artist Andy Belanger shows of his eight-day masterpiece. Eight days! Something that exquisitely detailed would take me at least forever!

Further info on Kill Shakespeare available here: Kill Shakespeare – An epic adventure that pits Shakespeare's …

I'd heard very good things about Scott Chantler's Two Generals, so I made a point of picking it up as well.

Scott's wife baked up a batch of chocolate-dipped cake lollipops (you heard correctly) that proved an even bigger hit with Akemi!

Scott has been nominated for Eisner, Harvey, Russ Manning, Joe Shuster, and Doug Wright Awards.  Check out his work here: Chantler, Scott

Tara Tallan's Galaxion series has a real Leiji Matsumoto vibe.

Somehow, I managed to miss Star Blazers when I was a kid (I grew up The Flintstones and psychedelic Spiderman) but its influence on Tara engendered her own unique space-based comic book series.

More on Tara's sprawling comic space opera here: Galaxion – Life. Love. Hyperspace.

Hey, look who it is. It's Jeff Lemire, author and illustrator of one of the five graphic novel series I'm presently enjoying: Sweet Tooth.

Our Book of the Month Club has been on hiatus while I settled into Toronto and, hopefully/eventually received the responses from our last three Q&A's. Anyway, I'm thinking of re-starting things this summer but switching gears to focus on comic book series. I floated the idea by Jeff who seemed receptive to the idea.

Jeff's blog here: Jeff Lemire's Blog

I also met Eisner-award winner Darwyn Cooke (not pictured).  You'd no doubt recognize his work on The Spirit and Batman as well as DC: The New Frontier.

Darwyn's blog here: Almost Darwyn Cooke's Blog

So, yes, in retrospect, even though it's officially known as the Toronto Comic Art Festival, it was a truly awesome geek festival.  After all, who am I kidding? To quote a completely earnest Akemi: "But – you are geek!"

Tagged: Aardehn, Adrian Alphona, Andy Belanger, Anthony Del Col, Comic Books, Comics, Darwyn Cooke, Eric Vedder, Galaxion, Ian Herring, Jeff Lemire, Ken Turner, Kill Shakespeare, Salgood Sam, Scott Chantler, Sweet Tooth, Tara Tallon, Therefore Repent!, Toronto Comic Arts Festival, Two Generals