Some comics-related photos from around. If you’d like to see your photo parade linked to here, contact us at the link to the right.

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§ Nikitas Manikatos’ photos from yesterday’s one-day Long Beach Comic Expo,, which we totally didn’t give enough coverage, but based on these photos it was a fine event. Above, the author with Mike Mignola.

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§ Raina Telgemeier at Rocketship A good turnout for her slideshow.

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§ Neil Gaiman in Tuscaloosa: this is actually noteworthy for the reasons Gaiman mentions:

The strange thing is that, as an author, there are places publishers never send you, and the American South (if you don’t count Atlanta) is one of those places. When I’d ask, I’d be told it was because people didn’t really buy books there, or there wasn’t a demand, or something.

And all I know is, the first batch of tickets for my reading in Alabama were gone in 120 seconds. (Literally. We thought the website had crashed.) The few leftovers, released later in the week, went at the same speed. A 1078 seat theatre sold out in minutes, and they could have filled it twice or three times over. People had driven 4 hours to get there and more. Everybody there seemed hungry for words and stories and literature.

{snip]And I’m going on about this at greater length than I normally would because I don’t get it. On the one hand you have a terrific university and a population that really seems to read and is hungry to interact with authors and to come to events like this. On the other hand, you have authors, who really like to go places where people like us. So why has it taken me 22 years of signing my way across America to get to Alabama? And why don’t publishers send authors there?

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§ Tom Spurgeon’s comics-related statues gallery.

1 COMMENT

  1. As a Mississippian, I echo Gaiman’s comments, although to be fair, I also know that we’re simply less concentrated down here, and so it’s harder to work up a crowd. But certainly in college towns there’s got to be times when it could be worth it.

  2. This might sound simplistic, but I love seeing photos of comic creators and fans who are clearly smiling and enjoying themselves. Thanks for these photos.

  3. Growing up in Nebraska (flyover territory), we rarely had authors of note. Usually, the local SF con would invite them in, which is how I met Wendy Pini, Roger Stern, and Larry Niven.

    Fortunately, we were rather early on the Gaiman bandwagon (about three rows behind the driver, next to the accordion player, I played tenor kazoo). Cosmic Comics of Lincoln was part of the Brief Lives road trip, so I drove an hour from Omaha, lined up with about 100 other fans, and had the Seasons of Mist hardcover signed and sketched. Jill Thompson gave me a nice sketch of Delirium, and everyone kawaii’d over her Little Endless sketch.

    Generally, the best way to convince publishers to have an author visit is to hold a literary festival. Or a speaker series. Universities can endow a program via alumni or curriculum or their own publishing program.

    People don’t read in rural areas? Oh… you foolish publishers! Small town America is hungry for information! They may not be cosmopolitan or world travellers, but small town folks want to know more about the world around them. They hold chataquas and book clubs and culture clubs. They order library books from the state library network. They read, and, yes, drive two hours to visit the “local” Barnes & Noble.

    If “those” people do not read, then why are there so many libraries?

  4. Torsten – I think you said the magic words right there- “flyover territory”

    Until you get major airlines interested in opening a major hub at the Lincoln Airport- Lincoln will remain nothing more than a “dead end” town that’s only reachable by a twin engine plane – thereby discouraging more and more authors or celebs not to do book tours and gala movie premieres there.

    My brother and nieces lives out there- I know how much of a pain-in-the-ass it is to even contemplate to even pop in unannounced.

    ~

    Coat