I shouldn’t even be thinking about this week’s comics. I should be in a monastic state of self-denial, saving up disposable income for this weekend’s Small Press Expo. Free time should be spent searching under couch cushions for spare change, so I can buy Owly t-shirts and awesome Scott Pilgrim prints and enough gasoline to get me to Bethesda and back.
Having relatively limited experience with big comics events, I’m pretty excited about this one. The list of exhibitors looks pretty great, I’ll get to meet some on-line acquaintances in person, and I’ll be within walking distance of a really good Thai restaurant. (Are there words more beautiful than “no added MSG”?) And Shawn Hoke will know perfectly well why I’m not going to turn my next column in on time.
Okay, I will dwell a little bit on the new comic day experience, because I found a manga equivalent in an article from a recent edition of the Chattanooga Times and Free Press. (Someone sent the article to me, and I can’t seem to find it online. Sorry). Anyway, it’s a fairly standard Manga 101 story, but it has a great lead:
“Senior book seller at Northgate Mall’s Waldenbooks, Charlene Denton is familiar with many patrons’ shopping patterns and preferences. She said the Friday regulars often include a group she’s pegged the ‘manga posse.’
“The 12 teenage girls ‘know we get our manga titles on Friday,’ said Ms. Denton. ‘Some of them even keep manga notebooks on what they read.’”
Regular pilgrimages for the week’s new arrivals… Excuse me. I… I’ve got something in my eye.