TCAF 2015 Report: blurry photos, yes, but lots of them.

Good ol' TCAF is over here's my tired, footsore report. 

This seemed like the biggest, best-attended version of 

an already enormous festival and it runs smoothly 

because of the great organization and the millions of 

cheery volunteers. Thanks and congratulations to the Library,
Peter, Chris, Andrew, Miles and everyone involved
in forming this elaborate, giant human pyramid.
(amended: File under, I'm Senile and a monster:
Forgot to mention, Conundrum's Meags Fitzgerald
won The Nipper at the DWAs for Photobooth AND
congrats to Drawn & Quarterly for 25 years of making
great comics, AND Peggy Burns taking over from
Chris Oliveros as publisher and Chris returning to drawing comics (yay!).
Congrats to all of you and I don't have any photos.

before…

After…

big smoke burger brings new meaning to gluten-free 

with Andy's iceberg lettuce “bun.” 

Which inspired another shitty noo yorger cartoon (below).

Our booth backed on to this guy. The fantastic Dustin Harbin
assembles his pan flute, getting ready to kick out the Peruvian jams.
His Diary Comics from Koyama is beautiful, buy it!

Team Koyama won at pervy scrabble.

This was the ONE book I had to get at TCAF, 

a new comic from one of my favourite cartoonists in the world.

The great Jordan Crane signs his new book.  

How did I get the shot from this angle? 

Yeah, I got behind his table and was being a pest in general.

Doug Wright Award's main honch, (I know it's actually honcho,
but honch sounds better) Brad McKay,
duplicating those old celebrity reading about them
self in Mad Magazine's letter page,
imagine “Brook Shields reacts to our version of The Blue Buffoon.”.
(that's frontier he's holding from Ryan Sand's Youth in Decline.
Ryan has impeccable taste as a publisher
and gathers the absolute best artists. Jillian Tamaki's in issue 7
was the best story I'd read in a long time, and Emily Carroll's story
 in issue 6, made the hair on my arms stand up. A comic book did that!
That has never happened to me before.
So good!

The fantastic Nina Bunjevac,
won the Doug Wright best book award for the wonderful Fatherland,
and Lynda Effing Barry presented it to her!!
This is Nina, kindly signing her Conundrum book, Heartless,
dressed as one of the stars of Fellini's 8-1/2

Cartoonist, and dreamboat, Pascal Girard
unveiled his new longer hair to the crowd's audible swoon.

Non-stylish, hiking shoes are your feet's best friend,
when “sitting isn't selling” is the old guys' buzzword at these things.

Charles Burns and Adrian Tomine. I never get over how
 TCAF makes me giddy,with my favourite cartoonists
in the world are just standing around chatting
like normal people. and me skulking around taking their photos.

National treasure, good old Jeet Heer and daughter Bella.

Good cartoonist, good kid, Dakota McFadzean.
He's one tenth of my age, but grows a more manly beard.
No one said life would be fair, but seriously, his beard is bullshit, he's like 17.
I'm 77, where's my facial hair? His new Conundrum book,
Don't Get Eaten by Anything, comprising
3 years of daily comics is both impressive and fantastically funny!

Good buddy, and fellow Hamiltonian, the great Dave Collier.
Dave did a great job presenting at the Doug Wright Awards.
Dave's hard at work on a new book for Conundrum!!

Good people! Hope Nicolson, R Sikoryak and Kriota Wilberg.

The smashing Jessica Campbell and equally smashing,
Zach Worton shooting the shite, yeah, I used to live in Montreal too, guys.
Zach's new Conundrum book, The Disappearance of Charlie Butters  is great, buy it!

Jordan Shiveley and Ed Kanerva find the convention

badges too heavy for their pencil-thin necks.

ha ha, both lovely dudes. 

but both physically frail.

Robert Sergel and Leon Avelino from Secret Acres.
Nice guys. Leon called the Doug Wright Awards “the Dougies,” Which I thought was great and appropriately evokes Bob and Doug MacKenzie.
Robert was right behind us, and conventions are like this,
I suddenly realize he creates Eschew, a comic I love. Got the new issue.
The new issue of Eschew.

My daughter Liz dropped by,  looking stylish, while my hair looks
like the hill billy kid's in Richie Rich comics.

Saw mom on sunday mother's day before the show.
She pretended she got a phone call so I would leave.
The show doesn't start til 11 today, mom!
I gotta take this call, son.
but mom, the phone didn't…

it's over. this empty crumpled cup represents something…

Good Ol' Andy Brown dons his “travel slanket©”
and we load him onto a plane for Nova Scotia.

A small haul this year, so, as a bonus, 2 of my gross,
mis-shapen toes in the bottom left…
Thank you TCAF!! See you next year.