This was my submission into this year’s SEQA Anthology/Sampler. It didn’t get accepted, so now it’s available here to read!

I hadn’t planned on writing two posts, because I thought I didn’t think I’d visit two comic shops. But when I found out that a second comic shop could be better or just as good as Portland’s treasured Casablanca Comics, I had to take a look and see for myself.

Coast City Comics
656 Congress St.; (207) 776-1719
www.coastcitycomics.net

Coast City Comics was a surprise because usually I’d be satisfied with a store like Casablanca in my town. I am not sure if it is quite necessary to have two comics stores within a few blocks of each other in a small city like Portland, but one thing for sure is that Coast City Comics is bringing the competition.

Only in its third month since opening, Coast City Comics had me at “hello”. It has a good natured-friendly vibe to artists, not just comic readers. I felt welcome on a whole other level. Yes, there were comics, but there were also illustrations visible in the store window, t-shirts designed by local artists, and mini-comics from the burgeoning scene of creators in Portland. This store felt more like a hub where artists could share their work and be discovered by the regular Joe.

I already covered Casablanca in a previous post, and if I were to compare the two, I’d say Casablanca is that really cool older guy who has sold comics to you your whole life. Coast City Comics is your best friend from college opening a comic store with all your favorite stuff you used to love (and still love!). And the metaphor isn’t too far from reality! Coast City Comics was opened by Gerald von Stoddard, who also happened to be behind the counter during my visit. He spoke about the new opening and we traded a few words about the Disney/Marvel news. It was like catching up with an old friend where the comics talk always somehow made its way into the conversation. He also pointed out that some of his closest friends were also the artists behind the T-shirts I was perusing through (and bought!). (more…)

Those who follow my blog and Twitter know that I am both a comic book artist and stand-up comedian. So when I learned that comedian Scott Aukerman is putting together a comics anthology with stories written by stand up comedians, I just had to learn more.

Scott Aukerman is the host of Comedy Death Ray at the UCB Theater and the podcast radio show of the same name. My impression of him is that people love him and he’s a comedian’s comedian. He’s always doing things to help other comedians get their names out there and is always creating opportunities for comedians to be part of something. His radio show gives airtime to comedians to plug upcoming shows and appearances, as well as just have fun cracking jokes and finding new fans.

The comic book anthology is another outlet for comedians to tell stories that they wouldn’t be able to do onstage. Some comedians involved are Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo, Fred Armisen of SNL, BJ Novak of The Office, and vocal long-time comics fans Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn. There are some big name talented comic artists attached that have not yet been announced.

So what does this mean? It means that comics are going to be funny again! Its not that he doesn’t enjoy comics with superhero action and mythology, he just knows that comedy is lost in this generation of dark and dramatic stories. We were treated to one Amazing Spider-man one-shot earlier this year written by Seth Meyers and Bill Hader of Saturday Night Live, but it was still a action-oriented book told with a sitcom-y feel. Aukerman really wants to tell self-contained comedic stories and bring funny back to funnybooks.