photo by Luis Echavarria

This Fluke far surpassed last year’s. Instead of doing the 4 hour drive the day of the convention and only attending Fluke for three hours, we went a day early. We made it to Athens Friday evening. I had the pleasure of traveling with my friends and colleagues Nate Marsh, Alex Mejias and her fiance Derek, and Luis Echaverria. All of them are magnificent artists, wonderful people, and a pleasure to lodge with.

My notes on Fluke

~Fluke is all mini-comics. The best things that sell are comics under $10. Comics around $5 are usually the most purchased. The usual con merchandise was sold, but amongst browsers, comics were king.

~The room at the Cine was a little smaller than Tasty World, which meant less exhibition space and lots of traffic jams. But with higher ceilings and brighter lights, it felt busier, and the all-around attitude was positive and could be seen and felt every which way you looked. Rumor has it that the venue may change, and “wildly imaginative” events will take place for the 10th Anniversary of Fluke in 2011.

~Bizarro Wuxtry is doing just as great as ever. It has become even more obvious that it is THE place to be during Fluke after hours. Sell some of the mini-comics you didn’t sell for cash or store credit, and you’ll probably choose the latter. With a huge focus on indie books, you’ll be returning money back into the store’s circulation because they have just the hard-to-find book or mini you weren’t looking for.

My notes on Athens:

~Athens is such a beautiful city. The streets are wide and spacious and compared to Savannah, the air is fresher. We all greed that we liked how the downtown area was not condensed and that walking to places were a pleasure, even if they didn’t feel immediately close. Walking through neighborhoods at night wasn’t scary, either. I want to hug the city planner.

~Friday night we had food at the Grit, a vegetarian place with surprisingly large servings for the price you’d expect. $6-$10 platters, definitely worth a look as recommended by one of our group’s acquaintances. Thanks for the recommendation!

~…and I loved every second of this trip.

This time around I got to meet a lot more SCAD-Atlanta students, and we tossed some jokes back and forth at our tables. I got to exhibit (finally) with one of my heroes Kevin Burkhalter, and crossed paths with many of the great southern comics creators in indie comics. It was the Fluke I wanted to be a part of.

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photo by Alyssa Ciaccio

The week before, I exhibited at SCAD’s first convention in conjunction with Career Fair and Editor’s Day. You should see more of Jessi Gilbert‘s documenting skills in action at the District website, including a photo of me with my work! I met with many editors and received lots of great feedback, and enjoyed the convention in its entirety. Both Fluke and SCAD-Con are gaining some traction and are looking to expand. Next month, I will be in Asheville, NC attending the very first Fanaticon, which hopefully won’t be the last one either.

So many conventions all over the country are popping up because it has become “something to do”. It’s almost like going out to a movie on a Friday, or eating out with family. Conventions are no longer specific to geek culture and even the smaller conventions have broken out to the mainstream. Someone just visiting a town for vacation may read in the paper that a convention is happening, and attend it just as they would if a band was playing at the local bars. I’m really excited that the general public’s attitude towards comics is fun again.

Athens is a real nice town and I’d love to chill there more. It’s kind of like a cooler Savannah with lots more to do, all within walking distance of each other. It seems like in Savannah, because of those squares, things are much further away. In Athens, its just perfect.

It’s similar to Savannah because UGA, the University of Georgia, is the town. A lot of things go down on College Ave, like the outdoor concert that was happening across the street from the comics fest. There were plenty of young Georgia students out partying and having a good time. Seems like comics and coeds can coexist, and it is a beautiful thing.

Here are some more pictures from the trip!

Here is the entrance to Tasty World. Go upstairs for Fluke! Oh, make sure you wear your festival button though, or they wont let you in!

This is just a taste of what the inside looks like.

We chilled with Dave and Josh, and gave away our minis at their table. Such great guys, awesome work and attitudes. Thanks again to Dyson Press for the quick printing turnarounds! I recommend them highly for all sorts of publishing.

I probably gave away hundreds of this mini. Of course, Dave had me on some wicked mushrooms, so I don’t exactly remember how much I gave away.

We hit up the Bizarro Wuxtry comics shop. It was a comic place that offered a wide range of comics, specializing in hard to find and rare books. They also had a sweet vinyl shop below it. It is a must for any Fluke attendee, especially when it’s three blocks away from the festival.

It was completely overwhelming.

So many books!

What a great weekend, even if it was a few hours spent actually being somewhere. We had a blast on our car ride, as it was a beautiful drive. I recommend going at least once, and experiencing comics in a completely new and refreshing way. And get some indie points on the way!

Thanks for reading!