So on Saturday I double-committed myself and ended up satisfying all needs. Friday evening was spent assembling Avengers, so I couldn't sleep too much if I was going to squeeze in everything on Saturday. You see, I had committed to attending a festival in the woods that evening but had discovered Aaron Diaz of Dresden Codak would be in Toronto for TCAF. I had to go to both.
I woke up early, grabbed a burrito from the Salsateria booth at the Farmer's Market, and caught the first Saturday bus to Toronto. I have missed the ride, oddly. I have a strange affection for Greyhound buses. A lot of the scenery seemed changed to me, but mostly it's the result of Constant Progress on the Toronto skyline. My friend Ariel came and met me at the Atrium on Bay and we flew down the subway on her day pass to the Toronto Reference Library. First I played the role of the day's savior when my phone's data plan and my laptop secured tickets for the Hillside music festival for a friend whose own laptop couldn't handle the task. After that, I was overwhelmed and amazed with the festival, and the hunt for the Topatoco booth and Aaron Diaz commenced.
Aaron Diaz was special indeed.
Dresden Codak is my favourite comic for obvious reasons. Mr. Diaz was perhaps the only presenter on the floor in a suit. He was charming. He dealt with rabid fans with finesse. I was quiet. I wasn't sure what I wanted to say or could say. I avoided babbling, complimented him sincerely, and did my part in supporting him buy purchasing posters and the Dresden Codak Primer (today lent out to a recuperating friend: it is sorely missed). I adore that he signed them but I forgot to request a photo. =) Is he vegan? He might be vegan. His twitter feed mentioned vegan food. It also claimed he made
a million dollars at TCAF, so I'm not placing too much credibility in his twitter feed.
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| 2 of 3 Dresden Codak posters |
I wandered a little and then chatted a little with the author of Nedroid, Anthony Clark, and then discovered the
A Softer World booth with Joey Comeau and Emily Horne. At first they were too popular and I was too poor to waste their time, but when I came back later after an unfortunately successful expedition to an ATM machine, I caught a break and was able to chat a little (they are amazing and amazingly inappropriate people!) as I went through their prodigious collection of large comic print outs. They unfortunately lack the captions, which I'm going to write onto the backs myself. Right, I acquired my favourite two. As I mentioned to them, their posts often break my mind and heart in the best of ways. It makes it hard to look at my favourite ones, but made it all the worth while buying them as reminders.
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| 2 of my 5 favourite strips |
They also sold a tote bag which I think perfectly describes a friend.
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| Truth. |
I also picked up a comic by Jason Bradshaw of
Boredom Pays, who is a great man, and a random one about a SWORD or at least about someone who swings one,
Delilah Dirk by Tony Cliff. I like swords and I'm surprised by how few comics there featured them.
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| Delilah Dirk, as well as another Dresden Codak poster |
Finally, I also got a couple free comics, like the trailer for
Kindling (Jason Nerad and dechanique, the latter with whom I chatted), and the latest Adventure Time (wow, I never realised that that video became a TV series and a comic!) writ by Ryan North and this issue drawn by Mike Holmes (who I chatted with).
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| Endless supply of comics! |
I had to leave early and didn't have time to stalk Bryan Lee O'Malley who made Scott Pilgrim, but that's OK. I got home in time to bake cookies and super-prepare for a pleasant evening with friends under the full moon anyway.
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| Walking into the wilds outside of Guelph |
Hooray for eating and having cakes. Cakes are nice. So are cats.
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| Meow |
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