Stumptown Comics Fest
I ended up winning my pass to Stumptown Comics from the Mercury, so naturally since I saved $10 on entry I decided to just buy way more than I normally would have. I picked up some great stuff:
I got the Rice Boy book by Evan Dahm. Rice Boy started as a webcomic in 2006 and ended in 2008. It's a surreal fantasy story with a diminutive protagonist named Rice Boy who is good at growing plants and listening to stories and ends up on a dangerous quest to fulfill a prophecy. I love the art in Rice Boy, it's simple with solid colors. After Rice Boy Dahm went on to write Order of Tales, which finished in in 2010, and is currently working on Vattu. Order of Tales and Vattu are less surreal than Rice Boy but share the same strong mythology and story-telling. I recommend both of those as well. The book has a very nice production value. I was glad to be able to support an artist who is doing work I have been reading for years.
I picked up some postcards from Ben Dewey who draws Tragedy Series, one of my favorite tumblrs. Ben is a great artist, and all around nice guy. You can buy prints and such at his store.
I stopped by the Oni Press booth picked up Volume 1 of Double Find Action Comics by Scott C. I love Scott's illustration style and sense of humor, he also has a great art blog where he illustrates famous showdowns from movies. The comic is also hilarous.
I also discovered Adult Babysitting, a webcomic about bartending by local comic artist Maryanna Hoggart. I really like Hoggart's art, she also does some very charming illustrations. I purchased a L.A.B. patch for a friend.
I'm really excited about Upgrade Soul, a digital graphic novel for iPhone and iPad. I'm interested in how Upgrade Soul takes advantage of the electronic medium while still feeling like a comic book. Perspective in the panels adjusts with the mvements of your hands and ambient sounds and music add mood. The story is interesting and told in a non-linerar narrative. You can read the first chapter for free before you decide to buy the whole thing. I did, and I'm eager to see how it ends.
