SPX (Small Press Expo) was last weekend and we had an absolute blast! Not only did I tell tons of copies of “DAD!” but I picked up a whole bunch of cool stuff (some of which is pictured above).

As always, the show was packed. If you’ve never been, SPX is like artist’s alley on crack. Every half table is filled with something new, whether it’s a web comic, traditional comic, mini-comic, original art, prints, or anything else you can think of. The show is a total sensory overload and just walking the floor to see everything there is takes hours.

Here is our simple set-up we used. This year for the show we decided to focus on our graphic novels, though next year we are totally doing a full table and will have our complete library with us.

I spent a lot of time thinking about it and my favorite new find of SPX is a kid comic book series called “Guinea Pig: Pet Shop Private Eye.” It’s obviously written for a younger audience, but it’s really well done. I mean REALLY well done. It’s polished and looks so professional you’d expect to find it at any book store.

However, what really sold it was the crazy humor. It’s filled with a series of bad puns and jokes that are just so over the top bad they end up being laugh out loud. Plus the story itself is nice and completely kid friendly. If you’re looking for something that’s a safe all ages read then you can’t go wring with the “Pet Shop Private Eye” series. I’m just shocked I had never heard of it until last weekend.

One of the most popular things I saw at SPX was “Johnny Wander” volume 1. The book collects the first year of the auto bio web comic. If you’re not familiar with it it’s kinda like “Scott Pilgram” in tone and humor. The book is a good read and if you’re not already reading the web comic you totally should.

One of my favorite things I picked up at the convention was book one of “Winters in Lavelle.” This book collects the first four chapters of the ongoing webcomic. Kasey Van Hise, the artist and creator of it did the awesome sketch above on the inside cover. It’s one of the book’s main characters wearing a sweet SPX V.I.P. badge. My GF also snagged a really pretty print from Kasey that she loved.

One of the things I was really excited about getting was the complete “Rice Boy” book. I’ve been wanting to read it for awhile now and even started reading it on the web, but clicking through HUNDREDS of pages gets annoying with long stories. Plus the art is so great, I really wanted a physical copy of the book.

Here is a quick comic that Claire Kinnane, writer of “Crystal Clear” did. What’s sad is that her art skills are notably better than mine.

This sketch is awesome. The GREAT Danielle Corsetto of “Girls with Slingshots” did this for me. It’s an evil Easter Bunny!

One of the other books I was excited to get was the first volume of “Octopus Pie.” The night before SPX we saw a copy in Barnes & Noble and it took everything I had not to buy it then. But if you can support the creator (and get it signed) what’s waiting 24 hours?

All in all SPX was an amazing show (isn’t it always) and we will definitely be back again next year (The pic above is the show room at 7a.m. last Saturday before everyone started setting up).

And finally… a really dorky sketch I did just to feel cool cause everyone at the tables around us were sketching.