Friday, March 18, 2005

SF in APE-ril

Travel and Comics

So, why am I going to San Francisco anyway? Why to go to APE of course!

I have no interest in ever going to any comic convention organized by Wizard, and San Diego has grown to the point that it’s become a hassle to attend. Plus, the “mainstreaming” of comics has inevitably marginalized the stuff I like to read even more than before at San Diego. I just have no desire to put up with the crowds and the headaches, not to mention the further glorification of crappy comics (and crappy movies made from crappy comics).

That leaves me with few comic convention choices. There are several great shows that focus on the smaller publishers and alternative titles, of course. In fact, I was planning on going to SPX last year, when I changed plans so Keith and I could go to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco instead. I don‘t regret that switch, but it left me really wanting to do a comic con this year. SPX is out already, since we’re headed back to Hardly Strictly, so I decided that if one SF trip in a year was great, then two should be even better! And, voila, I’m heading to APE.

And looking forward to it. I got a great package deal on travel and a cool hotel, not far from APE. I’m going a few days early to chill a bit. Keith has decided to stay home, but he’s being really nice about letting me go, which I greatly appreciate!

With the upcoming cancellation of Human Target, my regular reading list is shorter than ever. I’m hoping to discover some new stuff at the show.

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