Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Civil War Crimes: Civil War #7

      Dainel Elkin, Keith Silva
      May 5, 2016
      Big Two, Big Two Reviews, Columns, Marvel Comics, The Full Run
    Recent
    • Revisiting the Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider Crossover

      Daniel Gehen
      February 8, 2021
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Leading Questions: Aquaman Swimming in an Ocean of Dicks

      Dainel Elkin, Keith Silva
      January 14, 2016
      Big Two, Columns, DC Comics, Leading Question
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • 3.0

      Review: GHOST WRITER Fights the Spectre of Unevenness

      Dainel Elkin, Keith Silva
      September 3, 2020
      Fantagraphics, Indie, Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.0

      Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past

      Stephen Cook
      March 3, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • Convergence Week 8: It's All Over But the Crying

      Dainel Elkin, Keith Silva
      May 29, 2015
      Reviews, Singles Going Steady
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • 2.3

      Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

      Daniel Gehen
      February 16, 2021
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Video Interview: Dan Bethel from Long John Comic

      Dainel Elkin, Keith Silva
      July 18, 2015
      Interviews, Video Interview
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Essential Man-Thing Vol. 2

      Dainel Elkin, Keith Silva
      March 14, 2012
      Classic Comics Cavalcade, Columns
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Hellboy in Motion: Mike Mignola's Hellboy in Hell is Coming to the Madefire Platform

      Dainel Elkin, Keith Silva
      December 10, 2013
      News
    Recent
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 17, 2021
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • 5.0

      Review: "Snowden" by Ted Rall

      Dainel Elkin, Keith Silva
      November 17, 2015
      Books, Indie, Reviews, Small Press
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past
  • Collecting Profile: Blue Beetle
  • Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia
  • Collecting Profile: Kraven the Hunter
  • Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good
  • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
News

Dispatches from CAB Part One: It’s an Adventure

Dainel Elkin, Keith Silva
November 18, 2014
News

Every so often the editorial staff at Comics Bulletin asks to tag along (in abstentia, of course) with our writers as they visit various points on the map to attend conventions and festivals. Like SEAL training these brave souls are given nothing to survive save their wits. No private jets. No corporate cards. And absolutely no money for alcohol or even, yes, coffee. This time two provincials, Daniel Elkin and Keith Silva, both drew the short straw and were sent to Greenpoint, the northernmost neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn, NYC to attend Comic Arts Brooklyn. Over the next four days Comics Bulletin will publish what Elkin and Silva are calling ‘Dispatches from CAB,’ a sandwich board of sorts that promises a travelogue, reviews of comics and tips for surviving the game called comic book criticism. Enjoy!

KEITH SILVA: As late autumn sunshine broke over the borough of Brooklyn and made the maples along Union St. into a riot of golds and aureolins, I knew my rumored-to-be interminable wait for the G would be tempered. On the burnt umber stoops of brownstones and between the curling wrought-iron fence spaces, jack-o-lanterns mouldered. I turned onto 6th Ave., headed towards Prospect St., on my way to meet my friend Daniel Elkin. We were bound for Greenpoint and Comic Arts Brooklyn.

I met Elkin, in-person, for the first time, the night before. Our time spent in conversation over beers at Dizzy’s confirmed for me what was obvious from the thousands of words he and I have written together for Comics Bulletin in the last two years; Elkin is a friend for life. If that sounds too squishy or sentimental, I agree, but it’s true. At forty-one, I’m still coming to terms with how it is I’ve developed deeply felt relationships with people whom I’ve never met in-person. Lennon was right, “strange days indeed, most peculiar mama.”

The G turned up sooner than expected (I guess?). As we rode the rails, we picked up our conversation where it had been left the night before, except now it was spiked with in-jokes like ‘user-narratives,’ ‘Matt Dillon,’ and ‘pal’ after a night spent on the West Side eating the best dumplings NYC has to offer (or so I was told) with a few F.O.Es or Friends of Elkin’s. I can confirm New York City apartments, even the ones with exclusive addresses, play small, which made getting to know my fellow F.O.Es easy. What’s up, pal?

IMG_2294

Comic Arts Brooklyn is a free event held at the rec. center attached to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. Later in the day, a wedding was held in the Church proper. The show is divided up between two floors. The current CYO basketball practice schedule at the entrance to the top floor made me feel like I was twelve and walking into the gymnasium of Taunton Catholic Middle School. I was home.

My limited con (and fest) experience makes me feel like I’m eating at a Vegas-style buffet for the first time; I want to grab everything I see as soon as I see it and pile up my plate as I fret I’ll never get to try the steamship round of roast beef (which in Brooklyn, would, I’m sure, be locally sourced) from the carving station if I don’t take it now. So, yeah, I’m lousy at these sorts of things. I need to learn to relax. Missed opportunities abound, I’m sure, as I browse from table to table like a sailor on shore leave.

With TCAF as my only barometer, I’ve learned one thing: at these gatherings of the tribe, the comics are circumstantial. Be it con, fest or fair, it’s about the people not the products. I’ll enjoy the books I bought for a long time to come, but my memories of the people I met will last forever.

Standing at the Nobrow table talking with Tucker Stone and hearing his acid wit firsthand corroborates his authenticity as a smart critic, sly observer of all things comics and his love for Paul Pope. CAB also afforded me the privilege of some future date when I’ll say, “I once met Michel Fiffe.” As he shook my hand, Fiffe said he was a bit unfocused at the moment, he had just been handed a comic and was more interested in reading that than selling his own comics, Copra and Zegas. Disarming, humble and apologetic, Fiffe, ironically, would never cut it on COPRA, the comic about the Suicide Squad-type team of mercenaries he’s created.  Now that’s someone who loves comics and, yes, he is a true legend in the making.

FullSizeRender

Lucky for me, I met the effervescent T.V. Alexander, who was (wo)manning cartoonist Katie Skelly’s table. Skelly had to unfortunately cancel at the last minute so Alexander filled in for her friend. Is everyone in independent DIY comics cool? Alexander shared a conspirator’s glance with me as I paged (pawed?) through Skelly’s Agent 8, an erotic comic cum space adventure. “Yeah, I can’t believe some of what she draws either,” Alexander said with a coy smile. As much as I wanted to thank Skelly for her work, the opportunity to talk with T.V. felt right, kismet.

 

nurse

While having been charmed by Alexander into buying porn, I had received a text from Elkin. It simply said: “DVG at Unciv table, where you” and so I headed upstairs. My CAB adventure was about to change and yet stay the same.

DANIEL ELKIN: But that’s a story for later, yes? Because, as the motto for the weekend at CAB was, “It’s an adventure,” and all adventures start from a single step.

Mine began with a red-eye flight from California, which found me delirious in the Cleveland airport (strangely apt for Cleveland), and then whisked away by an old college friend through the rainy streets of Brooklyn; an art opening in Chelsea; a later reunion with a friend from Texas over delicious sandwiches (natch), Arrogant Bastards, and thick conversations about criticism and faith at Bierkraft in Park Slope; and then, finally, the firm handshake of Keith Silva, who is, yes, a real person. One of the realist people I know – incomparable, nonpareil.

People are important. While we dabble at interaction here on the internet, nothing will ever compare to looking someone in the eye and knowing they know you as much as you know them, you know? Isolation is the default nowadays as our social platforms make us casual in our connections. Being out in the world takes effort, and I’ll rattle the heavens with my shout that palling around with people who matter is worth the push for every reason you can consider.

Every single one.

And so it is with these festivals/conventions/ gatherings whatever, Silva. Yes, Comic Arts Brooklyn was about comics – and oh, what comics there were – but it was also about people, as you have already said.

For me, much of my few hours at Mount Carmel Church could be characterized, amusingly enough, by awkward social interactions. From starting my conversation with Eye of the Majestic Creature creator Leslie Stein with, “Wow, you look bored,” to saying to Josh Bayer as he hurriedly unpacked his books thirty minutes after the show began, “Nothing like being late to your own party,” to standing in front of Julia Gfrörer trying to think of something clever to say, failing, and thus saying nothing at all. All this cementing my place as comics’ own inadvertent asshole. I’m sorry.

photo (10)

But then, of course, there are the moments that linger for such better reasons. Chatting with Sean Ford about his amazing series Shadow Hills; turning the pages of the transcendentally beautiful and gigantic Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream from Locust Moon Press while talking process, potential, and how to con my girlfriend into buying me this for Christmas (I’m still drooling thinking of all those huge, winsome and comely pages); and laughing with Roman Muradov about Julian Barns – this is connecting, these are people as much as they are creators, and that matters. You come for the comics, you stay for the people. We shake hands and acknowledge each other. It’s important. We are human. “Only connect!”

And then I send Silva that text, “DVG at Unciv table, where you?” and the process that had begun with those human handshakes expands to encompass so much more…

 End Part I

Agent 8Comic Arts BrooklynCopraKatie SkellyMichel FiffeNobrow PressNurse NurseT.V. AlexanderTucker Stone

Share On:
Tweet
Planetary #10: Secrets, Lies, and Death
The Sun’ll Come Out in Virga!

About The Author

<a href="http://comicsbulletin.com/byline/dainel-elkin/" rel="tag">Dainel Elkin</a>, <a href="http://comicsbulletin.com/byline/keith-silva/" rel="tag">Keith Silva</a>
Dainel Elkin, Keith Silva

Keith Silva writes for Comics Bulletin and Twitter: @keithpmsilva

Related Posts

  • What Looks Good for the Week of 10/2/2019

    Daniel Gehen
    September 30, 2019
  • COPRA Comes to IMAGE COMICS

    Daniel Gehen
    February 22, 2019

One Response

  1. Dispatches from CAB Part Two: Miss What? - Comics Bulletin November 21, 2014

    […] how our two provincials, Daniel Elkin and Keith Silva, got to this point in their story there’s this. If you’re immune to the crushing weight of continuity or if you’re slumming and fancy yourself […]

RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders