Emerald City, 2011! The Wrap-up

Squid sculpture, spotted in the wild

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not too quick out of the gate with this report from ECCC 2011. It was a couple of weeks ago now, a lifetime, in Con terms. Even C2E2 has come and gone since then!

However, I have a good excuse. I have, in fact, been working. Yes, working at my day job feeding animals, playing with parrots, and raking up bunny poop. But, also writing. For pay! Much as I love this blog, the pay for writing it is rather... Nonexistent. So,  keep your eyes peeled for some fresh non-bloggery coming soon to an anthology near you.

Me, in an actual trench coat!

I love visiting Seattle at any time, and not coincidently the Emerald City Comicon is something I look forward to all year. We came into town a day early and were met with rain. Which was fine with me... It meant I could wear actual chilly weather gear. Our first stop was, of course, The Elliot Bay Book Company. Words can not express how much I love that place. It was about to move the last time we were there so it was a great relief to learn that its new digs are just as cool as the old ones. And the coffee is even better! Luckily we just about sold out of copies of Heathentown at the Con. If we hadn't I don't know how I would have fit all my new books into my luggage. 

We also had time to visit the Seattle Art Museum this trip, which was a lot of fun. Bet you didn't know that there's a whole case or tiny frog sculptures hidden in one corner upstairs. That alone made it worth the trip.

Best costumes. Ever.

This was the first year that ECCC was three days long instead of two, so we didn't know what to expect on the first day. Turns out that attendance was terrific. Our table was in a great place too. Our row was full of talent: Chris Samnee, Jeff Parker, Tom Fowler, Steve Lieber... The list goes on. Gabriel was kept busy with sketches all weekend, but managed to find the time to buy some original art. And some folks even brought us dessert! A full box of cookies, some candy, and coffee all the way from Hawaii. How's that for a warm welcome? I was also happy to meet Kyle Latino and Shane White in person. Kyle and I sat next to each other for most of the weekend, which worked out great since he didn't seem to mind my endless blather about Doctor Who. And that brings me to the most amazing thing: a woman dressed as the TARDIS. I almost knocked Evan Shaner flat while attempting to get a photo of her.

So, I would say the weekend was a success. It resulted in new reading material, a bit of writing work, and a picture of a blue-haird girl dressed as my favorite fictional time machine. We also spent some time hanging out with Paul Tobin and Colleen Cover, the creators behind one of the projects I'm most excited about this year, Gingerbread Girl. If you haven't already, you really should check it out. It's strange and wonderful and completely unexpected. Colleen was even nice enough to do a sketch of one of my favorite characters from their book, Pidgy. Can't wait for ECCC 2012!