Day Prize to become SPACE Prize

Little did I know when posting my video of this year's Day Prize ceremony last week that it was apparently to be the last such event. Seems Dave Sim has taken himself off the convention circuit for next year and taken his award with him. SPACE promoter Bob Corby has announced that he plans to institute his own award tentatively dubbed the SPACE Prize
Here's the straight poop in Bob's own words from the e-mail he sent to all 2008 SPACE exhibitors on Thursday:
"Many of you may have already heard that Dave Sim has cancelled all his convention appearances including SPACE 2009. He has also recently informed me that the Day Prize for the books we collected at SPACE 2008 is also canceled. He did give me the okay to pick it up myself. What I plan to do is take the submitted books and start the SPACE Prize (working title). I will review the books and pick 4 to 6 finalists and then have the registered SPACE 2008 Exhibitors vote for the winner. One of the few rules will be that you can't vote for yourself (or a book you're in). The winner will win a cash prize of $300.00 (sorry I can't afford the $500.00) and a plaque (or figure, that's not finalized yet). I haven't figured out the time table yet but the plaque presentation will be during SPACE 2009.If you want to opt out because the rules changed let me know and I'll ship your book back. If you want to complain call Dave Sim not me. I'm just the guy picking up the pieces.I also like to publicly thank Dave for his participation in SPACE and bringing the Day Prize here for the past 7 years. He only promised me a year or two so I can't complain. Without his help SPACE wouldn't have survived past the second year. I wish him the best of luck with Judenhass and Glamourpuss.The SPACE Prize is actually something I've wanted to do for awhile. I had applications for this at SPACE 2008. I was going to announce it on Sunday but I pulled it because the gate wasn't were I wanted it. We had about the same attendance in 2008 that we had in 2007 even with the move into early March. So next year being back in April I expect attendance to pick up and the funds will be available.(I'm not opposed to a co-sponsor if anyone else wants to chip in)."
The only part I don't like is that not voting for yourself thing. However, nowhere did he say that you could not pay others to vote for you. Look for my SPACE Prize acceptance speech on YouTube next year.
Bob goes on to say.."I'll also have another Hair-brained Scheme or two to boost attendence..." I can't wait to see what those might be. My plans usually involve snatching people off the street, stuffing them in the trunk of a car and bringing them to the show. That's probably why I'm just the blogger.

Dave Sim at Work

I found this video on YouTube of Dave Sim demonstrating how he works on his new comic, Glamourpuss. The first issue of Glamourpuss hits comic stores next month.

Day Prize Ceremony

Finally, here is exclusive, unexpurgated, unedited (except for being cut in two to comply with YouTube's time limits) video of the awarding of the 2007 Howard E. Day Memorial Prize, aka The Day Prize, at SPACE earlier this month.
I apologize for the shaky camera work, and also for the fact that I missed Bob's opening remarks because I was in the exhibition hall talking to Greg Hyland.

More SPACE Pics

Here are some pics of a few of the artists at this year's SPACE. Even more are at my ComicSpace.

Panel Pics

These are some pics from the panels I ran at SPACE this year. The top one of J. Kevin Carrier and Ian Shires is from the Small Press Co-ops Panel, and the rest are from my On-Line Comics discussion.

Judenhass Artwork

Above is some of the art that was on display at SPACE from Dave Sim's "Secret Project #1" aka Judenhass.

Dates For SPACE '09

I didn't tell this story last week, when it happened, because I didn't really have a context to put it in, and without that, it's just embarassing to the person it's about, even if I don't name him, which I shall not. Recent weather related events have provided that context, however.
Last Tuesday, I ran into a fellow local cartoonist and I asked him if he'd been at SPACE, as I hadn't seen him. "That was last weekend? I thought it was next weekend. Oh, well, see you there next year."
Well, it turns out its a good thing SPACE wasn't scheduled for the next weekend, as it probably would not have happened. Columbus, as you may have heard, was hit with what I'm sure someone has already termed the Storm of the Century, and if they haven't let me be the first, since just about every snowfall record there was, some dating back a hundred or more years, was absolutely shattered.
Fortunately, we had relatively good, if cold weather, the previous weekend for SPACE.
Next year's show, by the way, is back in the early spring where it belongs. The dates are April 18 and 19, and it will once again take place at the Aladdin Shrine Center.
Oh, well, see you there next year.

Thursday Thoughts

Okay, this has nothing to do at all with SPACE or even comics, but I have to say it.
As I watched Danny Noriega sing on American Idol Tuesday night, one word popped into my head, and a cold shiver of fear ran down my spine. That word was:

Sanjaya!

Scary, ain't it?
This new kid even looks kind of like old Hairboy, doesn't he?
Anyway, if it's comics you want, check out Killjoy Comics, an on-line anthology of various comic strips. I read a sampler from the site that I picked up at SPACE, and my favorites are the site's namesake comic Killjoy, and Slap O' Reality Man--this is a super-hero whom we could actually use in real life. Check out the strip to see what I mean.
Furthermore, it's Thursday, which means I have something to live for: a new installment of Kidnapped by Gnomes. With apologies to Schulz and Berke Breathed, I think Kathy Peterson's strip is my new favorite comic.

The Latest "Trend"

If there was any prevailing trend among the many books offered for sale this past weekend at SPACE, it was that many of them, including my own Wasted Paper: The Complete Wasted Potential Volume One (e-mail me at wasted_potential1965@yahoo.com for details on how to get your very own copy) were collections of on-line comics. Today I'm going to take a look at a couple of the best.

First, there's Wasted Paper, collecting the brilliantly funny on-line...

Ok, I'll let other lavish praise on my book, and move on to....

Lapses In Judgment: Kidnapped by Gnomes Volume One, a trade paperback collecting the first year of Kathy Peterson's webcomic Kidnapped by Gnomes. (For some reason, I really love saying "Kidnapped by Gnomes.") Updated twice weekly, the strip stars two gnomes named Ed and Wilson who live in Kathy's house watching her TV and occassionally stealing her credit cards, or, in one strip, flushing them down the toilet. Wilson, the slightly taller of the two nearly identical creatures, has an inexplicable crush on Ann Coulter (inexplicable to me, at least. OK, she's sort of hot---until she opens her mouth and starts spewing crap), while Ed wishes to be the benevolent dictator of Delaware (the state, not the town or county in Ohio).

Y'know, this stuff sounds a little weird when I try to describe it ('cause it is, a little), so just go read it. This strip was definitely one of my best discoveries at this year's show.

Then there's Lethargic Lad: Topics of Unclear Importance, collecting the first seven years of Greg Hyland's on-line version of super-hero parody Lethargic Lad.

It's pretty obvious that Greg is making this stuff up as he goes along, which may be the strip's greatest strength, allowing him to shift from parodying comics to the latest movie to events in the news. It's all very funny and drawn in a great cartoony style.

Greg, by the way, participated in my on-line comics panel and Sunday morning, making it the highlight of the weekend for me. I'm glad I got to meet him, and I'm looking forward to continuing to follow Lethargic Lad every week.

News From SPACE

And SPACE 2008 is in the history books, but this blog shall continue.

In fact, the real work is only truly beginning.

Over the next few days, I'll be sharing with you my SPACE experience, including the copious amount of photographs I took over the course of the two day event, as well as video of the Day Prize presentation. I'm also in the process of actually reading the many comics I picked up at the show, including new releases from Jay Hosler, Greg Hyland, Pam Bliss, Kel Crum, Brian Canini, and many others, and I'll be telling you about the best of them in coming days and possibly weeks.

Today, we'll cover the headlines:

The two big stories from SPACE this year both revolve around Guest of Honor Dave Sim--his presentation of the Howard Eugene Day Memorial Prize and the much anticipated unveiling of "Secret Project #1".

That no longer so secret project is called Judenhass (the word is, according to Sim, German for "Jew Hatred"), a one-shot graphic novel about the Holocaust, inspired by the sixtieth anniversary, in 2005 of the liberation of Auschwitz. Dave had the original art for the project, as well as preview copies of the published work. The art, I must say, is beautiful. Whatever else you may think of Dave Sim, it must be agreed that the man can draw.

Judenhass should be in comics shops in May. (I actually should say "will" instead of "should", since Dave has always made a point of shipping his comics on schedule.)

The Day Prize for 2007 went to, and this was hardly a surprise, Matt and Carol Dembicki for Mr. Big. Matt's been nominated one or two times before, and I can't think of anyone who deserves it more.

Well, those are the quick headlines. More later.