Rachel Nabors

09:17 pm: Momocon sleepover?
I was invited to MomoCon in Georgia next March. Do I have any friends in Atlanta who would be gracious enough to let me sleep over?

Tags: cons

09:46 pm: MoCCA Report One: Call Outs
 I just got back yesterday, and I have an awful lot to write about. I haven't had this much fun since I was seventeen. I hope I can go again next year. It outpaced both SPX and Philly in sheer awesomeness. Other cons pale in comparison.

Why? Why???

1. It's in New YAWK. You can go shopping after and before the con starts!

2. It's small.

3. It's surprisingly full of big-name professionals, not super hero pros, but graphic novel pros.

It was worth it because I got to meet so many people, even people I've known and worked with for years like Leigh Dragoon and Heather Bradley. So this was an excellent opportunity to catch up with old friends. Here is where I highlight the most awesome people I can remember with my sleep-deprived brain. Tomorrow I will try to post an account of the adventures. So let's hear it for cool peeps (forgive me if I'm forgetting anyone--I am still giddy!):

Leigh Dragoon (or ldragoon)
My friend of so many years, I finally got to meet her in real life! She's so cool! Why must she live on the west coast? Favorite Moment: She brought a sketchbook for me to get artists to doodle in for my teeth charity. We're going to auction it off later. (More on that in the next post.) She's the one who set up the fund raiser in the first place. I could not ask for a better friend. Check out her site.

Karen Luk (or dragonluk or "Take Out Girl")
A friend of Leigh's who turned out to be a friend of mine as well. She's a very talented comicker and artist and worthy of much of your adoration. Favorite Moment: Coming up with code names for each other in the Subway. (I am "Two Bucket Lass".) Check out her site.

Theresa Tschettar (or tscheese or "Fraulein Doppelganger")
Another online friend. She ran around the convention getting people to draw in the charity sketchbook. She is like a sister I didn't know I had! Our faces, height, feet and hair are all the same! Must be the Deutsch blood we share. And we love so many of the same things including but not limited to objectifying men and Sailor Moon! Favorite Moment: When we became Sole Sisters. I was in a pair of really high heels after the Lulu Awards, and we ended up walking a long, long way. I was in so much pain, I was kicking myself for not packing my boots in my messenger bag. Theresa kindly swapped footwear with me, granting me a moment of relief while she literally walked a mile in my shoes. Did I mention that she's been offering artwork to people who donate for my teeth? Seriously, she's one awesome, hot, talented babe. Check out her site.

Martina Fugazotto
Martina is this years Kim Yale winner. I was proud to hand my sparkling tiara to her. She also does comics for gURL.com, but we hadn't really met. It was she who invited me to meet everyone. She is a sweet girl with loads of personality and oomph. I look forward to seeing what awesomeness she brings the comics biz. Favorite Moment: When she put on her tiara. Check out her site (where you will find a picture of the both of us at Friends of Lulu's Awards)

Heather Bradley
Heather oversaw my work when I was weekly at gURL.com. We've known each other for many years, and it was nice to finally learn what a cool and hip woman my creative director is. Favorite Moment: Going to Ricky's or drinking cocktails, I can't decide.

Stevie Wilson (or sw_inku or "Urban Hellbilly")
Stevie Wilson is from New York and kindly offered to shuffle us about on Monday. She's a super cool girl with lots of spunk and way more talent than should be possessed by one person. She has fabulous taste in clothes, too. Favorite Moment: When she forcibly pushed me through the subway turnstile after Karen and I both botched out attempts to get through. Then she swore to kill Leigh if she Leigh couldn't do it right. Check out her site.

That's all I have in me right now, I'm afraid. I'll catch up the rest of the story tomorrow, but now you've met the key players!

Tags: cons, mocca, update

11:19 pm: Lulu Tiara
D said I should get a rhinestone tiara to wear to the Lulu Awards at MoCCA this year. (I'm handing out the Kim Yale to the next in line!) That way I can pass on the Tiara like Miss America and proceed to Golf Clap and Royal Wave.

Oh the fun. I'm buying my plane ticket.

Should I pack the sequined evening gown?

Tags: cons

11:39 pm: Last minute convention alert: Sheva Con in Roanoke
I'm doing Sheva Con in Roanoke this weekend. Yes, it's last minute, but I didn't have a table until a cancellation tonight. Yay, see you there!

Tags: cons, updates

01:36 am: New comic and attending What the Hell Con

To Call or not to Call

Convention Alert!
I'll be attending What the Hell Con in Greensboro, North Carolina, from February 8-10. I will have a table. Bring chai!

Tags: cons, update

04:13 pm: Need a couch to crash on in NYC for MoCCA... (and possibly a carpool back south)
Will anyone have a couch for me to sleep on for MoCCA?

Looks like I'll be up north for a week between Philly and MoCCA. I hope to catch up with old friends. It's been two years since I went up north.

Also, is anyone from the south (like southern VA or lower) going to MoCCA and returning? I will pay for gas and such to carpool back with you!! (Much as I love the bus, I get sick every time I ride one these days.)

Tags: cons

01:11 am: Convention Hit List, 2008, round 2
I've narrowed the convention list down to the following:

WHAT-THE-HELL?! CON 2008
Greensboro, NC: February 8-10

Wizard World Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA: May 30-June 1, 2008

MoCCA
New York city, NY: June 7-8, 2008
Hoping to attend with the incomparable Leigh Dragoon and Karen Luk.

Considering how close MoCCA and Philly are, I might go up to Philly, stay the week with friends, and come back after MoCCA. Nice timing, if I choose to hit them both.

San Diego Comic Con
San Diego, CA: July 24-27, 2008
Attending on foot, no table.

SPX
Bethesda, MD: October something through something, 2008
------

MoCCA, Philly, and SPX are the only ones locked in at this time. I still need to buy tables and such, but that's for when the paycheck comes.

Tags: cons

07:04 pm: Anime Boston
I've been getting a lot of emails urging me to attend Anime Boston lately. I would have loved to, and about a month ago I emailed their guest coordinator. They politely told me they were in the process of choosing guests and would reply again if I was selected. It's been long enough that I am fairly sure that I was not selected, so I probably won't be going this year, but I wanted to take this moment to remind my fans and friends that it certainly does help if, in addition to telling me which conventions you would like to see me at, you tell said conventions that you would like to see me there. I don't run in the usual comics and anime circles because I work for a site completely disassociated from either industry. So most convention officials have never heard of me, even if you and everyone you know has.

I feel odd posting this, but I feel I should at least give an explanation for why I'm not showing up at the conventions I keep getting asked to attend. So it's not that I don't care about you!

Tags: cons, update

01:32 pm: Convention Hit List 2008
If you have any con to add or comment to make, feel free by all means!

The majority of these I hope to double team with Joe Komenda, the most excellent con partner I have ever had, or another friend. I will, of course, ask if they want me to guest because I am an "award winning comics creator" now. And I wanna do panels, dammit. (I have so much to give!)

I most definitely am going to these cons:
Wizard World Philadelphia
SPX

Cons I want to do, but need more info to lock in:
San Diego Comic Con I'd get a table if I could, but how? Or would I do better promoting myself on foot?
Animazement
Omega Con March

Conventions I would do, but I lack the transport, table, or lodging to attend:
NYC Comic Con Need lodging, table, and transport, with table being most difficult.
MoCCA for the same reasons as NYC Comic Con
APE (because I'm hitting Sandy)


Joe told me about a con called Trina Con or something that sounded like that, but I cannot find it online. Poop!

Tags: cons, update

01:05 am: SPX: Before I forget everything and sink into my post-con funk.
Check out my flickr collection of photos from this con!

Caution, this entry will update frequently as I remember, edit and rename.

It is doubly worse with a convention like SPX, which is the cream of the northeastern crop of comickers. Everyone is interesting and friendly and fabulous, and you get home and you miss all the fun. I wonder if it's the festival atmosphere or the people I actually miss?

I was visited by no less than six readers of my comics from gURL.com. Last year it was just Dana (which made me giddy for months), so you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear, "Hey, I read your comics every Wednesday!" multiple times in one day!

Friday
Joe Komenda picked me and my crate up at 9am on his way up from Raleigh. Much to our chagrin, we realized too late that he should have come up the night before and slept on the guest cot instead of leaving his house at four in the morning. Oh well! The drive was lovely and filled with much entertaining conversation and comic industry gabbing.

Arrived at 1pm. Con opened at 2pm. We managed to set up in good time. I was distressed that our tables were in the back, on an end, which meant less than ideal traffic. HA-rumph. Made the best of it by using my stripper boots as card holders!

A man whose name escapes me recognized my comics and said that someone had submitted them to the Eisner Award nominations. He said remembered them because he was sorting through the considerations for said awards. Woot! And I got invited to room 510 for the Nerdlinger Awards at 10:30pm.

Dana and Miah came by later in the evening and hung out together. It was great seeing Dana again. Both of their lives are changing drastically. I bought Owly and Korgi books for Miah's unborn son because I can't go to her baby shower. Last year she was buying booties for someone else's shower. Gosh, how much happens in a year! We ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, but we couldn't really talk over the din. We hugged and agreed to get together again before another year passes.

Felt guilty for not spending time at the con networking, but no one had invited me to a con dinner that night, so nothing wasted! Went to the Nerdlingers to give my acceptance speech for the Best Trifecta of Comics About Masturbation (the Hat-Trick Vajayjay Award). Robin Enrico played Nine Inch Nails's "Last" while I spoke, and there was much cheering and rabble rousing. Many thanks to Katie for nominating me :) I now need to make a trophy cabinet to sit on my tables at cons, proudly displaying my Nerdling next to my Kim Yale. (The Kim Yale trophy being lost in transit and the Nerdling being a beer bottle, I'm sure it would make for an interesting commentary piece). I also need to put "Award Winning Creator Rachel Nabors" on every bloody comic I publish now. I wish I had thought of that sooner! Remind me.

Afte the awards, I caught up with Robin Enrico, whom I hadn't seen in a year. I wish I could have spoken with him more, but the awards were made out of beer, and everyone was a churning mass of inebriation. I eventually churned my way out of the room and sought calmer, less warm and testosterone-infused digs. I joined Joe and company in the hotel bar and had a Flirtini. Somewhere along the conversations, a young lady whose name (if you know it, it is on the tip of my tongue) escapes me, coined the term "clitorati." I think there should be a zine or a site by this name. Who's with me?

Saturday
This was the day that fans started popping up. I had the pleasure of meething Laura, who coerced her aunt into driving her to the convention center just to see me! It occurred to me that I get an awful lot of attention from girls seeking more female-friendly and female-owned comics, so I started insisting that other female comickers I met send me links to their sites along with banners so I could start a Hall of Chicks Comics page on my site and spread the love.

I made a point of trying to walk to tables and introduce myself on Sunday, but there wasn't enough time to look at people's comics or do more than introduce myself and get their names. I did stop by several publisher's booths, mainly Adhouse and Oni, something I never have done before. Yay for me! I was a dear in the headlights when I learned that the man (James) I was introducing myself to was The Editor at Oni. I was lucky I remembered to give him a copy of my latest mini, but I failed to introduce myself as the winner of the fabulous Kim Yale Award.

Oh, how I kick myself in hindsight.

I sold out of my posters at last, so I turned the display board around and wrote "Buy my comics or buy me chai," on the back, which I hung out infront of my table. Paul, the motorcycling staffer, was the first to bring me a chai and he was swiftly followed by my friend Brett from the Combichrist show in DC. Justin Jordan, a nice man I don't get to see enough of, invited me to join he and his companions for shish kabobs, but I lost his number, so Brett and I went out for yummies at Tara Thai. I did feel bad that I wasn't networking, but I was pretty damn tired and was happy to spend time quietly with a friend. When I came back, the Ignatz Awards party was still going strong. A bunch of tartlets were heading out to Karaoke, but I needed to change shoes and was too late to join the excursion, much to my dismay, sniffle. So I went to the after party, had fondue, and ran out of business cards. As I trudged up the stares, I began to lean forward such that by the time I reached the top of the flight, I was crawling. When I got back into the room, I didn't want to go back downstairs, I was so tired. It was only midnight, and I know that last SPX I went much longer. But last SPX I didn't have school or deadlines that kept me up for 24 hours the week before. I accepted that I had done my best and settled my unusually good-feeling feet into bed.

Regrets
I wish I could have done the following: Stop by Robin and MK's, Raina's and Keeling's tables more frequently. Go out to Karaoke with the girls on Saturday night. Stay up late at the Ignatz afterparty. Go to dinner with Justin Jordan and company. Go swimming in the hotel pool.

Special Thanks to...
Joe Komenda for being the best con partner evah!
The people who brought me chai.
The fans who came to my table and didn't run when I gushed all over them.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: cons, update

11:16 am: Come see me at SPX, Bethesda's Small Press Expo!
Just a friendly reminder that I'll be at the Small Press Expo (aka SPX) in Bethesda, MD, from Friday the 12th to Saturday the 13th. I will have a table somewhere over in section D (just look for the pink leopard fur!).

For more information, check out the SPX official site.

Drop by and say hello! I'll have lots of comics and goodies. I would love to meet my readers and LiveJournal friends!

Tags: cons, update

12:24 pm: Going to a midwest con as a guest?
A friend of mine hooked me up with the Izumi Con people in Oklahoma City:
http://www.izumicon.com/

They say they would love to have me as a guest (con runs Nov 2-4), and will give me local transport, a room, food, and a table in exchange. That sounds awesome! Until I realized plane tickets to Oklahoma City run $350 or so. Greyhound would be cheaper, at a mere $150, but travel would take over a day.

And remember that in October I'm doing SPX.

I'm not sure if I should go or not. I might be biting off more than I can chew. Plus, I don't know if I have any support in the Midwest. I can usually find someone who can watch my table on the east or west coast, but I'm having trouble thinking of anyone I know in the middle of the country. Hmmm...

Tags: cons

03:17 am: Okay, fine. No San Diego.
Well, my laptop died, so I'll be using my $600+ travel money to replace it. That ends the San Diego discussion. Le sigh.

Tags: cons

08:35 pm: San Diego: Yes or No?
So Friends of Lulu is doing the awards ceremony on Thursday night, pretty much making my attendance impossible, as Lauren and I are carpooling from Hollywood(ish) on Friday if I go.

It's going to cost me about $600 to attend this baby, and that's a modest estimate mainly accounting for plane tickets and meals. Now I want to know:

Is this convention worth $600+ and loss of a week's worth of work? Without being able to attend the awards ceremony?

Remember that I will be with Lauren, and if she doesn't want to stay up until 3 in the morning at a Tokyo Pop party, then I won't be able to (she is my hostess, and her desires come before mine).

I'm a bit upset about this. When I started making arrangements, I was told the ceremony would be on a Saturday. Now that it is on Thursday, I question the sanity of this stressful and costly adventure to the other side of the continent. I mean, I could save my cash, work farther ahead with the comics, and hop a plane out there for a different convention when I have more time to goof around with my friends.

What say you, LiveJournalists?

Tags: cons

05:19 pm: God damn you, San Diego!
Okay, I am majorly unhappy with San Diego Comic Con. I didn't know I was going to go until I got nominated for the Kim Yale award (vote, damn it). But no sooner was I nominated, but the con closed online professional registration. I call, but no one answers. It says to register at the door on the site. Why is it so hard to register online? What am I going to do?? I don't want to fly all the way there just to be turned away at the door or to have to wait in line for hours upon freaking hours.

Maybe San Diego was a bad idea.

Tags: cons

12:54 am: Heroes and San Diego
It has been done. I made preparations for my social life to correct itself before I left Roanoke. Upon my victorious return, I will have more time than ever to draw comics.

And then, if I get all my Cinderella chores done in time, I can go to San Diego and continue my sparkltastic reign. Although, Sandy would have to go pretty far to beat this con.

Because:
1. Joe Komenda is an awesome kind guy. Awesome. Nobody ever has a bad word to say about him. He rocks. Period. Could not have hoped for a greated con pal.

2. Jennie Breeden of The Devils Panties is sleeping in the bed next to mine.

3. I am sleeping in a real bed.

4. The shower has two heads. Holy cow.

5. The people are awesome and beautiful. I always say, if you want to meet cool girls, go to a comic con. They are always the cream of the crop as far as intelligence, creativity and fasion are concerned. I always know that the women I meet at a convention are well worth knowing and keeping track off.

6. In a bet, I wriggled out of a straight jacket on the steps of the Westin. I used my teeth!

7. Cat boys.

8. Beautiful men.

9. Origami.

10. So happy.

11. Chai latte.

I took my minis by a portfolio review DC was doing. I was told portfolio reviews are a harsh necessity to a career, but he seemed really enthusiastic. Not at all what I was expecting. I'm actually kinda fuzzy from it. (Although I had to wait in line for two hours, oy!)

In other news, my tendon in my left ankle is on fire. Heels actually feel comfortable, strangely.

I met some really interesting and cool people. No doubt I will post pictures and links as I rifle through business cards and file storage over the next couple of days.

Just wanted to let you know that I am fierce, having a ball, and feel like I could break walls with my head.

Heroes rocks. The people rock. And there is chai.

Peace.

Tags: cons

01:54 pm: Getting to the Church on Time: San Diego or Bust?
I would like to go to San Diego Comic Con if possible this year. I've been meaning to visit Lauren and Leigh forever, both of whom will be attending, and although it would be a gaping hole in my life to leave town, I think the entire trip would be very good from a networking and promotion point of view (like, a dozen birds with one stone--what better time to come up with a good excuse to visit the West Coast?). Plus, now there are the Lulu Awards, and gosh, I can't pass up an opportunity to wear my sequined evening gown, can I?

But how do I get there? Graham said I should take a bus to a city with a bigger airport because it would be cheaper than flying there from our tiny one. Sooooooo... which city? Which airport? It would be nice if the Greyhound would actually drop me off AT the airport, and I know that I have stopped at airports while on a Greyhound, I just cannot remember which city I was in at the time.

The other alternative would be to pull a Puss in Boots style sad face and prevail upon the kindness of a friend to take me from the bus station to the airport. That or call a cab.

Fah, so much shit.

I hate making travel arrangements. I know the plane ticket will set me back about $300. With that kind of money, I could buy a real bed or a half dozen pretty dresses.

So I may not be able to go. It is neither easy nor cheap to take a trip like this. And oy, I would have to take time off of work or work many comics ahead during con season, both not very appealing solutions.

Tags: cons

08:45 pm: 2007 Convention Appearances
I'm pretty sure that I'll be at these conventions unless I am crowned Princess of the Universe or get married to Trent Reznor (or Alessandrrrro) or figure out some astounding secret to the pyramids of Egypt which requires me to leave the country before an international secret service tries to make my death look like an accident. But I sincerely doubt the possibility of anything of such a magnitude happening to me, so I will see you there!

Might still add some to the list. I'd like to extend a special big thanks to Joe Komenda on Heroes and SPX. I couldn't make the cons without him!

Tags: cons, update

01:34 pm: Attack Plan for 2007: Cons, quests, and hopefully conquests.
I'm uncluttering my corkboard and the map of America is on the wall, pushpins beckoning. Now is the time for contemplating what, if anything, I am going to do for the next 365.25 days. Above all my priority will be to keep making comics.

Conventions
I have not bought any tickets yet, so these are still flexible. I'm just hashing out where I need to be when. Unless otherwise noted, I want a table at these.

Most likely:
Heroes, Charlotte NC, Jun 15-17
San Diego (no table), Jul 26-29

Possibly Maybe...
NYC Comic Con (no table unless I can share), NYC, Feb 23-25
BaltiCon, Baltimore MD, May 25-28
MoCCA, NYC, Jun 23-24
DragonCon, Atlanta GA, Aug 31-Sept 3
SPX, Bethesda MD

Probably conflicts with travel plans:
APE, San Francisco, April 21-22
Wizard World Philadelphia, Jun 15-17
Otakon, Baltimore MD, Jul 20-22

I was expecting to attend Philly, but in light of happy arrangements with people I like, I'm opting for Heroes. My one regret is that I will not get to meet with my Philly friends :( (And that is a big drawback.) Look on the bright side, though, if I take a little longer to come back, I'll have more new stuff to bring with me.

As for New York's cons, I love New York. I have places to stay there. But doing a convention alone in a large city is more than a little initimidating.

If you want to suggest a convention or try to pursuade me to do one in particular, now is the time to spit it out.


Projects and Quests
-Arrange library gallery opening in Second Life sometime this winter
-Submit something(s) to Sequential Tart
-Produce some more mini comic collections
-Approach small publishers (as opposed to just stalking them)
-Top Secret Project
-Decide whether to go through the pain in the arse that is reprinting 18 Revolutions or just let it go out of print until I'm swamped with requests to bring it back (which happened last time). I hate the book because the art is old (embarassing at cons), but it seems to be a cult favorite with some people. And I parted ways with my last graphic novel printer because their service was horrendously poor and slow, so I'd have to seek out a new printer and hope they don't suck, too. that said, can anyone recommend a printer who can do perfect-bound graphic novels in small runs?


Road Trips
I'm going to California for the San Diego Comic Con, which I hope to attend on foot (preferably dressed as a crow) with my friend Lauren. I will also make a point of inflicting myself upon such folks as Leigh, Lisa (I'm bringing tuna) and Kelly. It's about time I scoured the state to meet friends I've never met in the flesh. Expect picture blogging!

Tags: cons

02:01 pm: Voting and Convention Anxiety
Yay, just got back from voting. (All Democratic! Woo!)

Go, vote. Do it. You must.

Also, I'm having a bit of a bitch with conventions. Mostly I fear next year's itinerary. I have no idea which ones I need to attend, whether or not I should get a table, if I'll have any way to use the bathroom, should I stay in a hotel or limit myself to cities where I can sleep on couches.

And the best conventions are selling out of table spaces.

Also, the best conventions may not be the best for me. For instance, I got way more attention and fans from Wizard World Philadelphia than SPX. When I came back from Philly, my MySpace friend request thingy exploded. I made lots of comicking and non-comicking fans and friends, and several of my comics were reviewed, and I was even interviewed thanks to the whole affair. At SPX, I made many comicking friends, but I somehow feel that while it was a good networking con, I did not have enough support (in Philly, my friend Steve totally helped me hold down the fort--at SPX, my friend Miah couldn't make it until Saturday afternoon) to take full advantage of it. Also, with so much independent talent in one area, I admit I probably faded into the background.

So, what am I to do? I'll spend the next couple of days mulling this over. Feel free to add your two cents (suggest a con, a solution) or ignore my introspection.

Cons I would consider:

• NYC Comic Con: Big con, I have friends in/near NYC, but all tables are sold out.


• Wizard World Philadelphia: Did it already and loved it. Have friend, transport, and accomodations. Least stressful of all cons because I've done it before. I also have a number of people there urging me to return. However, all of my comicking acquaintances are going to...


• Heroes (Charlotte): Never done this con before. Supposed to be indie-friendly. All my favorite indies are going there :( Charlotte isn't that far from me, and I could prevail upon someone's kindness to pick me up on Rt. 77 or 58 or the bus station in Charlotte, but where would I sleep? If I could get a table, could I manage it alone?


• APE:It's either this one or...


• San Diego Comic Con: I must choose one or the other, cannot do them both. Do I want a table?


• MoCCA: What heck is this? Everyone mentions it, but I can't seem to get a lock on dates, times, fees, purpose, crowd, what have you. Also in NYC, where I have couches to sleep on if I need them.

I managed two cons this year. I'd like to do three next. SPX and a con on each coast. But now that I have a weekly comic (and monthly paycheck), I question my purpose in going to these conventions. To make money? I always just break even. To make connections? If I don't have someone to help me, I only connect with the people who bother to stop by my table. To promote my work? It's cheaper and probably more effective to do that online. If I want to promote to publishers, small press cons are the way to go. Otherwise, maybe I'd have more luck at places like Otakon or DragonCon.

Blah, I so enjoy cons, but they are such a frigging drain and source of anxiety. It would be easier, I suppose, if I could drag a friend along with me, but why, why can't I have friends in my area who would be interested in that? (Note to self: This is why most comickers have a very supportive significant other.)

Oh, and about the Worst Witch movie...
It was pretty good. I thought I would need vodka to make it through, but I didn't actually feel the desire to imbibe until close to the end when Tim Curry started singing, "Has anyone seen my tamborine?" I laughed so hard I cried, but otherwise, it's a decent little movie. tim Curry only says about three lines, but every word he says could be taken entirely the wrong way. Also, I did not realize Diana Riggs starred as Ms. Hardbroom! She is so hot, even as an older woman. I loved her as Mrs. Peel in the BBC's Avengers series. A strong, beautiful, capable character. In this movie, well, let's just say the little witches probably call her Mrs. Hard-something-you-can-guess behind her back ;)

Tags: cons