* First day of the festival at the Puck Building (295 Lafayette), Saturday, 11 AM - 6 PM. $8 admission (or $10 for the weekend). Please be nice to CR special correspondent Chris Mautner. The Festival's latest web update.
* Fantagraphics and Comic Book Legal Defense Fund fundraiser, Parkside Lounge (317 E Houston), 7 PM.
* Comics Comics and PictureBox release party, Participant Inc. 95 Rivington St, Saturday, 7-9 PM.
* Alex and Mary from Rocketship hosting an After-After Party, Saturday, Shades of Green (125 E. 15th St), 11 PM. $3 cover.
* Second day of the festival at the Puck Building (295 Lafayette), Sunday, 11 AM - 6 PM $8 admission (or $10 for the weekend). The Festival's latest web update.
I know there are other social events and the like out there, but these are the ones Friday-Sunday that sent me e-mail and I'm having a hard time finding the others. I'm not around to be e-mailed today, either. Sorry!
In terms of expected news from the show:
* There's always a small run of debut material, less brand-new, not-in-stores-yet material from Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly than such debuts from smaller publishers like Sparkplug and PictureBox and tons of stuff prepared for the show by self-publishers and small press cartoonists. I'm interested in seeing Dan Nadel's new comics magazine, for one.
* If Top Shelf is selling the Alan Moore/Melinda Gebbie Lost Girls, it should be very interesting to see how it does.
* Maybe the most interesting news is that KLA will launch. That's industry veteran Denis Kitchen and designer John Lind's new "agency and packaginig entity" In their initial press they talk about already having signed Drew Weing and Eleanor Davis -- who would be among the first two or three unaffiliated talents I'd seek out were I in the same position -- as well as Todd Hignite and Bernie Mireault. A specific agency targeting comics publications is a great idea, and setting up at MoCCA should cause as much excitement in a certain part of comics as Kevin Eastman making that convention appearance where he came back having bought 612 projects for Tundra back in the day, just not with the ripping-off-the-rich-guy aspect involved.
* Cartoon LA gallery show and 30th Anniversary of Fantagraphics party on Friday at Rocketship (208 Smith St, Brooklyn), 8 PM.
