Titans Of Small Town
So there the wife and I were in Brooklyn on Saturday night with nothin’ to do; might as well go see some major personalities of the webcomics world, we figgered. Thus, we found ourselves at 303 Grand St in the Williamsburg section at Titans of Small Town, with Ryan North, Chris Hastings, Emily Horne & Joey Comeau, and the remote telepresence of Chris Onstad.
Other webcomickers in attendance included Jon Rosenberg, Andy Bell, and a shockingly beardless Steven Cloud (all accompanied by their lovely wives). Organizer Tim Hwang (between the dapper dudes) was busy and everywhere during the evening; look for a talk with him here later in the week once he’s caught his breath.
The show started with an open mingle, allowing patrons to enjoy the art on the walls and meet the creators. For example, I was able to hear Comeau’s story about the book launch party for his new novel in Toronto earlier in the week, where the venue’s front door got jammed and the owner of the building had to kick in the glass. The Q&A featured a wide variety of questions, with choice quotes laid out below. Afterwards, a projector was set up and through the magic of the internet, Onstad participated in a chat with whoever wanted to type in questions.
Actually, now that I think of it, there’s no proof it really was Chris Onstad. It could have been an elaborate ELIZA-like program … the Ontological Natural Statement Turing-compliant Automated Dialog-o-matic or some such. Anyway, O.N.S.T.A.D. shared anecdotes about “his” favorite wine (whatever gets the job done) and amusing things “his” “daughter” did. Hopefully, the chat transcript will be made available and we can all decide if it passes the Turing Test or not.
In the end, the assembled creators collaborated on a piece of art on a large sheet of paper attached to the wall; it was unfinished at the time that I had to leave, but it featured both SPACEMEN RIDING DINOSAURS and MORE DINOSAURS, so you know it was awesome.
In conclusion, Titans of Small Town was a great success, and judging from the conversation Hwang, Rosenberg, and I had (on the topic of who should be invited to headline at the next one of these) (KATE BEATON, KATE BEATON, KATE BEATON DAMMIT), it will certainly not be a one-time deal. The End.
Overheard during the evening:
Chris Hastings, on Wikipedia fun — I’ll go the the Dr McNinja page, and pick a random sentence and add “Believe it or not …” to the beginning, to see how long it takes to revert.
Emily Horne, on being internet famous — I got an email that said, “I really like your comic, your photos are really amazing. I have a friend who could really use a blowjob and he thinks the world of your comic so it would mean a lot if you could give him one.”
Ryan North, on troublesome interactions with other creators — I said I was sorry for that, Emily.
Comeau, on same — Thanks for trying, man.
Steven Cloud, on his newly-shaven state — When I wake up in the morning, I have phantom beard.
Jon Rosenberg, trying to goad me into buying multiple Dinosaur Comics paintings — You can’t break up the Beatles!
[…] “I’ll go the the [Wikipedia] Dr McNinja page, and pick a random sentence and add ‘Believe it or not…’ to the beginning, to see how long it takes to revert.” – Dr. McNinja creator Chris Hastings […]
By Journalista - the news weblog of The Comics Journal » Blog Archive » April 14, 2009: T-minus one on 04.14.09 8:06 am
[…] of Small Town chat with O.N.S.T.A.D. transcript now available; click here for the […]
By Fleen: Enjoy Our Semi-Abusive Opinion Mongering » Cue Roger Daltrey Scream In 5, 4, 3, 2 … on 04.17.09 1:46 pm
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