The Strange Adventure of Jose in Austin

This past weekend I was in Austin, TX attending STAPLE, and independent media expo where comic creators sell their goodies. I was there promoting my two books, RHD and Jose's Sketchbook.

Unlike my friends from Dallas, I had the genius idea of heading down there on Saturday at 6:30 AM. The drive was boring as hell, but made it even worst that my CD players was busted. Luckily the local stations had a huge range and it would be a while before they started the static symphony. The most interesting thing is that I found a neat indie station while nearing Austin and they were playing songs I haven't heard in so long.

I arrived in Austin, but I couldn't find the venue for close to an hour, ending up on the other side of the city. I eventually found it and rushed into check-in. Before the show started I made my rounds and mingled with Nate Bramble and Grant Sutherland. After setting up I met my neighbors and things where under way.

The attendees and fellow exhibitors were friendly, which is kind of a sharp contrast to the anime conventions that I've done in the past. After being behind the table for hours I got some rest and walked around the show. I saw fellow Dallas-ites Space-Gun, David Hopkins, and Paul Milligan, who were also exhibiting, and did my usual salutations and mingle until it was time to get to work. While exhibiting, I saw my good friend Brandon and he, along with other con-goers, bought my book. Now that I think of it, the book was selling in a consistent rate. I pretty much made back the table expenses.

After the show I tagged along Paul and David to Hooper's Cooking, a southern cajun restaurant, and then went to the after party live art show. Didn't stay long and left for Dallas that same night, ending up sleeping on a random picnic area on the road.

Overall, it was a great show to be at, and an extremely different vibe from the shows I usually attend. It bums me that it's only done once a year because there aren't many shows like this especially in Dallas.

Here's a video recap done by Texas Geek TV



You can see me at around 3 minutes in.

I'd like to thank all of you who bought my books, Michael Dulce for his free copy of The Sire, and to Uncle Staple for putting such a neat show.

I'll be back next year!