This weekend I'll be at the Pittsburgh Indy Comics Expo in the Strip District from 10-5 Saturday and Sunday selling my self-published comics and having a kickass time!

Here's the mighty list of comics I'll have with me (new items in bold):

TIME LOG
- Time Log one-shot
- The New Time Log (1 of 3)
- The New Time Log (2 of 3)

SUPER HATERS
- Super Haters v1
- Super Haters v2
- 6 Super Haters minicomics:
-- Kids (#58-72)
-- Guess Who's Cumming To Dinner? (#82-96)
-- Eye to Eye (#110-124)
-- Vacation (most of #167-187)
-- Is It Lust Or Is It Love? (#195-209)
-- Alternate Surreality (#215-229)

STICK CATS
- Stick Cats #1: Act I
- Stick Cats #2: Act III

OTHER COMICS
- AudioShocker Comics Archives v1 digital comic card
- Zombie Palin (third edition)
- Passage
- Bushido Revolver
- Two Twisted Tales

ZINES
- Poetree
- NoPants Zine Anthology
- Tales for a New Gen

I'm sure there's something I left off the list. Anyway, point is, I'm gonna have a ton of new material with me this year, not to mention that nearly everything listed above is new since last year's PIX.

AND... if you stop by my table this weekend and mention the special phrase, you'll get a $2 discount off of your purchase (or, if the item you're buying is $2 or less, you'll get a free minicomic). The special phrase is: BALLS DEEP (and don't forget to mention this blog post to jog my memory).

My friend Dan mentioned that he hasn't seen any reports from the 2011 Pittsburgh Zine Fair yet, so I figure I'll post an impromptu one from the perspective of an organizer and exhibitor at the show.

This debut PGH Zine Fair was the baby of Erin Oh, who started working on it back in June (I think). I joined the organizing crew in early July, and attended meetings every Monday night at Pittsburgh Filmmakers in North Oakland.

While Pittsburgh's had other recent small press events in the past few years (SPF and PIX come to mind), this Zine Fair was dedicated to zines above all else, making it a bit different than its predecessors. Also, it stands out from the pack by being a wholly volunteer and organization-free project. There was no backing company -- profit or non-profit -- involved.

Anyway, we all worked hard to design the best show possible with limited resources, and I think Erin did a fantastic job leading the show to definitive success. I was really impressed with the attendance. I would say it was a good-to-great turnout for a random late summer Thursday evening. Also, because the main vendor space was tightly packed, it felt really well attended.

The crowd was more bohemian than I expected. I'd consider myself one of the less traditional people that I can think of in the Pittsburgh comics scene... but the Zine Fair crowd made me feel like I was one step away from wearing a suit and tie to the event.

I'd be lying to you if I said I got a good feel for the material that was there. Honestly, I didn't walk around that much. But I did see a pretty wide range of stuff, from minicomics to photocopied prose to art books to perfect-bound novels.

Personally, I did a very modest business. But I always do a very modest business. And the Zine Fair was on par with how I normally perform. One friend of mine did what I consider to be very strong business (and it was her first show), while another did very weak business (and this was his umpteenth show). I fell somewhere in between.

And there were more than zines! We had DJs (I was one of them). The first DJ to go on was AWESOME! She should have played the whole show. The next DJ didn't show up, so a show organizer went on next. I was last. 

We used a PA system, which was great for microphones... but not so great for music. The speakers couldn't handle low or high sounds (it's just not in their dynamic range), so half of my tunes sounded great and the other half sounded empty. But it was awesome that we even had a PA at the show in the first place, so kudos for that.

We also had free food (not my style of grub but it was kickass that we had some), water (I love water), and workshops. I was too busy manning my space to go to any of the programming, but I assume it all went well. I didn't hear any complaints!

Also, there was a raffle, and what I found notable about the raffle was how PACKED the room was when we announced the winners. It was a healthy mix of vendors and attendees, and that was really nice to see.

Here are a few more pics from the Zine Fair on the main site. And here are the same pics plus more on Andy Scott's blog. And here's some personal reflection on the show from Wayne Wise, putting the event in a historical context.

All in all, I had a good time and I felt like the show did terrific for its first year. I really hope we can bring it back again next year and make it an even greater success!