A good deal of the money I had for this year's SPX was spent catching up on series I had fallen behind on like Mome or getting books that had come out earlier in the year but had been previously unavailable to me, like The Complete Jack Survives.
Still, in my wanderings along the various aisles I did manage to find some new and notable graphic novels, comics, minicomics and what have you. Here are 10 quick titles that you might be worth tracking down on your lonesome:
Driven By Lemons by Josh Cotter
I've already mentioned this one several times, but goddamn is it worth mentioning again cause this thing is really stunning. I keep picking it up, reading a random page, and then putting it down again. This is powerful stuff, this is.
Ganges #3 by Kevin Huizenga.
It always amazes me how Huizenga can take everyday moments, like, in this case, trying to get to sleep, and turn them into extravagant, elaborate displays of cartooning genius.
Tales from Greenfuzz #3 by Will Sweeney.
Sweeney doesn't get much love online it seems, but his work is colorful, bizarre and silly and I like it.
The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis.
Did you know Eleanor Davis wrote an big, thick kids graphic novel about a trio of inventor kids who foil crimes? I sure didn't!
Brilliantly Ham-fisted - A Collection of 23 Comic Strip Poems by Tom Neely
A collection of bleak and sometimes enigmatic four-panel strips Neely did as an exercise (I assume). Neely told me he's working on a new graphic novel entitled The Wolf that should be out in spring of 2010. Can't wait.
Archaeology by James McShane
This is a rather chunky little mini-comic, small enough to slip into your pocket but bulgy enough to be noticible. It looks like McShane folded the thing first, then cleaved it into a book using a paper cutter. Lots of little paper scraps come off in my hands when I hold it. I like that.
This is the third anthology from Center for Cartoon Studies crew. This time they packaged together three little silk screened booklets together, which I think is a better aesthetic decision than that large landscape format they used last time.
Nutted by Dustin Harbin
Harbin is a funny guy, and this little mini, which is basically a quick collection of groin gags, is as well, but as much for Harbin's way with expressions and exaggeration as with the base subject matter itself.
The Shortest Interval by David King
David King explains the origins of the universe in this short minicomic from Sparkplug. I think this might be my favorite of King's work that I've seen so far.
Three Questions About Daddy by Kelli Nelson
Nelson asks various folks to tell short stories about their dads. I think Nelson is another of those underrated artists and I always am happy when I come across her table at SPX. I can usually find something there that will prove to be money well spent.