Love/Hate

.::thursday & friday, december 7 - 8::.

I love traveling. Love love love it. But whereas I used to ADORE going to the airport (when we were kids, airports meant a few things: clean bathrooms, anticipation, and the first step to our super-exciting takeoff and then, eventually, California!), now only negative terms pop into my head: waiting, lines, waiting, disorganization, waiting, angry people, angry sighs... chaos.

This was my first time flying out of Dulles since I was a kid, and it was utter hell. What you see above is the end of the line for security. What's that? You don't see the end of the line? Funny, I neither could I!

For the love of yourself and your companions, if you ever need to fly out of the DC area, use BWI!

--end bitchfest--

Anyway, I was en route to Birmingham, England the evening of December 7th. My first time in England, not counting layovers in London/Heathrow!


Ah, morning! How long it had been since I'd seen your face!! This was in Frankfurt (layover).

I met her before I even left the Birmingham Airport. My traveling companion, Daredevil artist Michael Lark, can be seen in the background waving at Her Highness.

And Lucky us, both of our bags went missing for the day! But we got them later in the evening. And I spent the entire day making up for lost sleep, anyway.


(As in, your luggage may be anywhere, but at least we're quite sure it's still in the world.)



THIS is the fancy-ass place the Birmingham International Comics Show chose to put its guests in! SWAAAAAAAAANKY!!

First restaurant: Chinese.

Delicious, and great company! Here's the lineup:


Okay, can't remember the bald-headed guy's name, but he was very nice. Charlie Adlard of Walking Dead is next. Then there's Duncan Fegredo, an incredibly talented painter and comics artist.

A piece of Fables artist Mark Buckingham, a guy I never met, Sean Phillips of Criminal and about a dozen other beautifully-drawn books, and Michael Lark.

Paper crowns are all the rage in the UK right now. Obviously.


A lovely Chinese Warhol above Mark's head.

The next morning, Birmingham's first annual (assuming there's a second one!) International Comics Show began... !