Cruisin' Costumes at the C2E2

C2E2, Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, is the first mainstream comics event I've attended. I guess you could count Crack Bang Boom in Rosario, but compared to C2E2, it was small potatoes. C2E2 was held in McCormick Place. To put it in perspective, this is the same location where the NATO conferences took place. Comics conferences, meeting of world leaders. Practically the same thing. C2E2 lasted three days, but I only had the stamina and money for one. I spent most of the time walking around with friends, checking out merchandise, comics, and tattoo booths and the costumes. Enjoy pictures and commentary of the event:

The McCormick Place entrance hallway.

With Max in the main conference hall. Don't our swanky passes make us look super official?

People in costumes, milling about.

Zombies on stilts? These were some of the best and most elaborate costumes I saw during the conference. 

Hunger Games costumes!

And what would a comics conference be without the Disney Princesses?

Renaissance ladies. 

Now that I've posted these photos, I see a distinct theme: lots of poofy, fancy dresses. Most people were dressed up as superheroes or characters displaying an excessive amount of cleavage, but poofy dresses apparently attracted my attention the most. 

This woman was getting a tattoo. I passed by her multiple times over a four hour period. Why would you go to a comics conference to get a tattoo?

At the end of the conference. So tired. 

Missing Argentina, but at least I have the Chicago Zine Fest

Leaving Argentina and all my friends in the comics community was quite painful. I spent the past year getting to know exciting people, learning about their lives and reading works that they’ve spent time and energy creating. When I started going to events last April, I didn’t know anyone, but the crowd was friendly and eventually I had a network of acquaintances. I wouldn’t have traded this sense of community for anything in the world. But, wait, I did. I left Argentina for the United States.

I went to the Chicago Zine Fest this past weekend and realized that I am exactly where I was last year, but this time I’m in Chicago. Zinesters (or fanzineros) have an intricate, interwoven community that I know absolutely nothing about. At first glance, most people seem pretty friendly, but probably have relationships that began years ago when they were angsty teenagers, eager to write. Do I feel discouraged, starting from square one? I still have my researcher status because I’ve been working on a report for Viñetas Series comparing income sources for Argentine and American comics creators. I do honestly want to learn about how the Chicago comics scene works. My impressions so far are favorable. Unlike in Argentina, there is a large female presence. One reason given for this is that in mainstream media there is a lack of publishing by and about women. Self-publishing offers an opportunity to people not given a voice by conventional publishing companies. Along this note, there was also a large queer community. It’s quite different from the Argentine comics community.

I started by talking with people who have done exciting things in the Chicago zine scene. Anne Elizabeth Moore, a decades-long zine creator, academic, and former Fulbright recipient, participated in an interesting talk about gender, race, and sexuality in zine culture. I spoke with her afterwards about fanzine culture in Argentina in the 90’s and later bought her book about her Fulbright teaching Indonesian women how to create zines. Sarah Becan hosted one of the workshops I attended and presented about her experiences publishing a compilation of her zines through Kickstarter. Kikstarter is a “funding platform for creative projects.” Basically, you submit a proposal and random people on the Internet send you money if they like the project. It is an alternative way of self-publishing comics that otherwise would not be able to exist. In terms of my research, Kickstarter offers a new opportunity for artists seeking to be published.

Zine Fest came at a moment when I was greatly missing Argentina. Even though I don’t know anyone and have to start over, I’m glad there is something in Chicago I can look forward to and enjoy.

A Very Fierro Week

Rocketbooks Comic Fair and the Parque Centenario

On Saturday I went to Rocketbooks, a monthly fair that features used comics imported from the United States. The tiny room was boiling hot, filled to the brim with fan boys and superhero comics. It was the closest thing to hell I have encountered yet on this earth. (Kidding! Argentine fan boys are much more interesting and attractive than their USA counterparts.) I recommend this place for Argentines that like superheroes and enjoy looking through boxes of comics. Even though I ended up buying some second run Fierro comics at a reasonable price, I probably won't go back. It isn't my scene.

Afterwards, I went with Guillermo (a classmate from Diego’s workshop) to the fairs at Parque Centenario and found...a whole new genre of comic. As a child, Tintin fascinated me. The plots, drawings, and characters helped form a love of comics that lasts until this day. So naturally, when I came across La Vida Sexual de Tintin, a porno comic featuring all the characters from the series paired off in interesting ways, I bought it. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m sure it’ll be traumatizing!

Fierro a Fierro

The University of Buenos Aires Social Sciences

On Monday, I went to an exhibition of pages and covers from the magazine Fierro, curated by Laura Vazquez, my adviser and teacher. The pages were not originals, but blown up, printed, and mounted. Usually, when I go to exhibitions, I get involved in a conversation within minutes of arriving and don’t get to actually see the artwork. Well, I got half way through the show when my friend Hernán saw me and invited me over to talk.

Remember that story about the six men in the cabin in Lobos? Apparently that story has become legend in the Argentine comics world. Anyway, most of those men were there and I got to hear them speak about their work during the show’s opening presentation. Diego Agrimbau, the moderator, asked the group of artists and writers if they had read the first run of Fierro and how they felt about publishing in the second run. As children or young adults, most of them had read the Fierro, but only a few dreamed of publishing their stories in the magazine. An interest in comics from a young age was a unifying factor. Facial hair was the other common bond. A word of advice to all the young men out there: if you want to publish in the Fierro, a beard/moustache/goatee is a must.

From left to right: Angel Mosquito, Max Aguirre, Federico Reggiani, Calvi, Dante Ginevra, Gustavo Sala, and Diego Agrimbau