City of Brotherly Love

AND Secret Acres has returned again.

The Philadelphia Alternative Comic Con, or PACC, as to it we shall henceforth refer, was a real good show and shows a lot of promise. This was primarily an artist’s shindig, which is a rare breed in the age of Comicon International and the like. There were only two or three publisher tables, which made us one of the bigger getups on the floor, which is also a rare thing for us. This was all very much good news for the crowd, and there was quite a crowd, coming to PACC to check out the local (and not so local) talent.

As fans, we were into it. There were some familiar faces in Box Brown, the ever-present Liz Baillie and Partyka’s own Matt Wiegle. New to us, and among our favorites in our haul was Peter Lazarski’s Imaginary Monsters. The real stars of the show, by our estimation, were its organizers and wardens of Secret Prison, Pat Aulisio and Ian Harker.  There’s some pretty great stuff in those Secret Prisons (no actual relation to Secret Acres), from some pretty great artists, a shocking number of which are Philly locals. As to the locals, local legend Charles Burns himself dropped by the show. There is definitely something going on at PACC.

We were not around for PACC the first, but for a show in its second year, it’s got a rosy future. Before anyone starts up saying that this was a labor of love alone, there really was a crowd and we really did sell some books. A lot of books. Of course, we had Ken Dahl, Eamon Espey and Sean Ford with us, so that may not be a surprise, but for PACC, which is still in its infancy (or a toddler), the sales and enthusiasm were pleasantly surprising. Thinking about it on the ride home, with all the local talent and all the Philly fans, that city needs a PACC. Congrats and thanks to the Philly Comix Jam and Secret Prisoners for making it happen. Of course, this may mean that next year we won’t be one of the bigger kids on the block, but we like it like that, too.

Now the REAL news: The Friends of Lulu are still kickin’ it after all these years and it’s time to prove once again that Minty Lewis can’t lose. If you still have not read PS Comics, now is the day to save yourself from missing out. But don’t take our word for it, check this out and then go vote for Minty here. Seriously, you can just write her in for every category. Minty is nothing if not Kid-Friendly, Most Talented, a Lulu, a Distinct Woman and a born Hall of Fame monster.

Go vote!

We will definitely see you in September for SPX, and we may have some treats for you before then…

Your Pals,

Barry and Leon

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