I had a better time at this year’s MoCCA Arts Festival 2011 than I’ve had there in the past couple years, certainly since the Festival’s move from the Puck Building downtown to the 25th Street Armory. I’m not sure what made the difference this time around. It may all come down to my own disposition.

I sketched for an hour each day at the MoCCA gallery table. $25 – $35 per sketch, all proceeds going to the gallery itself. Also there were artists Rick Parker, Simon Fraser, Dean Haspiel, Bob Sikoryak, Bill Plympton, Nick Abadzis, Mo Willems and others.

Mo and I worked together for many years on the Cartoon Network animated series “Codename: Kids Next Door.” Since he launched his juggernaut children’s book career, I haven’t seen much of him, so it was nice to chat for a while. I did a few drawings: a femme fatale, Savior 28, and Ben 10.

Got to talk to the folks at First Second Books, who published my graphic novel with Jane Yolen, “Foiled”, and are publishing the sequel, “Curses, Foiled Again!” (I’m working on it…)

Also met and spoke with Doug Bratton, the NY Metro area chapter head of the National Cartoonists Society.

Of course, I picked up a few gems. Please pardon the lousy Mac camera photos.

From the Abrams table, the single-volume collection of Brian Walker’s “The Comics”, one of the most exhaustive written histories available on the subject of newspaper comic strips in America.

From the NBM table, Nicolas De Crecy’s “Salvatore”.

I didn’t actually get this at the con, but the enormous “The Mighty Thor” Omnibus arrived yesterday. It collects all the Walter Simonson Thor comics from the 80’s. It’s huge. The recoloring, by the way, is a great improvement over previous editions and collections of this material.