mindpollution.org

So in case you haven’t heard, the second day of the MoCCA Art Festival in Manhattan was fairly eventful. As always, here’s an excerpt from my recap (which is currently available on ComicMix) and a link to the full version of the report.

Oh, and this time around, I’ve added a little “bonus” story at the end of this post, as it was something that didn’t really fit into my ComicMix recap - so just think of it as an extra scene that you can only see after the credits stop rolling.

Day Two at the MoCCA Art Festival was… an experience.

Except for the few moments when the possibility of dying via fiery inferno was an issue, much of the day felt as if I was slogging through a sweaty, soupy mess thanks to the outdoor conditions and the exhaustion from the previous day (which I detailed in my MoCCA: Day One Recap).

As ComicMix’s Elayne Riggs pointed out earlier today, the forced evacuation of the Puck Building generated quite a buzz as attendees, guests and staff were asked to leave the building (and its air conditioners) while emergency personnel did their thing. (On a side note, for a comprehensive look at exactly what "doing their thing" meant for the emergency crews, check out Fleen’s MoCCA Emergency ‘08 report.)

Okay, confession time: When the fire alarm first started ringing, I honestly thought somebody in the room had won something… and according to a few reliable sources, I started clapping.

Apparently, all the bells, whistles and sirens I’ve been exposed to over the last few years at larger conventions have succeeded in reversing decades of training regarding what to do when I hear an alarm. Nevertheless, it looks like I won’t die alone.

Head over to ComicMix for the full version of this MoCCA: Day Two Recap.

On a completely unrelated-to-comics note, while much of the MoCCA crowd waited for the Puck Building to open its doors Sunday afternoon, I ducked inside the pub across the street for a bit of air-conditioned cool and a drink. As is often the case, I ended up in a conversation with the guy next to me, an Ontario native who happened to be good friends with Kirk Muller, captain of the 1993 NHL Champion Montreal Canadiens. Not only was he able to drink champagne out of the Stanley Cup, but he once occupied a urinal while Wayne Gretzky and Patrick Roy emptied their bladders in the stations on either side of him.

Yup. I thought it was pretty impressive, too. Ron, wherever you are, you’re my goddamn hero.