Going to Philadelphia for the first time

[Mr. Big]

Even though I've been to Pennsylvania many times, I never went to Philadelphia before. This will change this Thursday, however, when I'll fly there for a cartoonists get together.

And yes, I will make it so that I will get at least one cheese steak sandwich

[Momo]

[Mr. Big]

There's also going to be an awards ceremony, so I have to bring a tux with me. Fanciest thing I've ever been to

[Fizzbuzz]

Paging Weird Autumn, and, uh...

Who else lives in the Philly area?

[ixnay]

I spent exactly one afternoon in Philadelphia a decade ago, it consisted of

1. looking at the liberty bell
2. eating a cheesesteak
3. accidentally driving over a bridge and ending up in new jersey

[Weird Autumn]

If you're looking to kill some time and just check stuff out, you get a lot of the oddball businesses on South Street, including a vegetarian diner I'm pretty fond of, Big Gay Ice Cream, a comic shop with a pretty wide selection of nerd junk to browse, and a bunch of sex shops if you go down further towards the Gayborhood

It's a weird place that feels really Philly to me with its mix of grime and culture, but I never got to really explore the city as much as I would like. If you tell me about where you're gonna be though I can probably dig up some places to check out.

[Logicgate]

I spent exactly one afternoon in Philadelphia a decade ago, it consisted of

1. looking at the liberty bell
2. eating a cheesesteak
3. accidentally driving over a bridge and ending up in new jersey

I parsed that last one as "driving off a bridge" and thought your trip was considerably more interesting

[Weird Autumn]

Also the pretzels are kind of the second thing Philly is known for after the cheesesteaks so grab one sometime I guess

[Weird Autumn]

There's a place called Pizza Brain out on Frankford that does fancy artisinal pizzas and is decorated with a big collection of chintzy pizza memorabilia that's fun to look at for a little while. I shot a small documentary thing there for one of my college classes, it might be worth checking out if you wind up nearby.

[Weird Autumn]

I'm running out of things I know about in Philly ask me anything about Temple's campus

[Octavia]

Don't go to Pat's or Geno's for a cheesesteak. Apparently you can get better ones just about anywhere else without having to wait in line for an hour.

[Mr. Big]

At the hotel near the airport. The flight leaves at 9am, so I have to wake up early in order to make it there in time.

On the positive side, it means I'll arrive at Philly in the afternoon.

[Mr. Big]

Also, I'll be making a public appearance on Sunday, along with 70+ other cartoonists, if anyone wants to come.

[Fizzbuzz]

I'm running out of things I know about in Philly ask me anything about Temple's campus

When I was there last year I rode one of the trains that cuts across the corner of its football field and I thought that was mildly interesting.

[Weird Autumn]

Hm, Sundays are my day off and my day should be free except for one thing, I could probably make it down to the city for a little bit

[Aramek]

Fuck yeah! Goonmeet! Eat food and take selfies.

[Madeline]

Have fun

[Mr. Big]

Just landed in Philly! At my room now.

[Mr. Big]

Hung out with a friend who lives right outside Philadelphia. We mostly traded animation trivia, in particular listing New York animators who were alcoholics (spoiler alert: the list was long )

I met up with some cartoonists at the lobby, some of whom I've met before. Nice seeing them again!

[Madeline]

Hung out with a friend who lives right outside Philadelphia. We mostly traded animation trivia, in particular listing New York animators who were alcoholics (spoiler alert: the list was long )

From what I have read, I would expect the answer to be “most of them,” unfortunately

[Mr. Big]

Hung out with dozens and dozens of cartoonists today. I was worried I would be out of place, because I'm definitely (one of) the youngest cartoonist among all the middle aged/older creators, but they were very welcoming and accepting of me, which was neat. The few I showed my work to especially liked what I was doing (I even did a trade with one of Mort Walker's assistants). Many commented how clean my linework is, which honestly surprised me because I never felt it was clean, but what do I know! One editorial cartoonist told me to quit apologizing for my work and just enjoy it, so that's gonna be something to work on.

Some of the cartoonists I got to meet include Sergio Aragones (MAD), Patrick McDonnell (Mutts), Stephen Silver (character designer for "Kim Possible" and other shows), the entire Mort Walker family, Cathy Guisewite, and others. Even met a guy who worked at Terrytoons, so that was fun.

Will post pics and stuff later.

[Mr. Big]

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that cartoonists know how to fucking party I ended up partying with everyone until 3 in the morning. Time just stops.

I got to meet Glen Keane. Very nice man, and I got to hold his Reuben award. Super heavy.

He had some touching stories about his dad, Bil Keane.

[Octavia]

I got to meet Glen Keane. Very nice man, and I got to hold his Reuben award. Super heavy.

Did he win it while he was there or did he bring his trophy with him to the event?

[Mr. Big]

Did he win it while he was there or did he bring his trophy with him to the event?

He won it there.

[Fizzbuzz]

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that cartoonists know how to fucking party I ended up partying with everyone until 3 in the morning. Time just stops.

Remind me, how many furry cons have you been to? Also would you be willing to revisit this statement after BronyCon?

[Fizzbuzz]

But for real though, partying at a convention is a lot about who you know. The wildest shit always goes down in private room parties. Now, a lot of communities are pretty open about what counts as "private," but it's still not stuff that gets endorsed by the convention itself.

[Madeline]

Who is still around that worked at Terrytoons? Off the top of my head, I can only think of Ralph Bakshi and Gene Deitch.

[Mr. Big]

Who is still around that worked at Terrytoons? Off the top of my head, I can only think of Ralph Bakshi and Gene Deitch.

The guy I met at the reception was Howard Beckerman. He told me his first job at Terrytoons was inbetweening Jim Tyer's scene, which blew my mind.

[Madeline]

That’s rad. Getting to meet a guy who in-betweened for Jim Tyler would make my year.

[Mr. Big]

That’s rad. Getting to meet a guy who in-betweened for Jim Tyler would make my year.

He even remembered the exact scene, too (it was Mighty Mouse beating up some cats). He later went to become a storyman and animator for Shamus Culhane when he took over Famous Studios for 2 years.

As one can expect, I got a TON of sketches from cartoonists there. Here are just some:


Ann Telnaes, editorial cartoonist and former Disney animator. She draws the best Trump


Sergio Aragones, who truly is the fastest artist alive.


Tom Gammill, one of the writers for "The Simpsons" (and previously a writer on "Seinfeld" and other shows). VERY hilarious guy. He did a stand-up routine during the award ceremony that made everyone laugh.


Jerry Scott


Carolyn Belefski


Greg and Karen Evans, of Luann.

[Mr. Big]

Met the current artist for "Heathcliff". Hell yeah I got a drawing of the Garbage Ape.

[Mr. Big]

Picture of me wearing a tuxedo for the black tie dinner.



That's a table cloth behind me, but it looks like I'm wearing a cape

[Perrydotto]

you should consider becoming a vampire to complete the look

[Madeline]

Alternately, claim to be Tuxedo Mask

[Mr. Big]

One cartoonist did this edit on Facebook:



Alternatively, a couple of guys said I should be Darth Baker.

[Mr. Big]

Hogan's Alley, a cartooning magazine, just posted pictures of that weekend on their site. I'm in some of them.



Me with Patrick McDonnell, who does "Mutts". I look more focused on the cookies (I was listening to him, honest!)