Some thoughts on webcomics I discovered at last weekend’s Small Press Expo. But before that, I should say I was very pleased to meet Sarah Becan, whose I Think You’re Sauceome is one of my favorites and unfortunately didn’t win the Online Comic Ignatz. We talked briefly about possible ideas for a hypothetical book collection of the strips, which I hope happens.

The Ghosts of Pineville, by Sara L. Turner, reminds me of Scooby-Doo, in a good way. It’s a long-form story about kids searching for the truth behind the ghost stories in their small town. It’s already finished (and available as a book), so serialization should go well.

a2alien, by AA Vrooman, features an alien in wordless comics. He was cute, but the art was so simple that, although there were minis available, I didn’t see the point of owning it in print. I did, however, buy a pair of antennae, which resembled mini deely boppers made of tinsel, because I thought they were a clever and cheap tie-in.

Magpie Luck, by Katie Sekelsy, is a nicely drawn and delicately colored strip about a time traveler. Sekelsy is also responsible for the I Am My Own Booth Babe t-shirt.

I don’t think I’ll be following Yellow Peril, which is an office humor comic starring Asian Americans, but I absolutely adored the mini-buttons Jamie Noguchi brought. They featured superhero versions of darumas — I have an Iron Man one! That round shape is perfect for little round pins.

My big webcomic purchase was Dylan Meconis’s Family Man Volume 1. It’s a fascinating historical story about a disgraced religious scholar in Germany during the Enlightenment of the late 1700s. Given the complexity of the series, I had to have it in print form, plus the book has notes and author’s comments. I felt like it ended just as it was getting good, with our hero finding a new academic home, but that just means I’m already ready for the next volume.