BY JEN VAUGHN - Like any good cartoonist and comics evangelist, a road trip cannot just be days of blasting Mates of State and stopping at roadside attractions like Corn Palace. No, no, on my trip from The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT to Fantagraphics in Seattle, WA will be punctuated by a few stops to conduct portfolio reviews and drop off some Schulz Library tote bags at great comic book stores across America.
Bill over at Copacetic Comics is nice enough to host comics portfolio reviews from noon-2pm on Monday, June 4th while Spokane’s Saranac Art-Projects Gallery will host an event on Saturday, June 9th from 2-4pm (thanks to cartoonist Allen Duffy). You can bet that I’m staying with a cartoonist in EVERY. SINGLE. CITY. More in a future, post-road-trip post!
For more stops and details visit the Schulz Library Blog. Tweet at me @theJenya or @CartoonStudies if you have questions or know of the BEST coffee shops to draw in along the way.
P.S. Don’t forget to VOTE FOR THE EISNERS! If you qualify, that is.
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Jen Vaughn definitely brought some board games in her car, just saying. We could play Civilization or Power Grid instead of sleeping on the road trip.
Ah… too bad you’re skipping Iowa.
As for road trips, oral games are the best.
There’s alphabetical memory games…
“I went to the comic shop and bought Action Comics.”
“I went to the comic shop and bought Action Comics and the Ballad of Halo Jones.” etc.
I like to keep track of license plates. Can you find all 50 States? Bonus points for provinces and foreign countries.
Or make up crazy phrases from license plate letters. “JMT” … Japanese Monster Trucks, just my toe, Jamaican Mountain Time… First person to laugh loses. Sketch each winning phrase, including the license plate.
And if you’re really bored… pick a fly speck on the windshield. This is your gun sight. Move your head around until the sight is centered on your target (license plate in front of you, roadside sign, grazing cow)…FIRE!
You can also do Radio rundown. Start at the low end of the FM dial. Start listening. When you can’t stand the station, move the dial slowly to the right, until you pick up the next station. Listen for at least five minutes. See how long you can last before you hit the other side of the radio.
Radio dramas are also good. Hitchhiker’s Guide, Fourth Tower of Inverness, Star Wars… or whatever is playing on NPR.
If you’re really REALLY bored, start workshopping stories. It helps if you have a data recorder of some sort. Maybe even record the story as a radio drama!