My first time exhibiting at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival was a blast. It was great to be surrounded by comics creators and a comics-hungry crowd. In an age of conventions that only partially feature our medium, it was nice to be part of a show that was all about comics.
The staff took very good care of us, too. Volunteers were coming by regularly with offers of water and granola bars to make sure we exhibitors, who so rarely leave our tables, had a way to stay hydrated and partially fed. On top of everything else that was great about TCAF, this was a nice touch.
The highlight of the weekend was meeting some of my Canadian readers for the first time. Nearly every interaction I had went along the lines of “Oh my gosh, I read Dominic Deegan when I was a kid!” and “I can’t believe you’re actually in Canada!” Chatting with folks face-to-face is what I live for at conventions, and the excitement the folks up north brought to my table was like nourishment for my spirit. My soul felt happy and full for two days.
But I nearly screwed up, and badly, getting into Canada to begin with!
I failed to notice, in the many emails TCAF sent us leading up to the event, the proper procedure for driving across international borders with merchandise. I was stopped at the border and my vehicle searched, but was ultimately informed of the correct procedure and allowed to enter. However, this also resulted in my having a lovely conversation with a border agent and reassuring her that her nerdy daughter, with whom she has few people to chat about nerdy things with, would find her people at conventions like the one I was heading to. So my screw-up led to a nice moment.
And let me tell you folks something you may not know about Canadians, at least the ones in Ontario near Toronto. While they fit the “famously friendly” stereotype of most Canadians, behind the wheel of a moving vehicle they are goddamn maniacs. And this is coming from someone who’s lived in and around Boston, whose drivers are considered the worst in the States! This is not only my perception, either. Garth became so infuriated by the behavior of a Toronto driver that he nearly got into a fistfight.
I will say this about Toronto, though. The food is great.
Overall my experience in TCAF was a positive one. If they let me back into the show next year, and into the country without incident, I would be happy to return to that comics-loving crowd.