On September 29, 2012, Curls Studio journeyed north to Asbury Park, New Jersey for the lovely second edition of Asbury Park Comic Con. The first show was this past May (read that recap here), and with a bit over two months left in the year, it is safe to say that Asbury is the show that is fresh with attitude we enjoy. The attendees are eager to try new material, which is always a plus. Many of them were attending their first comic show.
If you haven’t been to this event yet, you must make plans to attend the next one. First of all, it’s in a kitschy throwback bowling alley, Asbury Lanes. I love the environment. The organizers may be expanding to the Asbury Park Convention Hall directly on the boardwalk for future shows. Hopefully this will allow for more exhibitors and more breathing room, but at the same time I will miss the bowling alley for old times sake. The convention hall space looks like it will be a lot of fun in it’s own right.
I like to visit the town of Asbury Park because I see something new every time and artistic character is incorporated into the landscape. We also enjoyed hanging out with our pals Lauren Jaslow, Dre Grigoropol, Rafer Roberts, Reilly Brown, Dean Haspiel, Dave Ryan, and everyone else we met at the show. Big ups to Cliff Galbraith who runs the show. We really appreciate the fact that shows like this exist with people starting something fun for all.
The following day, we ate at Frank’s Deli Restaurant for breakfast, walked around Asbury for a couple hours, then drove to Red Bank to visit Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, the comic book shop owned by filmmaker Kevin Smith. There is a lot of movie memorabilia inside from Clerks, Zack & Miri Make a Porno, and more. There is original art on the wall and we spotted some inks by Jimmy Palmiotti. The joint is vibrant and best described as well-decorated pop culture clutter. We saw the area where they record podcasts and AMC’s Comic Book Men show. Toast even came with us and got to meet Buddy Christ from Dogma. Kevin Smith is a big influence to Joe and I and it was a worthwhile trip to make since we were in the area and have been wanting to visit for awhile. Take a listen to Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes talking about Curls Studio here.
You can check out more photos of Asbury Park Comic Con 2 on the Curls Studio Facebook page. Give us a “Like” and let’s be friends.
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