Mid-Atlanticon 2010!

I suppose I'm not much of a joiner. I'm not one for clubs or conferences or conventions in general, but when I heard about Mid-Atlanticon 2010, that was a different story. I had to be there! It was a meetup somewhere along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States of America, featuring fans of the Comics Curmudgeon blog site that takes an alternative, often hilarious, and always interesting look at the daily funnies. Yes, those comics we see every day but usually don't give much more than a passing glance at. Who ARE those people behind Beetle Bailey, For Better or For Worse, Mary Worth, and Mark Trail? (the answer to the latter may be disturbing to sensitive readers)

The Comics Curmudgeon was created by Baltimore-based writer and editor Josh Fruhlinger, and he has a fan base of many thousands who can't wait to read what he has to say about whatever daily comic he chooses to comment on each day. Many of us can't wait to weigh in with our own opinions. Well! A Comics Curmudgeon Meetup was something not to miss, so off to Washington DC I went!

My trip got off to an exciting start when I discovered an authentic Montgomery Ward mini-fridge in my Virginia motel room! Montgomery Ward has been out of business for years now, but their fine products remain. It was a wonderful fridge.


Next up was a fun evening with fellow curmudgeons wossname and bourbon babe, unbuckled that included a barbecue, lots of laughter, and Mooncattie's first Scotch!

The following afternoon - a group of happy curmudgeons gathered at Washington's National Zoo for a tour of the Small Mammal House conducted by volunteer guide Perky Bird.

The animal we all came to see! A real live prehensive porcupine!

Oh, and I saw a Panda bear as well.

Finally, it was time for the great event. Our meetup took place inside Washington's Capitol City Brewing Company brewpub. As you can see, it's a pretty impressive looking place from the outside. Yes, it really was that big.

Sadly, I don't have a good photograph of Josh himself. But I do have this photograph of the star of the evening, Mark Trail's plucky young ... er ... ward? Son? Buddy? Well, it's Rusty's Head On A Stick, and we all agreed that was indeed the best place for him. His occasional extreme close-ups in Mark Trail are pretty frightening usually. We're pretty sure he's a science experiment gone horribly wrong, but in Mark Trail that's sort of par for the course.

Well, amid much laughter, fresh beer, and fine food, an excellent time was had by all. I met some wonderful people, and it was great fun to share comics-related chat with folks I had only previously known through the blog. I hope there will be another meetup one day (full disclosure: I had gone to a previous gathering in Tucson, Arizona in 2008!), and I hope to return to Washington DC as well.

NEXT: All Aboard for Cresson, Pennsylvania and The Station Inn!