The May 2024 Cab Post
The big four-O, a look back on MCAF and unfortunate hair choices
Recap
Hello friends! I hope you're doing well. I'm slowly recovering from an intense festival weekend and turning forty the same week. Earlier this month I was able to bike up the ramp leading from Parc Jean Drapeau to the Jacques Cartier Bridge almost entirely; it seems I still have a few good years ahead of me, according to my passable cardio. Whew!
In other news, we had the biggest Montreal Comic Arts Festival edition of all time last weekend. According to estimates, something like 95,000 people passed through Saint-Denis street during the three days and friends, I FELT IT. This time, I had my own table, but nothing, not even years of crowded Comic Cons, could have prepared me for so much interaction and transaction. Despite restocking in advance, I sold out a few prints during the weekend and my stickers flew off the table faster than I could keep count. It was my most lucrative event in a long time and I have nothing but praise for the organizers. As usual, it was incredibly pleasant to share the kiosk with the editors and authors of Front Froid/Nouvelle Address. We even had matching t-shirts, like the world’s most out of shape sports team. My only regret is not having had more time to walk around and visit people at their tables. I still had the chance to chat with Zoe Si, whose work I really like. So thank you to everyone who stopped by and to the few people who told me they enjoyed this newsletter. You can't imagine how happy that makes me! Unsurprisingly, the Con Crud hit the next day, but even that hasn’t tarnished the MCAF experience. Can’t wait for next year!
Just before the festival, I decided to make a new ghost print, a sequel to the Shoeghost illustration if you will, as well as two small stickers. It’s crazy how people who live in Hochelaga freak out when they see something they recognize. How many times have I heard “Huh!! This is my metro station!! Eh!! It’s that snack bar!!” Thanks for leaving the confines of our little neighbourhood, dear readers and hot-dog enthusiasts.
Announcements
The next event on the calendar is technically the Montreal Comiccon but I probably won’t attend. It's been a busy year in terms of activities, festivals and travels and I really need to focus on L’heure du lunch at the moment. If you missed MCAF, the Metro Ghost print is now available in my store. The stickers are part of a bundle which includes the two ghost prints and the two stickers. Who knows, maybe I'll continue this series in the future!
Also, it is still possible to get signed books in French and English, as long as I have copies left at home. I decided to limit shipping to North America for logistical reasons but that already covers 99% of the demand anyway. They are here!
That’s it for the month of May. I’m getting back to my sandwiches but in the meantime, happy Gemini season, mwahahah!!
Cool stuff
Apparently, we are witnessing the return of dance-punk, this super broad subgenre that made legions of American Apparel-clad idiots like me dance their night away in 2004. Parquet Courts and Yard Act are among my favorite bands of the last few years and I'm happy to see that this sound is still alive and well, unlike my ill-fated, short bangs and low-rise jeans of yore. The essay linked above is accompanied by this excellent playlist.
As part of the First Japan Film Festival presented in Montreal, I went to see Happy Sandwich, a film about the culinary culture of Okinawa. It was funny, touching and super appetizing. I would like to link it to you but I can't find it anywhere in streaming... I apologize if I'm being a tease! Here is the trailer anyway.
Rock the Dragon Animation Jam, a party of animators who redid the English opening to Dragon Ball Z. A cool tribute to Akira Toriyama.
Have you seen a Cybertruck yet? “What I can tell you is this: I saw my first Cybertruck stop at a red light near the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan on Sunday, and this car sucked in a way that had strangers on the sidewalk making Oh brother faces at each other. “
Cool artist: Heather Robinson and his very pretty abstract paintings full of patterns, geometric shapes and soft textures. And how beautiful it would be in my dream living room, that.