Forgive us for the hiatus! We're back, better than ever, and chatting about our recent trip to the Toronto Comics Arts Festival. New books, new friends, and a new city, all in one visit--how lucky are we?!

Media Mentioned

Expectations

• Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF)
• St. Louis Independent Comics Expo (SLICE)
• J. Marshall Smith (aka Jonathan)
• Sarah Becan
• Meggie Ramm
• Kat Schneider
• Someday Perfect by Kat Schneider

Biggest Starstruck Moment

• All the Cameras in My Room by Michael DeForge
• Lee Lai
• Tillie Walden
• Charity and Sylvia by Tillie Walden
• Adam de Souza

Biggest Surprise

• Pascal Girard
• Pastimes by Pascal Girard
• Rebecca and Lucie in the Case of the Missing Neighbor by Pascal Girard
• Glacier Bay Books
• Cookie Puno

Biggest Obstacle

• The Lack Of: Jeff Lemire, Ben Clanton, PEOW2

Best Purchase

• Flash Point by Imai Arata
• The New Girl by Cassandra Calin
• Bug Scouts by Mike Lowery (Betty accidentally said Bug Boys- also a great series by Laura Knetzger!)
• Batcat by Meggie Ramm
• Pace of Play by Vincent Lau

Most Invigorating/Inspiring Moment

• Cannon by Lee Lai
• Charity and Sylvia by Tillie Walden
• Stone Fruit by Lee Lai
• And the Strange and Funky Happenings One Day by Natsujikei Miyazaki
• Akari by Marco Kohinata

Best Overall Moment

• Twilight
• J. Marshall Smith
• Peggy, Francine, and Tom of Drawn & Quarterly
• Someday Perfect by Kat Schneider

Additional Shoutouts

• The New Girl by Cassandra Calin
• The Confessional by Paige Hender
• Lindsey Cheng Dates a White Boy!!! by Asia Miller
• Ami Moon and the Galactic Peacekeepers by Frances Lee
• The Gulf by Adam DeSouza
• Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa
• Avery and the Fairy Circle by Rowan Kingsbury
• The Woodchipper by Joe Ollmann
• Meggie Ramm
• Sarah Becan
• Liz from Street Noise Books
• Gina from Avery Hill Publishing
• Alexander from Fieldmouse Press
• Faith Erin Hicks
• The Future
• Zach from Bulgilhan Press

What We’re Reading

• Butter by Asako Yuzuki
• Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
• Absolute Green Arrow #1 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque
• Not Ready for Real Life by Ding Pao-Yen
• The Odyssey by Homer (2017 Emily Wilson translation)
• The Odyssey (2026 film)
• Pastimes by Pascal Girard
• Charity and Sylvia by Tillie Walden

The Sandwich

• Comics University
• Steenz
• Lou Beishir