My beloved—who is not nearly as into comics and animation as I am—was thoughtful enough to suggest we visit the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum during our recent visit.
It's a small museum but it had several impressive exhibits. My favorite was Before Sita Sang the Blues: Spotlight on Nina Paley. Admittedly, I wasn't interested in seeing Paley's self-animated "Sita Sings the Blues." I felt that the story behind the film was compelling (dumped by her husband via E-MAIL!!! Ouch!!) but the look of the film turned me off. I've never cared for bright, candy-colored animation and chose to skip seeing the film.
The exhibit, on the other hand, displayed the drawings and concept art that went into the making of the film in addition to Paley's early comic art. I was struck by her engaging style and may now check out her film and seek out her old comic art.
After looking over the exhibits, I purchased some low-budget comics made by local talent. Gotta support the locals!
If you're in the San Fran area, I highly recommend stopping by this museum.