Cincinatti Comic Con

Final Stop before Xmas (?)

Hey Everyone. The phone is still busted, but I will be updating the last few posts with pictures when I can. Next week looks promising. I got a gig back, plus doing something cool this weekend. Hopefully I’ll be back to normal after next week.

Updated: More pictures! Phone is back.

Outside of that, I have an offer. Anybody who moves up to a paid subscription will get two ebooks from yours truly on top of a written/illustrated one page postcard story. Now I’m not necessarily the greatest illustrator, but I do promise it’s something fun, and my stories will be fun. They may be a comic page, or a prose illustration. It will be random, and one of a kind, and yours. If you upgrade, that is what you will get. Either way, enjoy!

After hanging out with Rodney and Tina, we all got ready for the show. Cincinatti Comic Con happened in a smaller venue this year. Instead of the busy downtown pavilion, they were situated in the northern end of town. Personally, I like smaller shows over bigger ones. Smaller shows have a little bit more intimacy than big ones. Cincinatti for me this year would be closer to a medium sized show.

And that’s what it felt like as I helped Rodney load up. We were in Artists Alley, which was situated right between the main exhibition hall and the entrance. It was a cool way to keep comics involved, but it seemed like it was bigger in the past. Sure enough, it was, but still, we were optimistic and excited.

Rodney set things up with a little assistance from me. He has his shop down, and we set up a wonderful little short display and the festivities began. We didn’t explore much the first day, and watched as people stopped by to check out Rodney. We had a decent start I thought, and went back the next day.

Day two was the first full day, and Tina joined us. She rearranged the table to her specs, which is part of the modus operandi of the duo, and as such, sat down to commence the day. I took the time to explore the venue. Cons have certain similarities no matter where you are at. There are cool spots for toys, posters, and I always dig the non comics part of artists alley. There are neat things always on display.

The last thing I look for at shows like these are authors. Authors can do well at shows like this, and being a podcaster, I always like making new connections. I happened to meet Ky Venn and S. Frasher, two friends that were selling cool books. I really wanted both of them, but could only choose one, which I did. I picked Ky Venn’s book because I love the idea of a college Harry Potter, and her book was easier to carry. That’s important when you’re backpacking.

They were super cool, and I got them to come on my podcast after. You can listen to that episode here.

There’s these super cool japanese vending machines in the last aisle of the convention. I really, really dug them. Just was so neat to see one of my favorite concepts from Japan in the flesh.

Saturday was a struggle for the morning. For whatever reason the alley was dead, outside of Kevin Eastman when he showed up. My only regret for the whole weekend is I didn’t get a five minute conversation with him. Big Eastman fan. I did meet two other cool people though. Bart Sears has done lots of cool books I used to like to read as a kid, and it was a thrill to meet him and shake his hand.

Also, I got to meet Josh Nealis, an incredibly talented creative dude. It was a pleasure to meet him in person after him doing my show for so many years. Josh, it was cool. Thanks man.

And I did a comic interview you will see next week with a friend of Hazzum’s and Roadkill Rampage illustrator Chad Schoettle, who is incredibly talented. It was a thrill to meet such a skilled dude. Just amazing.

Sunday was a combination of football, as Rodney and I were watching games as we were winding down the show, and the last bit of the con. All in all, it was a good time.

Cincinatti Con as it was was a solid show. I was glad to be a part of it, but I am curious what the full version of the show is like. Maybe in a couple of years I’ll find out. But I’m glad I got the experience.

Rodney, Tina and I went to this mexican restaurant that was amazing, and I got to watch them unwind. I cannot emphasis enough just how fun those two are. I was incredibly fortunate to get the opportunity to do this with them.

And with that, the next day had dawned. My time with them was up. I had grandmothers to see and sidequests to complete. But I’ll always appreciate the time I had with Tina and Rodney. And I did get a brief review to start the next year, but that’s another entry.

Thanks guys. I love you both.