go to a comic book convention

Okay, this might be a little long, so as long as you’re informed…

• I got one of my Groo TPBs signed by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier. Sergio was really great and friendly, and he drew a little Groo by his signature, and was totally fine with having my picture taken with him. I met one of my childhood idols!
• I got to talk to Darwyn Cooke too, which was nice; I didn’t linger very long but I told him I was really looking forward to his Parker books and he said he hoped I liked them.
• I bought a Witchblade trade from Ron Marz, who was REALLY friendly and nice. When I said that I’d heard from the 11 O’Clock Comics that Witchblade was really good, he laughed and said “Oh, that’s a lie!” He signed my book and talked about how much fun it was to write the book, and he was just as surprised as anyone to be writing it. Really nice guy.
• Talked briefly to Edward James Olmos and I told him how initially I was hesitant to watch BSG but how I ended up loving it, and he was really nice and said “Thanks for giving it a chance; we’re really proud of it. God bless you.” I was a little intimidated by him but he was really gracious.
• But the NICEST people I met at the con were Mike & Laura Allred. I’d said that this was my first convention and they started talking about how they haven’t been out for a while but that they were trying to get back into the whole swing of things, and they just seemed genuinely nice and friendly. We talked for about 4 minutes, and when they signed my X-Force hardcover, it said “To Devin – great meeting you! Mike Allred.” Best part of my con.

I also got some nice art. I got eight sketches all told, but my favourites are the John Constantine sketch from Bruce Timm, the Delerium sketch from Carla Speed McNeil, and the Spider Jerusalem sketch from Steve Rolston.

And finally, my shopping. Boy, did I do a lot. I won’t run down the entire list, but here are a few highlights:
Hope Larson’s Chiggers & Salamander Dream (which she signed and personalized with mini-sketches)
Savage Sword of Conan Omnibus, Vol. 1 (it looks amazing even in black and white)
Echo TPB Vol. 1 (signed by Terry Moore, who seemed really nice)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #1-15 (I can feel myself turning 6 years old again already)
Essential Godzilla TPB (WOOOOOO!)

Overall, I had a blast. It just wet my appetite for more!

The guys and I are leaving tomorrow morning, and I’m all packed with my sketchbook and the things I want to get signed, as well as a few snacks and hygeine items – because I know how smelly a room full of mostly guys can be, and I aims not to be one of those smelly geeks. I’m super-pumped and can’t wait to go; I have a feeling it’s going to be a blast!

I can’t believe it starts one week from tomorrow! I bought my tickets online earlier this week, so now all I have to do is go through my checklist of what to bring and what I want to do. Lots of people that I’d like to meet and/or get something signed, so I want to be sure to bring a few things that have sentimental value, but at the same time I don’t want to be hauling around a ton of stuff I brought with me from home. I listened to a podcast that had good advice for first-time con-goers, but I still think I need to be better prepared. I’ll have to do a little prep work this weekend!

I always thought my first comic convention would be one of the big ones: San Diego, New York, even Emerald City Comic Con. But then I remembered that Calgary had a decent convention, and that’s only 3 hours away from me by car or bus, so I thought I would check out their website. And I’m glad I did: there are literally over a dozen guests that I am excited to see, and there will be lots of exhibitors and people with things to sell, which I’m excited about (and my wife decidedly less so). It’s going to be a fun road trip with my friend and – hopefully – a great experience!

There’s a comic book convention in Tel-Aviv on the 18th of December at the Dizengoff Center. It is going to feature some of Israel’s leading comics artists. this might be my chance to finally meet one of my childhood heros – the leading Israeli comic book artist Uri Fink, the creator of Zbeng! .

hey out there, yep so I went to the 2006 NYC comic-con. And while I am not an avid reader of comics, I know the major names so I wasn’t completely lost, I had a blast. There were so many people there and while later in the event that would cause problems (due to poor planning by the event coordinators…which they have promised to fix for the upcoming one), artists, vendors, and yes even some cosplay going on (nothing like getting pics with some stormtroppers). It was great, I even had the chance to meet Kevin Smith. All in all it was a lot of fun and I highly recommend anyone giving a con a go…especially if you have a friend who is really into comics.

I went to one of these when I was too young to really appreciate it. Looking forward to livin it up the second time around.

Somehow I wasn’t on the ball and just missed the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD. This one would’ve been ideal, since it features some of my favorites. Anyone out there know of a similar event?