JKC's Wizard World Non-Adventure
Aug. 14th, 2007 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jkcarrierStandard disclaimer: I spent most of the con either parked behind my table or wandering around Artists Alley. If you're interested in DC/Marvel news, movie previews, or other such mainstream stuff, these are not the droids you're looking for.
Borrowed the parents' SUV and met up with Karen and John O'Donnell on Friday morning. One of Karen's co-workers had given her a route that would supposedly allow us to avoid the construction on the dreaded Dan Ryan Highway. To my great surprise, we actually managed to follow the directions without getting lost. I'm not sure how much time we saved, but it was a little more scenic since we got to see a bit of downtown Chicago.
We didn't get to the con until almost 3:00 in the afternoon, by which time someone had stolen the chairs from our table. Luckily, John has the mutant power of chair-finding, and he managed to score three chairs that were more comfortable than the standard ones anyway. We were in the same spot I had last year, off to the side and way back by the freight doors. Took a while for the customers to trickle back that far, but eventually we did get a fair amount of traffic. The folks at the tables around us were all cool & friendly, which was a relief.
It's always interesting to see what other gatherings/conventions are sharing space with the Wizard World show. This year, it was some kind of knitting convention called "Stitches". The attendees seemed to be mostly grumpy middle-aged ladies, whom we quickly dubbed "The Stitches Bitches". I'm sure they didn't think much of us either.
Sales were... well, basically non-existant. I did have a couple of repeat customers from previous years, and I did my usual share of trading with pals, but didn't have much luck snagging new readers. I gave away a couple hundred stickers with the web site address on them, so at least we got the word out a bit. Karen pointed out that we've done better in years when she wore her "Death Warrior" get-up (black dress, sword, foam rubber shoulder-spikes). I kind of hate when she does that, though. Even though the outfit isn't skanky or revealing at all, I don't like the idea that people will think she's just a "booth bimbo", rather than an artist in her own right. She talked about possibly trying to put together a Lady Spectra costume for next year, which I admit intrigues me.
Speaking of the booth bimbos, my favorites were the two blondes in black stewardess outfits, swatting passers-by with their riding crops. I forget the name of the book they were promoting, but they actually tried to send some customers our way on Saturday. Thanks, Spanky Stewardess Ladies! Lots of fans walking around in costume as well... mostly anime characters I didn't recognize, but there were a few Jedi and superheroes and one guy done up like The Monarch from "Venture Bros.".
We now enter the name-dropping portion of our program:
Pam Bliss - As always, she has many cool projects in the works -- her enthusiasm is infectious! And I was glad to see her husband Nick up and around and looking fit (he'd been having some health problems the last time I saw him, but he assured me that all's well now).
Jennie Breeden - Yes, she really does own a pair of those crazy flame boots as seen in her strip.
Geoff Darrow - When I asked about a SHAOLIN COWBOY collection, he assured me that it would happen, but he couldn't say when.
Matt Feazell - Continues to corrupt the youth of America via his comics pages in DISNEY ADVENTURES. He talked about the joys of working with art directors, and how difficult it is to actually come up with new "knock knock" jokes.
Jane Irwin - Feeling a bit under the weather, and extremely irritated at the technical problems that are delaying the new VOGELEIN book. But the pages look great, and I predict it'll blow everyone's socks off when it finally makes it to the shelves. We chatted a bit about how, in the long run, persistence counts for more than raw talent (lucky for me!). I doodled out some fan art for her, and she told me that there's actually a scene similar to what I drew in an upcoming book. Spooky!
David Mack - Said that the current "Alchemy" storyline in KABUKI could easily go on much longer, since he has a lot to say about the themes therein. But he's going to try and restrain himself and wrap things up in the next issue. He even said he was looking forward to reading my comments on his message board (clearly, the paint fumes are starting to get to him).
Will Pfeifer - Every time I see him, I pester him to bring his old VIOLENTMAN minicomics back into print, and this time he told me he's actually toying with the idea of doing a collection via one of the print-on-demand services. Here's hoping!
Paul Sizer - Toiling away at his upcomic graphic novel B.P.M. He's gotten some nibbles of interest from a certain indy publisher, which would make it easier for him to put the book out in full color (which it really needs, to show off the combination of art and photography to its best effect). Keep your fingers crossed!
Tom Stillwell - Keeping plenty busy with his refreshingly non-angsty, non-ironic superhero book HONOR BRIGADE, as well as the creators' rights group UNSCREWED.
Spike Trotman - Actually recognized my name from ComicSpace and MySpace. We speculated about why my MySpace account got yanked, and decided that it was the lack of animated Tweety gifs on my page that did me in. The new Templar, AZ collection looks great, and she assured me that my pre-order copy would arrive soon ("I'm mailing out stacks of 30 at a time!").
Suicide Girls - When I saw they had a booth set up, I was tempted to run past yelling "FREE LITHIUM PICNIC!", but I was too chicken. Most of those models could probably kick my ass, and besides it's not their fault that the site is run by litigious assholes.
Jim Valentino - I was so happy to get him to sign my copy of NORMALMAN, that I walked off without the copy of BOMB QUEEN that I'd also bought. By the time I realized my mistake and went back, there was someone else manning the table. Luckily, the BOMB QUEEN book was still sitting where I'd left it, and they believed my tale of woe. Whew!
I didn't do much after-con socializing. I know, I know... all the "good stuff" happens in the bar after hours. But after getting dinner I was just too pooped to do anything but fall asleep in front of the tv. I dunno why sitting at a table all day is so draining. I must be gettin' old.
We bugged out early on Sunday, hoping to beat the traffic, only to discover that one of our tires had gone flat. It took all three of us to decipher the owner's manual and locate the jack and the spare, but eventually we got the tire changed and hit the road again. The ride back was pretty uneventful. We rolled into Cincinnati around midnight, having survived another WizWorld. The End.
And now, my favorite part: The Haul! I swore this year I would avoid the back issue bins and just glom onto trades and minicomics, and I pretty much kept my word:
THE ALCHEMY OF ART: DAVID MACK
BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT
BLUE MONDAY: PAINTED MOON
BOMB QUEEN II: DIRTY BOMB
CATWOMAN: IT'S ONLY A MOVIE
THE COMPLETE NORMALMAN
THE DEATH OF ANTISOCIALMAN CHAPTER 12 PREVIEW PAGES
THE DEVIL'S PANTIES VOL. 1
THE DREAM OF THE MOONDOG
ESCALATION: RED LAZARUS
ESSENTIAL MARVEL TEAM-UP VOL. 1
EVENFALL: SOUL TO KEEP
GHOST IN THE SHELL VOL.1
HAPPY BUDDHA BUD
HELLBOY: THE CHAINED COFFIN AND OTHERS
HONOR BRIGADE #3-4
JAICORE SKETCHBOOK '07
KABUKI: METAMORPHOSIS
PLASTIC MAN ARCHIVES VOL. 1
PROFESSOR GIDEON LYKANDER'S HAND PICKED SELECTION OF REALLY RATHER BAD WEREWOLF JOKES
SCOTT PILGRIM & THE INFINITE SADNESS
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: METAMORPHO
SOUL CHASER BETTY
VOGELEIN: OLD GHOSTS FREE 24 PAGE PREVIEW BOOK
Borrowed the parents' SUV and met up with Karen and John O'Donnell on Friday morning. One of Karen's co-workers had given her a route that would supposedly allow us to avoid the construction on the dreaded Dan Ryan Highway. To my great surprise, we actually managed to follow the directions without getting lost. I'm not sure how much time we saved, but it was a little more scenic since we got to see a bit of downtown Chicago.
We didn't get to the con until almost 3:00 in the afternoon, by which time someone had stolen the chairs from our table. Luckily, John has the mutant power of chair-finding, and he managed to score three chairs that were more comfortable than the standard ones anyway. We were in the same spot I had last year, off to the side and way back by the freight doors. Took a while for the customers to trickle back that far, but eventually we did get a fair amount of traffic. The folks at the tables around us were all cool & friendly, which was a relief.
It's always interesting to see what other gatherings/conventions are sharing space with the Wizard World show. This year, it was some kind of knitting convention called "Stitches". The attendees seemed to be mostly grumpy middle-aged ladies, whom we quickly dubbed "The Stitches Bitches". I'm sure they didn't think much of us either.
Sales were... well, basically non-existant. I did have a couple of repeat customers from previous years, and I did my usual share of trading with pals, but didn't have much luck snagging new readers. I gave away a couple hundred stickers with the web site address on them, so at least we got the word out a bit. Karen pointed out that we've done better in years when she wore her "Death Warrior" get-up (black dress, sword, foam rubber shoulder-spikes). I kind of hate when she does that, though. Even though the outfit isn't skanky or revealing at all, I don't like the idea that people will think she's just a "booth bimbo", rather than an artist in her own right. She talked about possibly trying to put together a Lady Spectra costume for next year, which I admit intrigues me.
Speaking of the booth bimbos, my favorites were the two blondes in black stewardess outfits, swatting passers-by with their riding crops. I forget the name of the book they were promoting, but they actually tried to send some customers our way on Saturday. Thanks, Spanky Stewardess Ladies! Lots of fans walking around in costume as well... mostly anime characters I didn't recognize, but there were a few Jedi and superheroes and one guy done up like The Monarch from "Venture Bros.".
We now enter the name-dropping portion of our program:
Pam Bliss - As always, she has many cool projects in the works -- her enthusiasm is infectious! And I was glad to see her husband Nick up and around and looking fit (he'd been having some health problems the last time I saw him, but he assured me that all's well now).
Jennie Breeden - Yes, she really does own a pair of those crazy flame boots as seen in her strip.
Geoff Darrow - When I asked about a SHAOLIN COWBOY collection, he assured me that it would happen, but he couldn't say when.
Matt Feazell - Continues to corrupt the youth of America via his comics pages in DISNEY ADVENTURES. He talked about the joys of working with art directors, and how difficult it is to actually come up with new "knock knock" jokes.
Jane Irwin - Feeling a bit under the weather, and extremely irritated at the technical problems that are delaying the new VOGELEIN book. But the pages look great, and I predict it'll blow everyone's socks off when it finally makes it to the shelves. We chatted a bit about how, in the long run, persistence counts for more than raw talent (lucky for me!). I doodled out some fan art for her, and she told me that there's actually a scene similar to what I drew in an upcoming book. Spooky!
David Mack - Said that the current "Alchemy" storyline in KABUKI could easily go on much longer, since he has a lot to say about the themes therein. But he's going to try and restrain himself and wrap things up in the next issue. He even said he was looking forward to reading my comments on his message board (clearly, the paint fumes are starting to get to him).
Will Pfeifer - Every time I see him, I pester him to bring his old VIOLENTMAN minicomics back into print, and this time he told me he's actually toying with the idea of doing a collection via one of the print-on-demand services. Here's hoping!
Paul Sizer - Toiling away at his upcomic graphic novel B.P.M. He's gotten some nibbles of interest from a certain indy publisher, which would make it easier for him to put the book out in full color (which it really needs, to show off the combination of art and photography to its best effect). Keep your fingers crossed!
Tom Stillwell - Keeping plenty busy with his refreshingly non-angsty, non-ironic superhero book HONOR BRIGADE, as well as the creators' rights group UNSCREWED.
Spike Trotman - Actually recognized my name from ComicSpace and MySpace. We speculated about why my MySpace account got yanked, and decided that it was the lack of animated Tweety gifs on my page that did me in. The new Templar, AZ collection looks great, and she assured me that my pre-order copy would arrive soon ("I'm mailing out stacks of 30 at a time!").
Suicide Girls - When I saw they had a booth set up, I was tempted to run past yelling "FREE LITHIUM PICNIC!", but I was too chicken. Most of those models could probably kick my ass, and besides it's not their fault that the site is run by litigious assholes.
Jim Valentino - I was so happy to get him to sign my copy of NORMALMAN, that I walked off without the copy of BOMB QUEEN that I'd also bought. By the time I realized my mistake and went back, there was someone else manning the table. Luckily, the BOMB QUEEN book was still sitting where I'd left it, and they believed my tale of woe. Whew!
I didn't do much after-con socializing. I know, I know... all the "good stuff" happens in the bar after hours. But after getting dinner I was just too pooped to do anything but fall asleep in front of the tv. I dunno why sitting at a table all day is so draining. I must be gettin' old.
We bugged out early on Sunday, hoping to beat the traffic, only to discover that one of our tires had gone flat. It took all three of us to decipher the owner's manual and locate the jack and the spare, but eventually we got the tire changed and hit the road again. The ride back was pretty uneventful. We rolled into Cincinnati around midnight, having survived another WizWorld. The End.
And now, my favorite part: The Haul! I swore this year I would avoid the back issue bins and just glom onto trades and minicomics, and I pretty much kept my word:
THE ALCHEMY OF ART: DAVID MACK
BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT
BLUE MONDAY: PAINTED MOON
BOMB QUEEN II: DIRTY BOMB
CATWOMAN: IT'S ONLY A MOVIE
THE COMPLETE NORMALMAN
THE DEATH OF ANTISOCIALMAN CHAPTER 12 PREVIEW PAGES
THE DEVIL'S PANTIES VOL. 1
THE DREAM OF THE MOONDOG
ESCALATION: RED LAZARUS
ESSENTIAL MARVEL TEAM-UP VOL. 1
EVENFALL: SOUL TO KEEP
GHOST IN THE SHELL VOL.1
HAPPY BUDDHA BUD
HELLBOY: THE CHAINED COFFIN AND OTHERS
HONOR BRIGADE #3-4
JAICORE SKETCHBOOK '07
KABUKI: METAMORPHOSIS
PLASTIC MAN ARCHIVES VOL. 1
PROFESSOR GIDEON LYKANDER'S HAND PICKED SELECTION OF REALLY RATHER BAD WEREWOLF JOKES
SCOTT PILGRIM & THE INFINITE SADNESS
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: METAMORPHO
SOUL CHASER BETTY
VOGELEIN: OLD GHOSTS FREE 24 PAGE PREVIEW BOOK
