Emerald City Comic-Con '09 - The Wrap-Up

I think I’ve finally recovered from last weekend. Its weird how draining it is just sitting and talking to people all day. I was tired after Saturday and completely wiped after Sunday, but we had our best con ever, so there you go.

To our left was Chris Moreno, an amazingly talented artist and nice guy. He had a little stand-up sign right next to me and I knocked it over about once an hour, but he never said anything. Granted, I don’t think he noticed, as he did sketches pretty much the entire time, but there you go. I gave him some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to make up for it. To our left were the good people from Alaska Robotics. I didn’t knock any of their stuff down, but I gave them some candy anyway. An old friend, Steve Hartley of Muggshotz was across from us, as were the guys from Night Rail Press.

Cons, if you’ve never attended one, are strange and interesting places. First of all, you quickly realize that this is a place where people feel comfortable enough to dress up. There are generally a lot of costumes, which range from ‘nice try’ to ‘I can’t believe the time and money they spent to make that’ to ‘I can see her naughty bits.’

And then there are the people who dress just a bit ‘off.’ Now, when I say a ‘bit,’ I mean it in a ‘huh’ kind of way. When you look at them you wonder if it’s a costume or if they’re just letting the ‘real them’ bust on out. I’m talking ‘bikers in fishnets’ here and I’m completely not making that up.

As any reader of Lovecraft knows, there are some things you can’t ‘unsee.’

All kidding aside, it’s great that people feel comfortable enough with 8k-odd strangers that they can wear whatever they want. People at cons are pretty much cool. There are obvious clashes of personality and occasional tiffs, but it’s a big group of like-minded individuals who’re having a good time. It’s like a really great high-school dance without the zits or awkwardness or trying to get the courage up to ask Heather W. out onto the floor.

Our colorist Leah attended Saturday and we had a great time chatting with the passers-by, eating Reese’s, and wondering if particular outfits were on purpose or not. She also brought a new ‘friendly’ approach to selling books, a marked difference from my traditional glaring and threats of violence.

All in all, it was a great time. A big ‘thanks’ goes out to all our fans who showed up and to all the new fans we made there.

Cheers,
-Jason