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I could’ve sworn KC was here

by Roger Ash

This past weekend, may 16-18, was the very first C2E2 (Chicago Comic as well as home entertainment Expo). The event took location at Chicago’s McCormick location as well as was organized by Reed Exhibitions, the exact same people behind the wildly successful new York Comic-Con. Expectations for the event were high because of Reed’s past successes. exactly how did things go? Well, come along as well as I’ll fill you in as a fan as well as worker as I was in the Westfield booth this weekend. however first, a small diversion.

One of the reasons I delight in comic conventions is I get to catch up with friends. This includes good friends in comics who I’ve gotten to understand over the years, longtime good friends who have scattered across the country however come together at conventions, people I’ve satisfied with different boards, as well as I’m always making new friends. Comics are truly like a huge household as well as conventions are like a household reunion. If you’ve never been to a comic convention before, I strongly suggest you provide it a try.

Walking into the convention hall for set up on Thursday, two things jumped out at me. First, the aisles were extremely wide. This made getting around at the convention extremely easy. commonly when walking around at conventions I’ll wind up stuck behind five men with backpacks who stop in the middle of the aisle to have a prolonged discussion about some dang thing. This was not an problem at C2E2. The aisles were broad sufficient that I might quickly get around them. The broad aisles likewise provided you a deceptive concept of exactly how numerous people were in the hall. even when there were a great deal of people there, it never seemed that method as people might relocation about smoothly. Second, there were great deals of windows which enabled in natural light. I heard from many, numerous people this weekend exactly how much they liked that.

Roger Ash & Doug Sneyd

Attendance Friday seemed a bit low, however that’s not unexpected as it was a work as well as institution day. That did make it good for those of us who like to get convention sketches, however. Artist’s alley was fantastic with a good mix of creators, which I was pleasantly amazed to discover included legendary Playboy cartoonist, Doug Sneyd. If you’ve ever seen an problem of Playboy, his rich style as well as appealing women will be promptly recognizable. He was extremely friendly excellent to chat with as well as I left his table with a good collection of rejected animation roughs signed by the guy himself.

Paul Pelletier

The artist I was many looking ahead to satisfying this weekend was Paul Pelletier whose work I’ve delighted in over the years, many just recently at marvel on books such as Guardians of the Galaxy as well as amazing Hulk. I was bound as well as identified to get a sketch from Paul of my new preferred marvel character, Cosmo the Cosmonaut canine from Guardians of the Galaxy. Not only did he do a amazing piece for me, whatever I saw that Paul drew at C2E2 was fantastic. He’s a man who truly is worthy of larger recognition.

On my trip around the convention floor, I likewise ran into old good friends including (but not restricted to) KC Carlson (who you ought to be complying with on the Westfield blog); Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics worth Reading; Amy Huey, Jeremy Atkins, as well as Michael Martens from Dark Horse; Fletcher Chu-Fong  as well as Vince Letterio from DC; Marc Nathan who runs the Baltimore Comic-Con; top Cow’s Filip Sablik who introduced me to the fantastic writer, Ron Marz; as well as my good friend Paul Greer from the John Byrne Forum, together with Paul’s good friend Shawn as well as Jason Hickok, who’s likewise a Forum member. See? I told you it was like a household reunion.

Back at the Westfield booth, my colleagues Brook Anthony as well as Miles Perzewski as well as I spent the day satisfying all kind of good people, handing out Westfield bookmarks as well as magnets, providing away some darn great prizes, as well as enjoying the fantastic costumes that a few of the guests wore. You can discover out much more about that here.

At the end of the day Friday, I realized I had never heard a single statement all day. I’m not sure if the speaker system was lousy or if they just weren’t making announcements, however that’s something that needs to be corrected for next year. You can quickly get distracted at a convention as well as lose track of time so it’s good to hear announcements like the DC panel is starting in 15 minutes, or Mike Mignola is now signing at the Dark equine booth, or even that the convention hall is closing in 10 minutes. As a convention goer, I discover such announcements to be incredibly useful.

After a long day at the convention, there’s nothingnicer than getting off your aching feet as well as sitting down to a good meal. KC, Miles, as well as I had a fantastic supper at the Elephant & Castle then headed back to the hotel where KC as well as I sat in the lobby as well as were joined by Paul as well as Shawn. We discussed comics (what else?) up until we couldn’t keep our eyes open.

Saturday is typically the busiest day for comic conventions, as well as that was the situation right here as well. Saturday was likewise the day that I proudly displayed my geekness for all to see. My good friend Paul as well as I regressed to 12-year-old young boys as we waited in line to get a picture signed by actress Carrie Fisher. We weren’t being immature, it was just an amazing enjoyment at being able to satisfy the actress who played Princess Leia in star Wars as well as played so numerous other functions with the years. I’m pleased to report that she was extremely nice. When I told her that I delighted in her cameo in The Blues Brothers, she commented that she believed filming that was the last time she was in Chicago.

I have the worst luck with women.

Meg, co-worker as well as Brook’s wife, joined us on Saturday as did their youngsters Lauryn as well as Dylan. It’s always fun when they come to conventions as the youngsters are always so thrilled by whatever going on. Their enjoyment is contagious as well as is a welcome boost.

Saturday at the convention ended with the Iron artist panel, which was a fund raiser for reading With Pictures, a nonprofit group that promotes utilize of comics in the classroom to enhance reading as well as literacy. The evening was emceed by reading With Pictures’ executive Director, Josh Elder. I was one of the two judges for the competition in which artists such as Jill Thompson (Beasts of Burden, frightening Godmother), Thom Zahler (Love as well as Capes), as well as Jeffrey brown (Unlikely, bit Things) competed to draw scenes suggested by the audience or Josh’s co-host, whose name I sadly can’t remember. favorites of mine included Brown’s drawing of Galactus playing cards with a flowerpot, Zahler’s drawing of Batman on vacation, as well as Wolverine barbecuing in his skivvies. It was a fun event that increased money for a great cause.

Miles designs his bib at Carson’s

Dinner that night was a mighty gathering of fans as well as artists for ribs at Carson’s where bibs were mandatory. There were really rather a number of people at the table that I didn’t know, however that didn’t matter as conversation flowed quickly as BBQ sauce flowed like wine. As I stated before, I’m always making new good friends at conventions. It was a meal of legendary proportions as well as the walk back to the hotel after was a great method to end a fantastic evening.

Sunday was Kid’s Day at the convention as well as it was excellent to see so numerous youngsters at the convention. I understand people like to state that marvel as well as DC, in addition to other publishers, requirement to put out much more for youngsters so they can get into comics, however that won’t do any type of great unless parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc., share their like for comics with the youngsters they know. It was fantastic seeing so numerous parents sharing their like of comics with their children.

The seller area where the Westfield booth was found was hopping on Sunday with people searching for last minute deals. The dealership section didn’t seem extremely big to me as well as ideally that will modification next year. However, I still saw great deals of people walking around with their new treasures. Oddly, there were three (I think) booths that were selling corsets as well as associated items. I didn’t recognize comic fans were that into corsets….

All in all, it was a extremely fun as well as solid very first convention as well as I look ahead to returning next year (April 8-10 2011. mark your calendars!). however as I discussed above, there are some things they might improve. They projected an attendance of 30,000 at the convention as well as reports on the internet are that they fell a bit short with attendance being provided as 27,500. I question if they unwittingly sabotaged themselves by continuously referring to the show as C2E2? I have good friends in comics who had no concept what that meant. possibly utilizing the full name of Chicago Comics & home entertainment Expo so people understand what it is for the very first few years would have been a great idea. After it ended up being recognized they might have altered the name to C2E2. however hindsight is 20/20. It was a fun show as well as I hope to see you there next year.

Now go checked out a comic!