Upon arrival, we started off in the comic guest autograph area. One of the my pals had the very first appearance of Wolverine, the one in the Hulk comic. Conveniently enough, the co-creator of Wolverine was signing right as we arrived. He debated and debated. Should I get this autograph on my mint condition collectible? I don’t want to sell it, but … co-creator? What about the artist? Cover artist?? OH GOD ADAM WHAT DO I DO?
I had no goddamn clue, I don’t get things autographed. I hate waiting in line. I told him, Chuck, pal, just have him sign a comic board, then get the artist/cover artist to sign the board another time, buy a frame for it all, best of both worlds. So he got the board signed, and the guy found it a little weird. My pal Chuck? Well, he was disappointed, since who knows when he’ll get that opportunity again. The lure of keeping a collectible in mint condition once again leads to disappointment, nerd tragedy. :[
We wandered the artist’s alley, I’ve developed a real love for seeing all the different art styles and neat prints and buttons and other craft crap available. But since we were only there for a few hours, I had to do that thing where you avoid making eye contact with anyone because I know how it goes. You make eye contact with one person and they’re either nice, or they’re a total fraud and start their sales pitch, then it takes you 8 hours to make your way through the artist’s alley. Socialization? NOT ON MY WATCH. When I’m in a rush, ideally I’d like to grab a print and throw my money at the table, but I don’t think that’d be appreciated.
I did find some truly awesome artists though (admittedly, some of these I already knew). Tom Twolan, GW Fisher, Wesley Tsang, Christina Strain, and Marcio Takara. There were plenty more that I simply didn’t have time to see (Terry Dodson for one). Christina Strain is always a blast to talk to and she seemed to think it was great that I’ll be cosplaying Zapp Brannigan (she’s right, it WILL be great) and Marcio hooked me up with a mini-Samus drawing to go with my sketchbook purchase. Booyeah. Also, I ran into Chekov in the artist’s alley!
Now we’re leading up to some of my favourite memories of the con. Chuck saw this artist, I forget his name, but he had some fantastic Hulk art. Chuck decided he’d commission a Hulk from him. $50 for a full figure, not bad! While we’re waiting, we decide to go see the movie/tv stars. He sees some guy from Battlestar and gets his sci-fi boner going, wanting a picture desperately. A few more minutes in line, he can’t resist Battlestar guy’s charms and buys a $30 autographed 8×10 and gets a picture with him. Almost immediately, he regrets the 8×10. I chuckle to myself.
We find out that the Honky Tonk man and the Iron Shiek, famous wrestling stars, are at a nearby table. Chuck runs over there and wants a picture with both of them. Turns out the Iron Shiek doesn’t understand English that well, because Chuck wants a picture with them, but Shiek whips out a print and starts signing it. C H U … .D? (no, no, it’s C), T? (no, C!). So of course, the Shiek puts a T. We’ve got TO CHUT so far. Chuck says, fine, just K. So the Shiek turns the T into a K. Then he says to get a picture with him, it’ll be $30 more, and $20 for the autograph, when Chuck thought it’d be free with the autograph. At this point, I’m laughing my ass off because I know how angry he is.
Since he’s pissed, he goes back and changes his commission to a Wolverine, he likes Wolverine more than Hulk, and hey, he’s a great artist so why not? We go grab some free Watchmen condoms, go grab some Black Lantern rings from the DC booth, then I have to leave the con so I can go mail stuff. I get a text from Chuck, he’s even more pissed off. He hates his Wolverine commission, then he got lost in Toronto trying to pick me up, even though I was literally less than a mile away, down one street.
Best person to have as a con buddy! I love it when things go disasterously wrong for people in a fun way. You know, not like the “oh man I got hit by a car and my dad had a heart attack” way, but the way that you can laugh at and not feel like a total dick.
Overall, good haul, and I’m BLOWN AWAY that I only spent $35 total (free admission for your ol’ pal dr_teng of course) considering I got one 13×19 print, 2 smaller prints, and some free stuff to boot. I’m waiting at the Toronto Greyhound station, someone got stabbed and left a massive trail of blood, I only found out like 30 minutes after it happened, it seems no one can find them. And a girl appears to be crying because she bought the wrong ticket. Let me tell you guys, sitting near the Greyhound customer support people makes a Greyhound wait much more interesting. Anywho, onwards to New York/Atlanta!
