Tales from Comic Con, Part I

The New York Comic Con, 2008 was a wonderful experience. I mean this in the traditional definition, although I did actually have a nice time. There were so many goddamned people, and not enough clothing to go around, if you catch my drift. But honestly, it was a really good experience for me, and more importantly, a great exposure opportunity for Horsemen. Here's why:

Friday the 18th marked the first time we went to the NYCC on a Friday. As a "Professional Creator," I got to be there majorly early (a great big thanks goes to Mike and CU Studios) and, ostensibly, hobnob with "fellow creators," like myself. In actuality, I wound up being there with a seemingly large amount of other folk, who made no attempt to mask their nerd-dom and beg for sketches and autographs for their several longboxes of comics. I, myself, stood on line for about an hour to try to meet Stan Lee. I failed, and they gave me an Alex Ross ticket, which I utilized shortly before he left the Con for the day.

Some more notable experiences on Friday included meeting Alex Ross (and giving him a copy of Horsemen, for the hell of it), and meeting a shit-ton of indy publishers. I spoke with maybe ten or eleven different indy publishers, and wound up actually giving about five comics as proposals to five different groups. A few in question: Harris Comics, Oni Press, Monolith Publishing, and several others I just can't recall off the top of my head. All of them volunteered to look at the book themselves, and enjoyed the read. One publishing group, which was comprised of simply two dudes who hired artists to draw their respective books, laughed aloud and pointed at moments in the book that caused them mirth. I was more than a little proud, particularly of my artist Mike for conjuring such effective imagery in the best way possible.

Met David Peterson (writer/artist/creator of Mouse Guard), who was very kind. Even gave me a free sketch for my trouble. The publishing group putting Mouse Guard up, ASP, will return in this blog.

Also talked to Gahl, runner of the famous Midtown Comics in Midtown, New York. He liked the book, and offered to sell twenty (20) copies from the store, in store and online! I was blown away by his generosity.

Talked to Scott Ramsoomair of VGCats, and he was really a class act. For those keeping score, VGCats once featured us on their main page when we were a teeny weeny little webcomic. One look at the first issue, and Scott remembered (or pretended to remember) us on the spot, and gratiously accepted a copy. Even if he was just humoring me, it was a really awesome gesture, and VGCats will always hold a special place in my mind when remembering my creative endeavors.

I walked around the floor from about eleven (11) in the morning till about eight (8) o'clock at night when the Con closed. My whole fucking body ached and hurt like nobody's business.

A few other random points of interest about Friday's Con experience:

• Tom DeFalco (creator of Marvel's Spider-Girl) is kind of a dick. Surprising, considering he was instrumental in the Clone Saga. /sarcasm
• Met Erik Larsen in line buying an overpriced hot dog. Mentioned my proposal and behaved aloof and inconvenienced. I thanked him for the advice I mentioned in an earlier blog, and he let his shields down long enough to extend appeciation and promptly ignore me again.
• Dark Horse is NOT interested in proposals at conventions.
• Saw some scenes from WALL-E. Cannot fucking wait!
• Some dude bought X-Men #1 in NM condition for the sole purpose of the chance of having it signed by Stan Lee. They did not meet.
• My lady Tiff and our friend Danielle volunteered for the Con that day, and apparently had a blast doing it.
• When handed my business card, Alex Ross signed it and gave it back to me.
  

Stay tuned for a report on Saturday. Plenty of news, none of it pertaining to Horsemen directly, though. Still, should be a fun read. It's fun to write, anyway.