C2E2 2017
So, a few weeks late, but here's my C2E2 report! It's long & has several pictures, and includes the answer to the question, "What impulse purchase set Garrideb back the most?"
I love a lot about this picture, but Toad's tongue is my favorite detail
Friday
Jen, Rachel and I left bright and early on Friday morning for Chicago. We used SpotHero to find parking near our hotel, left our luggage in the car, and went directly to the con. Right away we attended the panel Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: State of Censorship 2017, which covered the comic books most frequently removed from libraries (This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki was at the top of the list for 2016), cartoonists from around the world who face censorship or worse due to their work, and what the CBLDF has done recently to protect cartoonists.
Then we grabbed lunch and hit the floor! It was Rachel’s first time at C2E2, so Jen and I had fun showing her some of the best vendors, Artists’ Alley, and just the general layout of the con.
I love Misty's arm and Danny's sparklefists.
For dinner we met one of Rachel’s friends for deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati’s.
Then we took the free shuttle back to our hotel, where I discovered that although I’d booked, been charged, and received confirmation of my booking through PriceLine, the hotel had no record of my reservation. Luckily the guy at the front desk was kind and calm, and he set up a dummy reservation so that we’d have a room while he sorted out the issue. He even gave us an upgraded room with a kitchenette, and we did use the mini fridge so that was nice. They’d confirmed my PriceLine reservation by the next morning, and all was well.
Saturday
On Saturday we breakfasted at Yolk, a favorite of mine and Jen’s. Then Rachel got into costume as Princess Sadie from Princess Princess Ever After, which is a sweet LGBT fairytale comic from Oni Press. Naturally we stopped by Oni’s booth right away, where the staff were shocked and delighted to meet a cosplayer of one of their characters.
Saturday was packed. It was reportedly the largest attendance C2E2 had ever seen, and we could feel it! We went to one panel that day, Geeks OUT Presents: Queer Women Making Comics, which had panelists from several areas of the comics industry, and was really well moderated; it covered a variety of topics and always remained interesting.
We all got a bit overwhelmed by the crowd, so later in the afternoon we decided to call it a day and get an early dinner away from McCormick Place. We went to the Thai Spoon, which was adjacent to our hotel, and proved to be very tasty. We played Munchkin: Marvel Addition that night in our hotel room and drank mimosas because I was still getting over my cold and the orange juice is therapeutic.
Sunday
On Sunday we breakfasted at Dunkin' Donuts. Rachel did a casual cosplay as Marvel’s Dennis Dunphy, AKA Demolition Man, AKA D-Man. I think two people guessed correctly on the first try. One guy guessed old-school Daredevil, which is close as Dennis based his own costume on that mixed with Wolverine’s costume.
We went to the panel She Changed Comics which again had a variety of panelists, but which ended up being a bit scattered. Still, some interesting anecdotes. One of the panelists was artist Janet Lee, who I touch base with every C2E2, asking her when the sequel to Return of the Dappermen comes out. This year I didn’t have to hunt down her table, as she said on the panel that it was coming out next year.
We saved most of our purchases for Sunday. I made a couple spontaneous buys at Artis’s Alley, one of Steve and Tony in a painterly style, and one commission for some Carol/Wanda art. Also an adorable Wanda sticker. Then we wandered into the endless longboxes of the comics vendors. I did pick up a thick volume of classic Power Man & Iron Fist reprints, tempted by the cradling shown on the cover and the fact that one of the writers of that run was a woman, which I hadn’t known. And it was discounted from $40 to $10, so.
And then I made the mistake/serendipitous idea to browse the original comic book art pages that a couple booths were selling. At first I was just flipping through portfolios of the original art of Kooky Quartet-era Avengers issues, feeling a little awed and ignoring the astronomical price tags because I’m chill with the idea that I can’t afford one of those beautiful, old pages.
But then I start looking at newer stuff at the Anthony's Comic Book Art booth, and lo and behold, I flip open a portfolio of Avenger’s art and come across the original art of one of the scenes off the Slashy Moments List. Specifically, this one: 41. Steve and Tony arrange a date. Really. Avengers v1 #221.
Better yet, the rest of the page features Jan planning a super-heroine’s brunch, excited to show off her newest pantsuit. And the page was priced at $150, which I can afford. And so now I own it, and am having it framed.
I think the low price was due to two factors: no character is in their costume on the page, so the imagery isn’t iconic (unless you’re in cap-ironman fandom, of course) and the word balloons, which were inked on cheap paper and pasted on top of the much nicer art paper, were yellowing and peeling slightly.
On the only other original comic page I own, the word balloons are inked directly on the art page. And that page is from only a couple years prior, so I don’t know how much one process is used over the other. I’ll have to look into that, because honestly I’m into the idea of collecting a few more pages here and there. I’ve been keeping an eye on some auctions to get a feel for price ranges.
Anyway, Rachel and Jen were very excited by the find, too. We left the con shortly after, stopping at Mitsuwa for dinner on the way back to Madison. All in all, a very successful and laid back con.
This entry was originally posted at http://garrideb.dreamwidth.org/57986.html. You may comment on either site. There are
comments on DW.
I love a lot about this picture, but Toad's tongue is my favorite detail
Friday
Jen, Rachel and I left bright and early on Friday morning for Chicago. We used SpotHero to find parking near our hotel, left our luggage in the car, and went directly to the con. Right away we attended the panel Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: State of Censorship 2017, which covered the comic books most frequently removed from libraries (This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki was at the top of the list for 2016), cartoonists from around the world who face censorship or worse due to their work, and what the CBLDF has done recently to protect cartoonists.
Then we grabbed lunch and hit the floor! It was Rachel’s first time at C2E2, so Jen and I had fun showing her some of the best vendors, Artists’ Alley, and just the general layout of the con.
I love Misty's arm and Danny's sparklefists.
For dinner we met one of Rachel’s friends for deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati’s.
Then we took the free shuttle back to our hotel, where I discovered that although I’d booked, been charged, and received confirmation of my booking through PriceLine, the hotel had no record of my reservation. Luckily the guy at the front desk was kind and calm, and he set up a dummy reservation so that we’d have a room while he sorted out the issue. He even gave us an upgraded room with a kitchenette, and we did use the mini fridge so that was nice. They’d confirmed my PriceLine reservation by the next morning, and all was well.
Saturday
On Saturday we breakfasted at Yolk, a favorite of mine and Jen’s. Then Rachel got into costume as Princess Sadie from Princess Princess Ever After, which is a sweet LGBT fairytale comic from Oni Press. Naturally we stopped by Oni’s booth right away, where the staff were shocked and delighted to meet a cosplayer of one of their characters.
Saturday was packed. It was reportedly the largest attendance C2E2 had ever seen, and we could feel it! We went to one panel that day, Geeks OUT Presents: Queer Women Making Comics, which had panelists from several areas of the comics industry, and was really well moderated; it covered a variety of topics and always remained interesting.
We all got a bit overwhelmed by the crowd, so later in the afternoon we decided to call it a day and get an early dinner away from McCormick Place. We went to the Thai Spoon, which was adjacent to our hotel, and proved to be very tasty. We played Munchkin: Marvel Addition that night in our hotel room and drank mimosas because I was still getting over my cold and the orange juice is therapeutic.
Sunday
On Sunday we breakfasted at Dunkin' Donuts. Rachel did a casual cosplay as Marvel’s Dennis Dunphy, AKA Demolition Man, AKA D-Man. I think two people guessed correctly on the first try. One guy guessed old-school Daredevil, which is close as Dennis based his own costume on that mixed with Wolverine’s costume.
We went to the panel She Changed Comics which again had a variety of panelists, but which ended up being a bit scattered. Still, some interesting anecdotes. One of the panelists was artist Janet Lee, who I touch base with every C2E2, asking her when the sequel to Return of the Dappermen comes out. This year I didn’t have to hunt down her table, as she said on the panel that it was coming out next year.
We saved most of our purchases for Sunday. I made a couple spontaneous buys at Artis’s Alley, one of Steve and Tony in a painterly style, and one commission for some Carol/Wanda art. Also an adorable Wanda sticker. Then we wandered into the endless longboxes of the comics vendors. I did pick up a thick volume of classic Power Man & Iron Fist reprints, tempted by the cradling shown on the cover and the fact that one of the writers of that run was a woman, which I hadn’t known. And it was discounted from $40 to $10, so.
And then I made the mistake/serendipitous idea to browse the original comic book art pages that a couple booths were selling. At first I was just flipping through portfolios of the original art of Kooky Quartet-era Avengers issues, feeling a little awed and ignoring the astronomical price tags because I’m chill with the idea that I can’t afford one of those beautiful, old pages.
But then I start looking at newer stuff at the Anthony's Comic Book Art booth, and lo and behold, I flip open a portfolio of Avenger’s art and come across the original art of one of the scenes off the Slashy Moments List. Specifically, this one: 41. Steve and Tony arrange a date. Really. Avengers v1 #221.
Better yet, the rest of the page features Jan planning a super-heroine’s brunch, excited to show off her newest pantsuit. And the page was priced at $150, which I can afford. And so now I own it, and am having it framed.
I think the low price was due to two factors: no character is in their costume on the page, so the imagery isn’t iconic (unless you’re in cap-ironman fandom, of course) and the word balloons, which were inked on cheap paper and pasted on top of the much nicer art paper, were yellowing and peeling slightly.
On the only other original comic page I own, the word balloons are inked directly on the art page. And that page is from only a couple years prior, so I don’t know how much one process is used over the other. I’ll have to look into that, because honestly I’m into the idea of collecting a few more pages here and there. I’ve been keeping an eye on some auctions to get a feel for price ranges.
Anyway, Rachel and Jen were very excited by the find, too. We left the con shortly after, stopping at Mitsuwa for dinner on the way back to Madison. All in all, a very successful and laid back con.
This entry was originally posted at http://garrideb.dreamwidth.org/57986.html. You may comment on either site. There are
comments on DW.