Baltimore by day
So today I daytripped up to Baltimore Comic Con with two friends. On the trip up, I was introduced to the strangest thing - did you know that Christopher Lee recorded a symphonic metal concept album on Charlemagne? Neither did I! Unfortunately the lyrics really needed some work, because sometimes it was quite dry, although the Bloody Verdict of Verden has a ringing and memorable section.
When we arrived the line for the show was wound all the way around the convention center and then some, setting the stage for easily one of the most crowded cons I've ever attended. I wasn't there an hour and I already felt a little overwhelmed by all the people. The creators and artist's alley sections felt wide enough, but the vendors felt jam packed, especially on the ends, when you were trying to pass. And then there'd be a stop as people stopped to ask cosplayers to pose for photographs. I always love seeing the variety of costumes from the store bought types to the hand done to the elaborate ones -- from Captain America or Wonder Woman to Darkseid and Nova! I didn't attend any panels this time around, preferring to maximize my time with the shopping and talking to artists/creators.
After several missed opportunities, I finally met Paul Levitz and had him sign both my Legion: Eye for Eye TPB and Huntress: Dark Knight Daughter TPB and thanked him for the Baxter years I enjoyed. I willingly admitted that I was sometimes enjoying the new run and sometimes not. He tried to maintain the soul or flavor of the original characters. I also managed to meet Duane Swierczynski after following him on twitter for awhile; he signed my Black Widow: Kiss or Kill. (Not my preferred choice, but the Birds of Prey TPB wasn't out for another week or two. Never mind he was signing at Valiant. Er, oops, maybe they didn't notice/mind.)
I changed my mind twice about getting art. I hadn't planned to, since I was only going to be there for the day, but two opportunities presented themselves so I had to take advantage of them.
Roger Langridge is known for writing and drawing Boom's The Muppets and also writing Marvel's Thor: The Mighty Avenger. I had passed up the chance to have him sketch for me at a previous Small Press Expo, so when I saw he was there, I took a chance. I initially asked for Sif, but I didn't have a reference handy, so I went more familiarly with Rowlf the Dog.
Over twitter, I'd inquired Janet K Lee of "Return of the Dapper Men" and Marvel's "Emma" adaptation if she was taking sketches. She was willing to pre-do one for me, for which I was delighted. I wanted to combine her beautiful Preen robot lady with her dapper men in a suit into this charming one:
Other loot included: some Graphic Audio CDs (No Man's Land adaptation and Rogue Angel title), some old issues of World's Finest, five volumes of Crimson Hero, two Mike Maihack prints, and a lovely lovely antique leather Kindle case from Poetic Earth.
The British Embassy were giving out free stuff if you answered trivia questions (comics, Doctor Who, etc.) with "2012 is Great (Britain)". I won a bag by telling how many actors played the Doctor -- I'm assuming the answer meant only the main series and not other riff-raff. I'm still parsing British Embassy and Comic Con myself.
jordannamorgan, you might be interested in one of the older guests, Ken Bald. I know him best for his Marvel/Timely work, but he also drew the Dark Shadows newspaper strip. His store shows a very nice Barnabus in b&w and color.
When we arrived the line for the show was wound all the way around the convention center and then some, setting the stage for easily one of the most crowded cons I've ever attended. I wasn't there an hour and I already felt a little overwhelmed by all the people. The creators and artist's alley sections felt wide enough, but the vendors felt jam packed, especially on the ends, when you were trying to pass. And then there'd be a stop as people stopped to ask cosplayers to pose for photographs. I always love seeing the variety of costumes from the store bought types to the hand done to the elaborate ones -- from Captain America or Wonder Woman to Darkseid and Nova! I didn't attend any panels this time around, preferring to maximize my time with the shopping and talking to artists/creators.
After several missed opportunities, I finally met Paul Levitz and had him sign both my Legion: Eye for Eye TPB and Huntress: Dark Knight Daughter TPB and thanked him for the Baxter years I enjoyed. I willingly admitted that I was sometimes enjoying the new run and sometimes not. He tried to maintain the soul or flavor of the original characters. I also managed to meet Duane Swierczynski after following him on twitter for awhile; he signed my Black Widow: Kiss or Kill. (Not my preferred choice, but the Birds of Prey TPB wasn't out for another week or two. Never mind he was signing at Valiant. Er, oops, maybe they didn't notice/mind.)
I changed my mind twice about getting art. I hadn't planned to, since I was only going to be there for the day, but two opportunities presented themselves so I had to take advantage of them.
Roger Langridge is known for writing and drawing Boom's The Muppets and also writing Marvel's Thor: The Mighty Avenger. I had passed up the chance to have him sketch for me at a previous Small Press Expo, so when I saw he was there, I took a chance. I initially asked for Sif, but I didn't have a reference handy, so I went more familiarly with Rowlf the Dog.
Over twitter, I'd inquired Janet K Lee of "Return of the Dapper Men" and Marvel's "Emma" adaptation if she was taking sketches. She was willing to pre-do one for me, for which I was delighted. I wanted to combine her beautiful Preen robot lady with her dapper men in a suit into this charming one:
Other loot included: some Graphic Audio CDs (No Man's Land adaptation and Rogue Angel title), some old issues of World's Finest, five volumes of Crimson Hero, two Mike Maihack prints, and a lovely lovely antique leather Kindle case from Poetic Earth.
The British Embassy were giving out free stuff if you answered trivia questions (comics, Doctor Who, etc.) with "2012 is Great (Britain)". I won a bag by telling how many actors played the Doctor -- I'm assuming the answer meant only the main series and not other riff-raff. I'm still parsing British Embassy and Comic Con myself.
jordannamorgan, you might be interested in one of the older guests, Ken Bald. I know him best for his Marvel/Timely work, but he also drew the Dark Shadows newspaper strip. His store shows a very nice Barnabus in b&w and color.