Con Report: Anime Expo
Anime Expo was a great con, and we loved being there. But if you’ll remember…
When we last left our intrepid travelers, we had just finished a whole comic in 27 days - and stayed up for 36 hours to finish it. Then, we dove to Charlotte to attend Heroes Con 2012, and drove back home that Sunday after the con ended. Only to enjoy one day in our humble abode, before heading out to L.A. for Anime Expo! *phew* Yep, that’s how it all started. So needless to say we were already running a little on empty for this one.
Dr. Strange by Comfort
Gurt from Runaways by Adam
The flight to L.A. was a midday flight, which was nice seeing as we generally have to wake up at 4am for these kinds of things. But this meant we got into L.A. at about 11pm at night. So instead of drive into the heart of L.A. that night, we choose to stay at a delightfully kitschy little hotel Wednesday night, and were picked up by our friends Mike and Sherri the next morning. This, mind you, was super-duper-crazy-nice of them seeing as driving anywhere in L.A. takes FOREVER!
Captain Mal from Firefly by Adam
The Butler from Big O by Comfort
We ate some amazing Japanese food with Mike and Sherri before our other amazing friends (and a large reason for us even going to Anime Expo in the first place) Josh and Kat arrived from their home town of San Diego. We did a little catching up, put our bags in our room, and headed to the con to check into the massive show that was to be Anime Expo. After getting our badges, we took a much needed nap (seeing as we were still reeling from our last adventure) and then promptly headed off to Mike and Sherri’s for a delicious dinner and some great conversation! We got back to the room, did some sketches, and fell into another much needed deep sleep at an earlier then expected hour seeing as we were still running on east coast time.
Couple in love by Comfort
The next morning we headed down to the show and set up our wears. Just like last year, we were in an excellent spot…but we were also crazy cramped at the same time! The Teamsters, who had set the show up the tables, had only left a couple of feet between the backs of each booth which meant we smashed up against the poor people behind us all weekend. UGH! But, we didn’t let it get us down. We took a deep breath and got ready for the oncoming onslaught of anime kids.
As you can see, there was only but a few feet in-between the tables. Because of this it was impossible for either of us to get out any other way then going under our table. And don't even get us started on the contorted positions we had to get into in order to do our sketches. Oy!
Tiger and Bunny by Adam
Friday was a better then expected day. Last year was good show at Anime Expo, but not great. Much like Heroes, Anime Expo has a really big overhead cost for us. Therefore the same money that would be great at a smaller show, is not so great at a bigger show. But, like we said, Friday turned out to be a pretty awesome day indeed sales. We packed it in at the end of the day, went out to eat with a slew of amazing people (including the super talented Cari and Jessi), and went back to our room to do some sketches and watch the movie Goon! Which was awesome BTW, and is highly recommended by the both of us!
A set of sketch cards. New Venom by Adam. A dude a Superman, and a caricature of an adorable girl by Comfort
Kimono wearing mermaid by Adam
Mermaid caught in a net by Comfort
Saturday was another great day. We did a lot of business and got to reconnect with the super talented Christina Strain. We ate out again at the same Italian restaurant we had the night before and headed back for more talking with Josh and Kat, and as always, more sketches!
Strider and Dr. Doom by Adam
Heavy by Comfort
Sunday was pretty much the same as Saturday. Although by this point we were really starting to notice how well The Uniques was doing. The Omnibus is pretty expensive (especially for the younger crowd) sitting at a full $45.00. But yet, a ton of young ladies, as well as some young men, begin picking up The Uniques like crazy as the weekend went on. One girl even bought the book one day, read it that night, and came back the next day wanting a sketch of Scout and Michael. AWESOME! Just another one of those little changes from the influence of Avengers we’re guessing. Which frankly makes us even more anxious to finally get back to The Uniques after Rainbow in the Dark is finished!
Scout and Michael by Adam, done for a new and super excited fan from Canada!
Iceman and Angel by Comfort
We ate out that night with Josh, Kat, and our fellow writer friend, Tom. We talked a lot of shop, had a nice relaxing meal, and went back to the room to finish off the last our sketches and prepare for the final day of Anime Expo.
An original Star Wars character by Comfort
Adam's old PC being hit on by GLaDOS
A little girl riding a lion by Adam
Monday (yes, Anime Expo is a 4 day show) was a mad dash of business as people made their final purchases! We did a ton of business, learned that we were nominated for another Harvey Award, and left the show super happy. We ate out with Josh and Kat one final time. Which was both happy and sad, seeing as it would be another full year before we see them again. Mike and Sherri came to pick us up, and take us to the airport (thanks again guys!) and we finally headed back home for more then a day this time. Hooray!
A Nova sketch cover by Comfort
A Raina sketch cover by Adam
A Kid Quick sketch cover by Comfort
A Critter sketch cover by Adam
Overall Anime Expo was a much better show then last year. We’re really happy to have a presence on the lower end of the west coast seeing as we gave up on SDCC after attending it back in 2010. Anime Expo isn’t quite Otakon, but it is a lot of fun, and those crowds are massive indeed! Even for all the exhaustion, we had a great time, and we’ll totally be going back again next year.
Comfort & Adam
