Calling All Geeks!

Well, today was it. The third and last day of Mid-Ohio Con 06. /sigh/ Just writing that makes me depressed. Know that I am not exaggerating when I say that I am genuinely sad to see it end. Still, it was bound to happen, so I should just be happy that it was a good one. A perfect end to a wonderful weekend.

Today was fairly mellow compared to yesterday. I took my time getting there and I was miraculously able to avoid getting lost at any point throughout the entire day.  I really had to go slow because my legs were still a bit sore from yesterday. More or less, it was a day to wrap up loose ends, pick up any last minute items, and just generally bask in the warm glow that is Mid-Ohio Con. I attended two panels, which was very nice. I especially enjoyed them because I attended but one single comic con program in the past and it wasn’t very enjoyable. But these were pretty cool. They were artist and writers from Marvel and DC just talking about their respective companies. I thought it would be a discussion of current events such as Marvel’s ‘Civil War’ and DC’s ‘52’, but it was mostly cool industry guys hanging out and talking to the fans. Very cool, very friendly people, if only just a bit bizarre. (Bill Messner-Loebs kept launching off on long rambling stories that really had no relevance to the topic, but at least they were entertaining.)

But, as with all good things, the show soon came to an end and it was with a heavy heart that I left, knowing that I have a whole year ahead of me before I return once again.

At least I walked away with these lovely parting gifts:

Mid-Ohio Con Day Two had a very interesting start. VIP members were allowed in an entire hour earlier then normal guest, 9 instead of 10. I intended to take advantage of the offer, but fate intervened.

I got downtown fine and I was able to find parking easily enough, though I ended up out further then I thought I had. I also got a bit turned around in the garage and … well, best I can figure, I started walking in the wrong direction. I think I went North when I should have gone South. To make a long (VERY long) story short, I ended up taking an unplanned tour of downtown Columbus. When all was said and done, I wondered the city, decked out in my Geek Jacket, Rammstein bag, and Jayne Cobb hat with a wallet stuffed with cash, for a little more then an hour. (Causing me to miss the entire VIP hour.)

I saw all the sites from the State House to the big statue of Christopher Columbus to the Santa Maria. As frustrating as it was to be lost, it actually wasn’t all bad. I’m the type of person who likes cityscapes better then landscapes. I just think there is something beautiful about the city, even in the not-so-nice parts. Also, there were many points when I wished I had brought a camera as, on several occasions, I wanted to take pictures for reference for drawings. I always struggle with my backgrounds and, since I do a lot of comic book stuff, I mostly need to know how to do city stuff. I just kept seeing buildings and imagining Spider-man swinging past or Superman battling some giant robot or the like. All and all, it was actually kind of fun.

Nevertheless, I was very relieved when I finally made it to the Convention Center. After sitting on a bench for a few minutes to recover, I ventured into what I figured would be the biggest day of the whole Con. And, boy, was I right. I did and saw so much today that it would be nearly impossible to describe here and really do it justice. If you have never been to MOC, and you’re a comic fan, you really don’t know what you’re missing. Today was the kind of day that makes me look forward to this event all year long. Heck, I’m already a little sad to know that there is only one day left.

To begin with, I saw everyone I wanted to see, including the French Chick from Lost and Adam Hughes and many others. Mira Furlan (“Rouseau”) was pretty quiet, but also very friendly. I think this may have been the first time I ever saw her completely out of costume, as well, be it the alien headpiece she wore in Babylon 5 or the abundant amounts of dirt and mud that covers her on Lost, and I have to tell you, she’s cleans up well. Adam Hughes, I must confess, was a bit of a disappointment. His artwork is great, don’t get me wrong, but he didn’t say a word to me the whole time I was at his booth. His assistant handled the crowd completely by herself as he kept his nose stuck in a sketch book. I understand he gets a lot of commissions at these things and I’m all for more Hughes work to spread around, but a simple ‘hello’ would have been nice, especially when I’m shelling out $35 for a print of a Catwoman cover he did and another $10 for a small sketch book. Even those had been pre-signed. It was obviously original signatures, so I do have an official autograph, which is nice, but it was as if he had gone through his stuff the night before and signed everything. Just doesn’t carry quite the same weight as actually seeing him sign it in front of me. And I’d think $45 would get me a “Hey, thanks for your support”. I also met the guy who painted the covers for “Marvel Zombies”, which was one of my favorite comic series of the past year. He was pretty cool, but his was also the longest, slowest line I stood in all day. It wasn’t really his fault, for the most part, as I saw a lot of people with way too much to sign. Generally, it’s considered polite to keep it to two or three items, max, but I saw a few with seemingly all five issues of Marvel Zombies as well as an art book he had done.

But those were the pro’s. Then there was the smaller, independent artist. These guys are always great. As I’ve mentioned in previous post, the independent artist are one of my favorite parts of comic cons. So much raw, untapped talent. And they are usually very friendly. They remember that it’s important for your fans to like you, so they’ll gladly stand there and talk to you about the various aspects of each individual drawing and they’ll offer to sign anything even before you ask. Also, it’s a lot easier to get commissions. Hughes’ commissions ran $200 and his commission list was full by the time I got to him anyway. Meanwhile, I requested a drawing from one guy (which I’ll be picking up tomorrow) for $40. Also, these guys will draw anything. My commission was of a character from the comic book “Invincible” named ‘Atom Eve’. The artist had never heard of the character before, but he invited me to find a resource picture and he’d give it a shot. So, I tracked down the first issue of Invincible I could find that featured her and ran back and all was set. And when I say they’ll draw anything, I mean they will draw anything. Though my request was tame, flipping through the guy’s sketch book, I saw some wild stuff. And I’m not just talking “cheesecake” drawings like any other artist will do, this guy had … well, let your imagination roam. And all featuring established comic characters. Hughes stuff is pretty racy, and I’ve even seen him do nudity, but I doubt I’ll ever see him drawing the Joker having “relations” with Batgirl. Now whether your into that or not, you have to admire the boldness.

Anyway, mixed all throughout there was also the miscellaneous shopping. Lots of great stuff, lots of booths I plan on returning to tomorrow.

I would also like to take a second to compliment the Columbus Convention Center for having an excellent cafeteria. It kept me alive. I only found it a little upsetting that their Subway was better then any of the others here in my area. (They didn’t just slop the meat on! When some hung off the side, they fixed it. They also didn’t overload the lettuce and they didn’t Bogart the onions.)

The return trip home wasn’t quite as wild as the trip there, but it was still fairly crazy. At least I was lost driving this time instead of lost walking around. If I ever find the son of a bitch who thought making all the streets in Columbus ‘one way’ was a good idea, I don’t know what I’ll do, but it won’t be pretty.

Anyway, I know today was the climax, but I’m still looking forward to tomorrow. Stay tuned!

And now, the pics (In no particular order, there is just way too much to sort out now):