Rhode Island Comic Con Wrap-Up

I consider myself a con veteran. I prepare meticulously and try to be ready. I often have the experience mapped out mentally as I enter. Yes ... I know ... insanity.

And every so often I am delightfully surprised.

I went to the Rhode Island Comic Con this weekend with very little expectations. There weren't many comic creators on the guest list. And I only had a couple of issues for signature from that limited guest list. I honestly went more because it is an annual trip for me and my brother (he is a huge Star Wars fan so we cover a swath of cons like this).

My plans were simple.

Meet Laura Vandervoort again, have her sign a Smallville comic, and not be a nervous blathering idiot like I was the first time I met her.

Meet Kevin Nash, founding member of the NWO and one of my favorite wrestlers.

Get single issues signed by Kevin Eastman and Bob Layton.

A commission wasn't even on my radar but luck favors the prepared so I chucked my main sketch book into my bag and off I went.

Bear with me because the best stuff happened at the end.

Rhode Island Comic Con

This Sunday, I'll be heading to Rhode Island Comic Con, the last convention of my con 'season'. This is a huge con with celebrities and comic creators which has grown over the years to now fill the RI Convention Center and the floor of the nearby Providence Civic Center.

I have been heading to this con since the beginning and have grabbed some great commissions and signatures in the past (including Stan Lee!). This year I'll only be there for one day and so I doubt I'll luck my way into a commission. That means that the main goal is signatures. It is a shame because there are some huge favorites of mine that are going to be there, artists I haven't seen at other cons. But, c'est la vie!

Probably the biggest name for me that is going to be at the convention is Chris Bachalo, an artist whose work I have loved forever. For me, he is always going to be the main artist of the Pete Milligan Shade, The Changing Man book from the 1990's. I loved that book!

Bachalo has also done runs on other books in my collection that I love - Death, X-Men, New X-Men, etc. If I could get a Bachalo sketch I would be absolutely thrilled. But I can't imagine it happening. Instead I had to pare down a big stack of books to a manageable size for signatures.

But look who else I'm hoping to meet.

Rhode Island Comic Con 2016

This last weekend was Rhode Island Comic Con, the last convention of my 'con season'. That means winter is coming.

This is still a young con and therefore still suffering from some growing pains. Looking back at my last posts about this con it seems every year there is some snafu on how the thing is being run that irks me. And, as I have always said, the thrust of this con is on celebrities (ranging from A to D list) with the comic part being only a small part of the happenings.

Now overall, I had a very good experience in the one day, Saturday, that I was there but let me get the administrative difficulties out of the way.

The con has basically grown exponentially over its life so now it actually is held in two buildings - the Rhode Island Convention Center and the attached Dunkin Donuts Center (an arena for concerts, basketball, and hockey). The buildings are connected by a narrow 'sky ramp'. Last year this was the bottle neck as people were going in both directions.

My main goal in this con was getting a signature from Stan Lee. I prepurchased a 'ticket' for an autograph. A buddy of mine went on Friday and told me that Lee was in the Dunkin Donuts Center so I wanted to run there early and get in line. The line for the con formed outside the Convention Center and at 830a I was there, awaiting for the 10a opening.

Well, it turns out that two lines were forming. The one I was in at the con center. And another at the Dunks. When I entered, I headed towards the skyramp only to be told that the ramp was made 'one way' this year, heading into the convention center. If I wanted to get into the Dunk, I needed to exit and reenter there. So I had to leave the building, badge out, head outside, and then find the 're-entry door' which was around the side of the Dunk and barely marked.

Once inside, I ran to the floor and had to wait in line to turn my ticket for the Lee autograph in for another ticket. This seemed counter-intuitive and I wouldn't have done it had I not been warned by my buddy. Then I waited in line for Lee ... for 2.5 hours. I was around 40th in the general population line, and the VIPs got to go first. I am lucky it didn't take longer.

All of that said, this all seems confusing and weird. This could still be run more smoothly ...

On to the fun stuff.

Rhode Island ComicCon Rundown

This last weekend I went to the Rhode Island Comic Con.

This is a relatively new convention and is a Comic Con in name only really. There is an artists alley. But the big draw seems to be the pop culture celebrities in attendance. I was heading there mostly to meet Mike Grell and Chris Claremont.

You might recall that last year there was something of a ticket disaster. The con was oversold. People couldn't get in. The floor was overcrowded. Things didn't seem to be run well.

This year, the convention seemed to answer a lot of those questions for better. Tickets were now plastic badges that were scanned to keep an accurate count. The attached Dunkin Donuts Civic Center was added to the floor plan, increasing floor space tremendously. That was the good.

Now onto the bad. If you bought tickets online, you were subjected to ridiculous fees which nearly doubled the price. It still felt oversold and overcrowded on the Saturday. And there was no map at the con. The show said there was an app to download which I did. But on Saturday, the second day of the con, many artists tables were still listed as TBD.

Okay, enough overall review.

I was thrilled to meet Mike Grell. I consider his Legion run to be my first comic books. I have loved his work all my collecting life. So I brought some issues to sign and hoped to get a sketch. As you can see from the first pic, I was successful. Given my predilection to 70s Grell, I opted for the hot pants costume.

I would have loved to talk to Grell all afternoon but his table was pretty busy. I was able to grab a handful of signatures (more talk below).

I also got to meet Chris Claremont. I am not a big Marvel person and certainly wasn't a fan of the Xmen in the 80s and 90s. But I still had a smattering of issues to get signed by him. That XMen/Titans crossover is a favorite issue in my collection.

It was also interesting to see how charging for comic signatures has sort of proliferated. Here is the breakdown of prices for signatures and then how many comics I got signed.

Neal Adams, $30 per signature. No books.
Chris Claremont, $5 per signature. 5 books.
Simon Bisley, $5 per signature (told to me). No books
Joe Rubinstein, $5 for Claremont/Miller Wolverine book, $3 otherwise. No books.
Mike Grell, $3 per signature. 5 books.
Rich Buckler, $2 per signature. 1 book.
 Ale Garza, $0 per signature. 5 books.

The one regret was not meeting Amy Jo Johnson. I was a big fan of the Pink Ranger. But she was in a sort of VIP room and the line to get in was huge. I didn't even get a line of sight on her.

I can't really complain. I met Mike Grell and got a Supergirl commission from him.

And thus ends Convention Season 2015.

Con Recap: Rhode Island Comic Con

It was with some trepidation that I drove down to Providence to attend the Rhode Island Comic Con this last Sunday.

Why trepidation? Well it sounds like Saturday was a horrendous experience of over-crowding/over-selling and angry patrons. Here is the Providence Journal's coverage: http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20141101-crowd-at-ri-comic-con-swells-to-over-20000-fire-marshal-not-allowing-anyone-in.ece

But you can go to Bleeding Cool, Twitter, or Facebook to get the lowdown as well.

Happily, Sunday seemed to be better organized. I will admit I went down early and planned to wait outside in the raw, wet weather to insure getting inside. But the venue lined us up and got us in on time. The place never seemed overly crowded. And when I left in the early afternoon, there wasn't anyone waiting outside.

As I have said before, this is a "Comic Con" in name only. The big draw seems to be the celebrities which are in attendance. For me, there were basically two people I went there to meet: Pat Broderick and Jim Steranko.

I have been a fan of Broderick since the 70s and early 80s and his run on Micronauts and (Fury of) Firestorm. My hope was to grab a commission from Broderick. And, as I am starting to branch out in my commissions, I thought I would have Broderick sketch her in the hot pants costume of that time period.

I could not be happier. This is a fantastic commission. The smile, the pose, the costume, the pure Broderick of it all ... it is fabulous. This is my first commission of Supergirl in this costume!

I also loved getting Broderick's signature on my favorite issues he has done including Fury of Firestorm #1, Fury of Firestorm #12 (I love that issue), the first appearance of Firehawk, and a Captain Atom starring another of my favorites ... Nightshade!

It was so fun to meet one of my first favorite creators.

Head to www.patbroderickart.com for more info on Broderick!

I also got to meet Jim Steranko.

A comics legend, I brought Superman #400 to be signed. Steranko did a surreal sort of story at the end of the book, done in this 'mural style' (his term for the art). He told the story of how he was asked by Julie Schwartz to do a story for the book and he had to demand to be the writer as well. He wanted to tell his story.

I asked him to sign the book. I was hoping to have him sign the cover (which had already been signed by cover artist Howard Chaykin). Superman #400 is one of those anniversary issues with multiple stories and pin-ups. My hope was to get as many sigs on the cover as possible.

Steranko did not want to sign the cover as that was not his work, it was Chaykin's. He would feel uncomfortable. Basically, he only wanted to sign his work. Which means, I have this signature inside the book.

I have to comment on one more thing regarding Steranko.

He had a pile of his 'Supergirls' calendar pin-ups, basically nudes in obvious mock-ups of comic characters like The Phantom, Captain America, Robin Hood, Uncle Sam, etc.

And one of them is this 'Supergirl'. I asked if there was any backlash from DC. Indeed, DC said they were going to sue Steranko given the name of the calendar (Supergirls) and this page. Of course, DC can't trademark the word 'super' and the symbol (a dollar sign) isn't the Superman shield.

But then Steranko said he told DC 'how could this woman be related to the anemic, weak, sexless Supergirl character'.

Sheesh ... Steranko thinks Supergirl is anemic, weak, and sexless.

Lastly, there were a lot of vendors at the show but only a small portion were comic dealers.

I ended up grabbing a bunch of $1books.  I can't get enough of the original Starfire! And Kirby doing 2001! Sold!

So, all in all, at least on Sunday, the RI Comic Con was a success.

Rhode Island Comic Con Approaching

The Rhode Island Comic Con is coming up next week and I will be attending as I have every year since its inception. While 'Comic Con' is in the name, this is really more of a pop culture festival with comics making up just a small amount of the actual event.

The biggest draw seems to be the celebrities and this year is no exception. There is a whole original Star Trek contingent on the guest list, something which I think will draw a crowd. While there are lots of names I recognize, I think the only ones that I might go out of my way to meet are Christy (Kim Possible) Romano, Samantha (Jem) Newark, and Karen (Marian Ravenwood) Allen.

I mean ... Marian Ravenwood! How can I not want to meet her?

As for comics guests, there are a few names that I definitely want to meet and at the top of the list is Pat Broderick. I am a huge fan of his work and consider Fury of Firestorm one of the first comics I loved and collected monthly. The art on that book was phenomenal.

Plus, Broderick drew Captain Atom post-crisis. One of the frequent guests in that book was another favorite female hero of mine ... Nightshade.

I am hoping Broderick will be doing commissions at the show because I would love to have one in my collection. And, given my recent leanings to mix things up, I think I would get one of Supergirl in her hot pants Bronze Age costume.

I am also hoping to rub elbows with legend Jim Steranko at the show. I met Steranko briefly a while back at another con but I forgot to bring Superman #400 for him to sign. At that con, I just stood around and listened to the knowledge; he was basically lecturing about comic art but people were rapt like it was the sermon on the mount.

His story in Superman #400 is very cool, a sort of philosophical look at Superman done with 2 page spreads and text below.

I already have Howard Chaykin's sig for his cover art. So this issue will be very special if I get Steranko's on it as well.

Anyone else local and going?

Joe Rubinstein Commission & The Rhode Island Comic Con

I went to the Rhode Island Comic Con last weekend on a whim. The convention is 30 minutes away from my house and is in RI, my old stomping ground. But to call this a Comic Con is something of a misnomer. The big draw to this convention is clearly the pop culture celebrities.

In fact, the impetus to go was really to spend the day with my brother who was interested in seeing the Star Wars guests in attendance. There were a fair amount of comic guests there but most I had met before and some I even had commissions from.

One comic guest who I hadn't met before and was interested in meeting was Joe Rubinstein, a long time comic creator who worked primarily as an inker. He had worked for both of the big two throughout his career and had a long run on Superman, inking Dan Jurgens during the mid-90s. For longevity and breadth of comic experience, it would be hard to touch Rubinstein who has probably inked almost character.

I had a couple of comics for him to sign so went to his table and was surprised to see he was doing commissions and relatively cheaply. So I thought what the heck. And, just to be safe, I had brought along my commission sketch book.

This is an interesting commission for me. There is something sort of 'old school' about Supergirl's face there. It reminds me of Dick Giordano or maybe Neal Adams (a bit of a stretch). It definitely feels like a classic Supergirl, like it came from one of the books I read as a kid. And so there is something nostalgic about it.

The pose is cribbed a bit from a Gray Frank panel I have on my source material sheet. But I don't mind. I like the panel ... it is on my source material. Anyways, the price was perfect for this commission another nice addition to my collection.

It was great to get some signatures from him as well. He has inked Supergirl in the past.

Still, I would say the convention isn't a great destination for you if you are strictly into comics. The vendors were almost all for toys and memorabilia. There were only a handful of comic vendors.

Rhode Island Comic-Con Wrap-Up

I was pretty excited to head back to Rhode Island last weekend for the first RI Comic-Con. I grew up in RI and was glad to see them finally get a convention of their own.

Now, I didn't have huge expectations for the show. I felt it was 'comic-con' in name only as the bulk of the guests were sci-fi and horror celebrities. That said, I went there primarily to see Walt Simonson, Jamal Igle and Bob McLeod.

Well, prior to the convention I learned on Twitter that Jamal Igle had to cancel (maybe fallout from Sandy)? But Simonson and McLeod were a big enough draw and I wanted support the convention, to help it grow.

The line Sunday morning was very long but I was near the front. After paying $10 for parking and $25 for a ticket, I walked into a crowded hall in the beautiful and spacious RI Convention center. I made a quick loop around the place and it was clear ... there weren't many comics. I would guess that of the many dealers there, around 5 were primarily comic dealers. And most of them were there with mostly dollar boxes. (I was able to grab a bunch of good deals, getting 4 issues of DC:New Frontier, the last issue of the 70s Beowulf, and some 70s Starfire for cheap.)

The remainder of the dealers were there with toys, posters, DVDs, etc.

And the celebrities there seemed to draw a crowd. The wrestlers, original Power Rangers, Battlestar Galactica stars, and other sci-fi folks all seemed to have decent table traffic and were signing stuff.

As for the comic guests, at 12:30 PM neither Walt Simonson nor Bob McLeod had arrived. I asked a couple of workers if they knew anything about if/when they would arrive and no one knew anything. Having looked through all the comic boxes that were there, and with no clear idea if they were even going to come, I left.

So overall, I have to say I was a bit disappointed personally. That said, it was a busy hall and there seemed to be some energy there. For a first time con, I think it can only get bigger and better.