Aug. 1st, 2015
Boston, MA
This summer has been wicked hot up here in the New England area. And this Comic Con weekend was no excuse. Standing outside the Seaport World Trade Center, I couldn’t help but notice just how majestic of a view I had of the bay, but in a matter of an hour in the 90+ degree weather (at 9am might I add!) me and the thousands in attendance would turn our back on the Atlantic and spend hours upon hours browsing comics, toys and other merchandise.
Now, I wasn’t one of the herds of people to see Stan (the Man) Lee this weekend (or other celebrities), I personally didn’t feel I needed to pay a few hundred dollars for an autograph or signature (100$ per signature, no selfies). I instead waded into the masses to find the few writers and artists that were in attendance. Sure, Stan might have created the majority of the characters that we read about these days, but I was interested in meeting and talking to the comic book people who scripted and inked, penciled and wrote the comics I had read when they were new off the shelves and not just some long lost back issue or “Greatest Hits Volume”.
I started off by getting my ticket to meet Scott Snyder again (Wytches, American Vampire, Batman, etc.). Then I wandered over to Gabriel Rodriguez (Infestation, Little Nemo, Locke & Key and many others). Gabriel was a really nice guy and seemed very thrilled to be meeting his fans. Nearly everyone in line had Locke & Key book for signing but Rodriguez seemed very happy to see my Cover A Green Lantern/Star Trek issue he did the art work for.
Next to Gabriel, was Joe Hill (Locke & Key, The Cape, Wraith and other thrillers). So that fans of Locke & Key could get their tandem signatures. Joe was a great guy to talk to, he was super enthusiastic to talk about the covers of issues and which ones were his favorite. I guess even writers judge a book by its cover, even if its his script.
A few rows over was another tag team of comic creators. Brian Azzarello (Writer Batman Broken City, Joker, 100 Bullets and other noir like stories) and Eduardo Risso (Parque Chas, 100 Bullet, Batman and other great European Comics) were really cool to meet. Brian, from what I saw, enjoyed the awkward interactions when a fan came up to him bumbling and nervously pulling out their comics for him to sign. Eduardo, as most artists at Cons do, was doing some commission work while showing off a notable comic he did art for in Black and White.
By this point, the building was packed and walking around was more difficult than it is during school vacation at Disney World. But with the masses of people, I stopped and took in the scenery as I asked several people if I could take a picture of their awesome cosplay. From fully functional Iron Man suits to unique takes on Mario & Luigi (Thor & Loki).
After some cosplay sight seeing and photography it was time to get down to the quest for some new comics to “invest in” as I explained to my wife (not in attendance). My notable pick ups include first appearance of Mystique as seen in Ms. Marvel #16, first appearance of Psylocke in New Mutants #2, first appearance John Stewart appearing in Green Lantern #87 and one of my new favorite heroes to read, first appearance of Moon Knight way back in Werewolf by Night #32.
On my way back to meet artists and writers, I noticed an elderly man sitting with no one in line to meet him. I thought it was rather odd, and when I got a closer look, it was DC comics legend Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Seriously any DC comic, he did a run of it). I ran up to him and started gushing. As I talked to him, he mumbled something to me and I think I was fanboying too hard to hear what he said (that or the Con was in full swing). Either case, I left his area with an original Deadman full page rough draft. Man that was super cool.
The one writer I could not wait to meet, was Kurtis Wiebe (Peter Panzerfaust and my personal favorite series Rat Queens). Meeitng Wiebe was one of my highlights from the con as he seemed just like me; loves comics, loves writing and loves roleplaying games (though he has way more talent than me). Wiebe really loves the support of his fans and made sure to let me and everyone who met him to know it.
My final stop was with Gerry Duggan, one of the creative forces behind Deadpool in the most recent runs. Gerry smiled at my answer for my favorite Deadpool stories and let me know that the insane hero will be returning shortly in one of the Uncanny series. The amount of cosplay Deadpools at Boston Comic Con was slightly on the astounding level.
The only things left was to wait to meet Snyder, which I ultimately bailed on. I had met the great writer last year and his status as a show stopper is ever on the rise. So much so, that on the third day of the Con, in order to accommodate the line for him, Snyder got moved to the celebrity signing area.
I instead filled my time meeting indie comic writers and artists, admiring homemade Disney jewelry boxes covered in Disney comic decoupage (Which I bought for my wife because I’m smart when it comes to spending $$ on myself), and other artists who work on commission and other ventures such as artwork set in leather (the guy had made maps of Westeros and Middle Earth on leather, how bad ass is that?). I got to meet an artist whose work I immediately became enthralled with. His comic The Sires of Time, will be getting its own review because that is just how amazing and detailed his artwork is.
Again Boston Comic Con was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed the time spend on the show floor, talking with my favorite artists and creators and soaking in all the amazing toys and fandom appropriate merchandise. I am never disappointed with my Con experiences and Boston Comic Con was no exception. Now I just have to wait another 365 days until next year.