2013 Cape Con Recap!

I was going to put an "extravaganza" on the end of that title, but I don't want to be writing checks I can't cash.

Yes, I made it to Cape Con in spite of work and Turkey Season. Big thanks to my boss, who agreed to cover half my work on Saturday so I could finish early, on the condition I take money for her and purchase things off a list she provided. Which I did. And a "Fuck You" to Turkey Season for trying to screw me over. Just leave the damn turkeys to the coyotes, bears, and pumas.

I fairly flew around out there to finish work, though I made the mistake of trying to run up the hills. Better to stick to running down them, and walking steadily up. Less likely to end up sucking air in so violently you almost throw up. But hell, I was desperate. I needed every minute I could beg, borrow, or steal, which is why I drove like a damn maniac. Fortunately, the traffic on the drive to Cape Girardeau was light, except for one old man in a pickup who decided he need to drive 10 miles under the speed limit for about 10 minutes. I know corpses that could drive better. At least they'd keep their feet on the gas. Also, I hit just about every stop light in Jackson red, which was maddening.

On the plus side, I did see two things during the drive I found hilarious. First, there was a church with a big sign hanging on the outside saying "Welcome Sinners!" I can't decide if that's great advertising or terrible. Personally, I resent the implication they think I'm a sinner without even getting to know me. Second, there was a gas station that advertised itself as having 'amazing restrooms'. If I hadn't been in such a frenzy that I'd have run over a nun pushing a stroller with an orphaned baby, I might have had to stop to see what made them so amazing.

Ken moved the the convention this year to an arena building further in town. I didn't get the chance to talk much with him, so I can't say why. It's a smaller venue than the Osage Center, but still fairly spacious. There was a raised stage where the Magic sorts could play without being in the way, and there were bleachers above the floor were you could take a load off if you wanted. I didn't feel terribly squeezed, even though there was a decent crowd. Then again, by the time I made it to the convention, I was in a haze. I'd been amped up for 7+ hours at the point, and my adrenal glands were done. There could have been live dinosaurs rampaging down Artists' Alley and I wouldn't have noticed until one bowled me over.

I found out Jack sold the comic store. Well, the subscription list and all the comics and such he had. The new guy has his store right next door, but it isn't called Marvels and Legends any more. I briefly debated whether I should change the name of the blog, but hell, I haven't really been "reporting" on what goes on in the store in years, not since I stopped living in Cape. We'll have to wait and see how the new guy does.

Since I only had 4.5 hours to use, I didn't have much time to stand around. First order of business, I found Chris Ebert, who drew Firestar for me last year, and inquired about the cost of a sketch for my boss. He said $20, and that's how she got her sketch of Tommy Monaghan and Etrigan smoking cigars. Don't look at me, it was her idea. As for me, he had one print left of that Deadpool standing on a mountain of ninja corpses drawing I wanted last year, so I scooped that up.

I also tracked down a couple Buffy Season 8 trades for the boss, plus a Harry Dresden hardcover. She's not the first coworker I've had ask me to track those two things down before, but this is the first time I've been successful. Actually, it's the first time I can remember seeing these Dresden Files comics. I knew they existed, but they were always somewhere over the horizon, like the end of a rainbow.

One definite positive development was the much larger crowd for the costume contest. There were at least a dozen adults, and probably that many kids. There was a whole family with the dad as Galactus, and the kids as various Heralds (I think. One of them was definitely the Surfer, and another was possibly either Firelord or Nova). There was a Black Widow, Spidey in the black costume, a couple of girls going together as Thor & Loki, a Tony Stark with one Iron Man glove on, though you can't tell in that picture (I love it: two Norse deities, Father Christmas, a guy powered by various gods and such, and Obscenely Wealthy Businessman). Tony tried making a speech from Iron Man 2, one about Uncle Sam sitting back and sipping iced tea, that didn't get the big reaction I thought it would. He couldn't quite carry it as well as Robert Downey Jr., but he had the same sort of smooth-talking smart ass voice. Might have done better with an Avengers quote. There was a Poison Ivy, a Clark Kent (who would rip his short open to reveal his Superman shirt beneath it), and an outstanding Hawkgirl. Hawkwoman? Thanagarian badass, let's go with that. That's her down below.

I don't actually know who won, because I started to get really tired at that point and left in search of sugary beverages.

As for me, I picked up Volume 3 of Mike and the Ninja, the concluding chapter in Brian Rhodes' story. That's really for Alex, though I read through it. It was encouraging to read in the backmatter about the things he wished he did differently, threads he'd kept going or fleshed out more. Makes me feel better about my writing. He also told me he's thinking his next project will be a book. Not sure whether it'll be a kids' book or not, but he's considering it.

Jeremy Haun was at this year's convention. I think he was there in 2011, too, but that was the one I missed. I got him to do a Darkhawk sketch for me, which he seemed excited to get to do. I know, he's got to at least appear like the idea doesn't bore the hell out of him, but I thought he was legitimately eager to do Darkhawk. He said he liked him, so that's nice. Also, I got a chance to ask him about who does the sound effects in comics. He told me it's traditionally been letterers, but there's a growing trend of artists adding them in. he even cited Chris Samnee on Daredevil as one. It doesn't necessarily tell me who's responsible in a given situation on a particular book, but it was nice to have some confirmation my hunches were right.

Here's something interesting to me, maybe it's been happening for awhile. At conventions there are typically artists who aren't working for major comic publishers. Either they self-publish, or they just do artwork, prints that they can sell. Whichever. Apparently there are cases where several of these artists form a group, pool their money, and hire someone to go to conventions for them, and sell their artwork. I imagine it cuts down on travel expenses, plus the cost of a table can be split, and affords them the opportunity to sell at multiple conventions in the same weekend. I guess it means more different artists work to choose from for the customer, though you obviously can't get a commission from an artist that isn't there. There were two of those tables at Cape Con. At one of them, I recognized Terry Huddleston's work (he drew Nova for me back in 2010), and at the other, I saw some of Wil Woods' stuff (he did a picture for Alex of Deadpool working some turntables that same year). The person working one of the tables, I believe his name was Jon Hughes, may also have made that Hawkgirl outfit. I know I saw him helping her with the wings.

I picked up a couple of pieces (one of Ghost Rider, one of Aisha from Outlaw Star) at one table, and then three for me (Psylocke, a Trigun piece, and a really nice uncolored Batman Beyond picture) and one Doctor Who-themed picture for the boss at the other. One other nice thing about having the work of multiple artists sitting there is that you tend to get a wider variety of subjects, since each artist has their own favorites. Of course, there's no guarantee the piece with the character you like will be in a style you care for, but it's not a perfect world.

I really needed more time, or even better, the chance to come back Sunday. I didn't have a lot of time to scout back issues, not that I saw much I would have bought. One table had some ROM back issues, but I keep holding off because I figure as soon as I start buying them, the rights will get sorted out and we'll see a series of trades. There were a couple of prints at Jaeremy Haun's table I'd have bought if I had the time. One fellow was selling video games from an array of consoles, and I seriously considered throwing down the 10 bucks for Goldeneye. I've largely given up hope Alex and I will ever go scout through that storage facility for it and the other three of my N64 games he has. I would really have liked to get a sketch from Nathan Rice. I'd kept walking by his and the Helock Comics guys' table, and I finally stopped late in the afternoon. I perused the book of sketch cards, bought one of Power Girl, and decided he'd be a good person to get a sketch from. Except the convention was closing in an hour, and he was already busy. Someone had asked him to do a card for each of the Doctors, and he was only on 9 or 10.  There just wasn't enough time. Plus, I was worried about burning all the cash I had before I could stop for dinner.

Sure, I could have hit an ATM, but I didn't really want to that night. It's much easier for me to justify spending if I can say, "I didn't go wild, I only spent 50 bucks on Sunday," while ignoring the 70 I threw down on Saturday (which is what I spent, when you factor in food and the $5 admission). If I could have gone home, gotten up Sunday, and gone back? Hell yes I'd have stopped to get more cash and thrown it down. As it was, I settled for a much more leisurely drive back to the boonies.

The fact that I wish I had another day at the convention - or at least the entire 8 hours it was open Saturday - is the best recommendation I can give for it. I simply didn't have enough time to see, do, and buy everything I wanted to in the limited time I was able to steal.