Cape-Con 2018 Recap

To start, the weather was much nicer than last year, and I didn't have a splitting sinus headache to deal with. It was almost worryingly easy to wake up at 5:15, and there wasn't much traffic for the drive. I got there 15 minutes after the doors opened, and there was just a short line at that point. By the time one of my friends arrived at 11, the line stretched well out into the parking lot.

They tried something different with the layout this year, as most of the comic book sellers were in the first room you came to in the building, rather than the main open area. That was where I spent the first half-hour or so, nosing through dollar boxes. I found a few things I was looking for. Half-dozen Power Man and Iron Fist issues, a Starman trade and a single issue, a couple of '90s Guardians of the Galaxy comics, a couple of Marvel Fanfare.

Compliments to the Burg Comics table, who had their dollar box stuff actually arranged alphabetically. A lot of folks just throw that stuff in their haphazardly, and I have no idea how to figure out where to look for what I'm interested in, other than just going through everything. After the 15th copy of some random crappy '90s Image book, that loses its appeal.

The Comic Kingdom, as it was labeled, was also where Mike Zeck and Steven Grant were set-up. I didn't end up getting my copy of Kraven's Last Hunt autographed by Mr. Zeck, but I bought a print of the cover to Secret Wars #10, and getting that autographed (that isn't a photo of the print, just an image of the cover). We chatted a little, mostly just about how the convention was going (I didn't buy the print until right before I left, so it had been going for several hours by then). He was a friendly guy, so that made it easy. He thought Ken might be closing in on that goal he mentioned years ago of the con getting at least 5000 people to attend, but that the Osage Center is also probably at about its limit. I guess he'd have to try using the Student Rec Center or the arena on SEMO's campus in that event.

The main auditorium area was where the other vendors, artists, and guests were stationed. With the comic folk getting their own space, the walkways were noticeably wider. There were still some choke points at times, that weird phenomenon where somehow everyone seems to be at the same place at once, while other locations are almost deserted. Overall, though, it seemed easier to get around.

My friend was scoping out some of the older video games that were on offer, although she hesitated on buying a copy of the first X-Men game for the Sega Genesis for 10 bucks, and it was gone by the time we swung by again. She did grab Luigi's Mansion for her Gamecube. A lot of people selling those Funko Pop things, which at least eliminated a lot of places I might have to waste energy scanning for things I might want.

I didn't buy nearly as much art as I have in the past, but I got a few things. Alex had told me earlier in the week he enjoyed My Neighbor Totoro, so I bought a picture based on that for him. Bought a Mad Max print from Seth Groves, and a really nice Scarlet Spider and a small book of some of his video game sketches from Brian Atkins. I was thinking hard about asking him for a commission, but I couldn't spare the cash. Didn't end up getting any commissions this year. Couldn't find the right combination of art style and price point.