Free Comic Book Day 2023
It’s that time again, Free Comic Book Day is upon us. It’s not quite the social event that it used to be back when we still had midnight parties to celebrate. Still, Carol and John’s does their best to make it celebration on the day itself, creating a small bazaar of artists and crafters at the overflow space they use for the day. While they limit people to 12 of the 40 books offered, they also make up for it by throwing in an extra graphic novel and creating a poster for the day. This time around, they even had the artist who made the poster available to sign it.
It’s a lot of that social aspect that keeps me driving out there those Saturday mornings. There’s enough people around to make it worth dressing up in costume (This year it’s Kraglin. Sean Gunn’s character from the recent Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3), and it’s where I’m most likely to run into friends and acquaintances. Indeed, as I stood in line, the Cleveland Ghostbusters Ecto mini rolled up and found a parking space. Everybody in line was ohhhing and awwwing at it and then looked at me in disbelief when the Ghostbusters jumped out and ran over to come and hang out with me and chat for a while!
Heroes Alliance was there wandering through with Star Wars and Clack Widow characters, and even the Grinch came out on his motorcycle!
After Carol and John’s, I still headed over to C
omics Are Go. They offer one of every fcbd comics they have, Which takes the stress out of trying to get a more or less complete set. I skip over a few things… Marvel voices really doesn’t appeal to me anymore than a lot of the kids stuff. But manage to grab a couple of duplications for Maddie, who was just not getting out of bed this morning. You know, teenagers. It’s also a great opportunity to pick up passes for NEO comicon. Even without the passes though, I notice I always spend more over at comics are go. They’ve got really good dollar boxes, and usually an interesting deal spread out on their sidewalk sale. It’s great fun. Between the free comics and the ones that I bought, I pulled a stack about 50 home with me.Looks like I’ll be set for reading material for a while!
(At least until next Free Comic Book Day!)
Columbus toy and game show
Right 
off the bat, can you please do me a favor? If there’s going to be a charge for parking, please let us know ahead of time! Print it on the flyers. Includ it on every post with the date and time. Seriously, because this is basically increasing your admission fee by 27%, and I need to be able to budget for that.
Indeed, it seems to me that I had this EXACT same 
complaint the last time I was out at the Ohio Convention Center. Perhaps I would have remembered if it hadn’t been nearly ten years ago at the sadly short lived Tricon. (Short lived as in – that first year was also their last)
At first glance, the $12 admission fee seems a little high considering this is a glorified flea market. On the other hand, it’s the biggest flea market I’ve ever seen. The Columbus toy and game show actually dwarfs toyhio in comparison, and I didn’t think that was possible. I ended up going to the early service at church Sunday morning because I wanted
to arrive really responsible.Walking in just before one, it was close to 3:30 before I managed to finish going through the entire building. And it’s just so vast.
I was actually eager to come out to this one since I had to skip Toyhio last month. Zip Con was going on the same day and Maddie had really wanted to hit that show. As a result, I’d been kind of jonesing for a good toy show to dig through. Since I wasn’t going to be doing Concoction this 
weekend, my schedule was free. This would be the perfect place to use the money I had set aside to spend at Concoction! I spent Saturday getting hyped up by watching through the entire season of Action Figure Adventure, while considering what to wear.
Because it’s not really a cosplay sort of show, I wanted to go soft and easy. I had considered bringing out the Penguin again but decided instead on something new. Kong, my human version of the 1975 
Ghostbusters hadn’t be out since the Afterlife premire. It’s nice and simple, but not quite as spectacular as going as Tracy the gorilla. To give it more spice, I added a couple of killer tomato friends to come along for the ride. People actually recognized them a lot more than they recognized me. It’s exactly the right kind of show for that. Killer Ttomatoes are not the most easily identifiable characters but when people do recognize ’em… they love it.
I was actually surprised by how chatty some of the vendors were. Sure, you got rows of old guys sitting in there lawn chairs with a scowl on their face… basically flea market attitude. But you’ve also got plenty of them who are genuinely excited about the stuff they’re selling and the geners they’re playing in. If you see a guy selling Doctor Who… hes gonna want to talk t
o you about Doctor Who. I was asked who my favorite doctor was, where I thought the series was going, answer more questions about star trek. It was great. It was also really nice to bump into my buddy Marse. He’s more local to The Columbus area, and our paths only cross once every year or two. He just completed a marvelous Samurai Batman and was trying it out for the first time here.
I was picking up a bunch of stuff that had actually been on my bucket list…Back at the last Toyhio I hit, I passed on a Last Action Hero figure in favor of a transforming Terminator. But Last Action Hero looks more like Arnold, so I’m glad to have a second chance to pick him up cheap. The McDonalds I passed on was here to…still mocking me. I’m beginning to think I shouldn’t have let it go this time, not at $30…..
I’ve also been skipping over cheap road rippers for EVER. I thought the MOTU Mini one would finally satisfy me, but….no. Not really. But the thing is, I’ve started to notice them just beginning to go up in 
price. About time for me to finally plunk down a Lincoln for a cheap loose one.
I came across a spectacular McFarline figure – I have NO idea who or what she is. She’s missing an arm, but I can 3d print a new one easily and for a buck, I’ll take that and the Borg. I’m always on the hunt for custom fodder. I raided the 3 for a dollar bins for stuff like Fred and the video game figures, as well as scoring that nice Riker for less than what’s I’ve been paying at Record Exchange. A really worthwhile haul!
All in all, a good day. I’m really impressed with the show and just how much stuff is scattered across those endless aisles. I got to spend a nice little bit of time playing video games on the free arcade alley, take photos with Gremlins, hobnob with other ‘busters, as well as really scratch that toy itch. It may well be worth a return visit in the future.
Great Lakes Comic Con
Great Lakes Comic Con has The distinction of being one of those shows that I say confidently, I consistently have fun at. I enjoyed this one, despite the massively long drive. I was grateful to see that they survived the government lock down, however we still skipped last year because because of the lingering mask mandate. We nearly missed this year as well. My Saturday had gotten booked with a funeral, and the associated events that go with such a thing. There was no way we were going to be able to sneak off to Detroit on Saturday. We still wanted to go though, and there were people there I wanted to meet. We resolved to hit the show on Friday instead.
The problem with going on Friday is the hours are significantly shortened, and there’s little or no programming. That was the case here, but I figured I’d be spending most of my night standing in lines waiting for autographs. Maddie too, was eager to hit as many conventions as possible this year. It’s been a while since she’s been to this one. She broke out her Todoroki
while I looked for something soft and flexible. Since I wasn’t competing in the costume contest Saturday, I wanted something I could move around in, that would leave my hands free and my vision unobscured. It’d been a while since I’d worn the Penguin, and this seem like an ideal fit. We bundled our outfits into the car, and began the 2 and a 1/2 hour trip West.
I always forget how long a line for this show it is. We usually show up a little bit late to try and avoid some of it, but today, time was of the essence. We arrived just as the doors opened, to find the line wrapped around the antechamber. It always bottle necks right at the door, and it’s the one drawback from what is otherwise an excellent venue over at Macomb Community College. Once we finally got inside I made a beeline for the guest aisle. Dan DiDio had no line! I walked right up, and he greeted me with a grin.
“I was just watching Batman returns a couple of days ago on the plane! The movie really holds up.”
I nodded in agreement and mentioned that I had just screened it for Maddie this Christmas. I then pulled out my copy of ambush bug issue 7 of 6. DiDio Broke out and laughter. You see, this is not a book that he wrote…. he is the editor on it. The more important thing, is how heavily hes featured in it. Ambush bug has always enjoyed making fun Of the management at DC Comics, and DE deo is all over this book.
“Have you ever heard the story of why this book is 7 of 6?”
I’d heard bits and pieces of it, and DiDio proceeded to spend the next ten minutes giving me the entire story of how some pages needed changes, got turned in, and then got lost and buried on hi
s desk for months. By the time they found that they need to make further changes, and a ended up feeling actually the only way they could release it was with the new number in, doing a total gag with the whole thing.
It was wonderful fun to listen to him, and this is exactly the sort of thing that I hit conventions for. We moved on, stopping briefly over at Bill Morrison’s table. He’s charging way too much for a signature on a book, especially when you’ve got a legendary silver age artist like Mike Royer across The aisle, charging half that, and giving all of his proceeds to cancel research charities.
Royer’s line wasn’t long, but it was slow. Part of that is because he likes to talk with the people that are coming up and that’s fun. Part of it’s also because there were several chickenheads in line bringing him huge stacks of books and having him sign them all. Just a gentle reminder, if you roll up to an artist’s table with half a long box full of comics And you intend to get them all signed, just know, everyone in line hates you. Show some class, do a few of the time, get out of line and go back through. Royer looked up at me and gestured towards the fake cigarette in the long stemmed holder I was clutching between my teeth.
“If you were really smoking that! You would have gone through an entire pack by now!” he chuckled apologizing for the long wait. By the time I finally got up to him, he was Interested in chatting about the old Gotham TV show, and the version of the Penguin there
appeared
“I didn’t really like the girl on that show… Fish. But that young man playing the Penguin, I can immediately tell who he was. Who he was trying to play… he did something with that character…”
“I think it’s the first time that somebody had really made the Penguin… cool,” I agreed. We went on to talk a little bit about the Marvel television shows, with Daredevil still being his favorite.
All of this was good stuff. I got to surprise Randy Zimmerman with a fairly full run of tails from the Aniverse, as well as chatting up Chris Scalf, the cover artist for Realm Comics long forgotten Battlestar Galactica run. Grabbed a couple of great cover autographs from from Tom Nguyen and Angel Medina, as well as grabbing Tom Orzechowski to sign the last of my X-Men collections. I had pulled a 
couple of Spider-Man issues for Kieth Pollard to sign, but passed when I saw he was charging $20. He wasn’t interested in me being there either an barely looked up from the sketch he was drawing. (it’s sad that I’ve been priced out of the game so much – and I certainly wasn’t going to pay forty or sixty dollars for the Disney Star Wars actors in attendance). Maddie had since taken off to do her own thing, so I figured it’s about time that I found her and we did the dealer’s room proper.
I must say, for such a vast dealer’s room, I wasn’t finding a whole lot of stuff I was interested in. A single lego figure, and only a handful of books. No quarter bins, no fifty cent bins, dollar or more. Still, it gave me a chance to fill some holes in my star trek collection. I’m already regretting passing on some of those cheap figures I was looking at as well There was a nice looking like solution in a suit, but the scale was one that I don’t usually collect. I probably should have any help. In another bed
I found little John from Robin hood Prince of thieves. I’ve actually started collecting these figures loose, just for the lunacy of the reused superpowers sculpts. The problem is, you get into some of these ones like little John, and it looks More mad Max than Robin hood. They’re practically unrecognizable without the soft goods covering them. Still, I could have taken him home and made him a leather jerkin or something. Next time.
The real find of the day was the hauntingly bizarre plushy captain Kirk from star trek the motion picture. Sitting in a $5 bin, I’ve never seen one of these before and immediately had to have it. The vendor told me that they made spark as welcome but he hasn’t ever seen 1. Looks like I’ve got something to look out for on my next trip.
We actually stayed the entire time, leaving a mere 15 minutes before the door is closed. You definitely try to make the most out of the day, although I’ll admit, The shortened Friday with no panels just wasn’t worth the long drive both ways. I think in the future, it’s gonna be Saturday or nothing. Still, I’m glad we went, and I’m happy to see the show is back And good as our. Maddie did her own review, but you’ll find below, and then pass that tons of pictures!
Comic Creator Autographs spring 2023
It’s that time again. Con season is starting up and you want to figure out your budget for the next show coming to your town! Well we’ve got a massive update in almost alphabetical order! However, it comes with the usual disclaimer. Some of this information may now be out of date, and I’ll just say I noticed a lot of those guys who were $5 pre-pandemic shoot up to $10 In fact, I was shocked at how many of them were $20!!! Congratulations guys. I’m skipping your table from now on. Keep that in mind. While I try to keep up to date as best I can, may be wrong here and there. Still, at least it lets you know who generally charges and who doesn’t. A lot of people have switched columns, and a lot of the offerings (i.e. “3 free then $ after that”) have also changed. I’ll update as I can, and if I’ve got pricing wrong, please feel free to let me know.
As always, I’m trying not to discuss the pros and cons of comic professionals charging for autographs (although I’m starting to really be bothered by some of these higher priced ones and I’ll admit my general kevetching is starting to creep in). Ultimately, I’m acknowledging the reality of modern convention economics. This is a little something to help you know what to expect when you go to a con so you don’t get blindsided. A lot of artists don’t have autograph charges clearly displayed and frequently con websites either don’t have this information or are asked not to display it (something I find dishonest and am getting increasingly fed up with). Here’s my current list – in sort-of alphabetical order. It’s not exhaustive by any means, things may change next month or next year. We’ll update and repost from time to time (So check the timestamp and maybe do a quick site search to make sure this is the LATEST update!).
Amanda Conner – first 1 free, $5 each after that
Aaron Campbell – First 5 free, then $5 each
Aaron Lopresti – First 5 free, then $1 each
Me so excited to meet Gerry Conway I forgot to open my eyes!
Adam Hughes – 5 free, then $5 each
Adam Kubert – $10 each, $20 for witnessed
Alex Saviuk – $10
Arvell Jones – $5
Al Milgrom – $10 per book
Adam Hughes – first five free, then $5
Andrew Robinson – $5 each
Andy Kubert – $10 each, $20 for witnessed
Anna Zhuo – free, graded $10
Ant Lucia – 5 free, then $5 each
Ariel Diaz – $5 each
Ariel Olivetti – first 2 free; then $10 each
Arthur Adams – 3 free then $5 each
Bart Sears – $5 each
Brad Anderson – $5 each
Benjamin Percy – $5 each
Bill Sienkiewicz – $25 each
BILL MORRISON – has started charging $10
Brett Breeding -$5
Brian Azzarello – $5, except for graded items and Batman:Damned
Bo Hampton – $10 each
Bob Camp – $30
Bob Wiacek – $2 (He might make you a deal for multiple issues)
Bob Hall – free for the first issue, or if you purchase a something from the table, otherwise $5
Bob Layton- $5 for CGC graded signings, otherwise free
Kevin Eastman loved my Borg suit
Bob Mcloud – one for free, then $5
Bob Budiansky -first 5 free, then $5 each
Bill Sienkiewicz – two for free, then $3, $10 for CGC
Bob Camp – $10w
Bob Hall – $5 each
Bob McLeod – First $5, then $10 each
Bob Sharen – $2 each
Bob Wiacek – $5 each
Bret Blevins – 2 free then $5
Brett Breeding – $10 each
Brian Azzarello – $10
Bruce Timm $5 each
Carl Potts – 1 free personalized, then $30
Cary Nord – 3 free, then $5 each
Chad Hardin – $5 each
Charles Soule – first 3 free, then $5 each after that, $10 CGC grading signings
Chris Clarmont – first free, then $20
Chris Bachalo – $5 each, $10 for graded. $10 for sig and doodle, $25 for graded and doodle (though some shows only $2 each for charity)
Chris Warner – $5 each
Clay Mann – first 2 are free; $5 each after that
Clayton Crain – $5 each regular; $10 for Infinity (multicolored sigs) ; $10 witnessed
Cody Ziglar – $5 each
Craig Kyle – $10 each
Creees Lee – $5 each
Cully Hamner – 2 raw free, then $5 each. Graded $10
D.G. Chichester – $5 per
Dan Slott – 2 free then $5
Dan Green – $5 each
Dan Jurgens – 2 free then $5
Dan Panosian – $5 each
Daniel Warren Johnson – raw free, duplicates $5, graded $20
Danny Fingeroth – first 5 are free, then $5 each unless you buy a book
Darryl Banks – Has recently started charging $5
Darryl “DMC” McDaniels – $50 per personal item, comics at table for $40 signed and posters for $20 signed
David Finch – $5
Dave Gibbons – $1 a book
Nolan signs some bat-issues!
Dave Johnson – 1 or 2 free; then $5
David Mack – $10 each
David Michelinie – $15
Dennis Culver – $5 each
Don Glut – $10
Donny Cates – $10
Don McGregor – $5 per signature
Drew Struzan – $80
Ed McGuinness – $10 each
Edgar Delgado – $5 CGC grading signings
Ed McGuinness – $10 each
Emanuela Lupacchino – $5 each
Esad Ribic – 1 free, $10 after
Evan “Doc” Shaner – 2 free, then $5 ea
Fabian Nicieza – $10 for anything Deadpool/New Mutants/X-Men/X-Force/Cable/Cable & Deadpool, $20 for witnessed, all other comics free
Fiona Staples – $20 CGC grading signings (otherwise free)
Frank Cho – $5 each
Frank Miller – $80 each for or $100 witnessed
Frank Tieri – $5
Garth Ennis – $5 each
Geoff Isherwood – I’ve heard $5 each (may sign 1 free with print purchase), but at Fantasticon 2023, he didn’t charge me at all for the three books I brought. Perhaps that’s show specific?
Graham Nolan – first one free, $5 after that
Greg Capullo – $10 each
Georges Jeanty – 5 free, then $5 ea ($10 each for Mandalorian comics none free)
Gerry Conway – $20 each
Glenn Fabry – $10 each
Gerhard $10
Greg Horn – Comics before 2014: 1st 3 are free then $5 each….Comics after 2014: $10 each. Even new comics from his booth cost $10 more to sign.
Greg Land – First 3 free, then $5 each; $10 for multiple copies
Howard Chaykin – $10 each; $15 each for Star Wars, $20 graded
Howard Mackie – $10 each, $30 graded
Humberto Ramos – $10 each, $20 if graded
J Hammond – $30 sketch cards
With Dan DiDio!
JM DeMatteis – $5 each
J. Michael Straczynski – $10 each for some items
J Scott Campbell – first 1 is free, $15 each after that
Jae Lee – $10 each, $20 if graded
Jay Leisten – 1st free; then $5 each (he may make deal if personalized or larger stack)
James Tynion IV – first 3 free, $5 each after
Jason Fabok – 1st free, then $5 each
Jeff Dekal – 1 book free, then $5 each
Jeph Loeb – $20 each
Javier Saltares – Free if personalized or $5 if not
Jerry Bingham – $10 each
Jerry Ordway – $3 each
Jim Shooter – Ranges from free to $25, depending on agent at the show (Always been free when I’ve met him)
Joe Sinnott – $10 per book
Jim Lee – $50
Jim Starlin -$10 per book (goes to Heroes Initiative)
Joe Giella- $4 per book
J. O’Barr – $5
Jae Lee- $5
John Romita Jr – three for free, then $2. $10 for CGC grading.
Jose Delbo – $5
Joe Rubinstein – $20 ($50 for Wolverine)
Jimmy Palmiotti – first 1 free, $5 each after that
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With the legendary Denny O’Neil!
Jim Zub – 1st free, then $5 each
Joelle Jones – 1st three free, $5 each after, graded sigs $20
Joe Giella – $4 each; $15 graded
Joe Jusko – 2 free then $5 each
Joe Quesada – $50 each
Joe Rubinstein – $10 each
J Scott Campbell $10
John Cassandry $10
John Beatty – $5
Jim Sternako charges $50 per item last I checked – and that includes items and prints BOUGHT FROM HIS TABLE. Also, do not ask for a photo with him.
John Bolton – first 5 free, then $5 each
John Cassaday – $5 each
John Romita Jr – $20 each in June 2022; $45 for Dragon Con 2022
John Timms – 3 free, then $5 each
John Giang – $15 per
Jonathon Glapion- $10 ea
Jonboy Meyers – 2 books free, then $5 per signature
Jose Delbo – $10 each; $25 if graded
Josh Cassara – 3 free, then $5
Josh Williamson – first 3 free; $5 each after that
Julian Tedesco – 1st free, then $5 each
Keith Champagne – $5 each
Keith Giffen – 1st free, then $5 each
Keith Williams – $5 each
Ken Lashley – $5 each
Keith Pollard – $20
Kevin Eastman – first is free, $20 after that (He also doodles on the items!)
Keith Giffen – 1st book free, $5 per book after
Klaus Janson– $10, $20
Kyle Hotz – $5
Len Wein – $5, $20 CGC grading signings, $25 for Hulk 181, Giant Size X-Men #1 or House of Secrets #92.
-
Larry Hama wondering what he’s gotten himself into….
Larry Hama will sign two items for free if personalized, then $20 each
Lee Bermejo – 3 free; Batman Damned is $25 per issue
Lee Weeks – 2 free (personalized), $5 each after
Liam Sharp – $10 each
Lovern Kindzierski – $5 each
Matteo Scalera – $20 CGC grading signings
MIKE ROYER – $5 (For cancer research)
Mike Zeck – $5
Marv Wolfman – one free (I’ve heard elsewhere it’s two for free, but in his last interview he said one), $5.00 after that
Mark Texeria- one personalized signature free, $10 per book after or unpersonalized
Marat Mychaels – $5 each
Marc Laming – $5 each
Marc Silvestri – $10 each
Marguerite Bennett – $5 each
Mark Bagley – Personalized are free, Non-personalized $10; Witnessed $20
Mark Brooks – first 3 free, then $5 after. CGC are $10, except Avengers 684 is $20
Mark Irwin – 1st free, then $5 each
Mark Waid – 2 free, then $5 ea, unless personalized
Marv Wolfman – $5 each
Matteo Scalera – 1 or 2 free then $5 each, $20 for witnessed
Matthew Clark – personalized free; non-personalized $10 each
Matthew Rosenberg – first 5 free, then $5 each
Meredith Finch – first 2 or 3 free per day, $5 each after that (at Fan expo Dallas 2018, Fri and Sat were 3 free, Sunday was 2 free)
Mico Suayan – $5
Mitch Gerads – 2 free, then $5
Michael Golden- $20 per book
Mike Grell – $10 each, $15 for CGC
Mike Huddleston – $5 raw, $25 graded
Mike Mayhew – $10 each
Mike McKone – Personalized are free, Non-personalized $10
Mike DeCarlo – $4 each
Mike del Mundo – $5 raw, $25 graded
Mike Zeck – $5 each, $10 for witnessed
Golden age artist Mike Royo! Magnus Robot Fighter for the win!
Mirka Andolfo – 1 free then $5
Mitch Gerads – 2 free then $5 each
Nick Spencer – 1st free, then $5 each
Olivier Coipel – $10 each
Pablo Marcos – $5 for 1; $12 for 3; or $30 for 10
Paris Cullins – $5 each
Pat Broderick – $10 each
Patrick Gleason – 1 free then $5 each
Paul Azaceta – First 5 free, then $5 each
Paul Gulacy – $5 each; $10 Master of Kung Fu
Paul Kupperberg – $10
Paul Pope – 2 free then $10 each
Peter Tomasi – $5 each
J Scott Campbell Signing Fee: $30
Ron Frenz -$3
Ron Lim – 1st book free, $10 per book after
Rob Liefeld -$40 each, $60 for X-Force 11, $80 for New Mutants 87, 98, add $20 for witnessed
Robert Kirkman – $50
Rags Morales – $5 each
Ramon Perez – 1 or 2 free; then $5
Randy Emberlin: $10 per book
Rick Hoberg – $10 each
Rod Reis – $5 each
Rodney Ramos – $5
Ron Garney – $10 each ($40 BRZRKR)
Ron Lim – $10 each
Ron Marz – is now up to $10 each, $20 graded. So much for “Since it seems to be the topic of the day: no charge for signatures. If you bought the books, the least I can do is sign ’em. ”
Ron Wilson – $10 each
Rick Hoberg – $10 each
Jon Bogdanove scribbles on my Superman weddding album and Steel trade paperback!
Ron Lim – $10
Rudy Nebres – $5 each
Ryan Ottley – $20
Ryan Parrott – $5 each
Sal Velluto – $10 each, $25 for toys/funko
Sam De la Rosa – $10; $25 Venom LP #1
Sam Humphries – 3 free, then $5 each after
Sam Kieth – 2 free, then $10 each after
Scott Hanna – $20 each
Scott Lobdell – $5 for first group of 10 books, $10 for next group of 10 (sometimes signs free at smaller shows)
Scott Snyder – $10 each
Scott Williams – 1 free, then $
Sean Gordon Murphy – 5 free, then $5 each
Sergio Aragones – 1st 3 free, then $2 each
Shane Davis – $5 each
Shannon Maer – $20
Simon Bisley – $10 per signature
Skottie Young – $5 each at Heroes Con 2022
Sozomaika – $10 each
Stan Sakai – 1st 3 free, then $2 each
Stephanie Phillips – $5 ea ($10 Grim #1)
Stephen Segovia – 3 free then $10 each
Steve Englehart – $10 ea
Steve Geiger – $10 – be careful if you buy something off his table. He overcharges after signing and doubles his price.
Steve Lavigne – $10 each
Steve Orlando – $5 each
Simon Bisley – $10 per book
Terry Dodson – 5 free then $1 each after that
Terry Kavanagh – $5
Tim Townsend – $5 each
Tini Howard – 1st free, then $5 each
Todd Nauck – $5 for Phantom variants unless personalized, others free
Tom King – $5 each
Tommy Lee Edwards – $5 each
Tom Taylor – 2 free, then $5 each
Allen Bellman was there at the beginning!
TOM NGUYEN – $5
Tom DeFalco $5 each for three or less. After that $20 (“Dealer’s Pricing”)
Tony Isabella $10
Tony Daniel – $10 each
Tony Harris – first free then $5
Tony Moore – $20 walking dead singles, $5 other books, $20 witnessed
Trevor Von Eeden – $10 each
Tyler Kirkham – $10 each, witnessed are more
William Messner-Lobes – $10 (Sometimes first one is free)
Whilce Portacio –$10 for 1st Bishop issues(fee waived with purchase). Other comics free up to 5.
Victor Olazaba – $10
Yanick Paquette – $5
Tip Jar – pay what you want
Some of these are for causes like the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund or Heroes Initiative. Others are just personal. I urge you, respect the tip jar. (It’s so much better than autograph fees)
Alan Davis – free with Heroes Tip Jar (up to 10 comics)
Andrew Pepoy – Hero Initiative donation
Ann Nocenti – free with Heroes Initiative tip jar
Billy Tucci
Ben Templesmith
Barry Kitson
Chuck Dixon
Charlie Adlard
Dan Brereton – free with Heroes Tip Jar
Dan Fraga – free with Heroes Tip Jar
Jan Duursema
Jim Calafiore
Joe Staton – free, with tip jar for Hero Initiative
John Ostrander – free with Heroes Initiative tip jarKarl Kesel – free but tip jar for Hero Initiative
Kevin Nowlan – free with Heroes Tip jar
Mark Farmer – free with Heroes Tip Jar
Mark Schultz – free with Heroes Initiative tip jar
Larry Stroman
Peter David
Mike Barr
Mike Mignolia
Rick Leonardi – $1 each toward Hero Initiative
Roy Thomas
Rubinstein’s done just about everything!
Scott Koblish
Timothy Truman
Tom Grummett – Free, with Heroes Tip Jar
Tom Mandrake – free with Heroes Initiative tip jar
Walter Simonson – free with Heroes jar
Free
Adriana Melo
Agnes Garbowska
Al Ewing
Ale Garza
Alex Maleev
Alex Ross – Free with 5 item limit
Alex Sinclair
Allison Sohn
Andrew Dalhouse
Andrew Mangum
Andy Smith
Anna Zhuo – free, graded $10
Ash Maczko
Ashley Witter
Ande Parks
Angel Mediea
Art Thibert
Bill Anderson
Brandon Montclare
Brian Michael Bendis (Be prepared to wait a long time in line)
Bill Willingham
Brendan Fletcher
Bob Almond
Baldemar Rivas
Becky Cloonan
Ben Dunn
Bernard Chang
Bill Anderson
Bill Reinhold
Bob Smith
Brandon Peterson
Brennan Wagner
Brent Peeples
Brian Augustyn
Brian Pulido
Brian Stelfreeze
Budd Root
Buzz
Carlo Barberi
Cat Staggs
Charles Paul Wilson III
Chris Batista
Chris Marrinan
Chris Stevens
Chris Wictendal
Chuck Palahniuk
Cliff Chiang
Colleen Doran
Cullen Bunn
Christos Gage
CHRIS SCALF
Chad Townsend
Carla Speed McNeil
Clayton Crain
Cameron Stewart
Chip Zdarsky
Casey Jones
Dan Brereton
DAN DIDIO
Dirk Manning
Dale Keown
Dan Parent
Darren Auck
Dave Bullock
Dave DeVries
Dave Dorman
David Baron
David F. Walker
Dawn McTeigue
Declan Shalvey
Dennis Hopeless
Diana Greenhalgh
Dexter Vines- free
Don Kramer – free
Doug Mahnke
Dustin Weaver
Edgar Delgado – free, $5 for witnessed
Eduardo Risso
Elliot S Maggin
Eric Basaldua EBAS – Free for 15x, then $5 ea
Erik Larsen
Emanuela Lupacchino
Erik Larsen
Evan Dorkin
Fred Van Lente (assuming you can catch him. He dosent do to many shows these days)
Fiona Staples – free, $20 for witnesseed
Francis Manapul
Francisco Herrera
Franco Aureliani
Freddie E Williams
Gerry Dugan
Giuseppe Camuncoli
Glenn Whitmore
Greg LaRocque
Greg Pak
Greg Smallwood
Guillem March
Gail Simone
Gene Ha
Greg Wright
Heather Antos
Ivan Reis
Shooter is still a legend!
Inhyuk Lee – 3 free
Jason Latour
John Ostrander
Joe Staton
Joshua Williamson
Jim Zub
Judd Winick
Jerry Duggan
Jason Aaron
Jeff Schultz
Jacob Chabot
Jonathan Hickman
Jenny Frison
Joe Kelly
Jack Purcell
Jai Nitz – free
James Robinson
Jason Aaron
Jason Latour
Jeff Lemire
Jeff Johnson
Jeff Parker
Jeffrey Moy
Jenny Frison
Jeremy Clark
Jill Thompson
Jim Calafiore
Jim Krueger
Jody Houser
Joe Carmagna
Joe Casey
Joe Corroney
Tony Isabella greets the fans!
Joe Eisma
Joe Prado
Joe Quinones
John Dell
John Layman
Johnny Desjardins
Jonathan Lau
Jonathan Hickman
Juan Doe
Karl Moline
Kelley Jones
Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin Maguire
Kristen Gudsnuk
Kyle Strahm
Karl Story
Kelley Jones
Kevin Maguire
Kevin Nowland
Keron Grant
Koi Pham
Kyle Higgins
Lela Gwenn
Lewis LaRosa
Louise Siminson
-
Don’t worry – it’s just a shadow from the gun – James didn’t actually give me a black eye!
Mike McKone – Personalized are free, Non-personalized $10
Michael Cho
Matt Miner
Matt Horak
Mike Mayhew
Mark McKenna
Mike Okamoto
Marc Sumerick
Mike Gustov
Mark Farmer
Mark Schultz
Micheal Conrad
Mike Choi
Mike Norton
Matt Fraction
Marguerite Bennett
Mike Hawthorne
Mark Evanier
Mark Russell
Matt “Batt” Banning
Matt Hawkins
Matt Wagner
Michael Dooney
Michael Lark
Mike & Laura Allred
Mike Baron
Mike Choi
Mike McKone
Mike Perkins
Morry Hollowell
Nei Ruffino
Neil Vokes
Marc Sumerick meets a fan!
Nick Derington
Nick Bradshaw
Nick Dragotta – free, duplicates $5, graded $20P.Craig Russell
Jorge Lucas
Jim Pasco
Phil Hester
Phil Noto
Paul Pelletier
Patricia Martin
Peter Gillis
Peter Kuper
Peter Steigerwald
Phil Jimenez
Phil Ortiz
Philip Moy
Philip Tan
Phil Noto
Pia Guerra
Pop Mhan
Rachael Stott
Raul Allen
Ray Lago
Richard Case
Richard Pini
Rico Renzi
Robert Venditti
Roger Stern
Rick Burchett
Rusty Gilligan – free, and gives away free signed promo cards
Rudy Obrero – Free (may not sign things though)
Russ Braun
Ryan Benjamin
Ryan Gary Browne
Rick Remender
Ron Fortier
RANDY ZIMMERMAN
Ramon Villalobos
Ricardo Lopez Ortiz
Rafer Roberts
Steve Leialoha
Steve Mannion
Stephen Sharar
Scott Snyder
Steve McNiven – Free if personalized
Stefano Gaudiano
Stephen T. Seagle
Scott Kolins
Sanford Greene
Sean McKeever
Sean Von Gorman
Shawn McManus
Sorah Suhng
Stefano Gaudiano
Steve Epting
Steve Erwin
Steve Leialoha
Steven Butler
Stuart Immonen – free up to 20
Talent Caldwell
Tana Ford
Tim Seeley
Tom Richmond
Tom Smith
Tomeu Morey
Tone Rodriguez
Trevor Hairsine
Tula Lotay
Ty Templeton
Tim Seeley
Tom Mandrake (sometimes a tip jar for Hero Initiative, but not when he was at NEO in 2019)
Tim Bradstreet
Todd DeZago
Tim Truman
Walt Simonson – donations for quick sketches
Will Rosado
Wendy Pini
Hall of Fame City Comicon videos
One of my favorite things is discovering videos of events that I pop up in. You may remember that Maddie and I hit hall of Fame City Comic Con a couple weeks ago. Just this morning, these two vids popped up on my feed and I wanted to share them here!
Bay Con 2022
Look, there’s worse things to do on a Sunday afternoon, and much like Cleveland Comic Book & Nostalgia Festival, it’s just a quick two exit hop down the highway after Church. I recall it being really small, but nice enough from the last time I went, so I packed up the kiddo and off we went. We wanted simple costumes so I brought Venom (With a Star Lord jacket because it’s starting to turn cold. Venom has spent time with the guardians. It works) and Maddie brought Todroki. My buddy Josh met us up there in his Cobra Commander costume and in we went.
I have to wonder if Bay-Con is a another casualty of the lockdowns. Last time I went it was WAY bigger (despite being a tiny library style show). The Ghostbusters were parked out front. Stuff was going out in the back, events and vendors. This time around it was limited to a single room, and music playing by the picnic benches out back.
Still we were determined to have some fun. We took photos all over, doing pics and videos of Maddie with the gauntlet, and Josh with his RC Optimus Prime. I thumbed through the comics from Carol and John’s and Maddie found a new book she wanted. I drew some artwork in their artist alley and we grabbed cookies for Maddie’s sister and Mom back home. Maddie ran into friends from school which was especially cool, an the promoters kept trying to get us to sign up fro the costume contest. Sadly it was scheduled for three thirty, and even squeezing a full hour out of this show, we were still ready to go by two.
All in all, not a big day, but not a bad one either. I’m sad though, to see this show shrink rather than grow. Maybe a few years will help. I’m not sure I’ll be back any time soon though.
Cleveland Comic Book & Nostalgia Festival Fall 2022
“And now, it’s time for you to die!“ I heard the high-pitched voice exclaim from behind me. I creamed my head a little bit and noticed the katana blade at my neck! Two teenage Demon slayer girls had come to take down venom.
I have to say, it was actually the highlight of the Jeff Harper show on Sunday. This one’s not really a cosplay show, but I thought I’d throw on venom anyhow. He’s easy to see through and move around in as I go through long boxes in the large flea market going on at the Westlake double tree. Despite not being a costume show, I usually like to wear something anyhow, because parents bring their kids… And this time around, they were a bunch of middle school age teenagers running around, trying to get the most out of their anime costumes, and it gives the young people something to see. I’ve gotta say, the Harper show is pretty chill about it as well, there are times when it feels like vendors don’t want the cosplayers around, but these guys were all chipper greeting me with a “hey Eddie!“ And I never felt unwanted. Of course, I’m also there’s a shop. That’s really what the Harper shows are all about, and this one in particular you can usually find weird offbeat stuff, like the skyscrapers of Oz manga I scored, or the Star Trek manga that I didn’t even know existed! I found anot
her book that plays with next generation concepts in the style of famous writers who never got to do Star Trek… People like and Rice or Stephen King. All of it proves to be an interesting read… And I finally capped it off buying a stack of buckaroo banzai. I’m still trying and failing to understand and appreciate the appeal of the character in the series. It just doesn’t vibe with me, but maybe the comics will help.
Seriously, I must be out of my mind to try and pack three conventions and one weekend. It’s not the same as hanging out at wasteland or concoction for three days… Different venues, different costumes, different style of conventions, it’s exhausting. But the Harper show is a nice way to ease my way out of the weekend, and I came home with a bunch of really interesting stuff. The Sunday show is literally 10 minutes away from my church, which makes it an easy hop over to the hotel, and definitely worth the extra hour or two spent digging.
Hall of Fame City Comic Con 2022
Besides the fact that it got canceled for a while because of the plague, I have missed a lot of Hall of Fame city comic cons simply because it’s settled into always being scheduled the week of cinema wasteland. However, lately, wasteland hasn’t really been a three day thing for me, and my daughter really wanted to squeeze in as many conventions this year as possible, considering that she had to sit out a year and a half of canceled conventions just as she had started getting into that sort of life. So, I carved up a Skeletor costume, and glued together a Batgirl suit for her and awfully went to Canton.
I will admit, I’ve kind of missed the show. It’s a genuinely good convention with a lot of heart. There’s some smart ideas here, bringing in a couple of big names… Usually one or two big name creators and one or two celebrities. It’s a formula that works both for them and for Youngstown Comicon. I was actually excited to see Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, but even more so… I was here for Al Snow. Now you may not know this about me, but I’m no
t a wrestling guy. I’m really not interested in wrestlers at all… But back in the early 2000s, MTV ran a wrestling show called “Tough Enough“ and like all MTV shows, they ran it constantly, and something about Al’s character on the show really spoke to me. I’ve always wanted to meet him, and was really happy when he started on the autograph circuit recently.
Much to my delight he instantly recognized the costume and was actually quite excited for it. “Somebody finally shows up cosplaying the Shadow!“. That’s actually a fun response, and it was enjoyable to chat with him for a little while.
I’ve actually chosen the Shadow so that I could spend about half of the show in a lighter costume that I could move around in… something I could see well in and still have access to both hands. But I was genuinely surprised at how many people recognized the character. The Shadow was getting a lot of love at Hall of fame city, con, with people constantly coming up to me and declaring “who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?“. I did have one young man come up to me and ask “Phantom Stranger?”. I explained to him who he was and described him as a character that Batman had been based largely on. He asked me an interesting question, “is he crazier than Batman? Because at this point, Batman is kind of gone insane…“ I had to think about this for a moment. I replied “I’m not sure, the thing is, with a shadow, there’s not much that human left in there anymore.“ That’s actually kind of cool thing not to just get to talk about your favorite character, but to explore it with somebody who’s new to the hero.
Right around the halfway point, we snuck back out to the car so I can change into my Skeletor costume. I’d been laser focused on this suit for about six weeks, carving the armor from scratch, spray painting the bodysuit to give it an airbrushed look, and installing lights in electronics specifically near the jeweled areas so they would sparkle more. I’d run out of time though, and was going to end up wearing a mask rather than doing a make up. This was a disappointment to me, but in the end, the mask looked just as striking… Perhaps 
even more so. Much to my surprise, I had noticed earlier that Acheww Cosplay, one of the costume contest judges, had actually shown up also in a Skeletor costume. I wasn’t sure if that was good luck or bad. My friend Micheal from far far away cosplay actually stopped me shortly after I got in, just wanting to take in the whole thing. “How did you know it was me?“ I asked. “The foamwork.“ He replied, nodding slowly. The foam shoes made it difficult to walk in, but I managed to
I’m not sure how long it was before I noticed my belt was slipping. The Velcro hadn’t separated yet, but it was certainly getting loose and causing me problems. I fidgeted and adjusted, while trying to keep my giant shoulder pads above the harness. The first time out in a new costume means that’s when you’re gonna find all the flaws. Still, I managed to shift and push the belt up enough to wedge it against my belly and keep it in place as I tried to chat with the people backstage. In her group, Maddie was having a fine time getting to know the other teenagers in the lineup. She was making friends and reassuring the ones who were nervous about going up for the first time. This is fun stuff that she’s been growing further and further into. She walks into the convention and just breathe it all in, “I am home!”.
I managed to get across the stage and through pre-judging without anything coming apart. I did however
get lost on stage and I had to be turned around to hit the proper exit! That was embarrassing enough, but it got even worse when the belt gave way after I was back down in the hall. Dream, the Sandman came to my aid and help me get the thing re-fastened. It held long enough for me to get called back on the stage… And that’s when it popped for good. I took up a place right behind the green goblin, and posed in such a way where it looked like my head was resting on the belt buckle… What was really happening was my elbow was pulled in tight to keep the belt flat against my hip on one side while I angled my staff to press against it on the other side. With photos over, and us getting ready to leave, I finally gave up on trying to keep the suit together and let the ball belt come loose once I got outside. I think in the future I will be securing that thing with hooks rather than Velcro.
I may also need to rig up some sort of a spike or hook to help stabilize the shoulder pads,And remove the chain mail from around them. It’s not doing anything for the look and just getting in the way. Still, this is all the sort of thing that you go through and learn as you’re trying out a new suit. I’m very happy with the way that Skeletor was received at the convention. One person even stopped dead, pointed and said “That’s the movie Skeletor!”, taking in the jewels and the detail. It was 
a nice discussion about the Masters of the Universe film, and how Frank Langella steals every scenehes in. While the suit isn’t strictly meant to be the movie version, it’s certainly influenced by it. Likewise, Maddie was having a good day in her new Batgirl costume. We had settled on Stephanie Brown from the current Batgirls comic that I’ve been constantly raving about here. It ended up being a good look for her, and really well received. Like Steph, Maddie is also Distraction Incarnate! It was a nice comfortable suit, something that’s important when you’re putting her in a costume! In fact, Maddie liked the jacket so much she wants a plain version for every day wear. I’m also really proud of that belt. I 3d printed a Batman ’66 Batgirl buckle for her, as well as little black bat accents that I pasted on my standard design foam pouches. We cinched that purple bet at the back with a hook (LIKE WE’RE GOING TO DO WITH SKELETOR DAGNABBIT!) and tossed an old Covid mask and a lovely purple cloak she got from her grandmother on her. It’s just perfect.
We walked away with stacks of comics, new Lego figures and the autograph I’ve been seeking as well as fun memories. Hall of Fame is a good show, and I’m eager to return to it. We’ll see what happens next year!
Cleveland Comic and Nostalgia Convention
Just a few photos from the Cleveland Comic Book and Nostalgia Convention over the weekend… The show with the name longer than this blog post! Harper show is basically the same thing every time, not much changes, and you may feel like you’ve seen some of these photos before. The room set up is exactly the same every time. But that’s OK, because this one still really close by in Westlake, and I know exactly where Hazel‘s Heroes stores the 50 Cent bins.
books. But there’s always a hope then I’ll find something curious. Besides that near complete Peter Milligan human target run, I also scored a handful of Fright Night comics. These are fun, especially with the movie adaptions included. Now comics was just weird, licensing just about anything. It was such a mismatched company… Underground comics like Ralph Snart, sci-fi like the Terminator, horror like Fright Night, adventure with the Green Hornet and really strange choice and comedy with Married with Children. Still, I’ve always been more team lost boys and fright night, especially in my teens when these were being published so I didn’t grab them up when I had a chance, and I’m regretting that now. Trying to put that right.
started out life of the web comic, but I don’t know if I ever saw it. It’s fun, with a bunch of Leifield like characters going back in time to try and stop him from creating Deadpool. Or at least, a reasonable facsimile. At this point, I almost feel like making fun of Rob Leifield is a genre and a big self. I’m not a hater, I actually respect the dude a great deal, and yet I also have to admit every time I see one of these kind of books, I’m absolutely picking it up.
Comic Creator Autographs spring 2022
Man, it’s been a while since we’ve done one of these hasn’t it? With cons starting back in earnest, some of this information may now be out of date, and I’ll just say I noticed a lot of those guys who were $5 pre-pandemic shoot up to $10. Keep that in mind, and I’ll update as I can. Huge thanks to Lee Wilson for sending me some new pricing to go with my observations from last weekend’s Fantasticon!
As always, we’re not really going to discuss the pros and cons of comic professionals charging for autographs. There’s plenty of other forums for that. We’re just going to acknowledge the reality of modern convention economics. This is a little something to help you know what to expect when you go to a con so you don’t get blindsided. A lot of artists don’t have autograph charges clearly displayed and frequently con websites either don’t have this information or are asked not to display it. Here’s my current list – in sort-of alphabetical order. It’s not exhaustive by any means, things may change next month or next year. We’ll update and repost from time to time.
Amanda Conner – free for 5 books, $2 after, $5 for CGC.
Me so excited to meet Gerry Conway I forgot to open my eyes!
Alex Saviuk – $5
Arvell Jones – $5
Al Milgrom – $10 per book
Adam Kubert – $5 per book
Brett Breeding -$5
Brian Azzarello – $5, except for graded items and Batman:Damned
Bob Camp – $30
Bob Wiacek – $2 (He might make you a deal for multiple issues)
Bob Hall – free for the first issue, or if you purchase a something from the table, otherwise $5
Bob Layton- $5 for CGC graded signings, otherwise free
Bob Mcloud – one for free, then $5
Bob Budiansky – first six free, $2 each after
Bill Sienkiewicz – two for free, then $3, $10 for CGC
Chris Clarmont – first free, then $20
Charles Soule – $10 CGC grading signings
David Finch – 2 free, then $5
Dave Gibbons – $1 a book
Don McGregor – $5 per signature
Edgar Delgado – $5 CGC grading signings
Fabian Nicieza – $10 Deadpool/X-Force related
Fiona Staples – $20 CGC grading signings (otherwise free)
Graham Nolan recently started charging, but not sure how much.
Greg Capullo – first 3 books free and $5 thereafter
Gerry Conway – $5
Gerhard $10
Greg Horn – $20 GameStop variants (otherwise free)
Humberto Ramos – $10-$20
Nolan signs some bat-issues!
Howard Chaykin – $5 per book
Javier Saltares – Free if personalized or $5 if not
Joe Sinnott – $10 per book
Jim Starlin -$10 per book (goes to Heroes Initiative)
Joe Giella- $4 per book
J. O’Barr – $5
Jae Lee- $5
John Romita Jr – three for free, then $2. $10 for CGC grading.
Jose Delbo – $5
Joe Rubinstein – $20 ($50 for Wolverine)
Jimmy Palmiotti – free for 5 books, $2 after, $5 for CGC.
J Scott Campbell $10
John Cassandry $10
John Beatty – $3
Jim Sternako charges $20 per item last I checked – and that includes items and prints BOUGHT FROM HIS TABLE. Also, do not ask for a photo with him.
Keith Pollard – $5
Kevin Eastman – first is free, $20 after that (He also doodles on the items!)
Keith Giffen – 1st book free, $5 per book after
Klaus Janson– $10, $20
Larry Hama wondering exactly what he’s gotten himself into…
CGC grading signings
Len Wein – $5, $20 CGC grading signings, $25 for Hulk 181, Giant Size X-Men #1 or House of Secrets #92.
Larry Hama will sign two items for free and charges after that.
Matteo Scalera – $20 CGC grading signings
Mike Zeck – $5
Marv Wolfman – one free (I’ve heard elsewhere it’s two for free, but in his last interview he said one), $5.00 after that
Mark Texeria- one personalized signature free, $10 per book after or unpersonalized
Mitch Gerads – 2 free, then $5
Michael Golden- $20 per book WTF! (at least he’s friendly and chatty)
With the Legendary Denny O’Neil
Mike Grell – $10
Neal Adams – $30
Pat Brodrick – $3
Ron Frenz -$3
Ron Lim – 1st book free, $10 per book after
Rob Liefeld – $25-$50
Rags Morales – $5
Scott Snyder – first 3 books free and $5 thereafter
Simon Bisley – $10 per book
Tom DeFalco $5 each for three or less. After that $20 (“Dealer’s Pricing”)
Tony Isabella $10
William Messner-Lobes – $10
Whilce Portacio – He was free when I met him several years ago, but from what I understand there’s a few key books he charges $10 to sign
Victor Olazaba – $10
Tip Jar – pay what you want
Some of these are for causes like the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund or Heroes Initiative. Others are just personal. I urge you, respect the tip jar. (It’s so much better than autograph fees)
Billy Tucci
Ben Templesmith
Barry Kitson
Charlie Adlard
Gene Ha
Jan Duursema
Jim Calafiore
Larry Stroman
Peter David
Mike Barr
Free
Alan Davis
Ann Nocenti
Ande Parks
Angel Mediea
Art Thibert
Aaron Lopresti
Bill Anderson
Brandon Montclare
Brian Michael Bendis (Be prepared to wait a long time in line)
Bill Morrison
Bill Willingham
Brendan Fletcher
Bob Almond
Christos Gage
Chad Townsend
Carla Speed McNeil
Charles Soule
Clayton Crain
Cary Nord
Cameron Stewart
Chip Zdarsky
Casey Jones
Darryl Banks
Dan Brereton
Dirk Manning
Ed McGuinness
Emanuela Lupacchino
Erik Larsen
Evan Dorkin
Fred Van Lente (assuming you can catch him. He dosent do to many shows these days)
Frank Cho
Franco
Gail Simone
Greg Land
Greg Wright
Heather Antos
Ivan Reis
Jason Latour
Jon Bogdanove
John Ostrander
Joe Staton
Joshua Williamson
Jim Zub
Judd Winick
Jim Shooter
Jerry Duggan
Jason Aaron
Jeff Schultz
Jacob Chabot
Jonathan Hickman
Jenny Frison
Jae Lee
Joe Kelly
Karl Story
Kelley Jones
Kevin Maguire
Kevin Nowland
Keron Grant
Koi Pham
Kyle Higgins
Lela Gwenn
Lee Weeks
It’s just a shadow. James O’Barr didn’t actually give me a black eye…
Louise Siminson
Mike McKone
Michael Cho
Matt Miner
Matt Horak
Mike Mayhew
Mark McKenna
Mike Okamoto
Marc Sumerick
Mike Gustov
Mark Farmer
Mark Waid
Mark Schultz
Mike Norton
Matt Fraction
Marguerite Bennett
Mike Hawthorne
Stephen Blickenstaff
Nick Bradshaw
Nick Dragotta
P.Craig Russell
Jorge Lucas
Jim Pasco
Phil Hester
Phil Noto
Paul Pelletier
Rick Remender
Ron Fortier
Ramon Villalobos
Ricardo Lopez Ortiz
Rafer Roberts
Sergio Argones
Scott Hanna
Steve Leialoha
Steve Mannion
Stephen Sharar
Scott Snyder
Steve McNiven – Free if personalized
Stefano Gaudiano
Skottie Young
Stephen T. Seagle
Tim Seeley
Tom Mandrake (sometimes a tip jar for Hero Initiative, but not when he was at NEO in 2019)
Tim Bradstreet
Todd DeZago
Tim Truman
Walt Simonson – donations for quick sketches
Will Rosado
Yanick Paquette
State of the Con 2022
I’ve been prepping for Toyhio this weekend, getting a want list ready and checking my comic database. Along with this, I have also been checking out the state of the comic con in general, trying to plan my schedule for the year.
Lake Effect Comicon is gone. So are Dark X-fest, Geekfest and Woo-con. Retro Invasion looks like it might be dead as well. Akron Canton is changing both its name and it’s venue, and dropping the costume contest. That’s a shame, because it was the main thing keeping me driving out that far for a Harper show.Of the ones that remain, there’s still challenges to navigate. Both Great Lakes Comic Con and RathaCon are requiring guests to be masked at all times. Quite frankly, I don’t want to drive several hours for a show that I’m just going to have to mask up for, so those are off the schedule this year. So are a number of the anime conventions in the area. A lot of these shows are requiring proof of vaccination. I have my card, and I AM fully Vaxxed, but I am not willing to “show my papers“ just to go into a convention or concert. That’s not a move I support.
We will be hitting the road with my buddy Mike for Horror Realm though. There’s a Halloween/Escape From New York alum showing up there, and I still need to get Tiffany Shepis on my Victor Crowley poster. Besides, I generally have fun
and it feels like one of my last strong holds… The last bastion of hope in the horror convention world LOL!Here’s my current con schedule for this year.
(BTW, the three Westlake shows are all Harper shows – basically marketplaces rather than cons, but they’re so close to home that it’s still worth hitting if I have nothing better to do.)
| Date | Show | City | State | Who |
| Mar-5 | Horror Realm | Pittsburg | PA | Matthew and Mike |
| Mar-13 | Fantasticon | Toledo | OH | Maddie and Matt |
| Mar-20 | Cle Comic & Nostalgia | Westlake | OH | Matthew |
| April 8-10 | Cinema Wasteland | Stronsville | OH | Matthew |
| May-15 | Hazard Con | Erie | PA | Maddie and Matt |
| May-28 | Fanboy Expo | Columbus | OH | Maddie and Matt |
| Jun-12 | Pulp Fiction | Westlake | OH | Matthew |
| Jun-25 | Monster Bash ? | Pittsburg | PA | Matthew |
| Jul-9 | Mahoning Comic Con | Youngstow | OH | Maddie and Matt |
| Jul-31 | NEO Comicon | N. Olmsted | OH | Maddie and Matt |
| Sep-17 | Erie Comicon ? | Erie | PA | Check covid regs |
| Sep-30 | Cinema Wasteland | Strongsville | OH | Matthew |
| Oct-2 | Cle Comic & Nostalgia | Westlake | OH | Matthew |
Pekar Park Comic Fest (and Coventry trip)
The Pekar Park comic fest is one of those that’s been on my radar forever, but I never actually made it out to until just before the plague. Of course, they didn’t have it last year, and the one I went to in 2019 was an unusual one. Because of the weather, everything had moved inside… It was not your typical Pekar Park comic fest. But I remember finding myself having so much fun, that I stuck around long enough to make it to the end where they had a screening of My Friend Dahmer, complete with a talk with author Derf afterwards.
This year, the comic fest was back, and it was its old self. Completely held outside, with a family film like Big Hero 6 shown in the park at the end of the day.
It just wasn’t the same.
I miss the addition of Urban Otaku, doing panels and anime talks and shorts early in the day, but nevertheless, I grabbed my daughter and we made our way out to see what was going on. It really feels a lot more like a glorified sidewalk sale… and that’s not necessarily A bad thing, but it’s not necessarily the magic that I felt back in 2019. Still it was interesting, still a fascinating variety of curious comics and artwork and crafts. Maddie found a huffelpuff button I nearly lost her mind, but she was actually far more interested in exploring some of the local Coventry sites, such as the library, it’s community garden, Mac’s paperbacks and Passport to Peru.
I don’t have any issues with the Pekar Park fast, and if it’s your first time out to the Coventry area, this is actually a great way to go. It’s a little bit of extra activity and attraction to keep your interest now that Big Fun and Coventry Cats are both gone. Sadly though, it’s not going to be a regular stop in the future on my convention circuit.
Lorain Comic and toy expo – part two!
We hit this show back in April, and even then, they mentioned they hoped they’d be back soon. Well, the show returned this weekend! Still a small con, so instead of me telling you about it, I’m going to let Maddie tell you all about it!
https://youtu.be/J8XQvd0IYzU
Steel City August 2021
I wasn’t really feeling it this weekend. I honestly wasn’t in the mood for a long drive to Pennsylvania, and my map completely turned me around and added both time and mileage. Still, I was really just coming in to grab a few Elm Street victims, almost everybody I needed to complete my scrapbook.
Brooke Theiss and Toy Newkirk were both supposed to have come to steel city con last year, but the plague shut everything down. Even now, there’s still a certain degree of trepidation and both arrived this time, but masked. It certainly put a damper on things, and I declined photos with them. Still, Toy had some interesting photos with her. Her mother had been on set when she was doing make up tests and getting her lifecast and and taking dozens of photos that she never knew about. She only discovered them a couple of years ago, and had a really interesting collection that gave her a good excuse to talk about the whole process there.
I was particular excited for Breckin Meyer though. I enjoy him in a variety of things, not the least of which are the Garfield movies. I have an unreasonable lot for these. But he’s also fun and stuff with the robot chicken crew and things like rat race. One of his early performances was in Freddys dead… He looks completely different and his voice and dropped yet. It was always strange to see him, and I assumed you with one of the guys I was never going to get in person. It was a great deal of fun to head up and chat with him and get my photo signed. I pulled down my mask and headed in.
“Gahhhhh!” Meyer exclaimed as he jumped back startled. I pulled up the Freddy hockey mask I was wearing, as we laughed over it.
“That is so %$#@&* cool!“ breathed Meyer. “So thanks for coming out and terrifying me today! “ 
I noticed Tom Arnold didn’t have any line so I decided to run over and see him too. He’s one I’ve been debating on, he doesn’t really get killed by Friday, but he does have a look at cameo in the film and some genuine achievements in his filmography.
Costumes were out in full force as Sunday is the costume contest for the show… The place had violently erupted in anime characters. But there is also a stunning Mothra floating through the place, as well as some interesting bits and pieces… A brilliant J Jonah Jamison and a dead on Hulk Hogan. For my part, I was phoning it in – my freddy/jason top, along with a Hockey mask I had done up in a Freddy theme. It was actually king of fun – people (especially the crafters in the artist alley) kept asking where I had gotten the mask, and I got to 
walk them through the process of making them!
I ended up sticking around a little bit longer than I had expected because I kept running into friends who wanted to hang out… Some of which I haven’t seen since before the plague started. It made for a longer day, and by the time I left I was wiped. I still insist that steel city is not going to be a regular stop on my route. For the most part I’m trying to avoid the big meat market autograph shows, but it’s nice to know its there, just within reach to sneak out to. Maybe next time I’ll slip over to Evans cemetery on the way home.
Akron Canton Comic Con 2021
The plague doctor lowered her mask and began the arduous track through the crowded isles, teaming with people. She stopped short at the large, dark monster. It’s normal to flash was covered mostly in Scarlett ropes, and she evaluating the spectrum. Then, she selected a small white bag from the top of her staff, and on the sachet of lavender on one of the hooks that made up the spiraling talisman that adorned the top of the Skeksis walking stick. Next to him, a young Gelfling, chained to the monster, just looked on, puzzled and petting her Fizzgig.
That’s right, Maddie was coming with me this year – kind of a necessity since I had no hands and needed someone capapble of handing over 
money for admission and spaying vendors and stuff.
Akron Canton Comic con has been a regular stop now for a few years. It is one of the best of the Harper shows in the area, not just because of the costume contest that draws cosplayers from all around the area, but also the smart and interesting layout in the larger venue. The artist alley lines the upper level, and continues just by the stairs of the lower area. It means you’re going to have to pass through the artists before you hit the dealers. It’s a nice way of getting them better exposure. The venue also most cinnamon press the snack bar, selling two dollar sloppy Joe’s and hotdogs pop and ice and whatever you need. There’s tables and chairs and open spaces in the upper level for people to eat and hang out out, making this one of the more surprisingly social show.
Social can sometimes be the point. There are certain people in that area like Allie or Jason, that I’m only going to run into at these particular events. And for a lot of people, this was their first time back into the convention world in over a year. I was delighted and relieved to run into Mike, the founder of Akron Comicon, working a booth. He had his own bout with the plague, and this afternoon he actually looked in better health and more positive and spry than I’d seen him, even before the calamity. My teenage daughter was accompanying me, and he actually recognized her first. Not a big surprise, considering my features were completely buried under the full body costume. 
In other corners of the show, we ran into a couple that was walking around in Robotech costumes. Never my thing when I was a kid, but my friend Johnny Em turned me onto it by slipping me the novels when I was in my 20s. It’s an amazing series, and fun to see people dressing up with it. I don’t get a chance to talk about it that often. The fellow then reached behind him, into his backpack and pulled out his problem. It was a plate, with what appeared to be a steak and potatoes on it… And I knew immediately which character he was cosplaying. There’s a scene in the middle of the Macross saga, where pilot Ben is just sitting down to dinner. Suddenly the alarm klaxon goes off and he hast to rush off to his veritech plane. He turns back to his dinner, and points at it saying, “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back.”
The heartbreaking irony here, is he never does make it back. Something you don’t realize at the moment… It’s just a funny line that becomes heartbreaking a few chapters later. A little touch like this on the prop, it just takes the costume to a whole new meta level.
Maddie found an Avatar poster from one of the artists in Artist Alley, and absolutely fell in love with it. Was one of the first things that she bought, and it’s one of those things that I always enjoy seeing my kids buying art from the vendors, not just toys or books. For my part I hit 
the 50 Cent bins at Hazel’s Heroes pretty hard, flipping through them, even while in the Skeksis costume. Of course, that meant that when it was time for the costume contest, I had to find a way to hide the bag in my robes. I pushed it up as far as I could into the crook of my elbow and tried to keep that elbow almost past my back, with the bag then melting into the folds of the cloak. Perhaps I should’ve been focusing less on that, because once we got on stage, the sachet from the plague doctor fell off my staff. I reach down to grab it with my Skeksis hand, and a finger fell off. It was a disaster, the costume was falling apart before our very eyes! Everybody smiled and laughed and whore, and Maddie shuffled me quickly off the stage.
After I’d gotten out of the costume, it was back to the floor, where I could better see into the long boxes. I grabbed another stack of trade paperbacks and chatted with some of the people who could now recognize me. There was a Deadpool in a sailor moon costume who you may have recall seeing him at ZipCon back in 2020. (We leared he went by Dead Moon, rather than the SailorPool moniker I’d hung on him last year) He looked at me, aghast.
“THAT’S what you really look like?”
“Look who’s talking!” I laughed. And it was nice being able to chat with people, friends old and new face-to-face.
It had been a long day, and a crowded one. From a purely spectator standpoint, the show seemed like it was more crowded than usual, a phenomenon I’m in countering at every convention I go to this year. We ended up having to park two lots away and walked down to before we got into the show. That’s OK, I’m happy to see that the scene is making some sort of a comeback. We ended the day tired, but happy. And can’t wait to go out and do it again.
If you’re interested in seeing Maddie’s video diary of the event, you can check that out below. Otherwise jump to the pictures!
