Comix Portal: ‘Convention’-al Wisdom

During 2011, I attended more comics and SF conventions than I ever had during one year before!

I went to my usual local SF cons (geek-speak shortening for “conventions”), including Farpoint and Shore Leave, both located north of Baltimore in Maryland. I’ve been going to those for years! I also was a guest for the first time at a con, and this took place at Balticon over the Memorial Day weekend. Since I’m used to participating in discussion panels, I was ready for what was to come there.

However, when I ventured out into unfamiliar territory by going to cons in San Diego and New York City, I found they are much bigger events than I’m used to. I knew going into them that they would be learning experiences, and boy, were they!

Before the San Diego Comic-Con, my friend Gianluca Glazer talked about getting in shape for it. I was puzzled by that. I’ve been to many a con over the years, and I never had to worry about running out of steam at a con before.

I wish I had listened to him!

I spent more time walking than doing anything else in San Diego, really! Since it was my first time there, I also was learning the lay of the land, which added to my time walking about. And things are spread so far apart from the convention center that I had to rush to get from panel to party to whatever else was going on. I would get to where I was staying at night and collapse into the bed, exhausted! I was trying to catch up on transcribing interviews and the like for weeks afterwards! That put my weekly podcast off for several weeks.

Then I went to the New York City Comic-Con for the very first time. It isn’t nearly as big as San Diego, but finding out where things were took a lot out of me.

I walked into the convention center and looked for the place to pick up my press pass. I got sent in the wrong direction, so when I realized this, I had to go back to where I had been. Then I asked someone working at the con where I needed to go. He wanted to know who had given me bad directions, so I showed him on the way. However, he stopped to chastise that person, so I continued on. I wished I had waited because when I found myself lost again, I went back to find that person only to discover he had vanished into the crowd, leaving me facing a volunteer who was not at all interested in speaking with me again.

So I journeyed to the other side of the convention center, which felt like a mile away, if not more. After asking several people where the press booth was, I finally got there. However, they had no record of me on the list to receive a press pass. Thankfully, I had printed out and brought with me the email that showed me as eligible, so I was given one! Then I had to walk all the way back to the other side of the convention center to find the people I wanted to talk with.

By the time I ran into my friend Gianluca, I was drenched in sweat! I hadn’t walked that much in two hours for a long, long time. I found a quiet corner near the entrance where I sat down and cooled off. After about an hour, I looked almost presentable again, so I ventured forth.

What did I learn from all this?

First, always bring proof of the fact that you are supposed to get a badge of any kind! I don’t know what I would have done without it in NYC.

Second, I need to get exercising once the weather isn’t quite as chilly as it is now. I’m okay on a treadmill, but I like being outside much more. I’m going to get going on dropping a few pounds and strengthening up for this year!

Why? Well, I’m planning on attending even more cons in 2012! First up will be Farpoint this weekend! (They were crazy enough to make me a guest!) Second, I’m going to be at Balticon again this year, then cons in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for the very first time. I’m going back to San Diego and NYC again as well.

It was fun to put faces with names and to talk with people about being guests on my weekly podcast. I also got to tell comics creators how much I enjoyed their work, and many of them seemed genuinely appreciative of that!

I’m particularly excited about going to the Pittsburgh Comic-Con because I’m a native of Pennsylvania, so it’ll be fun to be with “my people” in “my state.” I’m going as press again, so I’m anxious to talk with more creators I’ve never spoken with before.

I’ve heard a lot of great things about the Pittsburgh con, including the fact that there’s a wide variety of guests, and that means my all-time favorite artist George Perez will be there! I also understand that the con runs very smoothly and efficiently, something I am always glad to hear!

If you’re there and see me (I’ll be wearing my badge) walking around, be sure to say hi! I’m also looking forward to the cool costumes and the diversity of fans that Pittsburgh is famous for!

Have you listened to the Wayne’s Comics podcast this week? I interview Richmond Clements, creator of Wild West Wendy, Corvus, Black Dragon and most recently, the Turning Tiger comic from Renegade Arts Entertainment. You won’t want to miss hearing from Clements about his fascinating comics! You can order theTurning Tiger Special Edition in this month’s Diamond Comics Previews under the Arcana section! Then I review this week’s comics, followed up by the weekly ‘News & Previews’ segment with Gianluca Glazer and Ian Cullen. Then I take a peek into your local comics shop to see what’s new there!

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