Saint Louis Comic-Con 2019 Was a Blast!

Another Spectacular Show

I had a wonderful time at the Saint Louis Comic-Con this year! It has wrapped as of 5PM today and I enjoyed myself immensely. Here are some of the highlights of the con for me as well as the cool stuff I acquired!

Great People, Snazzy Comics

One of the first people I was excited to see at the show was Tom Nguyen. A talented comic-artist and all-around lovely guy, I enjoyed chatting with him about his work with the television program my wife and I both love--"Big Brother," where he uses his skills to help plan-out set designs and other artwork. Next I ran into the two women who make-up, "Sugar Quill Studios," which consisted of some awesome stickers, prints, and other absolutely gorgeous works. They also were promoting the products of their friend behind, "Jam," which also had some superb stuff! I then spoke with Camerson Petti who is the writer and co-creator of the comic, "Skeleton Bay Detective Agency," which follows a group of youth as they investigate a wide-range of mysteries in their town. I met Beth of Gothic Nothic Geek Boutique who had a wide-range of really neat handmade and organic products such as candles, lip balm, and more! I saw a cool booth run by Damian Starr who was there to assist with selling comics to raise funds for the charity, "Comicbooks for Kids!" which donates comics to children in hospital settings so as to assist them with having fun and relaxing reading to take their mind off medical concerns. Mr. Starr also told me about his own comic he was working on, "Take Your Kid to Work Day," which involves a young boy named Dennis taking on all kinds of dangerous monsters when his Dad takes him to a seemingly-normal military base that holds some dark secrets. It is on Kickstarter now, actually!

After I had a snack I continued browsing and met Harley of Pastel Jackalope. They had some very cool artwork, but my absolute favorite was one they based upon a nightmare their mother told them about--a hamster with human legs. As you can see above, its pretty wild! I also met M. Ainhi, the author of a quartet of books in the, "Blood Inheritance," series that all sounded really cool. I got to see again the team behind the comic, "Hafu," whom I met at a previous con; they had the second comic in the series for sale and it looked rad. Game Night Gear was present at the show with their board-game subscription service, and I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of talented artist Jeffrey Moy as I explored the con.

I picked-up the first issue of the comic, "Visitations," from creator Scott Larson whose enthusiasm about his book made me eager to buy and read it! I checked-out the work of, "Biff! Bam! Boom! Comics," and after that I met William Schlichter who had an assortment of his books for sale, including one really neat sounding one titled, "SKA: Serial Killers Anonymous," about a group of serial killers who form a support group to try and stop killing. I saw Steven J. Bolds who had some really cool art prints for sale and last but not least met Rad Cat, who makes all kinds of neat costumes and art.

I bought/traded for a handful of interesting comics at the show. I got some old issues of the great DC comics series, "52," and some other random stuff, but the coolest acquisitions in my opinion were a snazzy ashcan promoting a, "Batman," comic and four old issue of the, "Snowman," series that was published by Avatar Press on occasion (I have a soft spot for the old over-the-top Avatar Press titles). I also loved browsing through all the great books that were brought to the show by STL Comics and on display in their booth. I told the owner of STL Comics, Eric Meyer, how excited I was for the upcoming Micro-Con on July 28th--expect posts about that as the date nears!

Thanks to Saint Louis Comic-Con

I just want to thank the Saint Louis Comic-Con for letting me come to the 2019 show and write about how awesome it was. I had a fantastic time and am already looking forward to the 2020 show next year!

Project Comic-Con 2013 In Review.

The fourth-ever Project Comic-Con has just wrapped up, and boy was it a fun weekend! As I enjoy doing, I'll recap some of the things I saw and did there. In no particular order of guests I saw (and spoke with beyond a simple "hello" as I tried to interact with everyone!) and the stuff I bought, I now present, Comic-Con In Review!

Guests I Saw and Stuff I Got in No Particular Order

Fabian Nicieza
Probably the neatest person I saw because he had a lot of interesting stuff to say would be Fabian Nicieza. We talked about his work on "Cable and Deadpool" (which was an amazing series) and what he is up to now, along with general chatter about the comic-book industry. He has so much energy and enthusiasm, and is quite witty, which raised the question of why he hasn't been doing a monthly comic for a bit. Basically he has been busy working full-time with a trans-media company called, "Starlight Runner Entertainment," but did say he'd always be eager to write a comic. Hey Marvel, perhaps you'd like to do another "Cable and Deadpool" book, please?

Avatar Press
Avatar Press had a presence at Project Comic-Con in the form of a booth with all kinds of great comics for sale. I got a number of their books for myself and a "Night of the Living Dead" one as a present for someone I know who is a big zombie fan. Avatar is indeed a very cool publisher putting out some of my favorite stuff lately so I was happy to see them at the 'con.

Watsui The Talking Dog
Watsui is a web comic by Dale Martin for all-ages that is very cute. Dale was very nice and fun to chat with Project Comic-Con, encouraging guests to name a new character that will be in the comic. I hope my suggestion is picked!

The Prospector
Darren Neely was at the convention with an intriguing self-published series called "The Prospector" about a more-than-century-old prospector dealing with all sorts of crazy situations. I bought some issues and am eager to read them!

Gargoyle by Moonlight
I've talked about how I enjoyed the comic "Gargoyle by Moonlight" before, and chatted with one of its creators, Timothy Brach some more about it. It was fun seeing him again!

George Perez

Industry legend George Perez was at Project Comic-Con, doing sketches and signing things for folk. He has been having some vision problems lately and is wearing an eye-patch over his left eye, but that doesn't appear to have slowed him down one bit.

Shane Cash and Anthony Medina
Cash and Medina have a comic book they've put out with prose novels by Medina that elaborate upon the initial comic-book stories. It is a clever idea and looks neat!

Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort
"Superman" writer Scott Lobdell was in attendance along with the comic-book illustrator, Kenneth Rocafort. Their booth was buzzing with fans and Lobdell was nice enough to give me a signed comic when he saw I didn't have anything on me for him to sign, a nice guy.

Neal Fitzpatrick
I've reviewed a piece of Neil's work before and found it quite to my liking with its mixture of cute graphics and a funny dark cynicism. It was fun running into Neal again and seeing how he has been.

Todd Tevlin
Tevlin does a humorous comic called "Frik'in Hell that is about a medieval warrior who works in fast food. He was at the 'con and fun to talk with.

Jim Mahfood
Jim Mahfood was very friendly and had a lot of his stuff for sale, of which I purchased one of his comics because how can you say no to his awesome art? Mahfood and I talked about his drawing style, how he greatly enjoys working with Joe Casey (a writer whose work I love), and other comics we like.

Angelic Wars
Marcus J. Mosley was at Project Comic-Con to promote his self-published work about a war between heaven and hell, "Angelic Wars". I got a copy of the 1st and 2nd issue and it looks interesting!

Angus Oblong
He was there last year causing a ruckus as he always does, and Angus Oblong was at Project Comic-Con yet again, with his quirky and offensive-but-in-a-good-way humor in tow. Oblong is always a hoot and it was fun to see him again.

Unshaven Comics
The guys behind Unshaven Comics are Matt, Marc, and Kyle. I picked up the first two issues that have been released of their "Samurnauts" series, a comic about astronaut samurai who have a trainer that is a monkey and helps them fight aliens and zombies. Yes, it is pretty crazy. I also got a cool poster from them!

Joshua Dysart
Also at Project Comic-Con last year and back again was Joshua Dysart. He was promoting his new work with publisher Valiant with "Harbringer". I bought the 1st trade and he was kind enough to sign it.

Ink and Drink Comics
A collective of folk who have put out a comic's anthology every six months for the last three years, Ink and Drink Comics are a cool bunch of folk with some snazzy stuff.

Dirigible Days
Dirigible Days is a steampunk web-series that will be continuing in comic-book form. I enjoy steampunk and its aesthetics very much, so seeing all their gear was cool!

Eric Basaldua
Another return to the 'con was Eric Basadula. Well known for his artwork of various heroines that often is quite risque, Basaldua was friendly as usual and had a lot of prints to sell. I myself love his Weapon X drawing that goes against his usual form of suggestive drawings of ladies and wish he'd draw more of Wolverine too, but as he's pointed out in the past, it's the drawings of pretty ladies that pay the bills.

Wascally Wee Willy
A man who makes incredibly surreal collages from comics named William Harroff was at the 'con and I bought a really cool coaster from him. Weirdly fascinating stuff.

Masta J Wood
Also at last year's Project Comic-Con, Masta J Wood, or Jon Woodard as he is also known, does very snazzy comic illustrations that have a cool mish-mash feel of western art and a hint of an anime style.

Show Me Comics
The guys behind indie-publisher Show Me Comics were at Project Comic-Con promoting their work, "Hafu" which is a strip about a girl in small-town Japan who doesn't know here father has a secret that will change her life and bring in all sorts of complicated elements such as the mob. I bought myself a copy and look forward to reading it!

Amber Stone
Illustrator Amber Stone was at Project Comic-Con and fun to chat with about comics. I especially like how she'll put her art on bottles and give them a magical look, like a little glass bottle with an "eye of newt" logo.

Steve Seeley and Michael Moreci

The guys behind "Hoax Hunters" were at Project Comic-Con and eager to discuss their comic. They were very friendly and funny too!

Camden Bottoms
Camden Bottoms creator Scott Quick was at Project Comic-Con with his cool artwork to promote his web series.

Scott D.M. Simmons
Mr. Simmons was at the 'con talking about his various comics works, including a neat one about a super-hero mother who has children that then gain their own super-powers--but at the expense of hers! A neat guy.

The Comic Creators Coffee Club
The Comic Creators Coffee Club (or C4) was at Project Comic-Con inviting folk to attend their meetings where they talk about creating comics and such!

JP Roth
Creator JP Roth was at Project Comic-Con again this year with her lushly illustrated comic, "Ancient Dreams". It really has some gorgeous art.

Zenescope
Comic publisher Zenescope was in attendance, and I spoke with them about how I haven't read much of their stuff but was thinking of giving it a shot.

Z.O.D.
The nice folk of Z.O.D. (Zombification Orientation and Defense) were at the convention, telling people how to fight off zombies through disaster preperation methods from the Red Cross.

Stache Publishing
The group of people who make is "Stache Publishing" were at the 'con to promote their various works, and they were quite the energetic bunch!

Lastly, I got this cool drawing of Moon Knight as a lego figurine by a man named Kenny who was selling some of his work with various characters in that style and was happy to make me a drawing of one of my favorite characters. Very cool!

In Conclusion
It was fun attending Project Comic-Con for my second time and I am excited for the next show! My thanks to all the creators and vendors at the show, and of course, thank-you to Steve and Jeff for creating this amazing show!