Some of you may know that our son, Tristan, moved to Canada last summer for his work (taking my favorite dog with him!) We hadn't seen him in a year. We went back and forth about going to San Diego Comic Con (as covid numbers were starting to rise again in Los Angeles. Being self employed and not having sick leave, etc... these are things that one needs to factor in today's world.) In the end, seeing Tristan won out and we decided we'd try to figure out the best way to experience the convention as a family. I stocked up on n95 masks and we figured out our plan.
I tried for days to get these "welcome back, welcome home, Comic-Con!" photos. They made me teary eyed every time I saw them. Years ago (when Tristan was little), on the last day of the Con, Tristan said to us, "I've found my people." That's what Con always feels like to us.
(David's photos from preview night before the doors opened as vendors set up)
While this year was a light one (both hotels and parking were still available which NEVER happens), it was good to be amongst our people! The booths were spaced out more, leaving the aisles wider (though they did get crowded at times.)
(David's photos from preview night before the doors opened as vendors set up)There were ghosts at this year's convention. Many ghosts. The comics family has lost several folks this year. Neal Adams is gone. We deeply missed seeing his smiling face along with his giant, art filled booth. Booksellers like Drawn and Quarterly and Dark Horse skipped the con. Even DC Comics (!!) and Warner Brothers didn't have booths.
We didn't have much of a budget this year so instead of buying things, we brought things from home to get signed by various artists and writers. That said, I did visit the Holbein booth on a daily basis. Before heading to the con, I stopped in at my local Blick store (where I usually buy my Holbein) and took some photos of their prices of acrylics, watercolor and gouache so I'd have them as a guide to compare.) Buying Holbein at the con these last few years has saved me some money and I really appreciate that! So, for all of you people who love my supply haul photos, here ya go! (The pencils were less than $3 each and are my biggest splurge in many moons!)
Tom Taylor at Boom Studios
Todd McFarlane signs in Sails
Tara Strong signs in Sails
Sozomaika signing Catwoman
Scottie Young at Image
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo at Comixology
Ryan Meinerding signs some of our Marvel books
Paul Sammon and David L Snyder sign Blade Runner in Sails
Mark Evanier signs at Abrams
Marc Hempel sketches and signs Gregory (I love how he opened them like David reads them. He noticed that David keeps his books in excellent condition.)
Kevin Tong signs our Mondo Book
Jonathan Hickman signs Powers of X at Image
Jock sketches and signs at Comixology
Jim Starlin signs at Aftershock
J Scott Campbell signs our Marvel Taschen Book
Frank Miller signs Dark Knight Returns
Frank Cho sketching and signing our Marvel Taschen book
Douglas Wolk signs "All the Marvels" on a bookplate in person
Dan Slott signs our Marvel Taschen Book
Chip Kidd signs our Fantastic Four Panel by Panel book (after complaining that he doesn't have a signed copy of Murakami's First Person Singular book yet, unlike us, he has all of his other Murakami books signed. (He designs many of Murakami's books.))
Fangirling hard over Bryan Fuller. (I wish I had a photo of him from the night before in his pink jump suit and coordinated pink mask!)
Adam Kubert adds his John Hancock to our Marvel Taschen book (we get a workout carrying the Taschen books around.)
Being a total dork after doing the scavenger hunt with Tristan and winning the opportunity to meet Bruce Campbell again (after following his Instagram page, I don't know which one of us is the bigger dork. Longtime Campbell/Raimi fan here. One of these days I'll dig out my copies of the "Bruce on a Stick" fanzine that are buried in the closet. Ask David about my Ted Raimi stories. I may have fangirled even harder over him the couple of times I've seen him.)
I had a mini sketchbook and Holbein pencils with me at all times.
Now, I have to preface this by saying, I'm not a big FUNKO fan. But, I gotta say, their booth was pretty darn creative this year:
How fast these damn things sell out. This was 9:49 a.m. on Saturday morning, just a few minutes after the doors opened.
(Laughing. We don't mess around. We bought Miss Minutes first thing Saturday morning and two hours later, Tara Strong was signing it! I thought this pop was really cute and well done.)We spent a lot of time outside of the Con, too.Best. Cosplay. Ever. You've got in your head now, right? Good.
Love the Sandman comics and can't wait for the new series!
I saw several Scarlet Witch costumes that were fabulous...including their home made Darkhold books!)
Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt, oh, how I love you: Mango with extra strawberries and whipped cream (props to the Hilton Bayfront for reaching an agreement with their workers so we could visit you.) The stuff he came home with...(he is the king of contests and free swag...) I had to majorly Tetris our car to fit his goodies AND US into it.
Oh, SDCC, how we've missed you. (When the exhibit hall closed at 5 pm on Sunday, clapping and cheering went on for several minutes. You really felt how happy people were.)
Thank you for welcoming us home.
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