Experiences @ Rose City Comic Con 2013

As I begin to write this, I'm sitting in my hotel room across from the convention center, giving my feet and back a rest while my friends who traveled with me are taking a well-deserved nap.



We've been here since just past 9am, and the con opened at 10am. Call that good or bad timing, I was okay with it.



This year, Rose City is at the convention center... which is a huge improvement from last year where it was in a much smaller venue. I think I can safely suggest that this was in no small part due to the new partnership with Emerald City Comic Con. No mater who gets the praise for the change, you have my thanks!



With the larger venue, of course they were able to bring in a larger selection of guests and exhibitors. As those of you who are frequent readers of my blog know, my primary motivation for going to comic cons are the collection of signatures to add to my horde. (Yes, that's what I'm calling it now.) I have a new backpack this year as my old one was getting very threadbare, and it's performing it job quite well.



Brian Pulido- I was disappointed when I missed him at ECCC this year, but him being at RCCC made up for it. I did ask him about the status of Lady Death, and he gave a few hints that I can't actually publish openly. Suffice it to say, Lady Death will be returning.



When I saw Pulido at ECCC last year, he wasn't charging for autographs. This time around he had a price list depending on the comics you brought... though he doesn't charge for comics that you purchase directly from him. The price is well worth it because he also includes a certificate of authenticity with each comic he signs.



Adam Hughes- As I was standing in line, waiting for Adam to be free to sign my pile of comics, I was witness to watching him do head sketches for 2 different people. It's always nice to see a professional at work. I was hoping to get a sketch for #CBC4C from Adam, but it always seemed as though I was either too late or too early.



Pete Woods- I didn't have much for him to sign, but the woman who was with him (sorry, I didn't get her name) gave me a great compliment. She said that I had a great smile. Never heard that before, and I was incredibly flattered.



Tim Sale- As much as I enjoyed his work on Batman: The Long Halloween, I didn't care for the 30-45 minute wait for 2 signatures from him. I came at the wrong time, while he was doing a sketch for someone. I think I wouldn't have minded nearly as much as I did if the line didn't get moved every few minutes. Otherwise, Tim seemed like a nice enough guy.



Kelly Sue DeConnick- I only know Kelly from her work on the recent incarnation of Ghost from Dark Horse. Imagine my surprise when I went to have her sign my books that every other person there had issues of Captain Marvel and Avengers Assemble. She was wonderful to talk to, and gave me a little insight on the new Ghost series coming out in November. I CAN'T WAIT!



Brandon Jerwa- I felt like I was at a 2-man comedy act when I visited Brandon to have him sign several of my Vampirella issues. He was sat next to fellow Vampirella writer Eric Trautman, and they played well off each other. Had I realized that Eric was also in attendance, I would have brought some of his Vampirella issues as well. I think that would have provided additional ammunition for the "comedy" duo.



Benjamin Kreger- Warrior Innkeeper Comics is one of the local small presses that I like. Benjamin put's out a great product, and I highly recommend checking his work out. He does have digital versions of his comics... for those of you who prefer to read your comics on your computer or tablet. It's conventions like these and events like Free Comic Book Day where I get to have my physical copies. Benjamin is a great guy to chat with and I can't recommend enough to keep your eyes on his work.



This year, I have a secondary (but equally important) mission for this con, and that is to sign-up new artists to work on the Comic Book Covers 4 Cancer (#CBC4C) project. If you're not familiar with what I'm referring to, please click the link for more information (and please Like Us on Facebook.) and hopefully we can also gain your support.



While I wasn't able to connect with some of the artists I had contacted prior to RCCC, I did make connections with several others. I will be posting updates through our Facebook page and via my Twitter; ZanziberPoV.



As I have mentioned previously, I had originally intended to actually cosplay/costume as Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. I decided against it, but this weekend confirmed to me that I made the right decision for me. As you can generally tell from the few pictures I actually have of myself on Facebook, I'm a fairly big guy. When I get a little overheated, I sweat like nobody's business. I caught myself wiping my forehead of perspiration several times in the first hour I was there. That would not have been good if my face was covered with yellow make-up. Deciding not to costume is not a judgement on anyone else, but rather the best choice for me. I think the closest I will come to doing that for future conventions will be to keep a hand towel with me like Craig Robinson and Kevin Smith.



I had a great time at Rose City Comic Con, and look forward to next year's event. One suggestion I would pass along to the event coordinators is that it would be nice to have a few additional chairs along the walls where there was open space. While I appreciated having the option to sit and rest in the gaming area, it would have been good to be able to do that closer to the exhibitors. Other than that, keep up the great work!



I'll be posting a follow-up with pictures of all the goodies I picked-up. Stay tuned.