Plastic City Comic Con Recap: Phillip Kennedy Johnson

At the end of last month, I attended the Plastic City Comic Con in Leominster Massachusetts. I always will try to support local shows and dealers as best I can. I have been to the show before and had a great time. 

This year there was also the announcement that Phillip Kennedy Johnson would be in attendance. Johnson is a favorite of mine because of his stellar work on Superman. I met him at last year's Terrificon but a lot has happened since then! Johnson has been on Hulk, a horror book I have been reading. He has been doing a mind-bending run on Batman & Robin. He even did a fun mini-series called Hellhunters from Marvel. He is one of those creators now who I follow to whatever book he heads to because I know I will be getting quality work. When the show happened, Superman: The Book Of El had not been released. 

So I knew I'd be heading there if I could. And lucky enough I had the day off.

The con itself is a perfect small con filled with a couple of big guests, some local artists, and some comic and toy dealers. It felt like there were fewer comic dealers than I remember the last time I went but I still got a couple of buys.

What I really liked about the con was it had a whole section just for kids. Comics needs a new generation. I was thrilled there was big area dedicated to that next group of comic readers.

But the big draw for me was meeting PKJ again.

The End Of Convention Season Before It Even Began

Self care.

In 2020, I have come to understand the term more than ever.

I have always been someone who has, in times of stress, simply put my head down and worked harder. In times of stress, I have always put the needs of others ahead of my own. While noble sounding, it has sometimes got me into trouble. (In fact, this very site was created out of a need for self-care, a creative outlet to talk about something I loved. A way to get away from problems in my life for 45 minutes.)

If I ever needed self care it has been 2020.

In late 2019 I began divorce proceedings, proceedings which are still on going.
I have been living on my own for the last 6 months.

More than any other year, I needed self care. And something that has always provided me some important 'me time' has been the summer comic convention season. And more than any year, given a newfound sense of individuality and (frankly) freedom, I needed this year's con season.

And then, in 2020, the COVID pandemic hit the United States. That carries its own stressors. Add my profession and there is an added layer.

Sadly, that meant that conventions, such as Terrificon (my favorite con), have been canceled. That meant this little slice away from it all ... a time to hang with friends, a time to meet creators, a time to just be Anj ... was gone.

And now, there is the frank reality of systemic issues within our national police forces as well as civil unrest rampaging across the country. 

More than ever I would love to go to a place where I feel united in a group. But cons aren't happening.

It seems foolish even to be talking about this.

No Terrificon.
No Fan Expo Boston.
No Plastic City Comic Con.

These were things I have been looking forward to for months, maybe selfishly.

It sounds so privileged to be talking about this when tear gas is being fired. 
When people are dying.
When events like the death of George Floyd keep happening. 
When protests to create change become riots with stores being looted.
When people are still dying from COVID.

I can only hope the world is a better place in 2021.

The Double Mourning Of Con Prep During Covid

It is supposed to be school vacation week here in the Boston area.

As my youngest two are still of an age where that matters, I routinely take the week off from work.

One of the tasks that I usually do in this week off is begin thinking about convention season, looking at guests who are coming to cons I go to and start pulling books.

And usually the best way for me to start pulling books is to go to ComicBookDB.com and search for creators while limiting the search to books I have in my collection.

Well ... it's 2020 and so there are some things happening in the world which makes a lot of the above routine impossible. Thanks global pandemic!

First off, it isn't really school vacation week. The COVID-19 pandemic closed schools about a month ago. Everyone has been home since  then. And the kids are getting on-line assignments.

The pandemic has also impacted shows. San Diego Comic Con just canceled. My con season happens in August but that is just around the corner. So I don't think they'll be happening.

But just in case, I thought I'd look.

Boston Fan Expo hasn't any guest listed.

Plastic City Comic Con, a smaller local con, has two excellent guests lined up: Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway. I have seen both a couple of times at other cons so don't have too much to get signed.

And Terrificon, usually my heavy lifting con, has a smattering of guests announced but I have to imagine this is the tip of the iceberg. Some of them are people I haven't seen before and would be very excited to meet. Denys Cowan, Marguerite Bennett, Bart Sears, and John Ostrander are all new for me which would mean lots of potential books to pull. But also some favorite creators who I have met but would love to talk too again are also going. Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, Dan Slott, and Steve Rude (as well as others) are also announced.

Now I have an idea of the Ostrander books I'd get signed as well as the Cowan ones. As for sketches, Amanda Conner is always a grail piece. I'd love to get a piece by Cowans and Sears. And if prior shows are a template, this is the tip of the ice berg of announcements.

But will this show happen? Who knows.
If it doesn't, I will be very sad.

But wait, there's something else to change this con season. ComicBookDB is gone.

Now I can't easily search my collection for books these creators have done to bring for signatures. I need to rely on my memory!

I know I can search the internet and get lists and try to cross-reference. But it won't be easy.

I miss ComicBookDB. I would have paid for that service!

Look, I get this is a very myopic post. This is a pandemic and I know people will be dramatically affected by it. For all I know, I will be dramatically affected.

But I look forward to cons as a nice diversion from my busy life. It'll be a blow to my morale if they don't happen.

Plastic City Comic Con Recap

Plastic City Comic Con is a local comic book convention that was new to me and boy, I am glad I discovered it. It is a true comic book convention and a perfect beginning to my convention season.

The big draw for me was that J.M. DeMatteis was in attendance. I have been a fan of DeMatteis for a long time and the idea of running into him at a smaller con made me think I might have some time with him to ask some questions. And I did, a brief amount. Because he is a popular creator and lots of people were there to meet him.

I also was able to meet and shake hands with the show runners of Terrificon, which has become my big con during the summer. It was a flyby meeting but I wanted to let them know I appreciated the show and was gearing up to attend.

But this was also a chance for me to actually thumb through back issues and buy comic books. As I have said before, I am usually busy with creators at the bigger cons. I am trying to get commissions and autographs. I rarely have time to just kick back and flip through back issues.

Not only did I have time to shop for books, I found some great books. Great books.

On to the show.

Plastic City Comic Con

This weekend I will be heading to a new local con, the Plastic City Comic Con. Here is a link:
http://www.plasticcitycomiccon.com/

This seems like just the sort of low key con I could use right now. It a vendor heavy convention where I will be going to (gasp) thumb through comics and buy them! We finally leaving the doldrums of winter here. We are approaching my 'big con' season. This will be a great place to ease in.

And I am ready! I have heard only very good things about this con. Seems like a 'true' comic convention.

But it isn't all just shopping because a creator whose work I truly enjoy, J.M. DeMatteis, is going to be there as a guest of honor. And I can't wait to meet him.

DeMatteis has a long career with some major works in his oeuvre. Moonshadow, Spider-Man and Kraven's Hunt, JLA (Bwa-ha-ha) are just a couple of his biggest successes.

But I'm me, so I am bringing an eclectic group of books for signatures. And I am hoping he won't be too busy to answer some questions about these works. I will be bringing him  Wings , a little known Elseworlds which came out during the PAD Linda Danvers book.

I wonder if DeMatteis was a fan of that book. Did he pitch this or was it pitched to him? My gut tells me no one cares about this other than me. I wonder how often he gets asked about it.