Rhode Island Comic-Con

As a lifelong New Englander, and native Rhode Islander displaced to the Boston area, I have been thrilled with the recent proliferation of good comic book conventions in the area. There is the Boston Comic Con. There is the Granite State Comicon in New Hampshire. There is the ComiConn in Southern Connecticut. And all of these shows seem to be growing.

And now Rhode Island has joined the mix with next weekend's RI Comic-Con. Here is the link: http://www.ricomiccon.com/#!home/mainPage  I'll be in attendance on the second day.

Now I will admit, this seems more like a  C-list sci-fi celebrity convention with the cast of the original Battlestar Galactica and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers in attendance as well as other models, TV stars, and wrestlers.

But there are a couple of guests there worth seeing and re-connecting with.

Jamal Igle will be there. Obviously, Igle drew the bulk of the Sterling Gates Supergirl run, a run that is beloved by me as rehabilitating Kara. I feel pretty badly because I didn't get to talk to Igle for too long at the Boston Comic-Con last year. I was at the BCC for only one day and was running around. So I hope to talk to him about his new all ages creator-owned project Molly Danger.

Walt Simonson is the headliner there. I have met Simonson at a couple of prior conventions but he is such a great person, talking about comics with fans in a friendly and engaging way. I'll have some issues for signature.

Now I have Igle and Simonson commissions. So the questions is do I go for some local artists? Or do I shunt my money to back issues. I have always had the plan to get local artists to draw Supergirl on some of the Marvel sketch variant covers. Maybe this is the day to do it.

There'll be a bit of nostalgia for me. I have fond memories of going to my first 'comic book show' at a Howard Johnson's in Cranston RI when I was about 10 yrs old. There were no creators. It was more like a big comic flea market. But as a kid, seeing all those comics in boxes and bags, filling that convention room, was like discovering Shangri-La. I vividly remember buying my first 'old' back issue - The Brave and the Bold #67. I was in a huge Flash kick at that time and thought owning this issue made me a fat cat comic collector.

Anyways, I am glad that another convention has taken root in New England and I'll have a report afterwards. Anyone else going?