Welcome to the first of several recaps of the 2014 Boston Comic Con.
I continue to be amazed at how massive this convention has become. I have been going to them since the first. What once was held in the basement of a tiny old insurance office building, then went to a hotel, then to the Hynes Convention center, to now the Boston Seaport ... it has grown and grown and grown.
As I have said before, this is the best local place for this con. It is right off the highway. There is plentiful and cheap parking. There are tons of restaurants. It is right on the water. It just works for the city.
This was the first three day con and I was lucky enough to be able to head to all three days for some portion. I was very happy to be there as the doors opened on Friday as traffic for those first couple of hours was relatively light and it allowed me to get most of my signatures out of the way and set up my commissions.
It was great to meet Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner. They are such great people and gave each fan a couple of minutes to meet and chat. Alas, Conner wasn't sketching so the Grail eluded me again. I recently read how someone flipped a free sketch by her into hundreds on EBay. As always, I can't comment on that person's situation. But it irks me that as a result, I can never get a piece I would cherish as part of a collection.
Then it was on to meeting all the other folks I wanted to meet. It was cool to shake hands with Mark Waid, talk to Atomic Robo creators Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener, and rub elbows with others.
I considered myself even luckier that I went on Friday when I entered on Saturday. It was the busiest and most congested I have seen any con. It was both great to see the show that packed but also daunting and a bit claustrophobic.
And there were unreal cosplayers there. It is clear that Harley Quinn is ruling the day as there were many cosplayers in every possible variant of her costume. But my favorite was someone playing 'No Face' from Spirited Away, trying to hand out gold-foiled Rolos. Just perfect!
Saturday was also a pretty special day because it was the first convention I brought one of the supergirls to. My youngest really wanted to go to the con and held up pretty well, sticking it out for about 7 hours (albeit with a snack break and a lunch break). It was great to walk to floor with her, show her the commissions I bought, and introduce her to some creators.
We also went to the My Little Pony panel where Sara Richards, Katie Cook, and Andy Price answered questions from the moderator and crowd. My supergirl knows all those folks' names because she reads the comics so she was pumped to be there and even asked a question. I was pretty proud!
She liked it enough to ask when the next con I am going to is being held. Maybe I am doing something right.
As for commissions, I knew who my big targets were and I was lucky enough to get all the folks I was aiming for (outside of Conner) - Marcio Takara, Chris Burnham, Cat Staggs, and Daniel Govar. So this year I net 4 sketches. But they are all of high quality.
So first to review is Marcio Takara's Supergirl. I have gushed about Takara's clean style and beautiful Supergirl's in the past. This commission is no exception. This is a powerful Kara in the classic Matrix-style costume I love so much. In particular, I love the face and hair in this commission. Just spectacular.
I just love Takara's work and was thrilled to hear he is heading to Captain Marvel. So he'll be drawing the other Danvers!
Outside of commissions and gifts, I didn't buy to much for myself. Mostly it is bronze age stuff from the $1 box (see above for some examples). Each of these have been a blast to read.
So another successful Boston Comic Con. Can't wait for next year. I am hoping we will get some more writers and maybe an actual Marvel or DC booth.
More commissions to come!
I've been curious about the relative size of the esteemed Boston Comic Con versus neophyte Houston's Comicpalooza. You guys get way bigger and more names, but it seems like the Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center packs them in a lot tighter. I assume the lion's share of the con is in the 120,000 sq. ft. exhibition center, with probable spillover into the 180,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. I figure Comicpalooza takes up less than a third of the George R. Brown Convention Center's 1,800,000 sq. ft., but that would still be about double the space. Us fat Texans like our breathing room, but I'd like your guest list way better. Plus, nearby parking starts at $20, and huffing it several blocks in Houston heat will only halve that rate. I know envy.
ReplyDeleteDig that Takara and really looking forward to seeing the rest! I especially liked the Twitter preview of the Cat Staggs! I went with quantity over quality myself-- no flies on the artists when the competition for my cash were legends like Neal Adams and Michael Golden. The podcast has eaten into my blogging time severely, but I should start rolling more of mine out in September.
Glad to hear you had a sweet family outing, and will wait impatiently for future posts!
That Takara sketch is absolutely majestic! I love her expression and how her hair is rendered, with just enough angular lines to make it unique. Too bad you couldn't get a sketch by Conner, but maybe in the future. And a MLP panel sounds like so much fun, too.
ReplyDeleteFrank, the whole convention (outside of panels) was held in the 120,000 con center. At times it does feel a bit cramped, especially given that about 1/8 of the space is roped off for the celeb guests, a space that always seemed to be nearly empty.
ReplyDeleteI guess I am used to Boston parking prices because all day parking (albeit just a block away) was $16-20. That is a steal up here.
And I think all the commissions this year are great - each different from the other.
Liss,
ReplyDeleteThanks! I had seen Takara's commissions on line before the con and knew he would do an awesome Supergirl. Add to that his recent stuff on Smallville and I knew it would be special.
And the MLP panel was great. As someone who watches the show and reads the comics with his kids, it is truly an all ages phenomenon.