From a commission point of view, I knew that this was going to be a light con, maybe two commissions. And my number one target for the day was Tyler Kirkham. Thankfully, I was able to land on his list and get a sketch.
I also knew that this was going to be the con where I would go the extra mile to make sure I met Jim Lee. I had the opportunity a couple of times prior but passed when the lines became too long. This time I spent a bit more to guarantee a brief interaction.
And the list of other creators that were present is a bit too long to regurgitate. I'll touch on John Byrne and Bob McLeod in recap #2. But it was great to meet Steve Orlando, Sam Humphries, Greg Land, and others there. And I also got to run into Tom King, Clay Mann, Peter Tomasi, and Frank Quitely again.
The one thing I have to say is that almost every creator had some charge for signatures. Often it was 2-3 for free but then $5 after. Some where every sig was $5. Some were $10. It has made me change my approach to pulling books for sigs which is kind of a shame. I understand their side of the financial equation as well.
The last day was a family day where the two youngest Supergirls joined me and were able to meet the cast of Steven Universe. They had a great time shopping for themselves and friends.
So overall, a very good experience. Up next, the Kirkham commission!
I have been a huge fan of Kirkham's for some time, every since I saw his work on Green Lantern Corps. So when he was announced, I knew that he would be target number one.
Every so often I am simply floored by a piece. This is one of them. I was anticipating a bust sketch and got this nearly full bodied piec instead. It is a fantastic take on Supergirl, hand on hip, hair flowing, and beautiful.
With the charcoal, fine line, and full blacks, I was just gobsmacked.
This is already in the 'favorite pieces' category in my mind. Unbelievable! Stunning!
I can't say enough how happy I was when I made it on the list. Yes!
I also had purchased the Tyler Kirkham variant of Action Comics #1000 so I decided this would be the copy I would try and collect signatures on.
At this show alone I got Kirkham to sign as well as Jim Lee, Peter Tomasi, Tom King, and Clay Mann.
Not a bad start!
I bought the 'Jim Lee Experience' which granted me three autographs, a signed lithograph, and a selfie.
It was very hard to decide what two books to bring after Action Comics #1000 but I decided on these two. Lee is now the 8th signature I have on Harley Quinn #0 (along with Conner, Palmiotti, Johnson, Hardin, Kieth, Panosian, and Roux.) He also completes the trifecta on the variant of Superman Unchained #1 (with Snyder and Garcia-Lopez).
I also mentioned this site and how I have been talking about Supergirl and comics for 10 years. Hope he swings by at some point. As for the selfie, I asked Lee to pose like we were in the middle of a race like Superman/Flash. The pic came out great. I hope he got a kick out of that request.
As I mentioned, I got Tom King and Clay Mann to sign Action Comics #1000. Luckily their line moved smoothly and I was able to get some books signed by them. I was glad to get Batman #36-37 signed as that two parter with Superman was pitch perfect.
Batman #45 had a text error in it and on Twitter King asked fans for a #noprize explanation. He liked mine the best so I won the #noprize. But it did give me an 'in'. I introduced myself as the No-Prize guy.
I'm probably burying the lede a bit but I also got to meet Steve Orlando.
I never know how to act at these things I would have loved to stop and talk to him about Supergirl for a long time. But who knows if he would want to talk to me for a long time? So I briefly chatted about how I liked his run and how it seemed to be firing on all cylinders. I had some a number of books to get signed by him. Here is a sampling.
Anyways, this isn't the old Boston Comic Con. There is a huge celebrity contingent there. But the guest list for comic creators was pretty profound.
And that Kirkham piece made it worth it just by itself!
Sounds like a great con. I do wonder, if guests are paid to attend, or at least receive transport and accommodation, why do they charge for sigs? Sure, limit the amount of comics signed to discourage the eBay sellers, but if I'm getting paid for a days work I don't then charge twice.
ReplyDeleteNow you've mentioned this fine blog to Jim Lee, do an early follow-up on Twitter - it's not cheeky to say, 'Hi, met you at the Boston Con, here's the blog I mentioned, I'd love you to drop by'. Shy bairns get nae sweeties, and all that!
LOVE the commission piece Anj! BEAUTIFUL!
ReplyDeleteRegards
I did tweet to Lee after.
ReplyDeleteHere’s hoping.
And yes, this commission piece is gorgeous!
That's cool you got to meet Steve Orlando. I met him at NYCC 2017 and I made a fool of myself trying to talk to him about Supergirl. First, I accidentally mistaken someone else for him. Second, I don't think he understood what I was going on about. I hope he at least understood that I was excited about the quality of his writing and couldn't wait for more. A shame his run had to end but it was a solid one.
ReplyDeleteI'm also going to add on the compliments for the great commission you got. Maybe next time I go to a con I'll finally buy one for myself.
That Kirkham piece is amazing! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteAnd every time I see a new Garcia-Lopez drawing is a high point. I hadn't seen that Superman Unchanged cover. Great stuff!
-TM
*Unchained, dammit!
ReplyDelete