Wicked Comic Con Recap, Part II: Adriana Melo Commission, Sigs, And Some Conversations

Welcome to part two of my recap of Wicked Comic Con,

This is only the second year this con has been running and I felt like maybe there were some growing pains here. 

I have no idea how well it did financially but it felt a little less crowded than I anticipated given the guest list. 

Despite the prestigious attendees, there weren't any comic related panels on the docket. (Can you imagine a Harley Quinn panel with Palmiotti, Conner, Dodson, and Stephanie Phillips?)

There were plenty of exhibitors there with truly incredible collections on sale. The wall books were unbelievable. And while I wasn't there to buy key issues, they were there if you wanted. 

This was a great con. This was a great guest list. The Hynes Convention Center is a great venue. And the staff for the con were exceptionally friendly and helpful.

Thankfully they have already announced their dates for next year!

On to some of my escapades!

First off, here is an unexpected commission from Adriana Melo. I knew Melo mostly from old Birds of Prey issues although I tried the Harley/Ivy mini-series briefly. Always liked her art. A friend got a Carol Danvers Captain Marvel commission from Melo on day 1 and I was floored by it. 

So on day 2 when I had a little money left over I asked Melo if there was still room on her sketch list and luckily there was.

An interesting tidbit about my collection. I have source material pages in my sketch book to show the costumes that I like. I usually ask for the blue shirt/red skirt costume, my fave. But when I give the artists a choice, almost all pick the 70s costume. Many say they have never drawn it before and they seem excited. This was true of Melo as well. 

I really love this sketch, the dashes of red a nice bonus. Happy, smiling, confident Supergirl. Sort of an Adriana Palecki feel. Just a great an unanticipated addition to the collection. 

There were plenty of good guests at the con but one of the artists I was most excited to see again was Yanick Paquette. 

I had a specific question for him. In the  Leviathan Rising special, I took visual clues from Paquette's art to formulate my Leviathan Theory. So I asked him if he had been given specifics in the Brian Michael Bendis script on how to design the ship and the costume and the handcuffs, things which seemed very Nite Owl to me. He said flat out 'no'. In fact, he asked me who Leviathan turned out to be in the end! I was so sad about the 'no' because I still think my theory was a good one. 

Anyways, there was no one at his table at that moment so I had him sign some Supergirl books he did covers on and his Wonder Woman Earth One first book. It led to a great discussion on his design methods and how he uses panel borders as an aspect of storytelling, looking through both the WW book and his Swamp Thing run. Really really fascinating. These sort of conversations are why I love conventions.

And, of course, had to get a few Amanda Conner signatures. Love when she draws Supergirl.

Along with the Harley Quinn #0 book I had Adam Hughes sign, I got his signature on some of the variants he did on the Bendis run of Superman. How could I not get him to sign this Krypto-centric one with Supergirl right there! Hughes also did interiors for Man of Steel #6 so had to get that signed too!

I met David Mack again and got him to sign Superman #1. I was able to get a Leinil Yu signature on Superman Birthright #1 (already signed by Waid).

I have been loving the new Batman/Superman World's Finest book so I was thrilled to get Terry Dodson to sign the variant cover for #6 too!

So overall a nice haul of signatures, commissions, and conversations. I was even able to get a few books signed for friends. 

Here's looking forward to Wicked Comic Con 2024.