Old School Comic Show Recap

It is officially con season and a couple of weekends ago I went to the 'Old School Comic Show' in Concord New Hamphire. Run by Little Giant Comics, the show is just what I needed to kick off the season. 

This was a pure comic book show. The guests were all comic creators. The exhibitors were all comic book vendors. It was like a hit of pure joy right into my veins. And being just under 2 hours away from home, it was an easy trip. 

The show sort of lived up to its name to. Most of the guests were sort of 'old school' creators, as you'll see after the break. 

There wasn't a lot of Supergirl-specific stuff I was aiming for at this con. But I was looking to meet some new creators as well as see some I had met before again. And given the guest list, there wasn't a commission I was aiming for either. All that meant was I was able to be more easy-going at the con, not rushing to a specific table. I was able to walk the floor, shop, and have a great time. 

Trust me, I am going to put this on the 'must go' list for next year.

On to some of the specifics.

The main creator I was looking to meet was Mike Royer. Royer was Jack Kirby's primary inker in the 70s but is a sort of journeyman and so inked lots of people. 

He was completely awesome, telling stories as he was signing, and being completely friendly. I was very very impressed with the books people were bringing to him to get signed including the person in front of me who had a number of books already signed by The King! Jealous.

As for me, I brought some books that mean a lot to me. Yes, I brought some mid-level Kirby books to get signed. I asked what it was like to ink Steve Ditko. He said he often toned down his own style when inking Ditko because he respected Ditko so much. I also asked about his inking Steve Rude on the Mister Miracle Special. He said Rude was great to work with on the book and he really liked Rude's pencil.

Royer was the main goal. Mission accomplished!

There were two competitors in the 'longest line' contest at the con. Jim Steranko was one. David Michelinie was the other. I have met  Michelinie before but had a couple more issues I was hoping to get signed so to get it out of the way, I got in his line first.

The line was filled ... and I mean FILLED ... with people bringing Venom related books to get signed. What I was impressed with was Michelinie's line rules. You could bring a maximum of 10 issues for signatures. If you had more, you needed to get to the end of the line. He also had a 'no duplicate' rule, stopping the flippers from bringing up multiple copies of a hot book to flip. Despite the rules or maybe because of them, the line was always rocking.

Anyways, after all the Venom stuff, I wonder if he was relieved to see the odd pile I put in front of him. The Amazing Spider-Man #306 was an easy pick given how Supergirl is very tangentially referenced in it. But he was tickled to see the Indy book and Claw! 

The best interaction I had was with Jim Shooter. I had met Shooter before and had some Adventure Comics books signed in the past. But I had a few more I was hoping to get signed.

One of Shooter's first stories was Action Comics #340 , the first appearance of the Parasite. But I really wanted to talk about the Legion, specifically Adventure Comics #354, the Adult Legion story. He said he remembered exactly where he wanted to go with the characters but E. Nelson Bridwell said the changes were too radical from what had been planted in the young Legion stories. Specifically, Shooter wanted to break up Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad in the future and Bridwell said 'nope'. 

Amazing.

Outside of Royer, the other creator that was new to me was inker extraordinaire John Beatty.

Beatty was the most Supergirl-specific creator for me. I got him to sign Superman #21, the first part of the Supergirl Saga. I have John Byrne's signature on the issue already so this was a no brainer.

Beatty said he thinks they are coming out with some new Batman Year Three collection in the near future. 

I made a couple of comic purchases as well as there were plenty of vendors there with everything from the bargain bins to the most expensive wall books. 

Great show! See you there next year!