GraniteState ComicCon And The Time Capsule Warehouse Sale

It is hard to believe that convention season is basically in my rear view mirror. Obviously Terrificon is my main convention I aim to hit but there are others that dot the New England landscape in the summer and early fall. 

I usually consider Granite State Comic Con  to be the end of the con season as it usually happens in late September and there aren't many others I always try to hit in the months after. (I know Wicked Comic Con just happened and Rhode Island Comic Con is coming up but I wasn't/won't be attending because of other obligations.)

And Granite State is a favorite of mine because they often have solid comic creator guests. Off the top of my head I can remember seeing Aaron Kuder, Jeff Parker, and Michael Cho there. It has been growing in some ways, now occupying two different areas in the hotel it is in as well as the floor of an arena across the street. The media guests have been growing as well. Interestingly, the con used to be almost exclusively comic vendors, but much like Plastic City, there were only a handful of comic dealers there with toys, shirts, and other memorabilia filling up the bulk of the floor.

But I am burying the lede as they say. I was telling friends of mine that I was going to this con and many recommended that I try and get a commission from Dave Wachter, an artist best known for TMNT. Since I don't read TMNT, I had never seen his work but did a quick perusal on line. Suffice it to say my friends have great taste. 

Wachter did the commission above and it is stunning. I love the pose, the shading, the background. I love Supergirl's happy expression and flexing. I am just floored by how great this commission is, a perfect ending to con season.

But wait, while not a con, there was one more Summer-ish 'event' worth talking about.

Granite Con Review And Michael Cho Commission

Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of heading to the Granite State Comicon up in Manchester New Hampshire. I have said before this is a wonderful convention to go to after the massive buildup and 'work' that I do for Boston Comicon. Granite is more cozy, more laid back, more familial.

This is the con where there are usually a couple of creators for me to seek out and possibly get a commission from. As a result, I have more time to shop, thumb through long boxes, and look for comics to buy.

It isn't a surprise that this is a con I head to with the youngest two Supergirls, walking to floor easily in one day and grabbing goodies for everyone. It also helps that a great little pizzeria place is right next door for annual lunch trips for pasta and calzones.

This year, I was excited to see that cover artist Michael Cho was going to be a guest at the con. I contacted him early in hopes of getting a commission. Luckily his list was open on Sunday and I was able to get the unbelievably tremendous commission you see above. This is just gorgeous. I feel lucky that Cho did more of a torso sketch than just a head shot.

Very very lucky.

GraniteCon 2017

As I have said many times, I am lucky enough to have a number of comic conventions that are near enough to my home that I can easily attend. One of the ones I have attended regularly has been the Granite State Comicon or GraniteCon for short. GraniteCon is going on this upcoming weekend and I'll be there.

Granite Con is a great con for me. After the hectic 'work atmosphere' feel that I have in bigger cons (like Boston or this year's Terrificon), Granite is a bit cozier and a bit more laid back. Of all the cons I go to, I tend to buy the most comics at GraniteCon because I actually have the time to thumb through books.

This is in no ways a knock to this convention, one of my favorites. The con always gets a couple of creators who I am dying to meet. Some of my best interactions with creators has happened here including (but not limited to) meeting Aaron Kuder, Jeremy Haun, Ron Marz, Jeff Parker, and Rebekah Isaacs.

And that trend continues this year. As I am only able to attend the con on Sunday, I don't know if I'll be able to get a commission ... but I remain hopeful.

Granite Con 2015

This last weekend I headed north and went to the Granite State Comicon.

As I have stated in the past, this is usually a much calmer convention for me than the Boston Con. It is smaller. There are fewer creators and usually only a couple that I really want to meet. Usually, this is the con I go to actually (gasp) thumb through and buy comics.

So the youngest Supergirl and I went on Saturday.

There were only 2 artists I thought might be good to grab commissions from. Unfortunately, both priced themselves out for me. More and more I am seeing artists, regardless of stature or presence in the market, charge around $300 for a sketch. And more and more I am seeing creators charge for signatures on issues (some even charge more for autographs on specific issues).

With the commission quest put to the side, I instead looked for comics and stuff.

One of the best finds was an official Lego Supergirl figure. That meant I didn't need to buy a whole Lego set to get it.

She sports a nice Matrix version of the costume and some long, more classic hair. It also has a nice fabric cape.

If you are a fan of the Loeb/Kelly version of the character or the early New52 character, you can turn the face around into the red eyed scowling Supergirl as well.

The Lego figure now lives in the 'full shirt/red skirt' section of the collection.

Outside of that purchase, all I got for me was a bunch of great comics from $1 boxes. Lots of early Marvel Team-Ups, some Marvel Chillers, a great Wonder Woman Annual, the Flash issue where Iris is killed, and some old school Justice League of America including #132 - a Conway/Dillin issue guest starring Supergirl. Boy, I love Dick Dillin's art and he does a great Kara.

I also had the self-control not to drop silly money on this Dana Sterling doll. Although I did pick it up longingly every time I walked by that booth.

So I am going to call this con a success even though I left without commissions. I spent the day with a supergirl and bought comics. Happy!

Mitch Gerads And The Granite State Comicon

I went to the Granite State Comicon two weekends ago, a convention that I have loved attending the last several years.

The convention has grown gently over the last couple of years, getting more comic creators, moving to a bigger hall in the venue they have used, and getting great dealers. This is the convention where I usually end up (gasp) buying comics. Last year felt bigger than the prior Granite State cons as the guest list was long and had both writers and artists. I obtained a bunch of commissions and bought a ton of comics. But unlike Boston, it was cozier. It was small enough that I could still spend decent time with the creators I wanted to see and thumb through long boxes.

This year's con had a different feel to it. The comic creator list was much shorter and the celebrity guest list was much longer. The con boasted the most Game of Thrones stars assembled which seemed to be the biggest draw. But there weren't many comic stars here, and many who were there were staples at this con, creators I have met before.

There was someone there I was very interested in meeting -  Mitch Gerads, current artist on Marvel's The Punisher. I like his style and wondered what a Supergirl by him would look like. So I got on his commission list and dropped of my sketch book.

Now I usually specify which costume I want but I forgot this time. And so I got this absolutely great commission of the New 52 Supergirl. It is the lower part of this costume I dislike, so this head and shoulders commission works great. I love everything about this -her hair, her expression, the baggy feel of the costume, and even the cape works. The grey tones add depth making this just a beauty.

I am so glad I got this commission from Gerads. It is a great addition.

Now as I said, the celebrity guest list was longer and the comic creator guest list was shorter.

That same feel seemed to carry through into the dealers. There just weren't as many comic dealers as I am used to seeing at this convention. And there were many more dealers of 'stuff' - movie posters, wooden weaponry, toys, flasks, etc.

In less than a full day, I had thumbed through all the comics and met all the creators I wanted to.So I was glad I didn't get a 2 day pass.

Now don't get me wrong. I had a great time when I was there.

For one, the youngest Supergirl has decided that this was the year that she was going to all the cons with me. Here we are banded and ready to get in. She enjoys seeing the costumes, looking at the cool stuff, and joining in some shopping.

In the end she didn't find any comics she wanted. But she did get a tiny Pacific Rim Cherno Alpha Jaeger toy. It is now the Black King on her chess board. I know I could 'drift' with her.

I feel blessed that my three girls all share some of my interests.

And then I got the usual stack of $1 box joy. I love that Firestorm cover and used to own that issue. So I was glad to finally find it. And the other stuff was gravy.

I do love that DCCP issue with Black Canary. Great issue with great art.

And I even found a $3 box with some silver age joy. These issues are pretty beat up, not worth bagging. But Superman exposed on Candid Camera? The introduction of Karate Kid, Projectra, Ferro Lad, and Nemesis Kid? How could I not buy them??

But the big 'get' at this convention was the Gerads commission. That thing was a steal!!

Granite State Comic Con And Aaron Kuder Commission

I promise you I will get to talking about this fantastic Aaron Kuder commission soon.

But first I have to talk about where I got it ... the Granite State Comicon ... in general.

The Con was last week and it was just a fantastic time, even if I could only spend a short time of the second day there. It really is growing into something special.

I head to cons with lifelong friends and fellow comic fans and we each want something out of cons. I look to get commissions and talk to creators primarily, buying books is almost secondary. A friend wants to get commissions and do a lot of shopping. Another friend doesn't even look at the creators and just wants to thumb through long boxes.

The Granite State Comicon is the perfect con for our group because it satisfies all our con goals. It is big enough to get great guests. It is still small enough that the site doesn't feel claustrophobic, that the vendors aren't shoved to the side. And it isn't so huge that if we split up we need GPS and texts to find each other. It is in that sweet spot of cons.

Listen, I love the Boston Comic Con. That is my con. But I look at those days as a mission to meet all the creators I want to, to talk to them all, and get commissions. It feels almost like a work weekend for this site. I didn't buy one single comic at Boston Comic Con this year.

At the Granite Con, I was able to find the creators I wanted to, get commissions, AND still have time to shop. I went home with commissions from Aaron Kuder, Rebekah Isaacs, Jeremy Haun, and Art Baltazar. All will eventually find their way here, probably over the next month of Saturdays. And I was able to talk to all of them about upcoming projects, about what I liked about their work, etc.

I talked to Kuder about his Parasite issue at length because I enjoyed that tremendously. We discussed page construction, the use of color, etc.

And he talked about the ending of Superman #20, where a skeletal ghost of Lana still lives in Superman's mind. That was supposed to be the beginning of the Bizarro world, born from Superman's brain. Bizarre indeed. He was friendly and approachable and cool and that made the whole thing great.

Then I got the commission above. What a great addition to the collection. For one, the art is so fantastic, kinetic, crushing the gun, leaping at the 'camera', looking fierce, and with a generous splash of color. Unbelievable. I don't have many 'action shots' in my collection so this immediately stands out.

One thing I thought was cool was Kuder thumbed through the sketch book he was drawing in and was impressed by the collection.

One more story on this post.

Ron Marz was also at the convention. I like Marz' writing and enjoyed his Green Lantern stuff. But my favorite work by him was the classic CrossGen series Sojourn, drawn by Greg Land before he became a tracer. The main plot of the book is Arwyn, the female archer, trying to find and unite 5 pieces of a mystic arrow which when brought together will summon a god-like warrior Ayden. Ayden would then defeat an evil flame powered revenant named Mordath who was ruling the world with an iron fist.

Marz brought the series up to Arwyn finding 3 pieces of the arrow but then left (was forced to leave?) the book. And shortly after that the book was canceled. I have always wondered if Marz knew the ending of the story and so I asked. And yes he did.

I know many of you have stopped reading ... but for the few who remember Sojourn here is the plotline.

Arwyn would find all five pieces of the arrow. But ... it wouldn't summon Ayden.

Mordath would eventually be killed by his own lieutenant, a very honorable Orc named Captain Bohr.

Arwyn would leave and live alone in the forest like a hermit. Gareth, her comrade in arms, would struggle to unite the now free five lands. And finally, Arwyn would leave her self-imposed isolation and end up leading the land.

Do you know that that is???

Closure!! 

Anyways, I strongly recommend this convention for all the reasons above! I haven't even mentioned the books I bought, the My Little Pony swag I got the supergirls at home, or  posted the other commissions!

Off To Granite State Comicon And Scribblenauts

Heading north early today to get to the con.

Hopefully I will have great commissions and some stories to recount next week.

Anyone else going to be there? Look for the guy getting the Supergirl commissions and say hi!

In the meantime, I came across this fantastic send-up to the classic Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 cover over on CBR here: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=48040

I don't know if I fully understand Scribblenauts, a video game which now has a DC Comics edition, but I do love this cover. I assume the 'word bubbles' are seen in the game when a character is either sad or dead. But great stuff.

Granite State Comic-Con

Next week at this time, I will be heading up the highway to Manchester New Hampshire for the Granite State Comicon, one of my favorite local conventions, and one (like the Boston Comic-Con) that seems to be growing each year. Here is the link: http://www.granitecon.com/

This used to be the con I would head to so I could buy tons of comics. The mission was always to thumb through dealers boxes and buy and buy and buy.

But each year more and more artists are coming and this turns into another convention where I am trying to line up commissions! And there are a couple of great ones coming ... so we'll see if I get lucky.

Aaron Kuder is going to be there. Kuder will be taking over Action Comics as artist soon, joining writer Greg Pak. But I have liked his art style on Legion Lost, Lobdell's Superman and Green Lantern New Guardians.

After seeing his rendition of Wonder Woman, Dawnstar, and Yera, I think his Supergirl would be great.

A Kuder commission is my number one goal for this con.

Jeremy Haun will also be attending. Haun is best known for his work on The Darkness but he also was recently named as the artist on Batwoman once JH Williams time is done.

So Haun is also someone I will be hoping to grab a commission from as well.

And Art Baltazar, of Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures will also be there. I loved both of those books, especially the love that they showed Supergirl. I met Franco Aureliani at the Boston show a couple of years ago.

I would love to get a Baltazar commission. The dream would be a page that had both the Tiny Titans and the Superman Family Adventures version on the same page.

So those are my top three commission hopes.

But in case some of those don't happen, there are plenty of other creators who grab my attention.

JK Woodward, who was the artist on most of the IDW Fallen Angel series, and did the series in paint (!) will be there.

I consider Lee as some sort of Elseworlds Supergirl so I will at least have some issues for him to sign.

Renae DeLiz will also be there. DeLiz is the guiding creative force behind the Womanthology projects and is currently doing a Kickstarter Peter Pan book. A while back she posted pictures of an Amethyst reboot she wanted to do. Now that is a book I would buy!

I don't know if DeLiz does convention commissions but it can't hurt to ask.

And Ethan Van Sciver will also be there. I already have a couple of Van Sciver commissions, so I doubt I will get another, but he would be a premier artist for someone else to pick up!

The list goes on - Rebekah Isaacs, Joe Eisma, Mark Texeira, Dan Parent ... etc. And I haven't even mentioned the My Little Pony group - Katie Cook, Andy Price, and Amy Mebberson.

Anyways, this will be a busy con for me and that is a good thing.

Anyone else going?

Granite Con Wrap-Up

Last weekend, a buddy and I headed up the highway and attended the Granite State Comicon in Manchester NH. This con is one of my favorites because it is big enough to attract a good guest list and artist's alley but small enough to not overwhelm me with creators and signatures I need to get. As a result, this is the convention where I go to relax, shop, and buy comics.

The show felt far busier than prior ones I have been too and had a very high energy. There were a lot of people in costume here, way way more than I expected. So it had a sort of festive carnival feel to it.

As I said I went there to shop and I had to thumb through a whole host of boxes. But I ended up with some diamonds in the rough. And the beauty is ... almost all of them were in either $1 or 50 cent boxes!

I will admit that this Adventure Comics 80-page Giant from 1998 caught my eye mostly for the great Steve Lightle Wonder Woman cover. But inside is a Linda Danvers Supergirl story! Written by Joan Weis with art by Louis Small Jr and Butch Guice, it tells a nice story of Supergirl saving a down-on-her-luck young woman from a life of slavery. There is some good contrast between Linda's prior poor choices and this girl's lack of freedom of choice. I am sure I will eventually review it. But as someone who loved the PAD Supergirl, any new story is worth checking out.

I also got the Superman Secret Files and Origins 2004 because the talent on the sidebar was pretty high. After looking through it at home I was happy to find that it included a Supergirl Who's Who page drawn by Michael Turner very early on in that incarnation's story. I will definitely post that ... and soon.

I brought home a whole stack of comics which also included the last two issues of Stalker I needed to complete that brief series, a bunch of Ted McKeever Eddy Current and Transit issues, a Lois Lane mini-series with art by Gray Morrow (!), Mike Allred's Superman/Madman, and all sorts of other goodies.

So from a comic book point of view, it was great and I will be reading new stuff for a while.

There were some downsides to the con though.

One was that I didn't get any original art, the first convention in a long time that that has happened. I had a plan for a very cool commission which just didn't come to fruition. And by the time I realized that, it was too late to look elsewhere.

The other down side was that Keith Champagne wasn't there. I heard he cancelled late. He was the artist I was most hoping to meet (after Eric Powell who also cancelled).

Still overall, I had a very good time there and will definitely head up to the next one. If you are looking for a nice local art scene, some 'name' guests, and great comic bargains and you are in the area, you should too!

Granite Con 1 Week Away

The Granite State Comicon is only two weeks away and the crew and I will be heading up the highway to attend. Here is a link to the convention: http://www.granitecon.com/

This has always been a fun convention for me. There are great guests but not an overwhelming amount so I can relax a bit more and actually shop for comics at a convention rather than just running around and lining up to meet all the creators. There is a more laid-back approach to this convention so it ends up being a great day.

I was going to try to get a commission from Eric Powell, most famous for being the creator of The Goon. He provided great art for the three part 'Escape from Bizarro World' story in Action Comics. But he had to cancel. Too bad because I was hoping to convince him to do a Bizarro Supergirl for me. I think that would be a great addition to my collection.

With Powell gone, my commission list suddenly will have to be rethought.

Keith Champagne is going to be there.

I don't know if I am going to try to get a commission from him but I definitely will have books for him to sign. Champagne inked the earliest issues of the Sterling Gates/Jamal Igle Supergirl run. I have most of those issues already signed by Gates and Igle so Champagne's sig would make it the trifecta of writer/artist/inker.

And while I already have a commission from The Stuff of Legend artist Charles Paul Wilson III, I have seen him doing 'Pooh Bear-ish' style commissions recently and think one of those would be excellent.

There are other great creators attending including Chrissie Zullo, Ming Doyle, and others.

Should be a blast!

Granite State Comicon: Becky Cloonan Commission

Last Sunday, a couple of friends and I decided to drive a little ways north and go the Granite State Comicon ( http://www.granitecon.com/), a semi-annual comic convention in New Hampshire. While I have known about the con, I have never had to opportunity to attend before, something which irked me last year when Jamal Igle was the guest. Unfortunately I was working that day and couldn't go.

This year's line-up looked very good for a con of this size. It was really the artists that were attending that prompted us to go. Talent Caldwell, Becky Cloonan, Tim Seeley, Khoi Pham, and Craig Rousseau were amongst the notables. With the thoughts of getting a couple of commissions, we grabbed some coffee and piled in the car.



The con itself was bigger than I expected with a large area for collectible card game and video game tournaments, an expansive artists alley with pros and locals, and a decent amount of dealers. All in all a top-notch 'local con', one I am sure I will go to again.

For me, the goal was to get commissions from Becky Cloonan and Talent Caldwell (in that order) and I was thrilled when I was able to get them from both. Here is the Becky Cloonan commission.

I sort of lump my commission collection into three sort of categories: artists who are well known for drawing Supergirl, artists whose work I really like, and artists who I think will have an interesting interpretation of the character.

Cloonan falls into 2 categories. One I really like her work. It is described in some places as 'manga-influenced' but if it is, it is not overt. Her layouts, angles and perspectives, and subtle but expressive characters all make for great storytelling. Her books flow like movies, giving a dynamic feel to the issues. Two, I also thought that her style would make for a unique take on Supergirl. Cloonan is best known for work on Vertigo books and I wondered how that background and her style would mesh with a Supergirl piece.

I love this piece which shows a sort of shy and sweet Supergirl. It is a great addition to my collection. I couldn't thank her enough.

If you want to see more of Cloonan's work, I highly recommend getting the Vertigo mini-series Demo. These are 'done in one' haunting (but not necessarily horror) stories written by Brian Wood. They are up to issue 4 of the 6 issue mini. In particular, I would look for the first issue which is a suspenseful story about dreams and self-fulfilling prophecies. Great stuff.

Here is a link to her blog: http://inkandthunder.blogspot.com/

As a fan, it is always cool to meet creators you like. Cloonan was great to talk to and get some art from.