Convention Comics

Chris McJunkin at C2E2

Unsurprisingly, my favorite thing about going to comic book conventions is meeting other comic fans.  I'm always thrilled to meet other readers and humbled to meet people who like my work, but I like meeting other comic creators just as much.  Comics is an interesting medium when compared to other genres like film or television.  The industry is so small, and it's relatively easy to self publish because of the low production costs involved.  You can bet that every single person making their own comic started off as a tremendous fan of comics in some fashion.  In short, nobody self publishes a comic for the money.  They are there because they love comics.  So, since the majority of self publishers love reading comics as much as selling comics, it is common practice to trade your comics with other creators, which is great because nearly all my money goes toward comic production without much left over to support my reading hobby.

My comics haul.

Having finished my first three conventions of the year, I've accumulated a nice pile of comics that are waiting to be read.  I didn't trade for all of these, some of them were purchased.  I only presume to trade with people that are seated near me or approach my table.  I certainly wouldn't ask guys like Chris Samnee or Cullen Bunn if they wanted to trade their award winning, money making books with my rough self published hobbyist books, but I can't resist the allure of cool comics so I'm more than happy to pry open my wallet every now and then.

I'm not doing any more conventions until next August, so I'll be using my summer time to push forward on all the writing I need to finish before then, but I'll also be reading through my new haul of comics and posting about them periodically on the blog.

 I love doing conventions, but they can really drain you.  I'm glad to take the next few months and immerse myself in my favorite hobby.

At Planet Comicon, someone asked me if I was cosplaying Spike Spiegal.