So my first experience ever at a comic book convention was the Emerald City 4th Annual Comicon, April 1st and 2nd. I only went the 2nd-- a long week full of stress and overtime meant that I was not too interested in spending both of my weekend days in Seattle. Although next year I would like to go both days. And have about ten thousand in the bank so I can buy everything I want! ^_^

When I walked into the Event Center with Bob I was completely blown away. Immediate sensory overload. At first glance, it was just comics, comics, comics! Most of the booths close to the front were purely vendors selling comics, graphic novels, and prints. Most of the booths closest to the doors were specific comic publishers promoting new series, manned by the artists or the writers, or both. A little further in were all the generic vendors, with boxes and boxes of Marvel, DC, and independant publishers comics. Go a little further and find the miscellaneous merchandise; movie posters, action figures, Magic: The Gathering cards, resin statues, pins, DVDs, manga, and more. A little further, and there were long tables with tons of random artists displaying their sketches, prints, and finished works.

There was a booth manned by an organization I had never heard of before called the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The CBLDF is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights for members of the comics community. They had tons of merchandise there, comics, graphic novels, and prints. Every single thing they were selling was donated by artists or writers, and every single thing was signed! Frank Miller had donated a ton of comics from his own personal collection, all signed, and all with a certificate of authenticity. I bought a limited edition Dawn print created exclusively for the CBLDF by Joseph Michael Linsner called "Inflamatory Pages". Please check out their website; they seem like an organization worth supporting. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Website

It was so amazing being able to meet all these artists and writers and talk to them about their work. Everyone there was friendly and happy to talk to you. Most notably the fantasy artist Brom, who had beautiful prints and books for sale, and Clayton Crain, who penciled a Top Cow mini series called "No Honor" and most recently the new Ghost Rider series. Bob bought a limited edition Ghost Rider print and had Mr. Crain sign it. ^_^

We also met a fantasy artist named Alain Viesca who was selling his prints. He had some beautiful high fantasy work, but what was most interesting about this artist was his "liquor fairy pinup" series. ^_^ Check out his website to see his work: Alain Viesca's Website Here are a few examples of the liquor fairy series:

My financial undoing came in the form of a vendor selling Michael Turner and other Top Cow comics, including rare variants and alternate covers. ^_^ The whole con was a wonderful experience. It left me inspired. My dream job is comic book penciler-- maybe next year I'll have a portfolio together and I can ask publishers to review it. =)

How amazing would that be?