When last we met to talk about this con, it was Friday night and I was zonked out in the hotel room. At least I think that's where we left off. If it's not just go with it. That way we can talk all about Saturday!
Since I had covered most of the con floor on Friday, I decided to be lazy and sleep in on Saturday. In reality, I tried to. The hotel cleaning crew had other ideas. While they respected the Do Not Disturb sign on my door by not coming into the room, they didn't grasp the concept that sweeping the hall outside my door and the rooms on either side of me might be disturbing. In the end, I gave up and headed back down to the con.
This time, however, my little lot was full. So, I tried following the signs for the convention center parking. That didn't go so well. There was more construction and signs ended up vanishing before I found parking. It turned out ok, though. I turned up the one street whose name I recognized and discovered a parking garage under the convention center itself! Granted, it was at the other end but close parking is close parking and I took it.
Then, it was back to the convention. Friday night was pretty dead so I wasn't sure what Saturday would be like. It turns out that I didn't need to worry. The crowds came out in full force on Saturday and almost every single table had people standing around checking things out. While this makes my job more difficult, it always makes me happy for the people sitting behind the tables.
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| Blair Smith with Spiderman -- and the crowds. |
As for me, I made my way back to artist alley, stopping to see a few friends along the way. In my head, I was already making my shopping list but I try to make myself finish working before shopping. Plus, if I'm buying prints, the last thing I want to do is carry those around all day and potentially damage them!
I do have to say, though, that artist alley is almost always one of my favorite places at any convention. It gives me a chance to meet some really cool people and they're almost always open to talking for a few minutes, not only about what they do but also about what I do. For example, I had the pleasure of meeting Jamie Tyndall, who not only gave me some great advice about putting together a media kit, but also donated two of his art books to our
giveaway!
Speaking of cool people that were hanging out back in artist alley, I also got to meet these guys:
Aren't you envious? These guys were totally awesome and even let me hang out behind their table(s) for an hour or so. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciated that. Convention floors are almost always concrete which is just miserable to walk around on all day. I was lucky enough to have an in because they knew Keith. Remember Keith from yesterday? Yep. Looking for him on Saturday turned into an adventure, but scored me a chair. He was forgiven for being elusive.
What else can I tell you about Saturday? The people I got to meet were awesome. The traffic congestion in the convention hall wasn't misery. There were some pretty awesome cosplayers walking around. Don't believe me? Check out these costumes:
I love when people take the time to put together awesome costumes. I honestly have no idea how they do it. I think that we saw these guys on Sunday, but either way, awesome costumes were all around. As Saturday drew to a close, I yet again missed dinner with Blair and Keith. Turns out they were looking for me as I was looking for them. There was a whole slew of mis-communication and failed attempts so I ended up back at the hotel doing some ordering in from a local pizza place.
The bonus of being back in your hotel by 7:30? You get to have amusing Facebook conversations with some of the very people you just missed for dinner, plus, you get to be extra organized for the next day. Here's what I mean:
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| From Back to Front, Clockwise : Giveaway, Stuff for the kids, My goodies! |
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| Review Stack! |
Sunday dawned and I headed back down to the convention center one last time. First, I made one quick stop. The guys at Zenescope had been talking about how much they loved White Castle so I picked them up 10 burgers. I love doing little things like that. They're small but they can change someone's whole day. Their faces were priceless when I dropped the bag off at their table on my way in.
Other than that, truth be told, I spent the entire day socializing and hanging out with friends, both new and old. As much as I enjoy the bigger shows for work, I enjoyed this smaller show for the chance to see people that I adore. I even got the chance to man another table, thanks to Jon Lennon. Plus, just for a bit of fun, we took over a table for about ten minutes while I was waiting to see Keith one last time.
Keith's things were behind this table and so I was guarding them while I goofed around with the folks at Last Call Comics. After this, I went around and said my goodbyes to folks and then it was back to the "porno room" at the hotel to relax and watch some tv while I packed up for the drive home on Monday.
Oh! I almost forgot to share one last picture with you! This is Pat Shand, writer at
Zenescope with Keith, writer of awesomeness. Turns out they were roommates over the weekend. Either way, they're both great guys and great writers. Pat has a brand new book out, Robyn Hood. You should read it. We'll be reviewing it here soon.
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| Keith and Pat |
So, my over all take on Wizard World Ohio? It was small, but good. Small let you have a chance to really meet and talk to people. It also gave a chance to catch up with friends. Plus, let's face it, it can be fun to "stalk" your friends around the convention floor. If you're looking to dip your toes into the convention world, this might be one you want to check out next September.
We received a press badge for the purpose of attending this event. All commentary, thoughts and ramblings are 100% the authors. All pictures, except the one of me, are thanks to Keith Thomas and Blair Smith.
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