Well, con season is in full swing. Last month my wife Nicki and I attended MidSouthCon in Memphis, TN, and are looking to continue our con-a-month schedule and will hit the road for a few more this summer.
First up- the Memphis Comic Expo at the Agricenter, won’t be too long of a drive since it’s our new backyard con in Memphis. I set up at last year’s in the fall and had a great time. The first year was so successful founder Donnie Juengling decided to make the one day “DonnieCon” a full two day event (June 6 & &) and expand into even more of the Agricenter’s space. The show has a great mix of comics, toys, cosplay, etc. and the guest and vendor list continues to grow. Super excited to see some returning guests (Mike Norton, Jim Mahfood, Jenny Frison, Jerry “The King” Lawler- and his Batmobile), as well as the new guests for this year including Ben Templesmith, Cullen Bunn, Kyle Baker, Mike McKone, Tim Seeley, BelleChere, Nicole Marie Jean, several of my fellow local comics creators, and many, many more!
Seriously- too many to mention but you can see them all here on the MCE site. I’m working up some new prints and other fun items for sale this con season. It’s time I updated my selection of merch for shows I attend, as well as new business cards and other freebies to take. If you ever saw my old Bushi Tales table set up you know I like to have plenty of swag to choose from, too.
After that show I’ll be heading up to Metropolis, IL for the annual Superman Celebration the following weekend (June 11-14). I won’t be setting up at the show, just going up as a fan again this year and probably just as a day trip. With my day job schedule it’s just really hard to take the time off to be up there Wed-Sun anymore.
Last year I enjoyed not being tied down to a table and was able to run around freely and check out more of the celebration. The celebrity guests are Caity Lotz – “Sara Lance a.k.a The Canary” on “Arrow”, Stacy Haiduk – “Lana Lang” in the series Superboy, and Diane Sherry Case – “Lana Lang” in Superman (1978). Comic guests will include writer Kurt Busiek and my buddies Mike Norton and Dave Beaty. Will be good to catch up with them.
The following month Nicki and I will be traveling back to Alabama for ConKasterborous– a Doctor Who convention in Huntsville (July 18 &19). We had a blast there and hope to go back to the Space and Rocket Center while we’re in town. Last year we got to meet the 7th Doctor– Sylvester McCoy, and are looking forward to meeting the 8th Doctor– Paul McGann. I’ll have a new Doctor Who painting, some sketch covers, and sketch cards for sale at the con, as well as the new art prints and promo swag.
The month after that we’ll be heading across the Mississippi River and over to Little Rock, AR for the River City Comic Expo (August 29).
We’ve been twice now, and I’ll be set up again in Artists Alley. They’ve moved locations into a bigger venue closer to downtown, and one of their special guests this year will be writer Gail Simone! It’s been too long since we’ve seen Gail and her husband Scott.
I’ll have plenty of sketch cards and sketch covers to sell at this show as well. I’ve been building up my stock of blanks and will be drawing like crazy the next few months! Am also looking to finally do my own comic again, and will have some sketch covers available for it. Will be cool to self-publish again, but will keep the print runs smaller this time. Still have several cases of BT out in the garage..!
I will take a break from drawing next weekend to enjoy Free Comic Book Day (May 2). Next to Halloween this is my favorite holiday! I know there are some shops in the Memphis/TN area that will be celebrating it:
To find a local comic shop, book store, or library participating in your area, check out the FCBD website. And don’t forget that Avengers: Age of Ultron will be out in theaters that weekend! We’ll definitely be seeing that flick with friends opening weekend.
Well, that’s pretty much how I’ll be spending my summer. Hope to see you out and about this year.
Lin