Comic Con International 2006 Report, Part Four

Comic Con International 2006 Report, Part FourThe booth

It goes without saying that I really, really love the guys I work with at BLC. Each once of them is phenomenally talented. And each one is a truly funny person. Working alongside these guys is a real kick. Flying home at the end of the weekend, I realized my chest actually hurt from all the laughing.

If you’ve ever seen me at a con you know that I love to work the booth. I love talking about my comic to people who’ve never heard of me before (and there’s a lot of them), and I love talking to people who read and enjoy the strip. Working alongside my pals at BLC just makes it that much more fun. If you’ve ever listened to the Blank Label Comics Podcast, you have a pretty good idea of the wild, stream-of-consciousness riffs that Kris and Dave are capable of. Troop was out making magic with his Melonpool puppets for much of the time, but he’s another one with a lightning-quick wit. David Willis has a wonderfully twisted sense of humor, but he’s a little more sneaky about it — which makes him even more funny in person. Plus, he’s a genuinely good guy — and a good sport, if you’d know how much ribbing we leveled on him about pot-stickers. If you read Howard’s blog, you’ve probably heard him in your head. He was exactly how I imagined he’d sound like when I first met him. And Paul Taylor is this incredibly nice, quiet guy, who catches everybody off-guard with a well-placed, well-timed zinger that lands everyone on their butts.

And me? I’m the loud, overbearing jerk that they all put up with. 🙂

The books

I sold out of the Evil Inc books by Saturday afternoon. I seriously need to put some time into Book Two as soon as possible. The Lightning Lady book and the Courting Disaster book sold very well, too. And I was fairly busy with sketches all weekend.

As you know, I am an ardent fan of the company that prints all of my self-published books, Lulu.com. They do top-quality work and their customer support is beyond compare. You can see the vivacious Leah and the alluring Annie in their Con report.

Gift bags

I had some gift bags prepared for some of the people who bought multiple books or went above and beyond the call of fandom. David Oakes, for example, was there, and he brought the Miss Match Lego character he built so I could see it first hand. The giftbags contained some candy in a souvenir Evil Inc tin and a black T-shirt with the Captain Heroic symbol on it.

I got the idea at Wizard World Philly when I had a couple of readers who bought multiple books and commissioned sketches. Don’t worry, guys: I’ll remember who you are and I’ll take care of you next year. Promise. 🙂 Anyway, when I was talking about it with my wife, I said how I wanted to have something special and unexpected to give readers who were so generous with their support. She suggested the giftbag. Keep that in mind when I’m asking if you’re going to be coming to a convention I’m appearing at… I’m asking for a reason! 🙂

Sunday Dinner

Sunday night was one of those nights that I’ll always be thankful for. Most of the Blank Label guys were able to make it to the Hilton for a dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. Scott Kurtz joined us. It was the best food I has all weekend. But even better than the food was the company. I laughed so hard my face hurt at the end of the night. It’s one of those Comic-Con gatherings that make the flight from the coast worthwhile. This is where the Legendary Pot-Stickers Incident happened.

I was accused of Getting the Vapors, but it may have been my “just pick a whiskey” Whiskey Sour. One thing’s for sure, I don’t laugh like this guy.