Before diving into this year's show, let's rewind...
Last year, 2015's O Comic Con! felt like an experiment - an operation. It was only my second convention that required traveling to and my first con that I had to actually book a hotel for. Previously, I was able to stay with friends for a Project: Comic Con in St. Louis, and a few one-day Midwest Geekfest events in Columbia, MO were close enough to not require hotels. These were fairly simple, thrifty experiences. But traveling, staying at a hotel, and being self-sufficient away from my home (my castle), was out of my comfort zone. It was also a bigger expenditure of money and thus a bigger pressure on me to sell well at my table. And having a financially successful show can be completely hit-or-miss, often with no reason why.
Last year, 2015's O Comic Con! felt like an experiment - an operation. It was only my second convention that required traveling to and my first con that I had to actually book a hotel for. Previously, I was able to stay with friends for a Project: Comic Con in St. Louis, and a few one-day Midwest Geekfest events in Columbia, MO were close enough to not require hotels. These were fairly simple, thrifty experiences. But traveling, staying at a hotel, and being self-sufficient away from my home (my castle), was out of my comfort zone. It was also a bigger expenditure of money and thus a bigger pressure on me to sell well at my table. And having a financially successful show can be completely hit-or-miss, often with no reason why.
The drive to Omaha from Kansas City is 3 hours, so it's really just a hip, hop, and a podcast away. The views on the road aren't too shabby either (There's actually some hills!), not to mention the town itself is cool, too. Surprisingly, Omaha actually has more quality comic shops than KC, with Legend Comics & Coffee being one of the best comic book stores that I've ever been in.
The 2015 O Comic Con! was also their first year putting on the event and, now that I've traveled to a handful of more cons since, I can say it went smoother than many shows in their third or fourth year (like the disaster that was known as Space City Comic Con). With two issues of Mayflower, we did surprisingly well, met some great artists like Tim Mayer and Artun Gökçen, and left with good memories. The operation was a success. The experiment gave me the confidence to pursue travelling to shows. And so this year we planned to travel to five conventions outside of KC, including Omaha again.
O Comic Con! 2016 was a good sequel for us. Lots of returning readers, new creators to discover, and fun cosplay to watch walk by. The location for the event seems to have already hit its capacity in year two so it will be exciting to see how it develops in 2017. The only negative we experienced was based on the fact that the row we were assigned to was facing a black curtain instead of another series of vendors and creators. This made the row seem emptier (because it was) and, as the weekend went on, less popular with visitors. Luckily, we were on the edge of the row next to the outer isle and were able to snag a number of people from that direction (I ended up shifting my banner and easel 90 degrees towards that outer isle to help). In the end, we actually sold one more copy of Mayflower than at my local, much larger, Planet Comicon, so I can't really complain! But... I guess I did anyways.
Highlights
- Jeffery Combs (of many Star Trek roles) paused at my booth.
- Adorable monkeys were in attendance.
- A Q&A panel with the original Mads (Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff) of Mystery Science Theater 3000 brought joy to my heart.
Creators & Creations Discovered
- Midwinter, a really impressive-looking manga.
- The Fierce Are Fading, a new sci-fi graphic novel (with a great title).
- Old Guy, a poetry collection from the state laureate illustrated by Tim Mayer.
- Thom Hotka's comics (and funny shirts).
- Trey Baldwin's psychedelic monster illustrations.
My Commissions & Sketches
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| Thanos |
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| Spider-man and Spider-man 2099 sketch cover |
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| Iron Man sketch cover |
Next on the 2016 Midwest Tour: Kansas City Comic Con, Cincy ComiCon, and Dodecacon!
