::Kate and Dan, crawling out of McCormick Place,
glasses askew, exhaustion on their faces.::
K: So… many… comics. So… many… costumes…
D: heh heh heh… So much awesome… so, so much awesome…
K: ::stands up, dusts herself off:: Alright Fanboy, get it together. We gotta do work, son.
D: Right, right. One of my side-projects for this Comic Con was the Malmon Sketchbook. The fun for us has always been Artist Alley. Having commissions done of your favorite hero or villain is such an awesome thing. We’ve been lucky enough to have some pieces done, and they’re now hanging on our walls. But as awesome as they are, it can be a hassle to hold onto a large piece of Bristol board for an entire afternoon without damaging it in some way…
K: … or getting it messy with sticky fingers. ::throws Twix wrapper on the floor::
D: So, on the advice of Phil Hester a few years back, I finally got wise and picked up a bound sketch book. Compact and virtually indestructible; it was a perfect tool for drawings and signatures.
K: And this project was a success!
D: Indeed! Drawings from everyone from Brian Azzarello to Ryan Stegman now fill the book with awesome.
K: The book has amazing sketches of Batgirl by Mitch Gerads and Peter Krause, Green Lantern by George Perez, and a Fat Batman by Nate Cosby.
Green Lantern by George Perez
D: And a truly wicked Darkseid by Brent Schoonover.
K: But we also got to meet a lot of the people we follow on Twitter!
D: YES! I got to meet Ryan Penagos (@Agent_M) from Marvel Comics. I then succeeded in making it a truly awkward moment by shaking his hand, looking him in the eye and saying “I follow you.” It was awesome when I stuttered, “ Er, um… not in real life. On twitter.” Not my smoothest moment. It was all gravy when I then confessed that I too loved tacos. Great conversation followed.
Ryan Penagos and Dan
K: Nice recovery.
D: I was struck by how sincere many of the creators were. Scott Snyder (@ssnyder1835) has made us fans for life by remembering my name when I went through his autograph line. He was just a very down to earth guy writing some of the best comics on the shelf.
K: That was pretty amazing. And Gail Simone (@gailsimone) also remembered meeting you yesterday when you saw her this afternoon.
D: ::blushes:: That was pretty amazing, too. Interestingly enough, Snyder and Simone are also at the forefront of social media. They are always on Twitter reaching out to the public. That says quite a bit about them and how they value their fans. And how about Nate Cosby?
K: No doubt! Not only is Mr. Cosby (@NateCosBoom) one of our favorite twitter-ers, but also he was one of the first creators that we covered on this blog. Meeting him face to face was really a convention highlight.
D: So cool.
K: For our first big comic convention, I think it was success! We met amazing people, picked up some fun books (look for future reviews here, readers), and the wonderful, fearless cosplayers made for a memorable experience.
K: So? Think we should go back to C2E2 next year? We love the city, dig the talent at the show, and we had a blast this year.
D: ::Thinks to self:: Maybe I can get her into that Wonder Woman outfit next year…
K: ::Thinks to self:: NO
