Baltimore Comic-Con 2007

Well, I've managed to survive another Comic-con. I thought I would give you some thoughts and impressions from someone who was there as a fan and worker.



First off, they moved it into another part of the convention center and expanded it. A nice, spread out feeling with the artists and major sponsors having their part and dealers having another. You didn't have to worry about lines for artists (such as Jim Lee) interfering with your booth and lines of sight.



Secondly, the artists. On the whole, it seemed that the artists were genuinely happy to be there and were very friendly. I had an opportunity to talk with Scott Kurtz to thank him for coming and get a drawing (will post that later). He was very happy to be there and thanked me for the patronage of his book (PvP) and website. The convention was under somewhat of a sad note with the sudden death of Mike Weiringo last month, but the artists did a great job working with and contributing to the SPCA, one of his favorite charities. All the artists, both major stars and rising indy stars gave of their time to help out. Kudos to all of them.



On a minor complaint, I had several people come up and ask why Marvel did not have a presence at the show. Like I work for the show promoter or something. I do not know why they didn't. They had a panel there on Saturday, but in all honesty, it sounds like it was boring as hell. DC and Image have been major sponsors and brought big name talent to the show. Dark Horse had a small presence there and hopefully it will increase over time. Considering Marvel is based in New York, and in close proximity to Baltimore, maybe they will start to rethink coming with some major people. My hope, but just not sure.



On to the business side of things. I was running the Cosmic Comix booth on Sunday, and I have never seen it that busy. Not a mad rush, mind you, but a steady flow of people over the course of the day. The last few years it's died down so quick that you're checking your watch to see how early you can load out. Not this year. We were steady until almost 3:30, which is great on a Sunday. And considering how busy we were compared to some of our boothmates, it was a fun Sunday. I will have something to say about some of the dealers who come to the show in the next post as well.



Overall, a great show. The crew who work and develop the con deserve a round of applause for not only an enjoyable show, but for making the whole experience a smooth one, at least for me.