Megacon & C2E2!

Megacon in Orlando, FL and C2E2 in Chicago, IL have come and gone like a whirlwind! It's been years since I did back to back shows over 2 weekends. My body is exhausted but my mind is wired with all the amazing art I saw and all the fans I got to meet. Best of all were the Brigadiers That came up and introduced themselves! Everyone was so enthusiastic for the medium of comics. There seems to be a new energy to our hobby that I haven't seen since Marvel kicked off the Krakoan era. So many new fans flooded the floor with many wanting to know more about the medium. What books to read, what artists and writers to check out, and how to delve deeper into collecting special issues and art. It feels like a rejuvenation for our hobby.

New fans are going to be our lifeblood for keeping comics alive. I had an instance where a new fan came up to talk about my Absolute Batman Poison Ivy cover and then began asking questions about the hobby as a whole. I didn't get a sentence in before an excited veteran comic collector at my table engaged the new fan in a spirited conversation about how great comics are. I got to sit back and watch a long time lover of comics enthusiastically talk to a new reader in a way that genuinely got our new fan excited. By the end the new fan had a laundry list of comics to check out and artists and writers to discover. These are the moments that make all this worth it to me. The shared love and comradery whether you started reading last week or have been a comic fan for decades. It's all about the passion we feel for something that's very special. 

We are brothers and sisters in this hobby. We get to be in a very special club that few understand. But when you meet a fellow comic lover, you get to have a special moment of connection. It's why all the travel and hard work is worth it. 

As I often say to myself when I sit in my hotel room on a Sunday night after a long weekend of comic conventioning exhausted from days of  talking, signing, and drawing- My god do I love this job!