Brant was a fan of comics as a kid and it stuck with him into adulthood. These days he's also an aspiring comic creator. This column discusses his personal journey from fandom to the annals of the creative society that is the world of comics. Brant's current comic series is Wannabez and this is his journey. (If it's you're first time joining him, you can visit the link at the bottom of the article to start the journey from the beginning.)
2009 CONVENTIONS AND SHOWS Part 1
At this point the convention season was in full swing, and it would be my first full con season. The year before I had attended my first two ever comic conventions as I have detailed here within this column. Before 2008, I couldn't have imagined the kind of year I would have in 2009 and most likely each year for many to come.
First up were some fairly local shows. Gem City, I believe, was the first, in Dayton, Ohio, and will be our first this year as well where Comic Related will be teaming with Gem City to support the Hero Initiative! But in 2009, Scott and I had our own table separate from Comic Related's, which was out in the main hall. We were in with the other independent creators, including Killer Robots Love You artist Tony Miello, and Scott's friend Mark Lemieux, whose table was right beside ours.
We brought all the Wannabez paraphernalia and products we had at Mid-Ohio-Con in 2008, as well as something new, a preview issue of Wannabez #1! We didn't have time to complete the full issue, so we decided to produce a special half-issue, in pencils, version of the book specifically for Gem City. We had intended to even place that on the cover that it was a Gem City exclusive, but the last minute hustle to get the book printed caused that minor detail to escape us, which in the long run was fortunate as we were able to sell those same copies at other shows throughout the year.
We also did something really special with the preview book. We left a blank space on the back of the book for Scott to do sketches of the Wannabez characters for people that bought the book. So not only could they take with them a special pencil preview with the great story that is Wannabez (I'm not biased at all of course), but they also got to take home an original piece of Wannabez art right on the back!
The book was a mild success, as was issue #0, which we also had copies of at the show, among other items like Scott's prints and sketch cards, and my copies of Zombie Cop. We had a lot of fun at the show and got to hang out with all our friends, so it was a blast and well worth the time and effort we put into it.
Next up were two shows at Comics 2 Games, though I don't recall which one took place first. There was the Comics For Cures sketch card event with all the proceeds going to charity to fight cancer, and that show was a great success. Tons of artists from all over contributed sketch cards to the event, including myself with my poor renditions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I had waited until the last minute to draw them and was not happy with them. But somebody bought one of them all the same. Granted, it was Darren, but still! It was for a good cause, so I was just happy that my contribution raised a few dollars for the cause, which was and is very close to my heart. I've lost an aunt and my Nana and Papaw to cancer, so I was glad and honored to be a part of it.
The next event at C2G was Free Comic Book Day. Now, I know I have stated several times that Wizard World Chicago 2008 was my first comic convention, but believe it or not, I had never ever attended a Free Comic Book Day either up until 2009. But this time I was among friends, and Scott and I were offered a spot to set up and sell books during the event. Other artists that were present included Mike Maydak, Scott Story, Ringtail Cafe, Eric Adams and Lora Innes, and it was a lot of fun as all gatherings up at C2G are. Again, we did modest sales. Of course, most people were there for the free comics, and some mistook all of our products as free also. In fact, one kid started to walk off with a copy of Zombie Cop that I was selling for $10, and I didn't even notice. If it wasn't for Jackie I wouldn't have even known. It was an understandable mistake, and I wish we had more stuff to offer for free (we did give buttons and prints away), but we, as well as all the other artists in the cordoned off area, were also trying to make some money.
After the event, several of us headed back to Darren's house to enter a tournament of Mario Kart. Fun was had by all, and then we were off back to our respective homes after another successful and enjoyed outing.
May was a wrap, but the convention season was not, for lurking in the shadows approaching at breakneck speed was the con that must not be named... Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina in June.
-B
Past Columns - Start the Journey at the beginning! Click here to check out all the past Journey of a Wannabe columns.
Brant W. Fowler / Writer, Letter, Creator, Reviewer, Columnist and Comic Related PR Coordinator
Brant W. Fowler has been a professional comic book letterer and logo designer for three years, and has been a freelance editor for the past five years. He has also worked with graphic design, writing and many other area of skills for several years honing his talents. You can learn all about what he's up to by visiting Gonzogoose
Design. Brant is also a member of the core
operations team at Comic Related.
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