February 9th, 2009: "The Con Is On!"

[Citi]

As you can see, our Halo/Grifball extravaganza continues. Libby seems to be a pretty badass player. I love what Jason did with the elites. As everyone who plays Grifball knows, the teams of all elite players are hilarious and I love to hear then scream as my hammer lays them low.

What a great weekend. I have to tell you guys, webcomics people are simply some of the nicest folks in the world.

As mentioned previously, I was lucky enough to be afforded a professional pass to the New York Comic Con. I spent almost all my time hunting wild webcomic creators and think I bagged the limit.

We have set up a page for sketches and images from the con. Click on the thumbnails if you'd like a closer look. Everything was awesome. I'm actually having a hard time writing this blog simply because I'm having a fanboy freakout every time I think about the people I met this weekend.

I'm going to go in the order in which I met them.

Lar DeSouza and Ryan Sohmer of Blind Ferret. Entertainment. Everyone who knows Lar knows he's a pussycat; kind, supportive of new artists and honest to a fault. Ryan on the other hand can come off as caustic and opinionated in his on line persona. Let me dispel that myth. Ryan is one of the most generous and friendly guys I've ever met. He literally stands out in front of his booth for most of the con, in the middle of throngs of people signing autographs and shaking hands and telling stories. Fueled by Red Bull he posts himself in the middle of this tornado of activity like a circus ringmaster. The guys he has working with him at Blind Ferret just do an incredible job of handling the crowd, getting the customers what they want and funneling them through Lar (who's usually frantically drawing) and on to Ryan. Just a wonderful operation run by wonderful guys. If I ever gain the respect of Ryan Sohmer and he considers me a "Professional Webcomic Creator" I will know that we at Remedial Comics have indeed arrived.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit them at a con, I highly recommend you fight the crowds and make the effort. Until you have seen Lar and Ryan dry hump a guy dressed as Chewbacca (actually they dry humped a lot of furry things while I was there... hide your cats ladies) you just haven't lived (you can see that at their site on their Flicker account). Lar was kind enough to draw Remedy for me (my number one request from all the artists I met) and I really love his take on the guy. Ash, also looks incredible.


   


I next made a beeline for the "Comic Geek Speak" podcast area to speak to the crown princess of webcomics; Danielle Corsetto. I don't know why she kept reminding me she has a boyfriend. Maybe it was all the drooling. What a sweetheart; and what a great artist and storyteller. She did steal all my colored Sharpies, but I'm partially responsible because I told her she could have them. If she had asked for my wallet and car keys I'm pretty sure I would have handed them over too; with a smile. I pestered Danielle several times throughout the weekend and she was always warm and friendly. She too drew an incredible Remedy for us and I am honored to show it here.





In fact I spent so much time in the podcast area I was fortunate to meet an incredibly nice fellow named Chuck Moore of the podcast Comic Related. We talked briefly about Remedy and what we are trying to do here at Remedial Comics and he asked to interview me for the podcast. I'm not sure when the interview will run but you can be sure I'll update you as soon as it does. The one thing I can tell you from checking out their site is that if you want news about NY Comic Con they are the source. Fully three times the size of any other podcasts at NY Comic Con they were anywhere and everywhere.

Next I pinballed over to Penny Arcade. Mike Krahulik (Gabe) and Jerry Holkins (Tycho) are the undisputed kings of webcomics. Making a rare (but soon to be less rare in light of the east coast PAX in 2010 announcement they made recently) east coast appearance, they were swamped. Frankly I don't know how they do it. The line never stopped. Even when they took a break the line just became a mob until they returned to plow through all the handshakes, autographs and smiles. They are machines. I got really lucky when their credit card machine got clogged up and I had to stand there for fifteen minutes while their staff tried to process it over and over because I got to actually talk to them and it was a real pleasure. Just class. That's all I can say. Class.

Gabe did a Remedy that is clearly all him. If you are a PA reader there can be no doubt as to who drew this comic.





The Penny Arcade booth was a twofer for me because Scott Kurtz was sharing the space. I spend way too much time at webcomics.com. The Half Pixel guys were and continue to be invaluable resources in the launch of Remedial Comics. Scott is an incredibly nice guy and when I shook his hand I meant it when I told him that he is a trailblazer and any success I enjoy will be in part because of the knowledge he shares freely in the site, in his books (not free but cheap and totally worth it) and in person to those of us worming our way into the business. Scott, as I'm sure you know draws the incredibly successful and highly entertaining Player vs Player. He also drew Remedy for me; just great stuff.





Speaking of Half Pixel my next visit was to Brad Giuger of Evil, Inc. Brad is another great mentor to the webcomics community. He greeted me with incredible warmth and allowed me to bore him with my Ed Ryzowski stories (Ed does the coloring for Evil Inc. and is an old friend). I picked up a copy of "How To Make Webcomics" while I was there. The book is co-authored by Scott Kurtz, Brad Guiger, Dave Kellet, and Kris Straub and is an invaluable resource for people getting into webcomics.





I also was fortunate to talk with Gary Tyrrell of Fleen. The man is a walking encyclopedia of webcomics knowledge and a real nice guy to boot. Gary was manning the battlements at the "Girl Genius" booth along with creator Phil Foglio and Vin LaBate of Kitty Hawk who are both really nice guys in their own right. If you are a fan of Girl Genius I know you will enjoy this picture. The resemblance is uncanny.





One of the big surprises for me at the con was the guys from Cyanide and Happiness (aka Explosm.com). I couldn't believe how young they are (so jealous). Dressed in "proper" attire they still looked so young; so young and so successful (and so Irish). At one point a fan asked for a valentine with a sketch in it and Dave McElfatric drew Hitler doing something really inappropriate to a very sad looking clown. I suggested that perhaps everyone loves a clown, even Hitler and a good time was had by all; a good, really inappropriate time. Dave also drew Remedy for me. The style is unmistakable.





I was able to talk to Scott Ransoomiar of the always excellent VG Cat's but he was heading for a break; looking exhausted from the throngs of fans who had him chained to his booth sketching for hours at a time I took pity on him, shook his hand and wished him well. Maybe next con I'll get a Remedy from him.

Lastly I want to send a shout out to a new/old friend that I ran into at the con in a very freakish occurrence. As I've mentioned before, I've been a fan and member of Rooster Teeth for a long time. If there were such a thing as big man on campus in an on line community Jesse Cowell, aka Jeskid would be one of the biggest. A director of award winning independent film and the on line series "Drawn by Pain," Jesse has been an on line friend since forever. When he walked up to me in line I immediately recognized Erica Langworthy's amazing art on his T-Shirt. A few moments later we were laughing and reminiscing like the old friends we are. That's right; "I Had Lunch With The MotherF**ker!"





Erica was also there, and for someone with such amazing talent she is surprisingly quiet (and a real cutie). If I could do half of what she does half as good you would never hear the end of it.

I'm sure there are a million other things I could go on about. The experience was overwhelming to say the least. The con sold out on Saturday and the sheer volume of people was dramatic in scope and participation. It was a great show. My apologies to anyone I missed. If I remember you I'll mention you in Wednesday's blog. But to all the folks I laughed, talked and shared with over the weekend, thank you it was an honor and a privilege not only to meet you but to count myself among you.





Have a great day. I'll see you here Wednesday.