Baltimore Comic-Con 2017 Sunday

Sunday morning I had breakfast with Andrew Pepoy and Mark Buckingham, a mini-FABLES reunion. It was good to catch up with Bucky, who I hope to be working with more soon.

I had a lot to do Sunday morning: pack my suitcase and bring it out to my car, then get my convention stuff together and take it over to the show. When I got there, no one was getting in. A small fire had triggered a fire alarm. It was a short delay, about 15 minutes, and the Con staff and volunteers handled the crowd well.

I didn’t have much time left at the show, but time enough to walk around and see more friends and work-mates. Here’s Marc Hempel with one of his Sandman print images.

I met Lee Bermejo for the first time, after working with him on a number of projects, most recently DARK NIGHT, A TRUE BATMAN STORY. Lee was great to talk to, and I hope we will work together again.

I was very happy to see Don Rosa at the show, once again giving away the hot peppers he enjoys growing. Don is able to do large marker sketches of his favorite characters like Uncle Scrooge, but eye problems prevent him from doing comics art. He is as funny and entertaining to talk to as ever, though.

One of my former DC editors, Alisa Kwitney stopped by to talk at my table, and we enjoyed catching up. Alisa has several new projects in the works, both in and out of comics (she’s also a novelist), and she recently helped Neil Gaiman with his book, “Norse Mythology.”

I had to leave the show at 2 PM in order to be home for dinner, so that’s what I did. Andrea Bergner was again there to help today, making my show much easier. John and Cathy Workman were also packing up to head home. Not only did I enjoy the show a great deal, it was the most profitable one ever for me. I sold lots of prints, enjoyed meeting fans and signing their books, and had an excellent time.

I don’t go to a lot of comics conventions these days, and even more rarely am I a guest with a table to sell things, but I have to say Baltimore Comic-Con has become my favorite show. It’s not too big, the attendees are friendly and often interested in comics and creators, the staff is courteous, and ready to provide help when needed. They even come by with sandwiches for guests at lunch time, something I’ve never seen at any other con. Hats off to Marc and Shelly Nathan for putting together such a fine event. The ‘Ringo Awards team headed by Randy Tischler were equally adept, and everyone on the staff that I dealt with was great. If you are thinking of coming to Baltimore for next year’s con, I highly recommend it!