Con Report - Rose City Comic Con 2013

[alxjhnsn]

I recently attended the Rose City Comic Con in Portland, OR.

 

I thought I'd share my con report with you.

 

Did anyone else go?

 

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Well, Kathy and I just got back from visiting my brother in Portland, OR and - amazingly - for the second year in a row our visit coincided with the Rose City Comic Con! Imagine my surprise.

 

Last year was the first year of the con and it swamped the DoubleTree hotel where it was held. At points during the 2 day event, they had to stop people from entering the space because of over crowding.

 

That was not a problem at Portland's Oregon Convention Center. The Artist Alley was bigger, much bigger than the entire venue last year. The con reported that they expected 4 times the visitors and I'm sure that they achieved that.

 

So, my impressions:

• Nice space - easy to get in and out, a number of food and drink vendors, clean bathrooms, well lit, spacious aisles
  
• Friendly staff - There was a snafu getting the pre-registered folks into the show ahead of the late comers, but from where I sat, the staff was friendly and efficient. There were lots of folks in con t-shirts walking around.
  
• Comic guest list - Lots of talent lives in the Pacific Northwest and it showed in the guest list. I'll talk about the folks I visited with below.
  
• Comic dealers - There were a number of people actually selling comics; not just "stuff." I like that. I have a lot of comics, but I still like to look through boxes and there were a fair number of boxes to look through.
  
• TV/Movie Guest List - I really didn't look into this, but it seemed well organized and the place to buy tickets for autographs and pictures was well marked.

I have nothing negative to add other than the show is short. I'd bet on three days next year.

 

 

So, what was my visit like? First, you should know that my youngest brother is an endodontist living and working in Portland. He moved there about 8 years ago for school and stayed. So, we had lots of commitments besides the con.

 

Our con experience began at a Portland institution - Voodoo Donuts. I'd never heard of Voodoo Donuts, but, Katie Cook, about 24 months pregnant, wrote on her Facebook page that she wanted donuts from Voodoo while she was a RCCC. Never one to argue with a woman, I decided that we had to get her some before the show. John said, more or less, there's nothing special at about their donuts other than the odd flavors and pink boxes. I said, the lady wants what she wants and I want art from her.

 

So, we bought a dozen donuts. Half for Katie and half for a FB friend, Jerry Livengood, who had a booth for the first time. I thought he might need feeding and he should certainly celebrate his first professional con. My brother pointed out that Voodoo Donuts are noted for "odd" donuts and pink boxes and I got neither. True.

 

However, I did get my wife an apple fritter - her favorite baked good. In the car, she tasted it and was thrilled. I tried a bite - wow! Warm, melt in your mouth goodness. I have no idea what their other donuts are like, but that apple fritter was amazing - which means Voodoo Donuts is about par for Portland eateries. There are no bad places to eat in Portland.

 

We got to the con where I stopped briefly at Jerry's table to drop donuts and moved quickly to Katie's to get the art for my daughter's Christmas and a couple of specific requests that she had. We were the third ones in line and the guy in front had a big box of donuts. Shortly after, there were people in line with more donuts. Lots of pink boxes and fancy flavors. Katie put up a picture of her with the donuts. You can see it here:

.

Our bag was on top. I have no idea how many she ate, but I did see donuts at many other booths.

 

Anyway, I got my mini-paintings. Actually, I came back several times and picked up a few more. I can't post them because they are a gift for my daughter.

 

I also got a MLP drawing from Andy Price. I asked for his favorite pony and he produced Princess Celestia. I had to look her up in the Wikipedia; that's the link.

 

 

 

Next stop. Aaron Lopresti. I'd worked a deal with Aaron before the show. I traded him a nearly 40 year old Barry Smith Conan portfolio and a few dollars for a color drawing of GA Wonder Woman vs. SA Supergirl. It's great. Sadly, my scanner can't pickup the wonderful skin tones. Aaron uses both markers and colored pencils on his pieces. He likes the pencils for skin tones. You can read about it on his blog - http://www.aaronlopresti.com/blog/2013/07/10/do-colored-pencils-make-me-a-coward/. You can see the picture here:

 

Now, the wandering around the show started. My brother and his GF left after a couple of hours to fix dinner (BBQ'd pulled pork plus potluck) for a party that night at his place. Kathy stayed longer, but had to go to Nordstroms to get some pants and closed toed shoes (more on that later). So, I had plenty of time to wander.

 

 

I visited with Tom Cook, the animator and cover re-creationist. He had a very nice recreation of a Sprang Batman cover at his table for not too much, but I passed. Very nice guy and someone that I've corresponded with a few times about - maybe - recreating the cover to my first comic - JLA (1st Series) #29 in color.

 

Stopped by Matthew Clark's table. I'd bought a Doom Patrol page from him last year and had meant to bring it to get a picture of him with it, but the day we were leaving I pulled it from my traveling portfolio because I couldn't remember why it was in there. Duh! So, we did the next best thing and took a picture of him with a sign saying that it's a proxy for the page. You can see the page here:

I got a picture of the inker - Art Thibert - with it when he was in Houston this past August and that's there along with Matthew and the sign.

 

Visited with write Greg Rucka briefly. Stopped by and got Pete and Rebecca Woods to sign my note cards. Very nice couple. Chatted with Alison Sohn for a bit about strays and pet adoptions. Actually, we visited a couple of times. All our animals are strays (4 dogs; 4 cats). Got Adam Hughes' autograph.

 

Visited with some of the artists from Station Studios and talked to Sara Richards about her Kitty and Dino book. We forgot to bring our copy for signature. Grr... I found Chrissie Zullo far away from her studio mates and commissioned a Cinderella sketch from her. You can see it here:

.

It reminds me of the cover to the first issue (see Additional Images). Cindy is Fabletown's top spy and the series was a lot of fun.

 

The wandering continued. I met a new to me artist - Tyler Crook - who had art from a book I don't read - a western The Sixth Gun. Brian Hurtt, the regular artist, was also at the show.

 

Visited with Anne Busiek and Kurt at different times. I enjoy his work a lot, but it's really hard on writers at these shows since they generally have to bring books.

 

Stopped at a table with both Richard Starkings (Elephant Men and Hip Flask) and Tim Sale. Richard has a great autograph featuring Hip Flask. Tim was doing a BoG in the rain for someone in a sketch book - nice ink wash. If I'd known he was drawing, I'd have gotten a Daredevil, but I missed him until the second day and I couldn't stay long (trip to the wine country on Sunday afternoon).

 

I ran into Scarlett Spider scribe, Christopher Yost. I've met him a few times and on the first occasion gave him a copy of Texas Monthly so he could learn about Texas for his then new book set in Houston. Met him again later at Comicpalooza and we chatted a bit about all of that..

 

Stopped to visit with Andy Mangles - writer and founder of Women of Wonder Day. Spent a few minutes with Roberto Doque and Ibrahim Moustafa.

 

That's about it for the Con, but not for our trip.

 

Remember that I told you Kathy needed long pants and closed toed shoes? Well, that's because a friend of mine took us on a tour of the Nabisco (now Mondelez) bakery in Portland! Oreos and Ritz hot out of the oven. Yum!

 

Almost forgot - Pictures from the con are on FB - about 50 of them. Check it out on my Facebook page .

[alxjhnsn]

I forgot to ask. Does owning an Andy Price MLP drawing make me a Brony? My brother says so, my LCS manager says so, but I saw no.

 

What say you? Click to embiggen.

 

[Doc McCoy]

First of all, thanks for the report. Always a good read.

 

If it's not for your daughter(s), then yes, you're a Brony. Just embrace it.

[alxjhnsn]

Nooooooo!!!!!!

 

He seemed so nice and the first one was (almost) free!

 

Glad to hear the write-up was enjoyed. It's been read a lot, but no comments.

 

Did anyone go to Pittsburgh the same weekend?

[alxjhnsn]

Now with pictures.

[Doc McCoy]

Nooooooo!!!!!!

 

He seemed so nice and the first one was (almost) free!

 

Glad to hear the write-up was enjoyed. It's been read a lot, but no comments.

 

Did anyone go to Pittsburgh the same weekend?

 

I'm going to email Zahler and let him know you stepped out on him with another Pony artist!

[alxjhnsn]

.

 

True. I've never even asked Thom to pony up for me. He will probably be broken-hearted that Andy gave me my first pony.

 

However, my youngest got a really cool pony piece from Thom. I need to scan and post it.

 

Ponies as super-heroes.

 

[NelsonAI]

Great report. I love how you inserted the mini pics into the text.

 

I haven't been to Portland in ages but it's great to hit a smaller show. Less crowds to deal with and you can interact with the creators. Shows like NYCC and SDCC can be a major hassle.

 

The donut place is featured in all the food shows on cable. The jelly donuts are shaped into zombies and they use pretzel sticks as a stake in the heart. The jelly is the "blood". .

 

Cheers!

N.

[alxjhnsn]

Great report.

Thanks.

 

I love how you inserted the mini pics into the text.

If interested, I can PM you the instructions. Did you click to embiggen?

 

I haven't been to Portland in ages but it's great to hit a smaller show. Less crowds to deal with and you can interact with the creators. Shows like NYCC and SDCC can be a major hassle.

I really enjoyed both it and Heroes. There was a good crowd, but you could talk the creators easily and for long periods.

 

The donut place is featured in all the food shows on cable. The jelly donuts are shaped into zombies and they use pretzel sticks as a stake in the heart. The jelly is the "blood". .

Yep. That sounds about right. Portland is a real foodie kind of place. My brother was never a food guy, but he is a wine and food guy now. Thanks to Portland and his GF. Good thing they walk a lot.

 

[eewwnuk]

great report.

[alxjhnsn]

Thanks. It was a very nice show. I had a good time.