Locust Moon Comic Convention - One Day Con in Philadelphia report

[staffman]

So I decided to take a page from Alex Johnson’s playbook (I hope you don’t mind Alex) and do a little review of the recent convention we had here in Philadelphia called the Locust Moon Convention. It happened this past Saturday for one day only here at the Rotunda right on the side of University of Pennsylvania. Show time was from 10 to 6. This was a pretty much a no art dealer showcase. It consisted mostly independent comic artists. I wanted to check the show out due to some great talent being on the bill. Paul Pope, Mark Schultz, Bill Sienkiewicz, Farel Dalrymple, J G Jones, Dave Bullock and Dean Haspiel to name a few were in attendance. The entrance fee was donation based, but they do suggest a minimum of $10 which was fine by me.

 

To start, the convention was put on by the guys who run the Locust Moon Comic shop here in Philadelphia. If you ever find yourself in the area you should do yourself a favor and stop in. They are packed solid with comics and graphic novels on one side and they have a small room adjacent to their storefront that allows for original artwork to be shown. The Locust Moon guys recently did a Kickstarter campaign to publish a huge book dedicated to Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo in Slumberland. They did the printing as big as the old newspaper runs of the Sunday Funnies. Simply incredible in its size. They culled over 100 artists to contribute to the book with such talent as Peter Bagg, Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, J G Jones and lots more. It is just in the early stages of being released and if you like books of various artists collections I recommend seeking it out. I know that Locust Moon is attending various conventions with the books, but I’m not sure if they will be selling it online. The reason I bring all this up is that they had over 20 of the artist at the convention that contributed to the book and if you were an early backer like me or happened to snag one at a recent convention this was a good place to rack up some autographs if that is your thing.

 

So I get a bit of an early start since I only had a few hours I could attend the show due to a friend’s birthday party happening that afternoon. Even with a regatta event that I forgot about happening that morning and the never ending construction in the city I managed to get a great parking spot a block away from the venue right at 10am. Not knowing the ins and outs of this show I wasn’t sure if there would be a big turn out so I was doing my best to get there in a timely fashion. Turns out I should have known to not bother getting there until 10:30am as after having worked with a few artists in the Artist Alley in NYCC for the last 3 years, not many of them make it there right when the doors open. In fact I was the first attendee to show up. There were 3 people ahead of me and they were artists just getting their badges and checked in. So as I entered the room I was greeted with 2/3rds of the room empty and artists still getting their items setup. Luckily I saw one of my main objectives for the show and made a beeline for Mark Schultz. I heard that he was going to be there with some original artwork and I have wanted to meet Mark for a long time. He doesn’t care to do the big shows like San Diego or New York anymore due their size and craziness, so I wasn't going to miss this chance to meet him.

 

I’m glad I did get there early because we got to have a great 20 minute conversation without anyone waiting in line behind me or interrupting us. In fact the only line that formed for anyone if you want to call 4 people standing around a line was for Bill Sienkiewicz. Mark was very pleasant to talk to and was giving me info on his upcoming projects and let me flip through his original artwork. I was glad that I brought some cash that day since he had one piece that I knew I had to have. I was trying to save most of it in the longshot that Paul Pope would bring something, but when you see the link you will see why I didn’t bother trying to save the money. I couldn’t believe my luck that he had this 11x14 penciled beauty with him. Here’s the link to the work -

 

http://comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1173178

 

He hinted to me that this is the prelim (prelim??? That level of detail is a prelim?) for the cover to the upcoming collection of all of his Various Drawings books. He stated that Flesk will most likely be doing a Kickstarter next year to get the 5 volumes collected into one and back into print. So if you are a Mark Schultz fan and don’t have those books just wait a bit and we’ll soon be able to get them.

 

Since I was there so early and didn't want to overstay my welcome with Mark I decided to walk over to the Locust Moon store and pick up the Little Nemo book. Upon picking up the 14 pound oversized collection the one employee let us know that if we could get all of the artists in attendance at the convention who contributed to the book to sign it we could get a free print of the Gerhard piece. Well the Gerhard contribution is simply lovely so I figured that was an easy thing to do so I set out with an additional mission outside of Paul, Bill and such. I’m glad I did since it gave me time to meet new artists while I wait to check in with my must see list. Fareyl Dalrymple started everything off and not only signed the book but did a head sketch as well for me. Once that gauntlet was thrown every other artist felt that they had to do something just as equal as the others did, so almost all of the artists I got did a quick head sketch/doodle in the book as well.

 

I checked in with the great artist Dave Bullock where we spent more time talking about property in the East Coast vs West Coast than artwork and since we both lived on the West Coast at one point we also talked about where one could find a good Mexican restaurant out here. Apparently one has been found in Hammonton NJ so if you want to know where one is just let me know and I’ll give you the info. I made my way around the floor a few more times to get some more signatures and it must have been around 11:30 by now and I noticed that everyone but Paul Pope had made it in so far. So off I go to get more signatures and every time I go to Bill’s table he has 3 people standing around. I finally decide to bite the bullet and just hang out and I’m glad I did as I got to talking to fellow collectors and sharing some collection pieces and stories. Between Mark Schultz and the art discussion with Whan this show was already a hit for me. I really like seeing others collections and what drives them and sharing in the hobby. It’s really great to meet people in person too outside of always online.

 

Anyway I get Bill’s signature, talk to him for a bit and look through some of his artwork. He brought a decent selection, I though, this time around as opposed to previous times where it looked like he just brought one book. He had some interiors and a really cool Lobo splash page. I don’t know everything Bill has worked on but does anyone know if he worked on Lobo? Since I blew most of my money on Mark and I still had hope that maybe Paul Pope would bring something I held off on inquiring about it.

 

So it’s now 12:30 and after lugging the book around and an empty belly growling at me I decided it was time for a break. I had hoped Paul would have showed up by then since I really wanted to leave at 1pm to get going, but still no luck. I decided I would try my luck and hang around till 2pm just to see since if you couldn't tell already I’m a huge Paul Pope fan. I cannot seem to luck out in securing any of his work though and have been trying to track down a few pieces for the last few years to no avail, so this was my best chance since this show was so low key that I figured I could talk to him more than 2 minutes at the previous shows I've caught him at.

 

After an ok lunch, the lunch truck Kung Fu Sandwich came highly recommended but the whole faux meat spin on the Vietnamese sandwiches really didn't impress me, but it was edible, I headed back in with the book determined to get the last few signatures of folks I missed and try once more to catch Paul. I did manage to get a few more signatures and took a great picture of J G Jones signing the book while holding his sandwich in his other hand.

 

http://comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1173181

 

He was so pleasant and accommodating and had some really great pages of his recent work on the Batman Black and White comic. I was still holding onto the remainder of my money so I once again didn't make a play for the pages which in person were absolutely stunning. By this time it’s already past 1:30 and it’s getting a little crowded for the small venue. I decide to circle round and talk to Mark Schultz and Dave Bullock one more time and after doing so I tried one more time to catch Paul and had to admit defeat. He wasn't going to make it before I had to leave. I do know that he eventually made it since I did see pictures of him at the 5pm lecture he was doing with JG Jones and Bill at the comic store. Plus I was really tired of lugging that book around and wanted to get a move on for the party. I was so beat, I didn't even bother going back to Bill’s or Jones table to see what they wanted for their pages. Oh well. Hopefully someone else at the show got some.

 

Overall I found it to be a very good show and I recommend it to fellow fans of artists who are looking for a much more laid back environment to see their favorite independent comic artists. Especially if you want to talk to them for a good length without feeling pressured from the people in line behind you. The people at Locust Moon were very nice all around. The volunteers were just a little clueless at the front door in giving out information and pamphlets for the show, but since it was so small and I had already looked at the floor plan beforehand it was not a big deal at all to detract from the event. All of the artists I met were super pleasant and more than willing to sign the book I handed to them and all the other fans that picked up their book at the show as well. Mark Schultz once again made the show for me so it’s an easy recommend for him alone. The only real negative I have to say is that I wish Paul Pope had tried a little harder to get there by 12pm at the latest. I was not the only one looking for him and since one had to get all of the artists to sign the book to get the free print you were pretty much out of luck if you had to leave before he decided to show up. I’m sure there’s a good reason he didn’t make it in a timely manner, but it sure puts a damper on the show since he was the other reason I decided to go.

 

Anyway let’s wrap up the overlong write up. I hope you enjoyed reading this report. I recommend everyone to follow the Locust Moon Convention site for next years announcements if you decide you’d like to check it out. Here’s a link –

 

http://locustmoonfest.com/

 

This is the 3rd year of the event and judging from what I saw I think it’s got some legs to it.

I’m horrible at taking pictures but bleeding cool did a great job of getting artists at the show. Here’s a link if you want to see them –

 

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/10/25/108-very-festive-photos-of-the-locust-moon-comics-festival-in-philadelphia/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

Thanks,

Chris

 

 

 

 

[AnkurJ]

Thanks for the great report! Sounds like a great show! I wish I had known about it.

[MagnusX]

[font:Book Antiqua]

If you have never assisted an Independent / underground convention

and are thinking about doing one.

 

Think twice.

 

Unless you know for sure what you are into,

my advice is avoid them...

 

If you think Independent means Dynamite (Dynamite Entertainment) IDW or Zenescope you are wrong.

 

We are talking about real INDEPENT

low quality, photocopies, etc etc

 

This type of conventions have 2 o3 artist names that you know,

none of them will never be at the tables.

[/font]

 

[alxjhnsn]

I decided to take a page from Alex Johnson’s playbook (I hope you don’t mind Alex)

Glad you did. I enjoyed the write-up. We need more of these!

 

Fareyl Dalrymple started everything off and not only signed the [Locus Moon Little Nemo] book

I backed the book on KickStarter backer and Farel Dalrymple drawing in my copy is my perk. I can't wait for that beast to arrive.

 

l was lucky to see the book in Portland; it's amazing.

 

if we could get all of the artists in attendance at the convention who contributed to the book to sign it we could get a free print of the Gerhard piece

I'm doing the same with my Stan Sakai tribute book from Dark Horse. It's much lighter and easier to carry though!

[staffman]

Hey Alex,

 

Thanks for the feedback. Man that was tricky to get together so kudos to you my good man for writing them up.

 

I still haven't even cracked open the book yet, so I'm really excited to see Farel's and all the other contributors.

 

I have a feeling Farel's sketch is going to make you happy, he was really cool about the whole thing and it's thanks to him that the other artists decided to take time out and do sketches as well in the book for me.

 

Hope to see more of your reports!

[alxjhnsn]

I need to write-up our trip to Dallas Comic Con a week or so ago, but it's been busy. We were only there for one day, but had a good time.

 

There are some great drawings by Farel on the CAF and while I don't expect something elaborate, I do suspect it will make me smile.

 

I really like Rob Stolzer's Wizard of Oz piece. If anyone hasn't seen Farel's work, you can find some here.