R-A-B-L-O-G

The story of Baltimore comic-con:

I left my camera in James’ car so this is coming a day late.

We left Richmond on Friday around 6:30 and drove up to Fredericksburg to stop by my parents’ house and grab a couple sleeping bags.  The plan was to drive up to Baltimore Friday night where we would spend the night with James’ mom and sister in a hotel they already had for the weekend 30 minutes outside of the city.  We got a little lost on the way up because a.) is was dark and pouring rain and, b.) we figured we wouldn’t need the directions until after we crossed in Maryland.  Turns out we were supposed to exit somewhere while still in Virginia.  We were still heading going towards Baltimore according to the few highway signs we saw, so we tried to make it up as we went along, but James was exhausted and the rain was just getting worse so we pulled off is Jessup, Md. and got a room at a Comfort Inn for the night.  Got on their wi-fi and found we were only 20 minutes from the convention, so we wrote down the new directions, watched the debate, played some Diablo II, went out and grabbed some Burger King and then went to bed.

Our luxurious Comfort Inn suite. Notice the one bed.

We planned to wake up the next morning at 8:15 and eat breakfast and head into the city.  Instead, we were both up at 7:30 so we got our things ready and went to eat breakfast in the lobby to kill time before heading out.  The rain had died down (and it was light out) so driving was much easier.

We got to Baltimore, found a parking deck about 4 blocks from the convention center, scoped out places to eat later on and headed inside.

James bought his ticket while I walked around grabbing freebies before the doors opened.  When doors finally did open we were all the way up on the third floor.  The line had become too long on the first floor, so they moved it up to the second, then the third and just about ran out of room there.

Once the liens got moving it didn’t take long and we were inside on the convention floor and it was super crowded.  They had expanded the room since the last time I attended the Baltimore Con and the room was huge and there was a person to fill up every square foot.  James and I headed first for Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead, Invincible, Marvel Zombies) I had a big stack for him to sign and he was the only creator James really knows since he’s just getting into comics and Walking Dead has been his main fixation.  Kirkman is always a lot of fun.  A lot of times it’s kind of awkward if you don’t have anything to really talk to the creator about while you get them to sign a stack of books, but Kirkman always finds something to talk about.

After that it was touc hand go.  We tried to follow the map in convention program but it wasn’t entirely accurate and creators were comign and going from panels and some arrived late or left early.  I did however manage to get 100+ books signed, plus some cool posters from DC/Vertigo/Wildstorm and some cool Green Lantern buttons.

The longest I waited in line was for Geoff Johns, but a good chuck of the books I brought were his, so it was worth it.  I wasnt far back in line, but I got in line before he was even at the table.  He was in a DC panel until Noon and I was in line around 12:15 and he showed up around 12:30-40 and I got out of line a little after 1.  I got some good super nerd talk in while waiting though.

Geoff Johns

The worst part was that the lines for Jim Lee, Brian Michael Bendis and Geoff Johns were all converging at the same spot and they were without a doubt the longest lines at the whole convention.

Jim Lee

After Geoff Johns, James and I left the convention and went to get lunch at Five Guys and then went back to the car to unload a bit.  After that my organization system was in utter disarray and I accidentally left some books in the car that I still needed to get signed.  I wasn’t going back though because it was pouring rain.

We went back in and headed upstairs to get seats for the Kirkman vs. Bendis panel (see this video and then listen to this response).  I had never been to one of the panels at a convention before and this one was the highlight of the weekend, and with two big names (big to comic nerds) the room was packed.  Ron and Conor from iFanboy were taping the whole thing and CB Cebulski was brought in at the last minute to moderate.

Waiting for the panel to begin.

It was a fight discussion, but I think Bendis definitely won.  Kirkman knew what he was trying to say, but not how to say it and for as much as he prepared (the man had charts) he wasn’t prepared enough.

Robert Kirkman and Brian Michael Bendis

CHARTS!

The panel lasted an hour and after that it was a dash to finish getting as many signings as I could in the last 2 hours and leave time for browsing merchandise.

The only items I bought came from Ad House Books.  I bought both of their commemorative signed and numbered prints they had for the con along with “Project: Romantic” a series of quirky, indie romantic comics done by the guys from Ad House, some of the best in the indie biz.  The book is a special edition, it’s an all-around nice package and is stamped and numbered.  It’s a first printing, published in 2006 and I have number 425.  I’m still working through it, it’s around 250 pages.  It normally costs $60 but they were selling it at the Ad House table for $15

Harley Quinn and Vixen

We finished at the convention around 5:15 and went to browse the area around the bay before leaving.  It wasraining so we didn’t feel much like exploring so we headed towards the car and got on our way.  We ended up taking the scenic route once again and took a nice tour of Baltimore before finally getting on the highway.

James and a boat...

2 New Adult Movies!

Me after a long day of comiccon

The soundtrack for the drive home.