Conned

What if you went to a comic book convention...and you didn't do anything?

Last year, Hawthorne High School hosted a con to raise money for their art department. It took me forever to get there, since it's not exactly off the New Jersey Turnpike. I ended up getting comics, got a few sketches, and had some fun.

So what happened today? There were three dealers. Just three. With nothing I wanted. And there wasn't anybody there I was hellbent to get a sketch from. I looked around, went out for pizza, looked around again, then left. It's no slam on the high school. I just have particular tastes, that's all. At least I took the trip.

I ended up going to a comic shop in a nearby town, since today was Free Comic Book Day. It's an annual thing...publishers great and small put out books for no charge. Since my dealer doesn't because in that (folks come in and never come back), I went to the place. It was nuts...complete with a local news crew filming stuff. I was given a chose of a few comics...in contrast to last year, when I went to the city and hit several shops. But I'm cool with it. And I only ended up getting lost a few times along the way. This is in stark contrast to last year, when I asked a worker at McDonald's what the address was, so that I could use a Net kiosk...and she kept pointing to the bathroom.

Next month looks more promising...between Wizard World Philladelphia, the MoCCA show and the Big Apple Con (with Ex Macchina creators Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris), I'll be having a busy three weeks.