My Artists Alley loot pile, plus a few freebies, a Fallout tin sign, and a back issue Anne really, really, really wanted.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
My wife Anne and I just got home from the latest edition of the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition (“C2E2″), a three-day extravaganza of comic books, actors, creators, toys, props, publishers, freebies, Funko Pops, anime we don’t recognize, and walking and walking and walking and walking. We were undecided for months because this year it was scheduled the same weekend as one of our hometown shows, Indy Pop Con. Ultimately Chicago lured us back…
…not just with actors, but with their promise of comics! Lots and lots of funnybooks and graphic storytelling narratives for all ages, temperaments, and cliques. C2E2 consistently has the best Artists Alley of all the cons we attend regularly. Though the pandemic reduced their ranks a tad even for a while after the vaccines came around, this year’s lineup felt like its strongest in years. The Windy City once again welcomed hundreds of creators to the festivities — a mix of returnees and new faces, pros and wannabes, purveyors of handicrafts and sellers of reading matter. Longtime MCC readers know the latter is always my primary objective. It’d been a while since my last major book-spree. I’d missed the splurging.
Admittedly I didn’t miss the maddeningly random aisle widths. Some aisles were so wide, they could’ve hosted cosplay group meetups or entire proms in them. Other aisles were uncomfortably thin, forcing everyone shoulder-to-shoulder and suffering total blockage whenever shoppers paused at tables on both sides at the same time. I would’ve bought still more goods if the Saturday afternoon crowds hadn’t been so overwhelming. Once you entered some of those tighter passageways, you had to keep flowing with the traffic or risk getting crushed if you dared stop to browse.
Physical logistics notwithstanding, we made two full passes through the entire Alley, one per day. kudos to the following talents whose wares caught my eye, lured me in, and enticed my monies away in the name of art patronage. Links to their official presences are plugged where available.
Jesse Lonergan! My local comic shop recommended his past works to me, and I’m loving his new BOOM! Studios series Man’s Best (written by Pornsak Pichetshote). #2 just hit stores this week! You aren’t too late to check it out.
Warren Montgomery! I braked for his cover to a Bass Reeves prose anthology.
Winston Gambro! Among his works was a Bioshock ashcan that captured Rapture’s steampunk-Atlantis aesthetic.
Morgan Beem! Artist of the DC YA book Swamp Thing: Twin Branches (written by Maggie Stiefvater). From there we digressed into agreeing on the awesomeness of Ram V.
Eisner Award Winner Derek Kirk Kim! He was still trying to set up his table when I showed up to buy the first two issues of his beautiful new Image Comics project The Last Mermaid.
Once again, Ryan Dunlavey! Yes, I’ve met him before and gushed in past entries about such books as Action Philosophers and Action Presidents, so I needed another fix.
Mel Valentine Vargas! Artist of Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass (written by Meg Medina), a high-school-set graphic novel that delves into themes of bullying and colorism, among others.
Anthony Stokes and Pat Shand! Each has done quite well with their respective Kickstarter projects. The books at the table were largely Shand’s, including a fun Cthulhu riff, apropos of our occasional Family Game Night forays into the Eldritch Horror board game.
Mark Sable! A writer and professor whose works appeared at Marvel, DC, Image, BOOM!, and other publishers throughout the 2000s.
Christopher Jones! A frequent artist for the comics versions of DC’s animated series (Young Justice, The Batman Strikes!), he’s also worked on Doctor Who (alongside the avowed Whovian Dan Slott), and he once Liked one of my tweets several years ago, which I didn’t mention because that’s kind of a stupid thing for my brain to retain.
Arielle Jovellanos! She’s worked for all the major publishers and brought her latest OGN for DC, Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story (written by Saran Kuhn), which is actually not the first Lois Lane YA book I’ve ever bought.
Like I said, I wish I could’ve kept on buying, but I did what I could within the time frames and breathing room allotted.
To be concluded! Other chapters in this very special miniseries:
Part 1: Friday Cosplay!
Part 2: Saturday Cosplay!
Part 3: Actors!
Part 5: And the Rest!
Midlife Crisis Crossover! 