So that was FanExpo 2012, eh?
I wouldn't say it was the best FanExpo Artist Alley experience I've had. It seems more and more the organizers are trying to squeeze artist alley out of the convention, instead of being along the back wall of the convention hall we were pressed up against one of the food courts which I guess brings some traffic in to the folks that are on that end and its a good entry place for people to hit Artist Alley but it still seems weird to me.
Table I was sharing with the incredible Leigh Young was in an area behind the CTV booth an area I've always found to be a dead zone, people tend to think that's the end of everything and turn back to the main floor. All weekend people seemed to be avoiding the row we were in, at least the people who were looking for art. It was like we had the plague! We were sitting in between a Makeup school and a horror author from Quebec. ("Hello are you into horror books? This is my first novel its a vampire novel. This is my most recent book. Its an urban fantasy time travel story. It starts in 2007 but the bulk of the book is set in 1957. It then goes back to 2007. Its got Lovecraftian elements and is also a horror story. This book is seven stories, two novellas and five short stories. They're all set in the fictional town of Bitternest ..." I heard this so many times I don't think I'll ever forget).
Somewhere behind us was a guitarist who played his guitar all weekend selling his CD.
I never need to hear that music again. Which is too bad because it had a kind of Surf sound to it which I usually like but after four days hearing the same music 6 to 8 hours a day it gets a little old.
Across the aisle there was a booth for a Canadian web series that's coming soon. Its called Scream All you Want. The video they were showing on Thursday made the show look pretty creepy. But not in a good way, it seemed to just be a loop of images alternating between young ladies sleeping and some creepy looking dude in a hoody and dark glasses standing in front of a building. They eventually switched the video so I went to talk to them about what the show is and it sounded pretty cool. Its about paranormal investigators trying to figure out whats causing as string of mysterious murders around town. I look forward to checking it out when it finally starts up.
I did get to meet John Carpenter and got him to sign a copy of my "How to spot The Thing" I did for The National Post. He seemed to enjoy reading it, but in the end he just scrawled his signature on the top of it, told me it was pretty cool and that was the end of the exchange. He really didn't seem to want to be there.
We got to catch up with our con pals Mummy's Little Monster and Ghoul Friday, as well as a couple of guys I went to school with: Mike Rooth and Dan Holst Soelberg. Found some cool art to adorn my walls. Met a few people who were fans of my work, one of whom brought a copy of the Toxie's Tromatic Tales comic I did a Toxic Crusaders Story in to get it signed. That was pretty cool.
I almost wish the convention was one day longer since things really started to pick up during the last couple hours on Sunday.
In the end I have to say it wasn't all bad. I mean how could it be I got to dress up as a Ghostbuster and strap-on a Proton-pack and pose in front of a giant Vigo the Carpathian painting.
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| I've been possessed by Vigo! |
Yeah I'm a big nerd.
I've got a few prints left which I'll be selling on-line and at the next convention I go to. If you're interested in picking up any of the Girls and Monsters series or the Repo-man pics drop me a line they're $25 each or 2 for $40 or the full sets for $60 including shipping.
I'll probably be opening an Etsy shop soon too to offer up some prints and art books, I'll let you know when that is.
