C2E2: What I Bought!

So, I knocked out my general thoughts on the show as a whole over here, but I bet you're wondering what kind of crap I bought at the show, right? No? Oh.

Here it is anyways:

What I got at Quimby's

SPELLBOUND? - Oh man! I had this issue as a kid, and it was one of those things always kind of rattling around in the back of my memory until I found a copy at Quimby's!! A large format Chick Tract extreme religion comic, this book involves devil-worshipers driving some party-goers off a cliff and someone drowning in a pool at a crazy cocaine party! I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I HAD THIS AS A KID. Seriously, this is like finding a long-lost video of me in the 4th grade.

THE BROKEN CROSS - Another Chick Tract comic, this issue never belonged in my collection, but thanks to an "Also Available" ad on the back of Spellbound?, I always wanted to check this sucker out. Thankfully, there was a copy on the shelf at Quimby's and it LOOKS like some hippies pick up a hitching girl and then drug/sacrifice here for Satan. Like you do. Great Gene Colan-esque '70s art, these feel SO MUCH like a Benjamin Marra comic.

STORIES VOL. 2 BY MARTIN CENDREDA - I had no idea there was a new minicomic from Martin Cendreda! I get so used to debuts at certain shows I go to that I forget to check out the blogs of creators I like in case they have new work available. Cendreda - like dudes like Graham Annable and Jeffrey Brown - are guys I'll buy ANYTHING new from.

QUIMBY'S STICKERS - I grabbed a couple.

Convention back-issues

SPAWN #16-18 - Did you know Grant Morrison wrote 3 issues of Spawn in 1993? I didn't! Until Kiel schooled me at his apartment on Saturday night. He also told me these were the first issues to contain Greg Capullo art and that Grant invented the Anti-Spawn concept, which tickles me and seems very Grant-like for some reason. PSYCHED to read these!

SPAWN #20 - This was the issue co-starring Houdini that came out after issue #25. Or something. I'm not sure, but it was a quarter, so I grabbed it.

B.P.R.D. - I'm missing a few issues here and there, so I remembered to look for them at the show. MAYBE my favorite mainstream comic to read in chunks? Probably.

More 25-cent con comics

CAPTAIN AMERICA #373-374 - I'm making it a goal to buy all of the Cap storyline "Streets of Poison" this con season. More on this when I finish finding it all...

CLIVE BARKER'S SEDUTH - Sean swears this 3-D book is a good read, and I trust Sean. I also like Clive Barker.

JLA: SUPERPOWER - John Arcudi of B.P.R.D. and Major Bummer and The Mask and many other books I enjoy did this prestige format JLA book a few years ago!

FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND #1 - Going through my books, I realized I let somebody borrow my original issue #1 somewhere along the line and never got it back. 3-D comics!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #208 - I've slowly been collecting this 5-part "Crisis on Earth-Prime" crossover starring the JLA, Justice Society and All-Star Squadron for a couple years now, but I'm still an issue away from having it all.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #210 - I have no idea what this issue's about, but the cover says "When A World Dies Screaming!" so SHIT YES.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: CHILLIN' #1 - Look at the cover, you jealous monkey.

More 25-cent con comics

CAPTAIN AMERICA #286-288 - This Deathlok-centric run is near-and-dear in a way I'm never gonna reveal (unless I get really drunk one night and sob-y), and I found it by accident while waiting for a guy to finish flipping through a longbox. DEATHLOK.

VALOR #18 - Finally! The final issue of the "D.O.A." storyline! I've been looking so long!

JLA/CYBERFORCE #1 - Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke! I've never read a Cyberforce comic, so I hope this doesn't hurt.

JLA: 80-PAGE GIANT #2 - I grabbed this cause of the DC One Million story inside and when I got it home I realized I already own it. Still: pretty cover.

Non-quarter comics!

INVINCIBLE RETURNS #1 - Some guy was selling recent issues for a buck, and since I was planning on buying this anyways: savings!

WOLVERINE: WEAPON X #12 - Same as above. This time: More Deathlok!!!

DRAWN TO YOU - I missed all of Lucy Knisley's comics at MoCCA, so I was slobber-happy to hear from my new buddy Matthew that she was at C2E2. This was the first stuff I bought at the show and Drawn To You is her convo comic with Erika Moen.

PRETTY LITTLE BOOK - A full-color collection of Lucy's online journal comics in a neat printing style that feels "raised" like the black inks have been branded in.

MAKE YOURSELF HAPPY - ANOTHER collection of journal comics from Lucy with a positive intro explaining the title of the book. GAWD, go now and buy her stuff.

CURSED PIRATE GIRL #3 - Wandering the floor, I ran into a table for Jeremy Bastian, the creator of the GORGEOUS Cursed Pirate Girl series. Maybe it's because I had such a hard time tracking down issues #1 and #2 or maybe it's cause I thought Bastian was some hermit artist whose meticulously crafted work demanded he remain locked away in some wooden cabin on a cliff somewhere, but I never expected to ever ever meet him in person, much less chat with him for a while. Bastian's a totally nice guy just making comics I wish more people cared about. Go buy them!

UNDELETED SCENES - I totally almost forgot to grab this new Top Shelf collection of Jeffrey Brown's miscellany anthology work while I was at the show, but remembered just in the nick of time to get it AND get him to sign it. Well, Sam did for me cause I couldn't leave the booth. She's awesome.

PROCESS - Jeffrey Brown made this mini about what the process of creation is like for him and it's PROBABLY the coolest mini I own thanks to the little torn-out sketchbook pieces and notes and doodles and other ephemera he includes as one-of-a-kind extras in each packaged copy. It's a pretty genius way to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of a dude who makes some of the world's most thoughtful comics.

And then these dope pins!

A random retailer was selling these babies. Rorschach, Watchmen smiley, Black Flash, Starman, B.P.R.D., and Captain Atom can now adorn my backpack and my thumb since I suck at picking them up without stabbing myself.

And that's it! I didn't get any sketches and couldn't find any cheap toys, but I got a lotta great books. I wish I'd hit the webcomic section a little harder, but it's okay. All-in-all, I found some great deals. Can't wait for the next show's treasure hunt.

21 Reasons C2E2 Was My Favorite Big Show In A Long Time

First of all: Holy SHIT. The C2E2 show was this past weekend in downtown Chicago, and, for me, it was incredible. I saw 21 people I consider genuine friends at the thing, so in honor of them, I'm listing out the 21 things I loved about the show. Here goes, in no particular order:

1. IT WAS DOWNTOWN - I've been to Wizard World Chicago maybe 8 times in my life, and as the first show I've ever been to, it'll always hold a special place in my heart. But the thing is in Rosemont - a northern suburb - and I only ever took the 30-minute drive downtown ONCE. With C2E2 located a 5-minute cab ride from downtown proper, it meant we had more access to GREAT food, bars, ridiculous site-seeing and more.

2. FOOOOOOD - We hit so many great restaurants all weekend, I kind of can't believe I didn't gain 40 pounds at the show. We popped by the Sweet Water tavern for fried mac and cheese and a wide beer selection, Texas de Brazil for the most succulent Brazilian BBQ I've ever stuffed my face with, Portillo's for a hotdog AND an Italian beef croissant, and SOOO much more! Best con food and selection I've ever had.



3. ROCK 'N' ROLL MCDONALDS - I stumbled past the famous Wesley Willis institute one night. See above.

4. MY GIRLFRIEND ATTENDED - It feels WONDERFUL to be at a place financially in my life where I can have my girlfriend Sam visit a show with me in a new place. She flew up Saturday and we had a great time wandering the city together.


5. MIKE PERKINS - I got nothing here. Mike Perkins is just a fucking rad guy, and I can't get enough of him and his work. LOOK AT THIS RIGHT NOW.

6. PEPTO BISMOL - All the food and irregular sleep and con hours and beer did a number on my tummy. Thanks for bein' a friend, Pepto!

7. THE DC STAFF - DC Comics represented with some amazing giveaways and an awesome attitude from all the staffers working this weekend! It was great to get to spend more time outside the office with my peers, so thanks to the whole booth staff for being so cool and polite and fun alllll weekend long! I want to marry you all.

8. PIZZA PARTY - Speaking of DC people being rad, we had a "thank you" pizza party for the booth grunts at the end of the show and we all got along great, talking crap about terrific '80s films and playing with our boss's iPad. I'm kidding. He didn't let us touch it.

9. AMAZING GUESTS/EXHIBITORS/RETAILERS - What a terrific concentration of quality guests, exhibitors and retailers! C2E2 hauled in all the big mainstream publishers (DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, IDW) along with top-notch creators from each including damn-near the entire Green Lantern franchise creative team, a slew of great Marvel creators, dudes like David Finch and Mike Mignola and Guy Davis and a GIANT webcomics presence PLUS smaller publishers like Top Shelf and Avatar. And with retailers ALL OVER sporting quarter bins and 1/2-off trades from day one, not to mention recent books marked down and dollar-bins out the banana, this was a primo show for finding a deal or a book you've been searching for. I didn't hit any panels, so I can't speak to that, but MAN, what a combo of fun.



10. ARCHITECTURE - I'm not sure I've ever seen a city as beautiful as Chicago when it comes to layout and buildings. Downtown, the buildings are a mix of glass and metal next door to classical brick and mortar. Some even combine the two for a nu-classical style all while sitting right next to Lake Michigan, a sprawling city park, a serious public transit rail with its girder support-beam legs clomping down side avenues (see above), and a spread-out feel I've never seen before. The city is dripping with a character I wish I was close friends with, and that's a fact that extends out to neighborhoods like Wicker Park's East Village feel and Wrigleyville's frat-powered bar scene. I wanna live here!

11. L TRAIN - Chicago's public transit rail system is cleaner than the NYC subways and feels more safe. I took the line all the way from the airport to downtown instead of a boring cab and didn't smell pee once.



12. BILLY GOAT TAVERN AND GRILL - Located underground between the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, this bar and grill was frequented by Bill Murray and John Belushi and is the basis of a famous SNL sketch I won't go into right now. As an SNL fan, I'm psyched to have had the chance to visit it with a crew of fun friends. Read more here!

13. BOAT TOUR! - The Monday after the show ended, I stuck around with 4 friends to walk the city, so we took a boat tour of the city's skyline from the Navy Pier!

14. QUIMBY'S BOOKSTORE - I dunno when it started, but I've wanted to go to Quimby's Bookstore for an awful long time and finally got the chance this weekend. Alt/lit-minded and boasting a ton of mini-comics, the shop is located in Wicker Park, which is just a 10-minute cab ride away from downtown. There are MAYBE 5 comic shop destinations I've ever had, and this was one of them. Time to check it off my Bucket List!

15. DOUG MAHNKE ART FOR SALE - You're a psycho if you don't like Doug Mahnke's art and the guy had a BUNCH of it on sale at the show this weekend! Final Crisis, Green Lantern, JLA/Cyberforce, The Mask, Major Bummer, Lobo vs. Hitman...the guy's fucking awesome. I ALMOST grabbed a page from Frankenstein, but decided against it and now regret that. But the dealer gave me his email, so I plan on finding a piece THIS WEEK!



16. MY FRIEND KIEL - You'd be LUCKY if you had a friend like my BFF Kiel in your life. The guy (who now calls Chicago home) waited for me in a car nearby to finish a work dinner one night before driving me to a party. The next night, he took me to a local eatery to meet up with his rad girlfriend Jamie before paying for my (and several other's) train ride to his local comic shop where IDW was having a party with beer (beer in a comic shop? Dangerous for me...) before heading to his apartment where he gave us his last few beers. Then he DROVE US BACK TO THE HOTEL. i love you, Kiel.

17. DC SHIRTS - The DC staffers who work the booth all wear matching DC shirts and this year I got a Brightest Day shirt and a Reverse Flash shirt from Graphitti Designs! WOOOOOOO!

18. LAID-BACK VIBE - I dunno if it's just Chicago or the time of year or what, but the attendees were all really nice and laid-back folks who were just happy to be buying comics. Friday through Sunday felt slow and easy, but steady. I heard someone say Chicago was a blue-collar town and that's why Friday afternoon may have felt so lite - the people couldn't take the mid-day off. But that doesn't mean they weren't polite and fun and their easy-going vibe is much-appreciated!

19. FRIENDS! - I can't explain how great it was to see Dylan and Kelly, Mel!, Jeffrey, Parr and CJ, Ryan, Alejandro, Jim and Michael, Adam S., Mike, Chris, C.B., Kiel and Jamie, Kevin, Warmoth, Jonah!, Tony, Josh, Caleb, Tim, Mike D., Mike S., Eric, and Brendan. High-five, everybody!

20. NEW FRIENDS! - So, I met a bunch of my older friends around the show, but the new people I met were awesome, too! Thanks for taking the time to chat Scott, Guiseppe, Allesandro, Brian and Jill, and Michael. You guys are DOPE and it's cool to have nice people to break up the show with.

21. ALL THE GREAT CRAP I BOUGHT - I'll post another story about this soooon!

So, thanks, C2E2! If I can't fly out for you next year through work, I'll still be there on my own dime. You win.

C2E2 Is Here!

The first ever Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo--or C2E2 as the kidz call it--is currently underway in the Windy City and we're pretty darn psyched about it. Rickey and Kiel are both on site partying it up while I'm following intently from tropic New Jersey.

Just a reminder that you can follow all the C2E2 action on Comic Book Resources, Marvel.com and The Source, as news about neat stuff like Ed Brubaker & Dale Eaglesham's Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier (pictured above) and Roger Langridge & Chris Samnee's Thor: The Mighty Avenger (pictured below) is already breaking.

Have a great weekend, folks! Comics!