Now I know I've mentioned this many times in the past, but for the two of you out there who might not already know, the Manitoba Comic Con was the first convention I've ever been to where I had a table set up to promote the site.  So in that sense I really had no idea what to expect.  Well now that the weekend has come and gone I'm thrilled to say that it was without a doubt the most fun I've ever had at con in my life.  On top of which, I found the whole thing to be a wonderful learning experience.  And so it's in that vein I present to you now not just a con report, but a few of the lessons I learned along the way.

Lesson #1: No matter how prepared you try to be, everything will done in the last minute anyway, so just embrace the chaos and move on.

As the weekend approached I tried my best to have everything ready well before the day of the con, but of course things just didn't seem to work out quite the way I had planned.  Instead I ended up staying awake till about 3 am Friday night cutting, gluing, organizing and packing various odds and ends that I needed to help me pimp the site out to the masses.  Then came the morning, and with it the realization that there were still a few other things I'd totally forgotten. Not the least of which being that my car runs much better when it has gas in it rather than just fumes.  So all in all, things turned out to be kinda hectic for those first few waking hours.

But despite all the delays and last minute running around, when it was all said and done I actually managed to make it to the con early. 'Cause in my book, when something starts at 9:00 and you show up at 8:59, you're early.  Don't let anyone tell you anything different.

Regardless of my timeliness though I kept kicking myself for not being more on the ball with my prep work.  I wasn't beating myself up for too long however, because about ten minutes into setting up my table I had already heard about half a dozen similar stories from a bunch of the other guests about how they barely managed to get their act together in time for the con as well.  Hell, in certain cases the prints that some folks had done up to sell were so fresh off the printer that they were still warm to the touch.

So you see it turns out I wasn't an unprepared procrastinator at all, I was simply an artist.

Lesson #2 : Artists will easily adapt to their surroundings with little or no complaint...especially if you give them free food.

Walking into the room where the tables were set up I immediately noticed two things.

One, that there were a lot more people showing their work than I thought there would be. 

And two, the tables we'd all been given on which to do so were about half the size that I (and seemingly everyone else) thought they'd be.  You see as it turns out when the hotel gave the organizers the floor plan for the artists room, they neglected to indicate that there were a couple of very large support pillars located smack dab in the middle of where some of the tables were supposed to be.  So between that and the fact that there were a few more people added to the bill by day of the show, artist's alley became rather...cozy.

Now for me this didn't make a whole lotta difference, because I really wasn't in need of that much room to show my work, but for some it was kind of a tight fit.  Still, everyone appeared to take it all in stride and worked with what they had.  Of course the announcement that the con would be footing the bill for everyone's drinks and meals over the next two days did a lot to lift the spirits in the room.

The only one I did feel kinda sorry for was colourist extraordinaire Laurie Smith.  It ended up that in order for poor Laurie to be set up with an area that she could do some colouring work at, they had place her right beside a drink machine (or I guess I should say the drink machine as it was the only one around).  Which I have to give her credit for, didn't seem to phase her all that much.  Besides, I think it helped to introduce a lot of very thirsty people to her work that weekend.

So yeah, a little bit more room might have been nice, but that would've required con organizer Michael Paille to turn away a few artists from being able to show their work.  And given how wonderful and eclectic the talent in that room was, I'm glad he didn't.  So in my mind he did the best he could with what he had to work with.

Lesson #3 : There are a LOT of great artists in Manitoba, and as it turns out the vast majority of them are way more talented than me...jerks!

Since I left University I haven't really had much of a chance to meet up with other artist all that much.  Well, I did pal around with a sandwich artist for a while, but he's since moved on from that career and we don't really get to see each other very often anymore.  So to have the opportunity to hang out with a room full of such creative people, all from various walks of life and each with their own distinct style and interests, was a huge treat for me.

To be honest I didn't really talk to any of the other artists all that much the first day I was there.  Partly because I was too overwhelmed by the constant stream of people walking past the tables all day (on the first day I was told that they were averaging something like 50 people entering every 10 mins, which for a con this size was just insane!).  

Also, after years of being a social hermit my ability make idle conversation with strangers has atrophied to such an extent that I have a hard time forming even a single complete sentence around folks I don't know.

In fact it wasn't really until the artist's dinner that first night when I finally seemed to remember that I had in fact mastered the power of speech quite some time ago, and thus began to use that power to get to know the people around me.  Looking back, that dinner really helped to break the ice for me, because come Sunday with the crowd a bit thinner, and the tables a bit more spaced out (a couple of the guests couldn't make it out the second day so because of that we were all blessed with a bit more elbow room) I found it much easier to chat with everyone.  

So allow me to take a moment to introduce you to some of the incredibly talented folks I had a chance to get to know a bit (in no particular order).  Oh, by the way, because I don't know ten different variations of the word "talented" and I'd hate to keep repeating the same word over and over, I'll leave out that adjective when describing these folks and just tell you right now that it really does apply to each and everyone on this list!

*cue the Mr. Rogers theme music here*

Jamie Isfeld - A digital artist who was one of my neighbors the first day of the con.  As you can see, she had this really great set up at her table which allowed her to work on her tablet while the monitor to the right showed the people walking around what she was doing.  I was also quite impressed with the fact that she must have completed at least half a dozen pieces over the course of the con.  As well, Jamie's the one who did the site design for the con, so if you're in the market for a web designer I'd check out her site and give her a shout.

Mike Valcourt - Mike is primarily a mural artist who's work can be seen all over the city.  I didn't get a chance to talk to him very much during the con, but he was a really cool guy to meet.  When he's not doing his own artwork he runs a program over at the Graffiti Gallery teaching art to others.

Nicholas Burns - On Sunday my table was moved to the other side of the room to help free up more space for the artists (Jamie swears that it had nothing to with me making a bad impression), so as fate would have it Nicholas became one of my new neighbors.  He's an amazing artist, a very funny guy, and a wonderful person to talk to.  This man has such a wide range of art experience it's insane (he's currently working within the film industry bringing life to giant lake dwelling squids). 

Jess Kindzierski (below, left) - My other neighbor for the second day of the con.  Jess has been a professional colourist since she was nineteen.  Nineteen!  She had a bunch of really great prints and watercolour work for show and sale at her table (one of which I managed to get her to set aside for me and will be acquiring very soon!).  Unfortunately you probably won't be able to check out her work for very long as she's well on her way to becoming a vet.  A loss to the world of comics there.

Holly Kindzierski (above, right) - A young artist who at the age of seventeen is launching her own line of clothing!  Do you know what I was doing at seventeen?  Not launching a line of clothing, I can tell ya that. Seriously with that kind of drive and ambition I can only imagine what she'll be doing when she gets to me my age.  But I digress.  If you have a chance be sure to check out Velvet Faerie's line of rainbow friendly clothing.

 Lovern Kindzierski - (yes, they're all related and seem to have cornered the market on artistically enhanced DNA)  Lovern is one of the guys who I was really looking forward to meeting at the con.  I didn't get to talk to him for very long, but I did manage to hear a couple of very interesting stories about some of his past experiences.  All I can say is it's now my life's ambition to be swarmed by a group of lingerie clad women in a foreign land.  If you want to see what Lovern is currently working on you can find it right HERE.

I also had the pleasure of talking with Lovern's lovely wife, Pamela, both at the dinner on Saturday and on Sunday at the con.  A really cool woman who, with any luck, we'll be seeing some artwork from in the future.

Laurie Smith - Laurie is  actually one of the few guest who I've ever met before the con.  I only wish I had more of a chance to talk to her over the weekend.  She actually had some really nice things to say about my work and colours, and coming from her I take that as a HUGE compliment!

George Freeman - Unfortunately work commitments prevented George from being there the first day of the con, and even when he was there on the second day I still couldn't work up the nerve to approach him.  Thankfully Laurie was kind enough to introduce us just as I was getting ready to go.  We talked very briefly, but it was still a real thrill for me.  Plus I also managed to give him one of my cards (yes, no matter how nervous I am I still always seem to have the presence of mind to pimp my work out to people).

Evan Quiring - A local comic book artist who's work is just brilliant!  A really nice, friendly, funny guy to talk to.  The only bad thing I could possibly say about him was that this guy does not charge anywhere near enough for the work he was doing for people at the con!  Seriously folks, grab some artwork from this guy now, 'cause I doubt you'll be able to afford it in a few years!

Clayton T. Stewart -  Now at 5' 11" I'm not a small guy.  I'm far from being what you'd call a giant, but definitely not small.  Next to Clayton however, I am a tiny, tiny little man.  He's someone who, if you didn't know him, would appear quite intimidating, but once you start talking to the guy you quickly realize that he's a very kind, approachable fellow.  Great meeting you Clayton (now where's my DVD!).

Maureen Babb (below, right)- A great person and artist with a very unique style.  Maureen is also the only reason I was able to get a table at the con, so I owe her a huge debt of gratitude!  She's currently reworking her site at the moment but if you pop over to Greek Amazon you may still be able to see some of her work.  Also be sure to keep an eye out for a webcomic that she might be doing in the future.  From what I hear she has one planned that she'll be doing solo, as well as a collaboration with her friend and fellow artist Laura Horobin (also seen below).

Lesson #4 : When doing a con report, brevity does not seem to be a weapon I possess in my writer's arsenal.

Okay, let's kick this sucker into high gear and get to a few of the key moments of the con before we all go blind from reading this much text.  Honestly folks, I really don't set off to write these epic little reports, they just sort of happen on their own...

Biggest surprise of the con...

The 2 648 people who showed up for it.  Now I know for some cons that's no big deal, but given the fact that this was the inaugural one, and taking into account the size of the venue in which it was held, damn that's a lot of people!

Biggest regret...

Not being able to work up any appetite to take advantage of the free lunch the con provided the artists with each day.  It was free food damn it!  *sigh* Sometimes I really hate the fact that my body clock is set to screwed up standard time!

Best thing to happen involving GT merchandise...

Having a women I never I met before, and who had never even heard of the site before the con, buy one of my shirts.  What made this even better was that when I saw her walk by two minutes later, she was already wearing it!

Most awkward moment...

Seeing small children flip through my portfolio only to stop at the page that had Bo in bed with a stuffed animal.  That and watching as parents would just walk by, grab one of my cards and tell their eight year old kid "Here's something you can check out when we get home."  I fully expected to have angry mothers show up on Sunday yelling at me for corrupting their precious child...

Strongest use of willpower...

Not walking into the dealers room to "browse".  'Cause for me that would sort of be like a sending a recovering drug addict into a crack house to "just take a look".

Worst thing I picked up while at the con...

This freakin' cold I'm currently suffering through!

Best con related activity that happened outside of the con...

The...

I'll have more pics of this to show once the "Pictures" section of the site is set up, but for now here are a few of the ones that didn't involve nudity.

Thanks to everyone who helped out, came out, and got me drunk.

Coolest moments...

- Running into friends and family who I haven't seen in while.  Including two University buddies that I've been out of touch with for seven years (great seeing you again Jeff and Eddie!).

- Having people come up to me who actually knew about the site already, and wanted to say hi and / or ask advice about starting a webcomic.

- Meeting someone else from Winnipeg who's been doing a webcomic since '99! If you have a sec be sure to check out Ryan Smith's Funny Farm.

- Getting the chance to meet and talk to hundreds of different people of all ages and backgrounds about just about everything under the sun (including hacking).

Favorite thing...

Being able to just hang out with a lot of other artist for the whole weekend, and make a bunch of new friends.

So there you have it folks.  This may not have been the most in-depth con report I've ever done, but it was certainly the most longwinded I think. 

And now some much deserved thanks goes to...

All my friends who helped out, or showed up at the con or "Meet and Greet" (especially Travis, Steve Corey, Sean, and Mary).  

My mother for letting me use up two full ink cartridges to get my printing done, buying me breakfast and dinner, and lending me some gas money when I was a bit short. And to my sister for lending me her camera (once again) and dropping by to say hi even though she has no interest in comics whatsoever.  

All the artists who made the con experience much more fun than I ever imagined it would be.

And of course to Michael and Violet Paille, as well as all the staff and volunteers for all the hard work they did to bring to life a truly great con-going experience!  You guys rock, and I'll see y'all next year!

Later,

-Ed

PS:  I'd also like to send an apology out to anyone I happened to forget to mention in the report.  I have a horrible memory at times, which is currently not being helped at all by the cold medicine I'm on.