Pictures from the 2013 Pittsburgh Comicon

The 2013 Pittsburgh Comicon has come and gone, and there are pictures to be seen.  The Pittsburgh show is always interesting, and this version was no different.  It's the first time I've brought out the Wagon Wheel Comics booth in quite a while.  I presented my first panel.  I got some Thing sketches!  It's something I'll have to dwell on a bit longer before I pass judgment on the event.  But for now, some images and commentary:

Friday night of the show was just about as dead as a convention of any repute could be.  It makes me wonder if the Pittsburgh Comic-Con even needs a Friday anymore.  In any case, it allowed me to stand in line for a great Barry Kitson sketch.

Kitson has worked on a number of mainstream books; I first became aware of him from his early '90s work on Adventures of Superman.  Recently, he drew a few issues of FF, which made him a prime candidate for the Thing sketchbook.  Kitson doesn't charge for sketches, but he takes such care with them that there's only the opportunity for a handful at any convention.  I began the show fourth in line, and waited five hours to get a sketch.  It was certainly worth it, but it was a big time commitment.  I'll post a nice scan of it in the coming weeks, but here's a shot of  the finished work with the relatively giant Kitson himself!

FUBAR chief Jeff McComsey and I had a panel about publishing small press comics - it seemed like a good idea especially for a small show like Pittsburgh's.  Overall, I'd say that it went very well!  There ended up being about 50 people in the room and it seemed to me that Jeff and I held everyone's interest for a little over an hour.  Plus Carmen Sandiego showed up to hear what we had to say!

Because I enjoy hearing the sound of my own voice, I filmed the panel and uploaded it to YouTube.  I'll embed the panel here on the blog soon!

There were a number of costumes to be seen at the show, especially on Sunday, when I believe you get in free if you wear one.  These guys knew how to do it.

I've seen these two ladies at the show before; in fact, one of them dressed as Quicksilver and one, I think, as the Flash the day before.  They both do good work.

This guy basically has the perfect build for an older Finn, and the beard looks just goofy enough to work.  Princess Bubblegum and BMO are great as well!

I saw this Chainsaw Vigilante costume at the previous Pittsburgh Comicon, were I was equally impressed.  I chatted with her this time around, and I mentioned that I had shown her picture to CV creator Ben Edlund at the 2012 Comic-Con in San Diego (which I did).  She was pretty thrilled to hear that.

Looks!  It's unfortunately-placed balloon animal Venom!  Oops.

Game of Thrones costumes continue to be popular.  This girl did a nice job with hers.  I have...no idea who the guys in back are supposed to be.  Gendry and Hodor?  No, that's not it.  I'm stumped.

This was a pretty elaborate concoction of the X-Men's Hank McCoy/Beast.  The mouth even moved!

Without a doubt, the best costumes I saw all weekend (I'm a little biased, but whatever) were these two - a real-life Frankenberry and Boo Berry couple!  Incredible!  We chatted for a while about the cereal and the costumes.  They were a friendly bunch, but of course that goes without saying.  The Frankenberry glasses were very well done.

The FUBAR booth bumped right up next to the Wagon Wheel Comics booth for the weekend, and it was a nice treat to get to talk with Jeff McComsey and art director Steve Becker for a few days.  They know how to set up a booth.

On Saturday, someone brought over this hand made piece of FUBAR fan art!

Jeff and Steve cranked out sketches all weekend long - this one was my favorite...zombie E.T.!

I managed to snap a picture at the FUBAR booth before the weekend ended and I packed up to leave.  It was a fun time despite some lags in attendance (which is something the convention will have to address at some point, I hope).  I was able to meet some nice people, buy a few things and get some sketches.

Now it's off to the New York Comic-Con, where I'd imagine things will be...a little bit busier.