Pictures from the 2016 Comic-Con International, part 6: Sunday (Thing sketchbook, Adult Swim...and the aftermath!)

Hey! It's the last batch of Comic-Con pictures...until I go to the New York Comic Con in less than two weeks! Here are pictures from the final day of Comic-Con 2016 in San Diego.

My Thing sketchbook had two empty pages in it before this convention. Chris Burnham filled up the very last page on Sunday. There are a few little things I'd like to do with the book before I officially lock it up in a vault somewhere, but this is, I feel, some kind of milestone in my life (right?). You'll notice that Batman and X-Men artist Burnham has a Pac Man lanyard on...we also had a nice chat about old video games. It turns out that Burnham once owned a arcade cabinet himself.

I'm extra excited to bring these two things home with me - signed and sketched comics from both Matt Groening and Sergio Aragones! 

I never take enough pictures of the floor. It's hard to get an idea of the scope of this convention even when you're there, let along from an image. But here's this, stretching out as far as the eye can see.

Todd Nauck is a great guy who is kind enough to acknowledge my presence every year when I walk up and bother him at a show. Todd has worked on pretty much every major mainstream character. It's pretty impressive.

The Sideshow booth is always mind-alteringly awesome. Check out this TMNT statue set based on the original movies.

Wanna grab a Star Trek uniform? It's possible.

Due to my foolishly-acquired sunburn (and other reasons), I didn't do much outside of the convention center this year. But on Sunday I decided that I would finally give the Adult Swim on the Green offsite a try. The lines were incredibly long - you'd have to wait a few hours to get one of their screen-printed shirts (I passed).

But I did stop at Meatwad's Dome, which had a new, and very trippy, show this year.

The costumes were impressive every day of the show. It didn't slow down on Sunday.

I ran into Ally Cat, a great artist and a cool gal, at her booth which was situated right by one of the snack bars. They're trying to fit as many booths into the convention center. I guess some of them eventually have to be next to the nachos.

And here's Eric Esquivel, a writer who's comin' up in the world. He just announced that he'll be writing a story in this year's DC Christmas special.

There were a lot of Star Trek costumes at the show this year. These Borg looked great!

I managed to grab a quick picture with Griffin Newman, Arthur on the (greenlit!) Amazon "Tick" series, before he went back behind the New England Comics booth to do another round of signings.

DC's New Super-Man title had only just launched at this point, but here's a really great costume from the last day of the show.

The NEC booth was pretty busy on the last three days of the show. Ben and Griffin signed for hours. It was great to see the enthusiasm fans had for the character. It's funny to see copies of the SDCC exclusive comic pop up on eBay every so often with their signatures on it.

Our last cosplay for the show is a fun one - the Guardians of the Galaxy family, complete with a potted Groot!

One more before the show ends.

I'm always surprised at how quickly the convention clears out when 5:00 rolls around. People are ready to go, I guess. I have to believe that someday soon, they'll extend the hours until 6:00, or at least have panels that go on after the convention closes. It's a taxing show, but everyone seems to have a good time.

This is about the time that I scour around for empty boxes to send stuff home in.

Might as well wrap up some creators for the offseason. It keeps 'em fresh.

Riding a bike on the show floor? There are no rules!!

And thus ends my Comic-Con adventure for 2016. Planning has already begun for next year's show! But thankfully, I had a least a few days to rest up. I stayed in the area for a few days and made a trip to San Diego's Cat Cafe once again.

I then hit up a local state park, where I activated my lobster powers.

And then, at the top of the mountain...

After San Diego, I went out to Los Angeles for a few days, where I was pretty blown away by the exhibits at The Getty Museum. This is absolutely a must see if you're in the area.

It's really impressive.

I ended the trip by stopping by the Santa Monica pier.

There. I went in the ocean.

Until next time, Comic-Con.

Pictures from the 2015 Comic-Con International, part 6: Sunday (Sergio Aragones, IDW signing and more!)

Sunday! The last day of Comic-Con. This day seemed a bit quieter than in years past, when there is usually more sprinting down the aisles, trying to buy something at the last minute. This year it seemed like a normal day, as if there would be another day to browse on Monday (maybe at some point there will be). I found that I took fewer pictures on this day as I eased out of Comic-Con mode.

How did I miss seeing this Hulkbuster Iron Man display until Sunday? 

I often marvel at seeing movie-quality outfits like these Star Trek uniforms. But then I wonder what someone would do if he or she would buy one. Would you wear these things out, to a party, maybe? What if you spilled ranch dressing on it? I bet you can't just toss it in the washer afterwards.

What a thrill it was to finally meet comic legend Sergio Aragones. Aragones is probably best known for his work on MAD Magazine, which he has been a part of since it's inception (and he's still going strong!).

Lookit this Frankenberry merchandise! I wonder if that metallic pink skull is part of the lot.

Here's some good Thor villain cosplay. The Enchantress and the Executioner!

DC had costumes from the upcoming Superman vs. Batman movie out on display. I hear that Cavill and Affleck showed up for a little while, though I never saw it for myself.

In the middle of the day, I went outside to visit the Adult Swim area one last time. I cashed in all of my carnival tickets for a Rick and Morty plush. Near the exit, they had an Aqua Teen Hunger Force memorial wall set up to commemorate the show's final season.

Everything is great with these (Extreme) Ghostbusters costumes, but I'm most impressed with the hair.

Toward the end of the day, I had a chance to sit down at the IDW booth for an Imaginary Drugs signing with Ally Cat, Eric Esquivel and Alexis Ziritt, all of whom are probably more awesome than I am. But, as we can see here, I'm the only one who wore an Imaginary Drugs shirt to the signing. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. It was a fun time and HEY, I got to sit behind the IDW booth for a whole hour and no one kicked me out. Awesome!

I wish I had a better picture of this. I have no idea what this lady is supposed to be, but wow, it was impressive.

And then, all that was left was the waiting. I went back to the small press section, and pretty soon...

...the show ended. And Comic-Con 2015 was a wrap!

BUT WAIT! There's one more batch of pictures to come. And then I can rest easy. Yes.

Comic-Con exclusive Tick! IDW signing! Happenings!

So guess what I've spent the last month doing?  Trying to prepare for the San Diego Comic-Con that's coming up in just over a week.  How am I doing?  Okay, I guess...but boy, I've got lots more to catch up on.  We'll see how it goes.  In the meantime, let me announce two very cool items of news!

ITEM 1: There'll be a brand new issue of The Tick out at Comic-Con from Duane Redhead and me.  This issue is exclusive to Comic-Con and features two covers and a pinup section with art by Gabe Crate, Kerri Parker, Bob Polio and (get this) Ben Edlund!  I'm really looking forward to seeing this issue in print.  It'll be available at the New England Comics booth.

I'm also suuuuuper excited that this issue will come with the first ever Tick blank sketch cover!  This is what it'll look like.  The Comic-Con logo on these images has "2014" stamped on it, but that's just a placeholder - the actual books will have the correct date on 'em.

ITEM 2: I managed to talk my way into a signing for Imaginary Drugs at the IDW booth on Sunday from 3:00-4:00!  This is a big deal as IDW has one of the most prominent booths at the show.  Joining me at the signing will be Eric Esquivel, Ally Cat and Alexis Ziritt!

As always, if you are going to the show, stop by and say hello!  If not, rest assured that I will post an overabundance of pictures after everything is said and done.

Back to work for me.