Well, I rolled into town late last night feeling like I had fought a heavy weight fight. I'm still hurtin a bit today. That was a brutal drive.

Anyway, on to the Convention Report.

As I am still pretty new to the convention thing, I'm logging this one in as a learning experience. Really, from the beginning before I even got there, I could tell that the stars were not going to be aligning in my favor on this one.

First off, I had so much trouble getting prints made for the convention. The one place I had come to rely on for speed, quality and price, were suddenly having problems getting my prints to look right. I finally had to go to another place which charge more and the quality was not as good as I would have liked, but they were at least coming out alot better than the ones I had. After much battling on that front, I finally got my prints ready to go the night before leaving for the convention.

Then came the Blizzard. On my drive up to Denver the next morning, Colorado got hit with a Massive snow storm. I have never seen anything like it. Visibility was non-existent. It was like driving through a cloud. I could barely make out the hood of the car. We decided to stay the night in Canyon City with my brother and then continue on in the morning, meaning I was going to be late for setting up. We got out of the car, and the whole front end was covered in a layer of ice. It looked like someone had tilted the car upright and poured wax all down the front. It was wild. I had to chip off the ice the next morning so that the wheels would turn.

So the good part about that is I got to see my brother and his family who rock very much. Well, and that I didn't flip my car and die is pretty good too.

So finally got to Denver late in the afternoon on Friday and unfortunately, lost out on primo spots. It was first come first serve for tables. So I was tucked away in the back next to the Rock Band room. Something I would come to regret later.

So we set up and got everything laid out and I prepared to get started. And nothing happened. There were tons of people, but I was brutally slow. All in all I did about 10% of business that I have done in the past. I don't know if it's the economy or if my stuff wasn't sitting well with people. I mean I can understand that. I've noticed that Anime convention goers are primarily female. And my stuff doesn't normally appeal to women. I get that. So I had done some artwork that I thought the girls would enjoy. And alot of the girls commented on those pictures, but not too many people picked up anything.

Maybe I just smelled bad.

But More likely, I need to diversify more. I thought I had enough, in style and substance, but maybe I don't. I dunno. More guys with huge Packages! I Dunno. I'll have to evaluate it more.

IF anyone who was at the convention wants to give me some feedback, I'm more than willing to hear it. Like I said, I'm pretty new to this thing and I want to make it easier and more welcome to people who come to my table. Just keep it constructive.


So later on in the con, The Rock Band competitions started up right behind me which made it really hard to talk to anyone. But I will say that some of those players kicked much ass. There was a girl a girl who was singing Tom Sawyer by Rush and she freakin nailed it. Sounded just like Geddy Lee.
That part didn't bother me too much until Sunday when I had a massive headache. When they kicked in again, I thought my head was going to explode.

So since things hadn't picked up all weekend even after I dropped my prices, I decided to pack it up and head home. I still had a long drive home and I was already not feeling great, so It was time for me to go. I rolled in late last night and probably would have slept till Wednesday had I not had to get up for work.

THE GOOD: I got to see some people that I only get to see sometimes once a year. Scott, KayCee, Liz, Andi, Isaiah... .These people always put a smile on my face. Getting to talk to new people also. I had some very nice people come stay and chat for awhile, which is one of my favorite parts of a con. I even got to meet up with Heather and Jason Martin again. I know I annoy the hell out of them, but they are just so damn cool. Saw some absolutely awesome cosplay. 2 people did the Heartless Mushrooms from Kingdom Hearts. With glowing eyes and all. Really brilliant. I can't believe I forgot my Camera.

I was kind of bummed that I didn't get to buy much myself. I make a rule that I don't go to the Dealer room until I have made enough money to afford me doing so. Kinda like a "Hey you did a good job, go treat yourself." But my friend got me a He is My Master figure to go in my office which I was very appreciative of.

I got to hang with some friends and play Punch Out all night. That was a blast.

So all in all, this was a rough one. No ones fault but my own. I feel that it was just not meant to be this time. They can't all be resounding successes. And I learned some very important lessons:

NOZ is a bad idea if you plan on going to bed anytime soon.

When it comes to a display, simple is good. Lots of scaffolding and wire crap= Bad idea. My bad everyone, I was trying something new out and it didn't work out the way I wanted.

Always pack a bottle opener.



So anyway, that was the long and short of it. To all of those people who came by and talked, hung out for a bit and let me see some of their artwork, I thank you. It's people like you that make me come out from under my rock. I appreciate it and you guys rock.

• Anime Wasabi - March 27-29, Denver, CO


• Free Comic Book Day - May 2, Lobo Anime and Comics, Albuquerque, NM


• Albuquerque Collector Con - TBD, Albuquerque, NM


• SWACE - July 31-August 2, Albuquerque, NM


• OtakuMex - TBD, Albuquerque, NM

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