C2E2 was a really good show this year. A lot of really great creators came. I was only there on Friday, and was able to meet up with John, which was great! Hopefully next year Drew can qualify for the press pass and be there all three days!
Here are my creator highlights:
[*]Ed McGuinness - very down to earth, casual, and willing to talk about his art, various characters, and never rushed anyone.
[*]Dave Dorman - A living legend. We spent a good chunk of time with him, talking about various projects that he has coming out this summer . . . and booking him for a signing/sketching at our shop.
[*]Otis Frampton - Simply the nicest, and most underrated creator in children's comics today. We had the pleasure of having Otis in our shop last year - I would point anyone who has 4-14 year old daughters/nieces/etc. to pick up his book Oddly Normal (trades 1 &2 are out, trade 3 comes in April). He is so nice, he prepped a 9x13 Raven for my daughter!
[*]Katie Cook - What a hoot! Just a great person, and does really neat little Con watercolor/pen art. Picked up a Raven for my 2 year old.
[*]Marguerite Bennette - So smiley, and very sweet. Didn't get much time to talk to her, but I don't think she sat down the entire day.
[*]Marguerite Sauvage - I simply said how much I enjoyed her art in DC Bombshells, and it seemed like she was about to cry with joy. She has a very thick accent, but was loving the opportunity to meet with people.
[*]Tim Seeley - What can I say - this guy is very underrated for the stuff he puts out (Revival being my favorite).
[*]Mike Norton - Another awesome local guy, who is very humble for his great work.
[*]Jae Lee - This guy had a line that could match Ed McGuinness at times. He was taking A LOT of sketch requests, and working on them all night. When I brought a book for him to sign for my wife, he asked what else she was reading, if there was a certain character she would want to see him work on, etc. Offered me a couple of suggestions of other artists for her to look at. Great guy!
[*]Art and Franco - If you don't have a kid with you, they can be a little deadpan. There was a dad in front of me, and they were animated and jovial for the kids. When I walked over to say thanks for their work, and how we love having it in our kids section, they didn't seem to be too thrilled.
[*]Steve Dillon - What a cool guy! An old time British 'bloke', as he called himself, who was having a fun time talking Punisher, Preacher, and anything you wanted to chat about. We were lucky enough to be one of 10 people to get a sketch from him on Friday. He did a great Jesse Custer that will be hanging in the shop with a NFS sign on it
Other notable stops:
[*]Valiant - these are probably the nicest publishers en masse that you can find. They want to right by the retailer and customer, and ultimately enjoy what they are doing. If you are at a show, you should do yourself a favor and stop by!
[*]CBCS - We exclusively use CBCS for our shop/customers. This was only reinforced by walking past the CGC booth and seeing 12 boxes of greasy pizza right next to a stack of Golden/Silver age books to be inventoried for grading. Eww. As a bonus, Steve Borock was at the booth talking any subject with anyone. A very unassuming and soft spoken man, who has amazing knowledge.
A great show, and the entertainment people were pretty well corralled off to the side. Highly recommend this as a kid friendly option, wide aisles, and a lot of creators. Wa a bit bummed that Rucka cancelled, but, you can't win 'em all!