Ottawa Comiccon has come to a close today and what a convention it was (for me at least). This one had a heavy Joss Whedon feel to it with the likes of Nathan Fillion, Jewel Staite, James Marsters, Nicholas Brendon, and Felicia Day attending among others (not to mention Summer Glau who ended up cancelling at the last minute due to a passport issue, it happens but she was missed by all). But it also had a much better comic book/artist alley line up compared to last year with the likes of Chris Claremont, Neal Adams, Dale Keown, Richard Starkings, and George Perez coming out. So all in all, I had high hopes for this weekend and I really wasn't disappointed other than Herb Trimpe failing to attend again this year (not sure why).
With a slightly smaller crowd, Friday was a good day for me to knock off quite a few things. Like signing up for a commission from Dale Keown, dropping by Richard Starkings' table to get the Elephantmen print signed and talk comics with him (he's great with his fans by the way), buy a Chewbacca bathrobe (which is awesome), grabbing autographs from Jewel Staite, Felicia Day, and Nicholas Brendon, and a photo with Jewel.
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| Chewie! |
Day two was so much more hectic on the floor but fortunately for me, I had a "VIP" pass that helped get me into the Nathan Fillion/Jewel Staite panel as well as the Felicia Day panel, along with front line access to Nathan Fillion's autograph and photo and the Wil Wheaton/Felicia Day photo. Then there was the Nicholas Brendon panel. Then I picked up my sketch from Dale Keown (an incredibly awesome Abomination drawing). And at some point (the day is a bit of a blur) I grabbed a sketch from Pia Guerra (who, in my humble opinion, should charge much more for her sketches).
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| Pia Guerra's Yorick and Ampersand |
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| Dale Keown's Abomination |
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Day three was a bit easier on me. To start, I had the Nathan Fillion panel (the VIP pass helped yet again) and that panel became Nathan and Jewel part 2 (which was awesome again). Then it was shopping (grabbed a page from the Hulk/Pitt one shot from Dale Keown) and just seeing what I might have missed the first two days. My brother, Brent, decided to grab a George Perez Thor sketch and to be honest, I'll probably regret not getting one myself once I'm awake enough to really think about it. But at that point, I just couldn't bring myself to stand in another line. Then I screwed up. I asked Mike Rooth if I could buy a coaster with a Hulk sketch on it but with everything going on, my tiredness, and needing to make sure I had Mother's Day covered I completely forgot to go back and get it. I feel absolutely horrible about that and I'm hoping I can get in touch with him via Twitter so I can make amends at Fan Expo Canada or some other convention.
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| George Perez sketching Thor for Brent |
So, all in all it was a great time for me but I am completely exhausted. One nice thing about it being in Ottawa is I get to meet up with local friends there. Friends who don't make the trip to Fan Expo Canada. And getting to see how happy they are to meet Nathan Fillion or Gillian Anderson, or just sit in on a Nicholas Brendon or James Marsters Q&A panel makes a convention so much better for me. I think the best thing about comic conventions for me is just seeing the joy you see in people when they meet their idols, whether it's an actor, a writer, an artist, or whatever else. That feeling just seems infectious (almost as infectious as the "con flu" that I'm bound to get) but seeing it in your friends' faces just amps it up a bit. So thank you to the organizers, the volunteers, exhibitors, guests, anyone else I haven't covered, and my friends/family including Brent, Carl, Michelle, Meaghan, Amy, and Sean, for making this convention so incredibly awesome. See ya next year!
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