KC ZineCon 2

I hope that whatever future venues may hold this show, still allow for this window signage to be done. I found myself unconsciously looking for this from last year's show.

KC ZineCon 2 came back in a big way by first switching to a new venue at Pierson Auditorium over at UMKC, and then upping the ante by having a lot more tables filled with a huge variety of creators. If you are a new reader to my blog, and you're interested in the inaugural year of this show, you can check out my blog post and podcast take on it here.

It was really a nice layout, and when I saw all the tables, excitement really overcame me.

The show went pretty well for me. The first few hours of the show had a bit of a lull for me, but right after the 3rd or 4th hour, the room started to fill up with attendees and I managed to almost lose my voice before the end of the day.

I was nervous because I had just put out copies of my first zine, "In the Hearts of Gods and Monsters" and was not sure how well it was going to go over. Turns out, I should have brought more of them, as I traded/sold out of the copies I had on hand. So far, I've gotten great and enthusiastic feedback from the people that have read it. I will have the rest of the first edition run up on my online site and available for sale at future shows as well.

Kept 20 minute timeframes when I was working on sketches during the show.

I only managed to get photos of a few people that had bought some of my work, but I want to extend a giant thank you to all that did stop by, talk, trade and support me by buying my art and writing.

Thank you all!

I had a few people ask about the 50 run edition of my first zine, and yes, the first five issues of it do not have the "/50" edition printed in it, instead those have the edition numbers written in with my signature next to it. All the later ones have it printed in there. This was an oversight on my part, but yes, there will only be 50 copies of this issue.  

My writing style was compared to the narrative writing styling of Anthony Bourdain. That was one of the best compliments I've ever gotten.

I have already started compiling and writing the follow-up to it, "In the Eyes of Gods and Monsters" which should be completed at the latest by the end of the year.

I really wish I could have gotten around to the rest of the tables this year.

Of course, nevermind advertising my own creations, I had to pimp out ICWXP and the forthcoming indie comic show FreeState Comicon out in Lawrence. Thanks to those of you that hung out and watched part of the ICWXP clip and listened to my pitch on the show. You can't go wrong if you love movies, games, robots, puppets, and zombie themed shows. Rikk Wolf always has some kick ass projects in the works, so check out the series!

Those of you that didn't get a chance to catch Craig Klotz while he was visiting KC ZineCon or didn't pick up a flyer for FreeState, check out the site here, and get out to the show to support other great local creators!

Aren't you glad that not only my blog post is somewhat entertaining, but I also bring you cool pop culture things to fill your day with?

So what kinds of cool things did I get from the show you all might be asking? Well, I traded for some great stuff from some creators at the show...

What you see are creations from Frank Miles (Minicomic, Zine "Allow Oui", and alt gretting card), Jerry Ponzer ("Don't Leave Me #2 Zine"), and my dear friend Julia Arredondo's great "Student Debt be Gone" prayer candle.

I have a lot of Julia's works, and you need to check out just how much awesome stuff she is pushing out of Vice Versa Press! Frank's zine was a round of  hilarious observational humor that reminded me of the kind of humor that Mitch Hedberg did in his career. "Don't Leave Me #2" is wonderfully odd with smart humor and makes you think and interact, with science, story, and a crossword puzzle.

If you'd like to listen to the new podcast I just did on this show, just click below!


Until next time, support your local artists, be kind to your fellow beings, and always take the path less traveled!

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue
Illustrator, Podcaster, Writer, Toy Collector, and Animal Rights Activist

www.theartisanrogue.com