KCCC 2017

Ben and Cristin make me one cheerful guy at these shows. I think we might all be House Slytherin...

KCCC, the show that came out of nowhere some years back to offer another comic show opportunity for Kansas City, and although it emerged once again this year, I wonder what it has in store for 2018.

If I'm sounding a bit reserved, or perhaps negative, bear with me, it's far more than just end of the year doldrums and after comic show blues. You can read more about past KCCC shows on my site, and over the course of the time the show has been put on, it felt like it had a powerhouse start, that has slid into a weird zone of existence in the comic show arena in this region.

First and foremost, there were more than a few booths that really made me wish that a jury process akin to what NakaKon or C2E2 utilize, was in place. It's not because I tend to want to have people give half a care about the items they create, or the branding they have, or the overall booth presentation, but it sure as hell would help.

The show presentation seemed off from a few standpoints to me this year. I can't put my finger on it, and I have some issues, that at first I had added to this update, but decided to go back and take out. Mainly because it doesn't do any good to focus on the negative, but also because no one wants to read me be judgemental or pissy about some show issues. :D

(Left) A few more upgrades to the booth are coming next year. (Right) Nicole as Wonder Woman.

Attendance seemed alright, considering there was another comic show going on in Witchita, Kansas at the same time, Air Capital Comicon. Nevermind, that the bigger show Planet is looming in less than a three month window, so that had to cast a shadow across the attendance.

(Left and Right) Thanks for liking my stuff enough to buy it guys! (Center) The tiniest most excitable Wonder Woman at the show. I had to take 5 photos of her, and this was the most clear one.

So some of you may be wondering how I came about to doing this show, since I had previously had it on my website schedule that I was not doing it.

I'm just as surprised as you all were. In a nutshell, it goes like this. From what I understood, KCCC had announced they were coming back for 2017 after the end of the show in 2016. So I had emailed them early in 2017 about whether or not local comic creators would have free tables given to them.

Months go by, income on my part isn't allowing me to invest in another show in 2017, even if it's local, so I had focused on getting ready to do next year. Then out of the blue, on the Monday prior to the show, I get an email with the floor plan, and my name on the artist list.

I'm notorious for planning my schedule, and wanting to know what I need for shows as far as stuff to sell, and what I need to create. I didn't want to pass up the show, because as you all can guess, I didn't pay anything for my table. But as I came to find out, many others DID.

A great Edwardian era looking cosplay, Rogue cosplay, the now owner of my last repro of Iron Patriot, and another great cosplay I did not know the character though.  Anyone know?

I think only three of my other co-creators knew that my booth had been free. I kept it on the downlow until I could figure out who/how/what/why I ended up with a table, when I hadn't remembered any money exchanging hands nor any other emails.

(Left) A Hermione cosplay with parents. (Right) Super kick ass Cyclops and Rogue cosplays.

I know that some management shakeups have happened with the show, and at one point, this show was initially focused on the comics and creators side. At least that is what I believe the genesis of the show idea was.

There were a fair few good creators, authors, and others that were plying truly original and handmade elements and items. But there were just as many that made me scratch my head.

Back towards the end of the show, the empty tables started coming to life with quick sketches from the surrounding artists contributing to an impromptu mural.

I won't go into some of the details, I may someday, but again, I will focus on one thing that helped make my weekend, I finally got to meet Kevin Smith briefly, and had a chance to thank him for being an inspiration on my early want to do any kind of film making.

My brother was cool enough to get us passes to the Kevin Smith podcast/panel. (Lower Right) His autograph on my show badge.

The podcast that he helmed was pretty funny, and the subjects ranged all over the place, even though I think the original idea was to talk about Batman.

Sunday was extremely slow. You can't tell from the look on my face, but there was live wrestling happening behind me at this point. In a ring. Like real wrestling. Not like two creators got into a wrestling fight over fan art issues.

Overall, KCCC was not remotely a success on my part, but again, I didn't pay for a table, so I was just out fuel and some incidental costs. 

I will say that my show was made by reconnecting with an old school friend, and seeing so many of my fellow co-creators and friends. In the end, it was very much all about that for me. 

Shortly after doing the show, I did start seeing news about Wizard World possibly not continuing with shows into 2019, along with some weird rumors about Planet possibly being shopped around/sold off. I think the latter falls into the rumor rather strongly as I can't see Chris Jackson selling it off.

One subject that once again reared it's head in a lot of conversations I had was the one of, have we just entered the oversaturation of shows point?

Over the course of this year, I've seen a growing proliferation of odd changes to the comic book show circuit to the point of not even being able to say that the word "comic" should even be part of the names.

I guess we'll all see how 2018 shapes up for attendees, show organizers, and the vendors/creators/art resellers that vie for space and money to participate in what are essentially mostly pop culture shows.

Thankfully, there are some stalwart hold outs to the comics and collector side like our own FreeState/FanCons, DINK out in Denver, APE, and even to an extent some zine shows. I want to see more young and innovative creators be in the ranks of artist alley, and for people to discover them. I want more shows to pay attention to the creative individuals, and less on the money rolling in. I get it, we all want to make money. But there should be some integrity hand in hand with each dollar bill.

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, Voice Actor, Writer, Animal Rights Activist

www.theartisanrogue.com

Passenger on the train of thought.

New price tags I was cutting about a week before KCCC. Slowly but steadily upgrading my presentation space at shows.

It's been just at a month since my last update, and I've got KC Zine Con coming up the weekend after this one. To say the last few weeks have been trying and at times just deplorable, would be an understatement. But you know what? That's alright, without the bad times, we can't appreciate the good things in life. They say that life is a rollercoaster, but I believe that life is more a bunch of rides we ride. Some make us sick, some are amazing, and the walks in between them are everything in between.

I got a chance to go to a museum that had a great exhibit on the brain and how we use it.

Couple of good things did come of it all though, I mean, you've always got to look for the bright side of things? If you start off the day saying it's going to be bad, then you've already set the stage for a bad day.

One reason I was bummed was an old staple of my hometown, Hastings, is shutting down.

Progress on personal projects has been somewhat slow in coming, as my attention has been focused on reworking my business model for everything from what kind of art I am making, to just revisiting presentation, creation of new works, and even writing and production of future videos and podcast (which once again are on a temporary sideline until I can get another video card put in this machine). Yeah, I know, and it's weird using this computer without a video card on it. I can watch stuff like YouTube and Vimeo of course, but editing and working with my own video software just isn't going to happen without some sort of new card in place soon. I'm looking into Radeon cards now after speaking with the kick ass Matt over at B-Squared Computers (who works on my rig even knowing how hard I am on it).

You might have also noticed a Dreamstime link over on the right hand column now (if you're looking at this on a mobile device you may not see it), that takes you to my photography account there. You can find a steadily increasing amount of stock photography I am selling through the site.

Some of good things that have come along well though include my first Zine publication that I am debuting at KC Zinecon, that chronicles a handful of stories about incidents and happenings I went through as a security guard for two bars over a span of fifteen years. This is the cover in progress below. I'm currently doing some last minute proofing and getting some copies ready for Patreon members that are supporting me (they get a free copy of it for being cool enough to help me as a working artist). You can check out the cover preview here on Patreon (the post is for all to see).

So you're probably wondering where my update from KCCC is. There was a video effort that I had made, but between technical issues, and the show being very slow overall, I decided to do something a bit different with the footage I do have from it, so that will be coming hopefully by the end of this month. I was actually pretty excited as I'd had a new microphone setup in my truck and installed a booth camera to record time-lapse moments of the show. Hopefully, I can still salvage the idea, even in lieu of the show having been not as good as last year's outing for me.

(Left) The new booth camera setup for time lapse footage. (Right) My wall of art.

All that aside, I will share some of the photos I took from the show below

Many thanks to Gary and Aaron for picking up some originals at the show!

I think this WW2 cosplay was my favorite of the show. (Right) Lady Thor and Lady Loki were also great.

I did have more photos, but I hope to have those added later. I was pretty absent from my booth during the show, so I do apologize to people I missed that came by to visit.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not sure if it was because shows earlier in the year had hit wallets harder, or because of it being an election year (that usually helps kill spending because people get worried), but this year's show was nowhere near the level of last year for me. The show was still good from a catching up and seeing old friends and meeting new ones level, but man, it was enough that it had me rethinking how to approach next year.

Numbers I've heard were around 10,000 or so attendees. I'm not sure I saw even a percentage of that around where I was, and I had a camera running to show traffic patterns on both sides of my booth, and when I had looked at them, I didn't ever see that amount. Far from scientific, but maybe it was the floor layout, or something, but the show seemed off this year. 

Now to be fair, a lot of this is just my own take on the show. I try to be fair in my assessment and take on the shows I do. Even one of my all time favorites to do, SFAL had one year that was not as great as the others, but it rebounded in a most excellent way. Let's hope some of the stuff I've heard about Wizard looking to buy the show or any of the other rumors are simply that. Rumors. KCCC has the chance to become something akin to Alternative Press Expo or even C2E2 if it played it's cards right. 

But something I have been wary of, and wondered aloud in conversation with more than a few people that weekend...

Has the pop culture bubble began to deflate? I mean, let's be honest. And this is directed at the people who were attending comic cons prior to the MCU movies, before Disney bought Star Wars, before the CW network became DC's saviour, before Pop Vinyls oversaturated Hot Topics.

Have you all noticed a proliferation, an increase in interest, that hasn't always been for the better?

This is not the first time this has happened. Think back to the days after Return of the Jedi ended it's theatre run, and the concept of Saturday Morning Cartoons became obsolete. There were dark years when all this geek stuff was considered to not be cool, or was so fringe it wasn't funny. I have memories of of celebrating a gaming or comic shop opening up because those were safe spaces, gaming and upcoming fantasy or sci-fi news was found out in magazines, and later on a few fledgling websites towards the early 90's.

Geekdom/Nerdiness of course came back into the forefront when a lot of us, myself included got older, started having money to spend, and a desire to see old characters and series come to life again. But it's mainstream now. It's been that way really since Big Bang Theory hit the airwaves and gave your average joe a look at the worlds we knew and existed in.  Sorta.

I hear more and more how people have so so much stuff. Stuff they've bought, traded for, looked for. Walls covered in art and posters. Shelves crammed with statues, toys, games, props,... you name it. Even for someone like myself, I have really cut down on my collecting and have started to let go of many things, and plan to let go of even more.

At the same time we live in an amazing time where we have seen the Avengers come to life onscreen, more superhero movies than we can shake a stick at, incredible video games, a resurgence of sci fi in myriad ways, and so much more,... but are we reaching a critical burnout zone? I mean I see it in artist alley a lot of times. I've spoken to vendors that have a hell of a time moving stuff that a few years ago was not as hard to move, because more collectors means more sellers. It also means companies like Funko are pumping out collectable figures at insane rates. Very little of it will ever be rare, because there is an awareness to the aspect of what people will pay for it on the secondary market, and companies don't want to lose any of that income.

Hell, even YouTube is seeing a proliferation of this sort of thing. There are people, both men and women, creating "content" and portraying characters/personalities that are riding this whole geek wave until it goes out of style. I see fantastic original work go unnoticed in lieu of some really terrible popular stuff. 

I'm not complaining. I'm really not. I appreciate it all, I do, but I also lived through the first video game collapse, as well as through the score of years where identifying as a geek or nerd got you picked on or beat up, at the very least made fun of. Sometimes, I miss those bygone endless summers when days like today, were just a pipe dream.

I used to love retreating into my comics and books, exploring worlds in games both on table top and on consoles, and comic shops were the social hubs that kept us connected to each other and to the hobbies and character stories we loved.

Meh, I can feel myself getting older. I like it. I see change in how I look at life. Thankfully most of it is still for the positive. But as a working artist at comic cons, I wonder what the next ten years hold for us all.

Maybe some of it is because I'm seeing a lot of the same stuff over and over again, whether it's comics or cosplay, or artwork to movies. I just can't shake this feeling that another slump is almost upon us. When it happens, shows will shrink or shut down, fandoms will either evolve or go dormant for a while, and the creators and supporters that still love the stuff because it's in their DNA, will keep it all alive.

I never think that's a bad thing. Maybe some of it is because I flip through my old D&D Monster Manual a bit too often, lingering over the very simple artwork, placing my mind back in a day when you could not go to TeeFury or ThinkGeek or anything like that and have access to literally millions of incarnations of artwork and items of things you loved as movies.

Again, I am a realist as much as I am a dreamer. I for instance love that Funko's ReAction line is honoring the original concepts for the line of toys that had been worked on for the Dark Crystal, and now I was able to go to ToysRUs and pick up Jen and the Landstrider set for just a bit over $20. That move came out in the 80's, and a company no doubt filled with fans of that movie, understood that it had garnered a following and now they've set a new collection in motion for us to buy and collect. Things like that? Amazing and wonderful. 

Speaking of pop culture, I did get a nice surprise from a follower of mine that sent me a cool addition for my studio space in the making. Check it out...

That's an old school bit of memory lane there huh? And it works like a charm!

He felt bad because he could not support me on Patreon, so he got me this kick ass radio. A big shout out and thanks to Jacob Martinez for this. Seriously man, I appreciate it! It's going on my desk when the studio is done!

Till next time, keep aiming for your dreams, never let anything stop you, be kind to your fellow beings, and support the artists you love!

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

www.theartisanrogue.com

A public service announcement of new Doritos flavor like announcement levels!

Yeah, that's right. I'm setting up shop, on the corner of 822.

Gonna flex, show my might, gonna bring legit art to roll on you.

I'm going to lay down some mad rhymes, on this funky fresh update.

And then disappear like Nixon's eighteen minutes of incriminating tape.

You want art, you want to see a mad visual flow?

Then 822 is the booth you want at the KCCC show.

I'll make you react to the abstract, and massage your eyes.

With colors so delicious, you'd think I painted with french fries.

I'm no rapper, yeah, I'll admit it, and shout it out loud.

But I'm a funny talkative artist, who stands out in the crowd.

See you all at KCCC!

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

www.theartisanrogue.com

SFAL leaves on the the first day of fall.

*sigh*

So today, this was announced.

"We don't talk too much about all the behind-the-scenes stuff in organizing SFAL, but there were a lot of challenges and this year's show was particularly difficult. It's really a matter of available dates and venues and it has become increasingly hard in KC to get exhibit space at the same time a theater is available and there are enough hotel rooms for exhibitors and attendees. This year we were forced to change our exhibit space AND our dates, which put us opposite the city's long-running ConQuesT in the same hotel; they were gracious and we worked well together, but we felt like we were intruding on their territory, so to speak.

Spring has always been surprisingly crowded for events downtown—we've never been able to rent the Music Hall, for example, for the awards ceremony because it's booked solid with recitals and graduations in May—and with the pending construction of the Hyatt and the completion of the street cars, more and more conventions have been squeezing our dates. The addition of the KCComicon to the city in August along with the annual anime and horror cons—not to mention the World SF Convention in 2016—have made for a crowded genre landscape.

When we learned just before SFAL4 that the organizer of the local Planet Comicon had decided on the sly to move his 2016 show dates from March and secured our traditional dates for the convention center in May, the decision was sort of made for us. Competing for essentially much of the same audience in the same narrow time frame doesn't make any sense: moving to March in THEIR original spot wasn't an option for us because of a lack of hotel rooms (the Big 12 Basketball Tournement happens at that time; it didn't affect the comicon because they draw very few overnight attendees whereas SFAL accounts for over 1000 hotel room nights). Moving to Fall in KC would have brought higher rental prices for a theater and fewer date options (the convention center is a busy place). Because of Planet Comicon's tactic, the negative financial impact on the city, downtown hotels, restaurants, and businesses will be significant, but…that's the way things are."
(Fenners quoted from Facebook entry, 9/23/2015)

Kansas City at one point and time or another, has always had a myriad number of shows, both big and small, with both niche and mass appeal, that wove into each other here and there, only on occasion tripping over each other. Right about the time I really got into doing shows some seven or eight years back, the first rumblings of growth started coming through. Some might say it was also hand in hand with the rise of the popularity of shows like Mythbusters and Big Bang Theory that started the now current nerd/geek culture craze and brought a lot of casual fans along for the ride. It's no coincidence that the rise of Marvel blockbusters, and cross over fandoms from Dr. Who, assorted Anime, and toy collecting started to rise all over again like it was 1985...

Planet Comicon is certainly the current dominant powerhouse draw in the city for all access comic/pop culture, alongside the ever fantastic and growing Anime show NakaKon which has been around for some years now. SFAL was to enter it's fifth year in KC, and KCCC debuted with a strong entrance earlier this year.

Other shows, stalwart, focused, and feisty like ConQuest, FanCon/FreeState, Crypticon, KantCon, Motaku, KC ZineCon and some of the further out recent bretheren like Air Capital Comicon, TopCon, G.A.M.E., and more, have managed to thrive and keep on going because they fill needs that the other bigger shows do not.

Many of the shows moved venues as they grew, as prices changed, and as demand grew. Chances were, it was going to come to a head at some point, and to be honest, over the years recording and writing about many of the shows that I had attended, which include the majority of the aforementioned, it seemed like we were running out of space in more ways than one, but more importantly with the sudden appearance of World Con entering the scene for 2016,... into an area of burnout.

Convention burnout.

Here's why I say this. Chances are, that if you're an artist, writer, cosplayer or a vendor, more shows means more exposure, more chances to network and meet new people, and find new readers and gain customers. If you're an attendee, it means more media stars, more events that allow you to plan for or choose from, more art, toys, books, videos, etc and so on that one could look forward to. Sounds great right? I mean what could be bad about that?

Well, it could lead to the events, as diverse as they are, to be taken for granted, or maybe overlooked as larger shows outmaneuver and attempt to out advertise each other. Or maybe it can lead to lax shows, and dwindling performance. It can happen. It happened to last year's Wizard show in St. Louis. It's happened from time to time to some of the smaller shows here in KC.

But here is why I think I am wrong.

The greater Kansas City (both sides of the state line) area alone has a population of 1,737,025 people. This part of the midwest has a city that ranks around number 24 in the list of the most populated metropolitan areas. That is not taking into account people that come from the far out towns in the two states, or even from other states nearby like Iowa, Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois, and Arkansas, that come to the shows we have here in Kansas City.

Now, you're probably asking why am I going on about this? What point do I have?

Well, it's one that beckons hope that many of us can sit back and realize just how lucky, blessed really, we are to have a fundamentally huge array of shows that allow us to celebrate our own unique fandoms and ways of rejoicing in them. I know that today, a fair amount of responses to the above post on Facebook were laced with disappointment, derision, and maybe even frustration, while people out on the West Coast were seemingly the ones most excited, and rightfully so that SFAL was moving.

But it brought out something that made me upset, and truthfully, a bit sad. I know that ultimately, comic or art shows of any kind are attempting to turn a profit, grow, and possibly become career ventures for those that run them if they become successful enough. But, from my own humble place, in helping out with KC FanCon and FreeState, I believe that a passion and love of the genres, the art, and just the overall experience of living in the fandoms, if only for a few hours on a given weekend, is just as important of a service to provide those that attend your shows, as it is to make money putting on that show.

Will the shows that vie for the top spots, or room in a crowded market, remember what makes a show special? Or is the call of the day to push out the competition and winner take all?

I hope not. I'd like to think that if all of the shows were able to work together, maybe SFAL would not have had the inclination to leave, maybe it would not have made a difference. Maybe there's far more to the story than any of us will ever know, and some years down the road, all of this will be an urban legend tale of sorts of when KC was on the verge of becoming what it was grooming to be. A mecca of sorts, for a hell of a lot of pop culture themed events and shows, that put the word "heart" back in the term "heartland".

I wish the Fenners and SFAL 5, much luck, I was a champion of that show ever since a comment was made years ago on the I believe now defunct conceptart.org site, about a show like this happening. I was always truthful in my reviews about the shows on my blog, and have many friends and acquaintances that line my memories from the SFAL shows. I will miss it, and I'd be lying if I said I was not a bit sad and maybe a bit angry. A KC show should stay in KC, but like they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Who knows what the future holds?

Well, I'll tell you. It holds a lot of other shows, that will keep on growing. That will bring new fans, new memories, new friendships, and new shows along. You see, it's not the shows that make the fandoms, its the people on both sides of the tables that make the shows.

Here's to 2016, and future friends, untold stories, and new memories to be forged in the heart of KC.

I bid you farewell SFAL, hello to you WorldCon, and welcome back to all the rest of the shows.

Until next time! - Mario, the Artisan Rogue

KCCC 2015 - KC gets another convention.

For those that don't know, KCCC is the newest convention to take root in the KC area. Joining a roster that includes Planet Comicon, Naka Kon, Spectrum Fantastic Art Live, Conquest, Crypticon, FreeCon/FreeState, and many others I know I am forgetting at the moment, the coming year of 2016 will be one of the fullest schedules I've ever seen, especially when WorldCon and a rumored Star Trek convention roll into town next year.

As many of you know, I was off of the comic scene for a while, doing other types of art shows here and there, and keeping even a low profile at KC Fancons, and really only doing Spectrum shows. I finally got my head together on my art, and decided to get back into the comic push with this show.

So how did KCCC go?

Setup: Day Zero

First off, I don't blame KCCC for this, but the guy at Bartle Hall that thought he'd be funny and turn off the A/C on the first day during set up? I think I mirror a lot of sentiments when I say I hate you and all of your ancestors for doing that (and I'd say a lot more, but I have kids that read this blog).

Bartle Hall in general is not one of my favorite places just because they know they are the main game in town if you want to have a show downtown in KC. That said, the building itself is a great venue, and even the oppressive humidity didn't wear down people too badly.

I was very glad we could drive in and almost up to the tables.

It didn't take me too long to set up, maybe about an hour. So I spent the rest of the time wandering around, timing how long it took me to get from one end to the other, trying to figure out how a convention attendee might go about it after coming up the escalator.

The layout seemed promising from what I'd seen in the map provided to people in the show, and when I saw it in person, it seemed easy to navigate.

You could drive an 88 Lincoln through the space they allotted for people to use as walkways. Strollers and outlandish cosplays were not an issue.

The super spiffy and coveted cosplay award shields.

I really wanted a birds eye view of it all so I climbed up onto my truck for this shot.

So after making sure everything was locked down as best I could and set up right, I left for the evening to go back and charge some batteries, and finish packing up some art reproductions.

Day One

I don't even know why I am calling this a separate day, as I got maybe two and a half hours of sleep that evening. Not because I was nervous, but because I still had a few last minute things to get done. And each one I finished reminded me of yet one more thing I had to take/finish.

Yay! On the way to the show super early, and the heat was already in full effect.

I managed to squeeze everything into the cab of my truck (I love my truck) the day prior for set up, so all I brought on this day was spare D Cell batteries and my large fan. I think if memory serves me right, I got there about 8:30 am or so.

I quickly got my setup all finished up, and sat down and attempted to cool off with the aid of a battery powered fan. Do enough outdoor art shows and these become your lifeline.

The show wasn't even open yet and I saw this great cosplay of Hiro and Baymax. This kid got so much attention and it looked like he was having a blast during the show.

He was already zipping around the show being all super cool.

Good number of vendors came to this show, including one that had a table set up (see right below) that looked like the cool kid in the neighborhood's room. I think we all knew one kid like that, whose parents must have worked for Mattel and Nintendo? Who ALSO had the Blue Max racing bmx, and... and... had a refridgerator STOCKED with Pizza Rolls* and pouches of Capri Sun of flavors not even available to the public!?...

(ahem)

So this vendor had a lot of cool stuff on display...

It's probably a good thing I didn't get away from my table that much as one toy vendor had LOADS of my childhood memories laid out as toys to buy.

R2 units ran joyously all over this show. I am a huge Astromech fanboy, and loved that no matter who was around one, they always had smiles while interacting with them. Younger fans at the shows literally just watched mesmerized as these little guys trooped around.

The Cosplayers and other build groups were relegated to further back in the area, across from where the media guests were located.

I realized suddenly that I was across from Scribe. THE Scribe. The "Super Bad Ass Muralist and official Children's Mercy Illustrator" Scribe.

I actually never took the time to realize the name on the booth across from me, and I have to say that Scribe is seriously one of the most laid back and humble guys I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Any of you long time readers know I have often praised his work across the KC metro area in the past, and taken crazy photos in front of them.

Another fellow whom I'd only known through Facebook was the super talented Rikk Wolf of Incognito Cinema Warriors XP, whom I finally had a chance to meet on Friday. Hilarious and very down to earth guy that it seems I have a lot in common with, not the least of was our common ground in voice over work.

When I had down time, and I got to sit in the "oh so comfortable" convention chairs Bartle Hall provided, I worked on this opus of a work.

I got a LOT further on my "Dark Invader" illustration, and I hope to have that finished by the end of October. I brought my total hours invested in it from 68 hours to just around 89 by the time this weekend was over. It's further along than it looks above, the entire left arm and all of the facial tentacles are done.

The very talented Amber Stone was to my right. Artist alley at least where we were located never really got more densely packed than what you see here.

(Left) Longtime friends Amber and Tom stopped by for a bit which was a great surprise. (Right) Two great Star Trek cosplays.

This was my favorite cosplay on Friday. I have this Ant Lucia art print framed at home, and this cosplayer did it wonderfully!

By the way, if any of you readers recognize these cosplayers and know the names, please let me know so I can credit them on here! I totally forgot to ask people their names at the show.

Day Two

So Friday turned out to be not so bad sales wise, but the crowd had a funny pulse to it, where I could not get a rhythm to sell to. But I figured I was also a bit rusty and the crowd didn't have a rush, so I expected likewise on Saturday.

Wonderful Elvira, Cobra Trooper, and Viper cosplays.

From what I understand, this Tony Stark 3D printed most of his cosplay. I wish I'd known that when I talked to him. And loved this Green Ranger outfit. It looked pretty screen accurate to me.

Darth Vader and R2 posed for quite a while with people taking pictures just in front of my booth. It was then that I realized I had not seen as many Storm Troopers as I normally do. The insets on the side were a commission I got to do an orange dragon reading a book in a nook.

There was also a stage set up not that far from me, and I got pics above of Hector Casanova, Arie Munroe, and Brandi Stone working on art.

I do love that there are Fix It Felix cosplayers that actually walk around with Artist Alley helpful tools like scissors and the like. On that note, how cool is it that Nintendo has agreed to let Mario show up in the forthcoming Wreck It Ralph 2?

Even more cosplays. I'm not going to pretend I know who the two on the left are, but I thought the lady on the right did a killer version of Merida.

This. Family. Rocks.

Saturday allowed me to get a bit more visiting in, and was great fun all around. I made a lot more business and freelance connections this day than either Friday or Sunday which was something I'd not anticipated on doing.

I also talked up FreeState like crazy to all that would listen, as well as showering the praise on Spectrum (I told you I always talk about and support the shows I do Shena Wolf. ;D). But in general it gives me a chance to name drop all the other shows as well.

So after a heck of a long day, with back pain, foot pain, and a very hoarse voice, I went back home to rest and prepare for the third day.

Day Three

By day three I was pathetically dragging myself awake. So this is 40 years old huh? Wonderful. But I told myself, "Suck it up because it's time to make the donuts."

Three things that rocked Friday. This legit "Man with No Name" cosplay. Then having some of the Attack on Titan cosplayers start playing popular movie themes behind me next to the live art stage. And doing this quick sketch of Dart Feld for a fellow NakaKon artist.

The creative community as large and spanning as it is, can suddenly be so small, as I found out the pin up artist Steve Baier that was next to Rick Stasi (who was the table artist directly behind me), was from the same area of Iowa as another artist friend of mine, whom we had in common friendship. And on the right, my friend Sara here showing off my latest issue of PZ.

Some of the other very awesome cosplays I managed to get quick photos of, including a great take on "Zatana" by Rae of the cosplay duo Super Sirens. The only one I missed out on was the Elsa I saw on Saturday I think... maybe it was Sunday. What day is today?!

All good things end, and Artist Alley quickly vacated. I found the guys that were rolling Hulk off into the distance too funny not to photograph. It really looked like they were ushering out a large drunk frat guy that maybe got left behind by his bros.

One last shot as I drove off.

So off I drove to seek food in the form of sushi, and think about my sore feet, contemplate what the universe is up to, you know, all the things that go through our minds after a weekend of fun barrels headfirst into cubicle Monday.

I got the goods...

I got a few cool things but not as much as I'd like to have. But there will be future shows, and chances for me to track down some people to get their books and art.

Here though is a a quick overview of what I picked up.

I picked up a lot of great bits of artwork from the show... a book and art reproductions from the likes of Stone, Stasi, Voth, and Baier.

and two kick ass figurines from Scribe...

That he was kind enough to sign. (Left) My lanyard collection for comic/anime conventions is growing again.

Final Thoughts: Pros and Cons (<-- No pun intended.)

So here's what some of my thoughts are as far as positives:

1. Just around 10,000 people attended the show, not bad at all for the first time out.
2. Even with that many people, the convention still had a laid back feel.
3. The Shield awards were amazing.
4. The media guests, especially scoring Pam Grier and Sean Astin, were pretty good.
5. Kids play area.
6. GIVING AWAY 15 comics to all kids on Sunday that were under 15 years old?! As a reward for staying late that day? Brilliant marketing move guys, and great way to introduce kids to new titles. Really cool! 
7. WIDE walkways in artist alley.
8. I lost track after late Saturday, but of the 467 people that I managed to talk to while at my booth and I managed to ask them, 232 of them were attending a comic show for the first time (this includes Scribe and his family, whom are some of the coolest people ever). Almost 160 of them had young kids and were so happy that there were areas and things for kids to mess with.
9. A few of the volunteers were genuinely good and were visible, this was mainly Setup day and Sunday.
10. (Thank you Steve Baier for pointing this out.) A great big wide pool of talented and very skilled artists of all calibers that were in attendance. That was one of the best things about this show!

And the negatives, offered as points to hopefully improve:

1. Not enough good "Henchmen", barely saw any during the show, and the ones I did weren't helpful. They were shopping. If you're going to volunteer for a show, do your job and don't be a moron and take advantage of the good people running the show.
2. Even with that many people, the convention had a laid back feel...is also a not so great thing. Many many cosplayers and attendees never made it back to where a good portion of the people in artist alley were. I can tell you this because I had people that attended the show looking for me that never found me. I was at the end of an aisle, and had a large display. Some people that finally found me said that directions were hard to find, and none of them knew about the cosplay section way in the back. 
3. Hall E, found out about that on Saturday, and even then, never knew when exactly to go.
4. Why no floor map, or even standees like in a Mall with "You are here." graphics? I've seen people get turned around in a Wal-Mart. Imagine adding kids, wayward friends, the excitement, and sensory overload of a convention. And yeah sure, you could say well it's available on the phone... no. People need that for taking pictures and pushing the social media aspect of it out to others not there at the show. Don't make people waste battery power looking up an online or emailed map.
5. The panels from what I heard, were a bit underwhelming in some cases but not because of the media guests, which if you want staying power from that end for the people in attendance, this has got to be improved.

In the end, it was worth it to see Mr. Sean Astin post this on Twitter.

I really really regret not having made it back there to meet him. Sean Astin is just all out awesome in my book.

So in a nutshell, KCCC delivered. They did make a hell of a first outing. Not too many shows I've heard of can boast of that. The real challenge is going to be over the next few years. Is a huge initial showcase going to raise expectations for the second year?

And to recap, how in 2016 will the public these shows are aimed at, react? Yes the economy is on the mend, but can KC hold up under the weight of 4 to 5 larger shows, and a myriad run of smaller shows? Is the new influx of first timers that attended KCCC a sign of new collectors and customers in the community?

If anything is certain, with the coming offerings of Disney/Lucasfilm/Marvel/Pixar about to unleash in a gigantic way at the end of 2015 into all of 2016, and more and more fandoms crossing over into various shows... it's anyone's and everyone's game.

It's certainly one heck of a good time to be into pop culture here in the Kansas City area. And I have a feeling 2016 will be one for the record books that will be talked about for years to come.

Until next time, thanks for reading, support your local artists, be kind to your fellow beings, and I'll see you next time! - Mario. the Artisan Rogue

 
*The more you know: In the year 1968, Jeno Paulucci took an old egg roll machine and started turning out his own unique invention: pizza rolls. The rest is tired gamer/drunk college student history.

The countdown to KCCC setup.

This is the inaugural year of the new comic convention KCCC.

As soon as I get off of work, I'm heading over to do what is probably one of my most refined table setups I've ever done for a show.

I can only imagine what's going through the heads of the people running this show, as I prepare to figure out what I am going to be encountering as I try and sell my books and artwork. 

I'll have some images up later tonight if I can. The show set up hours are until 9pm, so I'm hoping that gives me enough time to get some good shots of the floor set up.

My graphic novel, issue 4 of Pagan Zoetrope, and a lot of new artwork will all be at the show. I think I'm jazzed and nervous at the same time.

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue