I am a firm believer in networking. It worked for me beyond belief this year. I’ve never been to the elite comics store before, and went because my brother told me that Jason David Frank (a.k.a. the Green Power Ranger), was doing a signing event in store.
I only in the last few years had became a Power Ranger fan, but I always liked the green Ranger. So when the opportunity came up to go with my brother, who is a massive Power Rangers fan, to meet JDF, I thought I'd tag along.
When we got to the shop, I recognized a few old colleagues and friends of mine, and I was introduced to the owner of the store who asked me if I wanted to be part of their next event. That’s how I ended up doing the event. About that moment, we were instructed to step outside to wait to come in for signings and pic opportunities. JDF walked in, and he looked like the badass he was on screen. All my dorkiness and insecurity came forward and I weenied out. I went and sat outside and just waited.
ANYWAY...
The event benefits the Elite Comics Children’s Mercy Toy Drive. It's held at the Overland Park convention center. A lot of positives so far to do the show.
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| This is some N64 Turok era level sort of fog... |
The day of the show was the craziest fog I’ve ever run into.
Thank goodness, it only lasted for about half of my drive up there, but because of it, I was running a little bit behind. That photo doesn't do it justice for how insanely bad it got at one point. It was like driving while wrapped in a cloud. Not in a fun Super Mario Bros way either.
I still managed to make it to the convention center with about an hour to spare. I didn’t bring my wall set up just my banner, tablecloth, and all of my books and art reproductions.
There was a good group of creators there at the show, I probably about 10 of us total. Since I was invited to the show, there wasn’t any cost for my table, so that was pretty great. I high fived myself when no one was looking.
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| Look at all these other talented creators! |
Attendance, for the show was about what I expected. Not an overwhelming amount of people, but still a pretty strong showing for the size of the event. I made sure to let everybody I knew about the show.
I didn’t wanna leave my table but thankfully a buddy of mine stopped by the show, and I was able to get away for just a moment to check out the main room.
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| I didn't get much of a chance to swing into the main room as much as I wanted. |
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| SO. MANY. GRAPHIC. NOVELS. I think most were $10 or less. |
The rest of the tables in the center had various collectibles, action, figures, model kits, and other assorted pop-culture items for sale for insanely low prices.
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| Just two dollars! |
There were a few cosplayers that showed up as well. And closer to the ending of the event they held a cosplay contest.
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| [Left] An awesome mushroom character cosplay [Center] My buddy Isaac with a Spider Man fan. [Right] A great Furiosa! |
As the show wound down, I felt more relaxed, and had made some sales as well, so it was a good time all around for me. Now it was time to get more art reproductions made, and order in more books.
Show Overview.
Elite Comics 29th Anniversary Comic Book Extravaganza was held Sept 24st, 2022, from 10am to 4pm.
Location: Overland Park Convention Center - Overland Park, Kansas
Is it worth it?
As a creator? Yes, absolutely. Not only because once again, the show had a nice laid-back feel to it, but also because it benefited a good cause. Never mind that pizza, barbecue, and energy drinks were available for everyone at the event. Yeah, even the attendees which blew my mind. I really hope I get a chance to do the show again.
As an attendee? Yes, I’d say so. The people I spoke to at my booth really seem to be enjoying themselves. The prices across-the-board were great, there was a hell of a lot of variety in what to buy, and the event was run really well.
- Show Entry Fee/Table Cost: $0.00
- Fuel: $10.00
- Food: Show provided $0.00
- Purchases from vendors and other artists: $35
- Parking: Free
Total Expenses: $45.00
- 3 large art reproductions - $75
- 6 comic books - $15
- 2 packs of button pins - $10
Total Earnings: $100
Pros
- The show has happened for 29 years
- It benefits, children’s Mercy’s toy drive
- The selection included comics, board, games, records, toys, graphic novels
- And there was also local artists and a cosplay contest
- They provided food and drink
- The location was spacious and awesome
- No parking problems
Cons
- Not one thing came to mind
The Final Evaluation
Once again, it’s another show that is very family friendly. It’s very collector, friendly, from the prices to the amount of items in variety. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never really gone out to elite comics before, nor really knew much about what they were all about. But it warms my heart when a local shop will do an event like this, and it makes the struggling artist in me grateful for it.
So yeah, I highly recommend the show. It’s six hours of just laid-back interaction, comic hunting, and great conversations to be had with everyone in attendance.
Elite Comics 29th Anniversary Comic Book Extravaganza Show Haul
I’d really been trying to keep my spending budget down, considering the massive amounts of debt I had incurred doing some previous shows. *cue the PTSD*
But because I'm an introverted bitch chicken, in not actually meeting Jason David Frank at the earlier Elite event, I was more than elated that there were some autographed photos of him available for purchase, so I picked one up. Hopefully he'll be back and I'll meet him then.
The other item I picked up was a Warmachine tabletop gaming figurine, for just $10 so my total I believe came to around 35 maybe $40. Well worth it.
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| Could not pass on a $10 Warmachine miniatures set, and I was so glad that Jason David Frank had signed some pics for the event! |
There's a link to Elite Comics below. It's a cool shop, and they put on a fantastic event!
Illustrator, Voice Actor, Writer, Animal Rights Activist
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