Planet Comicon 2022 - What's new in view.

Came in just a bit early with many thanks to a buddy of mine (BEN!) for the badges!

I'll lead this off with my latest podcast, which covers some of my thoughts on Planet, but as usual I manage to derail myself throughout it. If you want to bypass that, I've got the more detailed lowdown below.

I went this year, once again as an attendee, and didn't manage to get nearly as many photos or videos as I had hoped I would have. I've found myself to be in an odd place mentally, especially because life in general seems to still be off in some ways. Not just because of the years of shutdown, or because I'm still a bit off on social setting interactions. Some of it is from an over stimulation of both pop culture, and how I'm looking to approach show attendance/participation for the remainder of this year, and especially into 2023. But before I broach that subject, let's cover what Planet Comicon was like from a Saturday perspective this year.

First stop as the crowd started to come in, was to stop by my buddy Terry's booth, 1313 Mockingbird Lane, to get some collections filled out more in the studio.

First off, just like the last time I came to Planet, the feeling of not having a table at the show that I need to be stuck to, is both a weird feeling, and also incredibly freeing. Most of the times that I am anywhere near a convention, I feel like I should be trying to make money and sell my artwork. It's akin to how I can't go to any nightclubs/bars anymore without automatically having almost 20 years of security experience fire up in me and I get all weird feeling. 

It isn't a show until you see these Iron Man suits walking about. [Right] The Tron Arcade machine is a super weakness of mine. I'm not that good at it, but man do I love this cabinet!

In the last year, I've grown rather fond of pushing stuff on social media onto my TikTok account, and for anyone following me on there, they got some good stuff, one of my videos that had Adam Savage onstage even got a few thousand views, which was nice!

I made it distinct point that not only was I going to visit as many people as possible that I knew, I was also going to pick up as many books, artworks, etc., as possible. All that, while also shopping around, getting footage, and attending at least two panels I and my brother had figured out we wanted to get to.

The crowd started getting pretty heavy back by the Ghostbusters cosplay group area, so we admired some of the things on display...

There was also another purpose that I had at the forefront of my mind, one that required a fair amount of research while I was at the show. I took active care to note age groups, group flow, tried my best to work out cosplayers to non coplayers on the floor, what kind of vendors there were, the variance in creators. There is a reason to all of that, but that will have to wait for a future post until I am a bit more sure of what I want to introduce later this year, and moving onwards with for future shows. 

So back to the show.

including this pretty awesome Terror Dog.

I hit the normal vendors I frequent, including 1313 Mockingbird Lane, which it's always a pleasure to catch up with the awesome Terry Taylor and see what he'd brought to the show for sale. I picked up a few things there and we made our way onwards to the back area of the show floor to attempt to get to all the people I wanted to visit, and to make sure we'd get to panels and so on.

Cosplay and prop building fascinates the heck out of me. Like I imagine a great many people would agree, making time to create, hell, just GET INTO doing any sort of aspect to these hobbies would strain my schedule more. Droid building is something I do want to do in the next three years. 

I seriously have no room for something like this, but to BUILD one?! I think it would be worth the experience and later struggle to find a place for it.

I remember the earliest conventions I would attend rarely had large displays or set like works, and seeing things like this Predator one is wild. I don't know if Planet ever thought about sponsoring the builds of these, but I think for photos and for just additional memorable experiences, having some environments set up like this would be amazing for attendees.

I'm not up on my lore for this particular universe, so I have no idea what is going on here, but the craftsmanship is undeniable.

My brother and I were there also to as I'd mentioned earlier to fill out sections of our vintage and modern collections. Along with 1313 Mockingbird Lane, there were a few other vendors that had some impressive things out for sale.

Anytime I see product boxes for vintage toys, I am in awe of both the fantastic art direction and illustration works on them, never mind wondering how long things like can last. We are well nearing 40 years and more for some of these items!

For anyone that knows me, you know robots of any kind are a bit thing for me, so let me lay some photos of some big bots on you...

Is FORTRESS MAXIMUS too CLOSE!?

As a collector, I'm starting to see something interesting and inevitable happening. I'm seeing an uptick in large collections making it to the convention floor for sale. If any of you follow Toy Galaxy or Pixel Dan, the subject of hobbies and collecting, and growing older has become a unique and more immediate source of conversation in recent years. 

Okay, okay, let me back it up. There, is this better?

Whether for financial reasons, space, or whatever, I have seen comic, toy, statue, art, and book collections showing up more and more en masse at shows. Vendors having bought massive collections over the winter months from people who've either decided to downgrade, leave the hobby, or sadly, in some cases, passed on.

LOVED these LotR and Dark Crystal cosplays. The Chamberlain one was rad as heck.

In my case, I've certainly decided to donate a few items in the past to a toy museum, and moving forward I've also decided to focus on specific characters or in the case of buying things from people, supporting the creators I have met and known.

I'm always surprised and a bit impressed when I see any jars of "80s slime" [at the bottom of this pic] still out there and sealed. Surely, SURELY they have solidified by now? Right? RIGHT?!

Even if I don't end up picking up a lot of the stuff I see at shows, it helps my mental state, to see some old familiar things that maybe I never owned but my friends growing up, did. There's another idea, Planet Comicon, what about a special display put on by toy and pop culture collectors, where they would be encouraged to set up environments, like the play ones we would dream of as kids? Like the ones we saw in commercials. 

The AT-AT knows where it's AT! ... I'll show myself out.

This next image has on one side [Left] a really rare Bullet Man Joe figure which is hilariously odd and super cool at the same time, and then on the [Right], a whole bunch of amazing work from my friend Jake Angell, make sure you look him up on Instagram to see even more awesome stuff!

One of the main things I'd missed from the absence of shows, is catching up with people, meeting new people, and talking shop as working creators, no matter the medium or outlet.

For anyone that has no idea what that figure is all about, it's a late release addition to the original GI Joe series from around 1976. Seriously rare, and honestly an amazing part of toy history in that case.

As it got later on in the day I had some good moments and some awkward ones, which included finally meeting Ed Lavalee of Crash Comics whose book Revere, was one I'd been wanting to pick up. I asked to buy his book and in a moment of stupid, FORGOT TO PAY THE MAN, and started to walk off! 

You know when you can't find a seat on a bus and it's about to start moving when you were in 2nd grade? Or when you miss a word in a school viewed spelling bee and your fly is down? Or you tell the hotel clerk "You Too!" when you let them know what you're about to do as they have to stay behind the desk waiting for your dim self to return? 

Yeah, that level of shame. LOL!

Thankfully I did pay, and all is well, and his book is freaking awesome!

About that time, it was time to hit up some panels [Tommy the Green Ranger's and Adam Savage's] and find the Liberty Bell, where this great Thor cosplay was as well. 

Getting to sit down and watch some panels has rarely been a part of my experience over the last 15 years of doing shows, but man do I enjoy it more and more. Adam Savage's panel was an absolute stand out.

This thing is amazing, and it's insides looked incredibly claustrophobic.

When I was younger, my mother was, and well still is, a person that talks about space exploration and NASA a lot. So I was pretty stoked to see the bell here at the convention. What I didn't know was that it had been over in Hutchison Kansas at the Cosmosphere. It warrants another visit for sure!

Winding down this update, it's with feelings of wanting to discuss how expensive it can be to go to conventions, and no small part of that is in affording food that is sold at convention prices. I had budgeted $20 for food at the show, and walking/carrying a lot of stuff finally got me with a mighty hunger worked up.

This is the shape of the circles I drew when I was 2 years old... and cost me around $10 with a $4 bottle of water.

As the show started to wind down, the crowd's energy was coming to a slower beat, and my brother and I made the rounds to try and get a few more things for him, but my feet were ready to go.

The show haul: Some items from 1313, new Revere, Fowl Language books, an art pin from Matthew made Art, artwork from Cam Kieffer, and a Tron prequel novel. 

Moving forward, I need to make better plans on how to capture more footage and photos for social media, and promotional stuff. It's so nuts because when I am at a table trying to sell stuff, I'm stationary, so when cosplays come by, I have a better chance to chase them down and get photos. 

It's interesting to me how different it is, and how much more it's made being at shows more enjoyable again, because I'm more relaxed and I can take my time. 

I hope you all enjoyed this light look at Planet Comicon for 2022, I'll be back with more updates on some upcoming events over the next few weeks!

Until next time, remember to support artists and local businesses. Be kind to your fellow beings and always take the path less traveled. We all may live in times uncertain, but kindness, understanding, and believing in the good that is in most each and every one of us is what can bring about better days!

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue
Illustrator, Voice Actor, Writer, Animal Rights Activist

www.theartisanrogue.com

Planet Comicon 2018 Bigger isn't better.

The updated setup, and me looking like I am about to tell you how "brutal" the new Nordic DeathCore Metal Album I'm all about is...  

I want to start off by saying that I'm not trying to be negative. I'm not. In this day and age, there's enough of that to go around. But I will be fair and open on how this is probably the last time I will be doing Planet Comicon. I know right? Sounds all click baity. Far from it. Read on inquiring mind readers!

First off, I did cover this in a series of vlog posts on my channel, I won't bog this update down with all the details on that, but you can check out the first of the three on my YouTube page.

A few things about my experiences with Planet. I started doing it about 8 or more years ago, and in some ways all of them have started to blur together. Every year, the show got bigger, the media guests invited were more well known, and more and more artists in the comics and other creative fields, started to come in to sell and stake claims.

Fast forward to 2018, and its a behemoth show. Seriously, you can burn Everest like calories walking to your booth from a loading dock, never mind as an attendee just trying to look at everything that is one display..

Now its no SDCC or NYCC, this is true. But it is a very large pop culture show. Notice I did not say "comic" show. Because, although there are a fair few creators and writers in the mix, there isn't much of a push to identify the new and constant indie creators that fill the vast majority of the tables. Nor is there much of a celebration of the unique and variable makers that fill the rest of artist alley.

With the show growing, so has the cost to attend, which for a family of four, is around just under $200 to get in the door. To get a table there if you pay early bird is around $200. That's a huge hit on wallets before they even get to spending inside the hall.

I'm not against anyone earning money. I wouldn't have three jobs currently if I didn't think that way. But I also don't understand how in this kind of economy, any show like this can hope to ask for prices like this to be paid.

It came down to this simple factor. I use a system to judge how much business interaction I will have at a convention. Every year with the exception of the first two times I did Planet, I had stacked business cards on my table. I knew how many were on the table and how many would be used up. Nothing novel right? But still a pretty good way to at least see customer interactions and people that come by to get things.

Well two things became apparent this year. One, I only handed out (I recounted it 3 times during breakdown of my booth on Sunday to be sure), 37 business cards. For a show that has a reportedly 60 to 80,000 attendance rate, that is so terrible it's on par with being made to watch Mexican soap operas.

My booth wasn't in a bad area, I was in the center of the show. I managed to get out of the show with just having earned a bit over $120. Now, I will admit there are a lot of other factors involved in whether or not someone makes money at a show like this. But my table was a $200 investment/gamble that didn't pay off. I can't justify that anymore.

But enough of all of that, let's get into the photos and the things that really were cool to see.

The nights before all of the shenanigans of Planet are like normal for me, working away at my workstation, and making sure I had everything accounted for before setup the next day.

The studio is a mess as usual...

But hours marched onwards, and after a little sleep the evening before the show, it was time to get to Bartle Hall, find my badge, and then get set up.

Pretty kick ass Ant Lucia artwork for exhibitors (should have gotten the badge signed). And the ever elusive WEST dock that you have to take the most indirect path in the world to find. If they told me the path was in a magical wardrobe I'd have believed it.

I've posted about set up at this show in prior show updates, and like all other years, it was the same old same. Drive in, dump off, drive out, park, come back, set up, and then leave praying to everything in the universe that you have a decent show.

My buddy Jake Angell made a heck of a debut setup at the show. I was freaking stoked to see his stuff and picked up a few things from him (I'll show those off in a later post).

Mega Man cosplay. More of my new series of digital works go to a new home!

To answer some of you that asked, yes, my Society6 page will have new art designs based on the robots added very soon.

I love it when old friends stop by, thanks for catching up with me you all!

I am hellaciously grateful for all of you that did stop by to talk to me and keep me company during the show.

It is so nice to see some retro arcade action, and families that cosplay together, hanging out at a con together.  

When I was living in Warrensburg, the local arcade had copy of Dragon's Lair that always was blaring in the background. I was and am still probably very horrible at that game.

More artwork with new owners!

So I discovered this insanely cute webcartoon called Corgli. And I swear it is the life definition of my own dog Kubo the mighty Loaf of le Fluff.

Kubo (two inset side photos) is wondering why o why he cannot have donuts or a pizza flag now. I ask myself that every day sir.

Because my studio is all kinds of filling up with my collections and tools and things I own, I am down to the last of the old retro toys I am searching for. And here is an open offer if any of you wanting artwork done want, and you have access to any of the toys from Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, I will so freaking trade for art for them. They have to be in good to great condition, parts accounted for, and ones I don't already have. I only have SawBoss at this point. But the way this would work, is that they are roughly valued at $30 for smaller vehicles to around $80 for the larger ones. I would do one and a half the value amount towards creating art for anyone that gets me some of these. (So if you got me a smaller vehicle, it would be worth $45 worth of artwork) You all can email me at mario@mariomora.net if you want to know more.

(Left) Sawboss vehicle I found at the show. (Right) Screencap from the show. 

So let's talk some awesome people. I happen to know two. Ben and Cristen of Brass Engine Productions. These two consistently work every show out there they can get into, and are some of the most creative and just kick ass people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. If you see their booth at a show, go talk to them, tell them you heard how amazing they are, and then, buy something from them. Everything they have is just awesome and made with care and love.

Ben with 3D printed swords. An evil eye created by Cristin. Ben in cosplay as Talion Lord of the Rings.  Ben and Cristin celebrating his win as best in show for Cosplay.

Winding down during tear down, I was feeling pretty off. Low maybe,... nah, just off. Doing shows is a gamble, and I used to have a gambling problem, and,... well, that's a terrible comparison.

But the ladies from Dorky Dino were kind enough to share some excellent pizza with me, so midway through tear down, I just sat down, ate it, and enjoyed a diet pepsi (many thanks to my buddy Ernest for checking on me all weekend long, Aramark bros for life!), and just thought about what I was going to put in this blog update.

Pizza makes everything better. Just ask Corgli.

I'd always managed to wear myself down into the ground and after the end of almost every show, absconded from hanging out with friends. But I was happy to meet up with Brass Engine and cohorts for some after convention talk and humoured good times. It was good, no, it was more than that. I then remember that yes, shows will be hard. But the people that march along with you can make even the worst shows seem alright.

IHOP, and then no, that is not the lights of a random UFO in my rear view window...

Thank Odin that the cop that pulled me over was a nice guy. He was totally understanding about an oversight on my license plates. He saw my show badge, and asked me if I had played a show there (I guess he assumed I was a musician), but I said no, it was the big comic show and I just got done eating at the IHOP after the show. His expression softened and he smiled. After he ran my info he simply said "I'll let you off with a warning. Have a good night. Wear your seat belt, and remember... Captain America would have current plates."

I owe you one Cap.

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

#1440

If you are coming to Planet Comicon, I will be booth #1440 in Artist Alley.

I will be there selling things I made because it is frowned upon to sell stuff off of other people's tables, no matter how awesomely funny that would be.

I will be standing the entire show, because I hate Bartle Hall chairs. If I am not at my booth, I was either kidnapped, abducted by aliens from Alpha Centauri, got locked in the bathroom stall by accident, forgot my keys, might be under the table looking for a bag of chips, or maybe pretending to be a floor lamp. 

I'd like to say I would have Capri Suns for everyone, but that was an abysmal failure on my part 6 years ago, and I've never forgiven myself for underestimating the demand for free bagged beverages and since I also work part time for Aramark, who will be providing food services, I do not want a beat down to occur from my fellow coworkers.

So do come out to the show, bring money, bring children (preferably your own...) that like shiny things, and I will have insanely low priced deals on art. There will be a lot of my creative friends there as well, and you'll hear me tell you who to check out after you all visit me.

Be there or be a random generated geometric configuration of your choosing.

Planet Comicon 2017: changing times

This is either a look of sales determination or one of agitated overload because of all the pin up fan art at the show...

Welcome to my post on this year's largest show here in Kansas City, Planet Comicon. Prepare for one of the longest entries and show reviews I will write.

A little background on some of this. I have been attempting to chronicle this year's efforts by filming a self documentary. It has proven to be a challenge beyond all measures, and I knew it would be. I normally am an avid amateur photographer, but I still manage to get some nice photos for every entry I do on here. I have a very scratch built set up of camera equipment and ways that I have managed to outfit my vehicle interior, my show booth, and even my show cart, so that I could expand and do more with just myself working on this project.

This show marked the halfway point for what has amounted to now over 134 hours of video from multiple cameras, 1037 pictures, 8 hours of audio recording, and two damaged cameras.

The challenge has been to stay true to the message and direction of what this project means to me, to show people what it is like to do comic shows, to work on art, to more often fail than succeed, but how even in the most low points, to pick oneself back up, and keep going.

I plan on spending the next few months in a dormant creative state after I finish up some art that is still owed to a few people. I have to reflect on this first half of this crazy project, and prepare for the rest of the year.

"the Artisan Rogue" is more than just an identity that I created, it's something that I am hoping will come to fruition in ways I have yet to discover. For years, I have spoken with people, and there always seems to be a lingering notion of mystery and questions that propagate towards creators, be they visual artists, musicians, actors,... so I hope that maybe by this coming Christmas season, I can pull this all together and hopefully have something worthwhile, enlightening, and for pete's sake, entertaining to show you all.

Now... 

Go get a sandwich. A nice MLT, where the mutton is nice and lean, so perky. And a drink. I have an armada of photos, and a lot to say about the show that is marking the midpoint for my show season.

Ready? Alright people, let's do this...

Pre Show Set Up (aka the Day Mother Nature trolled us all)

Thursday morning was actually quite nice. The sun was shining, birds were singing, there was a slight John Denver quality to the day. So of course my optimism was up, and my feet were fancy free and footloose. It was time to go set up for Planet Comicon! This was the moment I should have spent all of this past year preparing for!

Hello forklift guy! Nice day to be moving a ladder around in the most complicated way ever with heavy machinery!

So I had initially decided to go and set up after my art class that I teach later in the day, only to realize that according to the set up hours, I had only until 6pm to set up stuff! Far be it from me or anyone else to not read and understand the rules that govern this show! That's what rules are for!

Actually no they are not. It turns out, rules meant very little as the weekend panned out.

Evidently the show thought we all needed some walking cardio added to our day, as this was as close as you could get to the edge of the show area.

I was used to just coming in the South Dock, which is where I ended up coming in, although the set up instructions had mentioned the West Dock. I didn't even know there was a West Dock. I asked volunteers on the street and they didn't know either. After I drove around Bartle Hall a few more times (committing evidently fraudulent additional mileage accrual that I am sure will look totally legit around tax time), I gave up, and went to the South Dock.

First bit of rules broken. But hey, I figure, no big deal. I'll go in, and check in was right there by the doors. Except it wasn't. It was over across the way. In the West Dock area. So some of my time was spent finding and getting my info, and then hurrying back to get to my truck to unload and then move my truck out, and get to setting up.

I was down in Aisle 800, which was but a catapult's throw from the entry area.

Planet had now spread across the length of Bartle Hall, amazingly so. It felt all at once like I had this sensation of excitement, of elation come over me. I think it may have been the extra cardio telling me, "Hey Lunchbox! Why the hell are you walking so much? We're not built for speed, you know!"

When I set up, put my stuff all over everyone else's table when I do. It's why I set up so early at shows.

So aside from hurriedly setting up what I could and trying to make sense of how I was going to put all of my new art up for display, I took some time to film and photo graph the early show set up.

The owners of Mary the Impala (each owner of a Supernatural car names it differently), were kind enough to let me get all up on with my camera and check this car out.

This car is legit bad ass.

Growing up, in Texas just after I was first born, my dad actually owned this very type of car, but it was a dark green. It's more than a bit surreal to see a car that at one point was not that popular become all that and a bag of chips after the success of Supernatural.

The trunk looked pretty accurate as well.

So after chatting about Supernatural, and getting some other shots, I left to go teach class. On my way out, I saw how many more people were now waiting to get in, and was surprised considering that setup would be shut down in a few hours.

Thankfully it wasn't, according to what I was later told, and many stayed until either 8pm or 9pm finishing up.

Just look at that sky! Blue with poofy clouds!

I left and was very grateful I had gotten there early to set up, and hoped for a good amount of great weather and thought, "Heck, I know the weather is saying rain, but this looks like it's going to be nice!"

But this is also Missouri...

Day 1 Friday (aka the Day of Rain that did not fall in Spain)

This is the look of a man whose socks are well beyond soaked.

That evening the rain came in like Tyson in his prime, and punched Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma into submission like mouthy small guys who like to fight.

Of course I'll take some wet socks over biblical flood level insanity like this in Southern Missouri, or the snow storm that hit the other side of Kansas.

Once again, I donned my trusty yellow fisherman's rain jacket and rubber boots, and made like a rabbit trying to dodge the rain like Neo dodges bullets.

In all reality, I didn't do any of that. It was a long slow trudging movement up a hill like one of the Carthaginian elephants enduring Hannibal's crossing of the Alps. It was slow, annoying, cold, wet, and I am sure the elephants had more than wet socks.

This was all back in the cosplay and maker's area.

But once I got back inside, I pumped myself back up. "Come on!" I said to myself, "Put a smile on your face and get ready to kick some comic show butt."

By this time, my neighbors had both set up, and I was finishing putting up art, right before the show started.

Now, let me start off with something. I have been doing shows for years. I respect and follow rules of show displays, try not to do a lot of fan art, and if I do, it's primarily commissions or on a limited facet. I also pore over the rules for shows, and it was stated that no booth display would be over 10 feet tall. I guess that's where the obnoxious factor officially starts or something. I try my best to always respect my neighbors at any show, but upon filming and looking around (just across the aisle no less), I was wondering if anyone had actually read the rules, or if people were using European measurement standards, because, I'm 5 foot 10 inches tall. And a good number of artist alley tables were over three times my height.

I'm going to say it, and I'm not sorry, I was not sad to see this booth move.

I figured that maybe people would be told to cull heights on displays, but nothing of that sort happened. I know that there are other shows that you can't pull that kind of thing at, but not here evidently.

But, whatever, I needed to stay in a good mood. I was anticipating a slow day for Friday, I mean people work and most Fridays are slow for even bigger shows. That's the nature of the beast.

I decided to keep adding to my upcoming sketchbook publication with more original renderings and ideas to work out later.

I sold a few things, and got asked for a commission of the upcoming version of the Flash from the JL movie. I had a lot of fun drawing this, and thankfully, over the last few weeks, my drawing ability has begun to rise once again to a level I feel I am progressing with again.

Not only do I appreciate the commissions, but I also get to explain and demo to people how I go about doing my illustrations.

I kept forgetting to get photos of the people that did buy things or that had cool cosplays. But I figured Saturday would be taking the brunt of that, so I just tried to take it easy on Friday.

(Left) Drew Woodworth of Air Captial Comicon and his son. (Right) A cool mini Iron Man cosplay.

The show was slow, but it was nice to be able to talk to people and draw and do all of that, but real talk? We who go as artists, authors, comic vendors,... we are there to make a living. To attempt to promote ourselves and what we have for sale.

So I rounded out the day talking to more people about my comic, my new art, and ICWXP. All in all, I marked down about 89 conversations/interactions, so I felt good about Saturday.

Day 2 Saturday (aka the Day Barrowman brought down the house)

I faced the day with a steely look of "I'm really not sure how the hell this show is going to go today...".

There are always moments of self doubt that will creep over people, and creative people spend the better part of their lives living in self doubt as a normality. It can be frustrating, at times paralyzing, and if left to grow, downright destructive to one's creativity.

It can sabotage a show when you let it come out inadvertently. I've gotten better about it over the years, but for those of you that have never been on the other side of a table or booth in artist alley, just understand that unless you are someone like Neal Adams, you are more than likely hoping every moment of whatever show you are at, that people will like what you create.

ESPECIALLY when it's not fan art. This was the case with about 75% of my art this show, and the further in the year I go, I hope to increase it to 90%.

Now don't get me wrong, I love when people ask me to do fan art commissions, because it challenges me to do characters I probably would never draw. But those are different for me, in that I will not make reproductions of the originals that I do for people. 

Like this commission of the new Flash from the DCU. One of a kind, and worth the happy reaction on his face.

Saturday brought the lion's share of cosplayers that braved the rainstorms, and there were so many I didn't get pictures of.

(Left) Unknown but super cool cosplay. (Center) "Evangelion Eva 01" by Chris Way of Heartless Cosplay (Right) Hawkgirl and unknown.

For the ones I don't know above, please feel free  to send me info if you were the cosplayer or know the characters. I often run across cosplays I don't recognize.

(Left) Many thanks to Stephen and Amy for picking some of my Robot series. (Left) Very awesome Chun Li and Khal Drogo

(Left) "Athena" by Cheeky Cheetah Cosplay (Right) Sarah and Jareth from Labyrinth

I certainly had a few absolute favorites every show I work, and there were three that really stuck out to me.

These were the first two of three absolute favorite cosplays of the entire weekend. Blue Falcon and Dyno Mutt, and Ghostbuster Jillian Holtzmann.

Now of course I didn't make it to any panels, which was a bummer, as Ron Pearlman, John DiMaggio, and a lot of others were in attendance at the show.

But if you read about happenings at the show, one bizarre thing did happen during John Barrowman's panel. Evidently, his panel brought a whole new meaning to bringing the house down.

I'm certain that the show runners are probably mortified that this happened, it's a wonder no one was hurt from what I understand. I know a lot of people that were in the panel that said Barrowman was absolutely the champ and kept the whole thing going in the face of the craziness that occurred. I mean check out the images below.

I can imagine someone lost a job over this...

I'm telling you, this year seemed like an off year in more ways than one. And I'm not one for omens or instances of bad luck warnings, but something was off about this year's show.

Day 3 Sunday (aka the Day my feet wanted to murder me)

Former co-workers of mine from Hallmark, making an incredibly cool debut at Planet.

So day three finally comes along. The rain has opted to subside for a little while, and reduced itself to random spots of storminess.

I made it a point to find my friend Allyson and her booth showcasing her new effort Star Beasts, and when I got over to her table, I realized I knew the writer, Stephanie Young from having been involved with an app project some time back at Hallmark.

Few, so few people that get a table come out so freaking on point and looking like seasoned pros like these two did. Their presentation was amazing, and they had an MST3K home spun sci-fi aspect really going for them. I picked up the preview issue, which is awesome and they were kind enough to sign it for me!

If you get a chance, check out the interview they did for Central Mo News!

(Left) Did a quick Mandy study from Pagan Zoetrope (Right) Got another commission for a Suicide Squad character I hadn't heard of before Jewelee.

All through the show, even though I had my ups and downs, it was so nice to see people I knew from former co-workers, to friends, and to meet new people. Thank you Johnny, Roz, Jake, Dry Bones Studio (for being amazing neighbors), Krista, James, Drew, Jason, Andy, Aaron, and so many of the rest of you for stopping by and talking, picking up art, and just being all around awesome.

Johnny and his costumed kids. Do you know how weird it is to be named Mario, while taking a picture of a kid dressed as Mario? (Right) This photo does not do this stunning cosplay of Jareth the Goblin King justice. This was up there in my top three favorite cosplays.

So Wil Wheaton was at the show (Wil if you read this, I hope you checked out ICWXP.), and the seriously skilled and funny guys from Brass Engine Productions had this amazing thing happen.

This is so freaking cool. Seriously happy for these guys.

I'd tell you the story of how it all happened, but I guess you'll have to track Brass Engine down at a show they are at and ask them about it. And then check out all the cool stuff they make.

I had also been meaning to make it over to meet Bill Amend. He is such a quiet and reserved guy, but his work on the syndicated comic strip Foxtrot, is just too good. He was my favorite interviewee on the documentary "Stripped". Had another total fanboy moment with him. Awkwardness is my middle name.

That's right, Mario is spanish for Awkward. Look it up! I know you won't!

Sunday managed to stay steady with a few more art sales.

(Left) Cosplay is from the anime Gurren Laggen by T.J. Tangpuz. (Right) X-23 wants to negate the Alien chest burster.

So shortly after all of this, the show had finally come to an end. As I was finishing talking to a few people, my neighbor (whose name I have forgotten), but she was the illustrator in Dry Bones Studio, gave me this amazing and fun drawing... of me. As a thank you for just being her booth neighbor.

I meant what I said, if you have show questions, feel free to contact me and ask. To all of you who didn't get a chance to meet and see my booth neighbor at Dry Bones Studio, she is an artist just starting out on the show circuit, with some formidable drawing ability, and charisma to spare.

Day 4 Monday (aka I look back and still feel damp)

It took the better part of Monday for me to recover. I added my exhibitor badge to my collection, and looked for a frame for the gifted cartoon portrait (below), as well as my signed Foxtrot strip. Thank you so much for that Bill Amend.

I really should have gotten him to sign my show badge too.

You know, it's weird. I didn't have post con blues this year. I did have a lot to think about, but I still had some commissions and projects to get out to people.

Finishing up a custom Captain America for a friend of mine.

I don't have any shows for a few months at the moment. And it's kind of a nice change. I mean, anything can suddenly pop up, and they have before. But I'm going to take the time to address my booth design again, to add to the display, create more art, and work on my Patreon, so I can start growing that.

It's all at once exhilarating at the same time that it is scary as hell to be doing primarily shows and freelance as my income. I'm finishing this update now at just past midnight, early Wednesday morning. I have a lot of brainstorming, writing, and artwork to create before the next run of shows come upon me.

I know the challenge is now to stay with my own original creations and to get people to know about what I do, and hopefully get some support.

As for Planet Comicon, I have some thoughts on my YouTube channel vlog if you want to check them out, but I'll talk more about that later this year.

Thanks for reading you all, and for supporting me.

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