comic convention

Last Minute Show: RoninCon

So a new show popped up this year down in Little Tokyo-- Ronin Expo! I hadn't heard of it before, but they had some last minute table openings for the one day show, and I jumped on it! It was my very first outdoors convention ever, so I'd never had to take wind into consideration with my display before. I didn't have too many problems, but some of my neighbors were just about blown away.

I was also positioned directly in front of the main stage, which had its pros and cons. It made it super loud so I could hardly hear customers when they spoke, but when traffic was slow, at least I had a show to watch-- and there was this really cool cosplay group called The Corps Dance Crew that performed all day! Cosplayers that dance! My college-age-cosplay self was just pleased as punch, since that's basically what I had wanted to once upon a time.

Overall it was a fun, short, and affordable show, and as an added bonus it was well-situated for lots of great food!

Emerald City ComicCon 2017

Welcome!

Welcome!

Ah, the Emerald City. I absolutely LOVE Seattle! People complain about the overcast-ness and rain, but that's the sort of thing I love. I dislike intense sunshine... which makes where I live a poor choice. Well, dems da breaks, I guess?

This makes me feel like the pro-iest of Pros!

This makes me feel like the pro-iest of Pros!

I unfortunately missed the application deadline for the show this year, so I didn't have a table. I attended as a Pro, and got to enjoy catching up and networking with a bunch of comics buddies of mine!

I supported "The Meek" on Kickstarter!

I supported "The Meek" on Kickstarter!

I was also very excited to discover that Der-Shing Helmer, one of my favorite comics artists, was going to be tabling there! I support her on Patreon, so getting to meet her in person was really fun.

Even though I didn't get to exhibit, just attending the show was great for me. I also managed not to spend a zillion dollars in the Artist Alley either, despite wanting to. They tell me Adults must stick to a budget, so that was my one attempt at Adulting for the year, thanks.

Seattle, I got my eye on you, hoping to go again next year!

Stribefeber 2015

So I’ve been a little quiet recently because I’ve been traveling a lot– first I was in Atlanta, GA for about two weeks for Dragon*Con, and then Stribefeber Comics Convention in Kristiansand, Norway directly afterward.

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Talk about a lot of flying– getting from Los Angeles to Norway took me about 24 hours of travel or so. My body had absolutely no idea what day or time it was! Stay up until 4:30 AM, you say? Sure! It’s only midnight somewhere!

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The convention invited me to be a Guest Speaker, and I was honored that they’d choose me for the job. Stribefeber (sorta translates to Comic Strip Fever) is a small show located in the city of Kristiansand, which is on the southern coast of Norway …which means that I wasn’t completely freezing, so hooray for that!

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The show lasted Friday-Sunday, and during that time I got to meet a lot of talented European artists and exchange work with them: Chris Stonehill from the UK, Silje Camilla Pilla from Norway, Mathias Dønnestad, and so many, many more. I took part in an interview with the fantastic Michael Prince which was quite challenging and fun, helped Nicolas Villareal out with his weekend-long Visual Development workshop, and also talked a bit about role models for girls/women to introduce the documentary WONDERWOMEN! The untold story of American Superheroines.

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Outside of the convention, I got to do a bit of sightseeing, and visited the fantastic Artist Island just off the coast called Odderøya. It used to be a military defense island, but in recent times it’s been given by the government to local artists to house their studios and art projects. Street artists’ work can be seen absolutely everywhere. The island also features some old WWII bunkers (which were REALLY cool), one of which has been transformed into a secret library.

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We also visited a district of Kristiansand called Posebyen, which houses the only remaining wooden buildings in the city from before a big fire many decades ago. I think it was 1920 something? Jetlag Brain could not remember the date. Whoops. Anyway, they are considered a treasure so there are many restrictions on painting and remodeling. All of their backyards are butted up to one another too, which creates a lovely interior garden!

Norwegians are an extremely friendly bunch, and I felt completely welcome and comfortable during my entire stay. The country itself is beautiful, and I was quite shocked at how much they support and foster culture and arts.

I had a wonderful time at the convention, and made tons of friends. I look forward to going back to that beautiful country again someday soon!

THANK YOU, NORWAY! (And a special thanks to my friends Ingunn and Charlotte for housing and caring for me all weekend. They are delightful hosts!) <3