Also, we ask that you please refrain from hotlinking these images. For those of you who don’t know what that means, we’re asking that you not link directly to the images here on the site. Instead, download them to your own computer and host them elsewhere. Thank you kindly.

Anyway… Let us know how you like these!

-Jim

As you know, (or if you didn’t, you’re about to find out) the comic is currently on hiatus for three weeks. However, I’ll be updating the blog in the meantime. One subject on the blog agenda is the Comments Contest, as I’m still a little behind. So, without further ado:

Congratulations to the winner of the 15th week of the Comments Contest: evaD! I’ll be contacting you about claiming your mini sketch.

Here’s the sketch for our week 13 winner, Alpine Bob. He wanted a sketch of Kate from Paradigm Shift, check it out:

Speaking of art, I’m currently accepting pre-order sketch requests for anyone attending the CGS SuperShow in two weeks. Here’s the latest piece. It’s The Thing!

Saturday night dinner: Andy recommended Maria’s, a nice Mexican place just up the street. It was a great restaurant, elegant without being pretentious. The food was terrific in that slightly higher end Mexican style, but with really decent prices. The low lights and wondering musician with light finger picking on his acoustic guitar made for a relaxing atmosphere with a touch of class. We had a big group, a dozen of us that evening. The lively conversation was at times humorous and enlightening. Back to the Hyatt once again where I just have to give thanks to Zack and Ben for bringing your backpack to the Hyatt!

That Sunday, as Sunday’s almost always are, was slow. I finished up a few sketches and took a little time on the show floor. Andy did an amazing drawing from Where the Wild Things Are for me. Later in the day came the time for goodbye’s as many were leaving that afternoon. It can never last long enough and a little piece of me dies with every “goodbye”. Well, maybe it’s not that dramatic, but the day was marked by a tinge of sadness as we parted. We packed up and headed out the door, where were were met with air the consistency of a hot creme soup. Soaked in sweat by the time we reached the hotel, I was thankful that Pat and our brother from the UK, Nick T, were there to help Andy and I with our stuff. It was in the Crowne Plaza parking lot that I said goodbye to Pat and later Andy. It was fantastic to see and hang with you once again and I’m proud to share table space under the Dial R banner with you guys!

Then to Gino’s East again, this time it was just Steve Bryant, Jim Nelson, and myself. It was nice to have a small relaxing dinner after the end of the show. I picked the brains of these two veterans and made some preparations for the future. I spent the last night in the hotel room by myself, caught up on some desperately needed sleep and drove back home the next day. Actually, first to my parent’s house where my mom had a big scrumptious meal waiting and I retrieved Rusty(my cat). He was happy to have me home.

There was a lot of negative press for this show before it even started. I can only speak for myself, but I had a fantastic time. The show has really hopping. Saturday, the floor was more crowded than I had ever seen it in my five years of attending. Sure, there were some little glitches, as is true of any show. But everyone I heard from, both dealers and Artists, had a successful show. I know I spent too much money, that’s for sure. There was just so much great stuff I wanted to get my hands on. It was a different show from years past. Less the big media spectacle in emulation of San Diego, and more back to the comic book roots. Which may seem like a strange statement in light of the lack of Marvel and DC and the abundance of media guests at autograph booths. But if you were looking to dive into back issues, nab some toys, meet tons of artists and writers, and get some real face time with them, this was the show for you. It was a show for collectors, for Indie Press aficionados, for the fanboys and fangirls, for bargain hunters, for costume players(so many great costumes!), and for art lovers. It’s great being able to reunite with old friends and make lots of new ones. I really hope the success of this year’s show means that it will be around for many years to come. If so, I’ll be there. I hope you will, too. Come on by and say hi.

More pics, see the rest at flickr:

Technically, since moving to Cincinnati, Chicago is no longer my hometown show. But despite the distance, it still feels like it. I left Thursday morning, making my way diagonally across one of the least interesting states in the Union in which to travel. Arriving in the afternoon to the convention center in Rosemont, just outside the city by O’Hare Airport,  I drove into the back of the con center, unloaded, and made my way across the street to the Crowne Plaza. There, 2 of my roommates, the fabulous Kramers, were already waiting. It was great to see them. Sarah had some room cookies ready, which were much appreciated. Pat Loika, Andy Jewett and myself were set up together along the back wall of the Artist Alley. Adam Witt was going to be with us too, but circumstances prevented that, so he consigned his space to his girlfriend Anne, who used the space well. You can see all my pics from the show on my flickr account.

According to sales, Preview night was pretty slow. Many of the tables in our area of the show were still empty and that affects those of us who are there(something no-shows or late-shows don’t seem to consider). But that gave me an opportunity to see friends who stopped by the table and use the time to catch up. As our roommates kept to their own dinner plans each night, Andy and I struck out on our own. Since it was a later night on Thursday, we just headed to the Hyatt lobby bar, where we met Tom Kelly and a couple of his friends, and enjoyed some tasty but remarkably overpriced appetizers.

Friday was my busiest day at the table. I quickly filled that day’s sketch list and much of Saturday’s. I took fewer requests per day so that I could get a little time on the show floor. I think I’ve finally figured out my time management at these things in regards to sketches. The books sold pretty well, too. I wasn’t overly pleased by our table placement this year. The four prior years we had been pretty close to dead center. This year we were in more of a dead corner. I could see a lot of people who just didn’t venture that far. Business was by no means bad, mind you. Especially on Friday, it was fairly brisk, but I wasn’t as swamped as I often have been. Also, it was the second year at the show with the Guns preview book, so that may be a reason it didn’t fly off the table quite as quickly as previous shows or the year before. But business was still pretty decent and I was able to use some of the down time to peruse the rest of the show, and there was lots to see. Artist Alley is my favorite zone of any convention. Chicago always has the largest Alley I’ve seen and this year was significantly larger than last year. Thank you Marvel and DC for not showing with your giant booths and loud obnoxious promotions, the rest of us really enjoyed filling up the extra space!

Our final roommate, the lovely and charming Vince B of 11 O’Clock Comics showed up on Friday. Well, most of him did. About 40 pounds of him was left back in Pennsylvania somewhere!

Here are some pics, you can see the rest at my flickr account.