On Saturday, July 7th, 2012 I attended my first Southern Maryland Comic Con run by Awesome Conventions. The venue was the roller skating rink at Capital Clubhouse in Waldorf, Maryland. It is always interesting to see where comic shows are held. I have exhibited in a bowling alley, a fire station, dirty bars, a church, a gay community center, and now… a roller skating rink! It was rad. The temperatures got to be a little high (around 100 degrees) but with the ice skating rink next door, you could walk by and catch a blast of cool.
It was my first show where I had to commute, set-up, table, and more on my own since Joe is on tour with The Beach Boys to document their 50 year anniversary. Joe wished he could be there for Curls Studio, but I told him to take the opportunity as it is once-in-a-lifetime and a chance he has earned by working many years to gain recognition in the industry.
I was a panelist on “Webcomics Discussion” supporting my comic strip, Curls. The other panelists were Steve Conley (Bloop) and Chris Flick (Capes-n-Babes). The panel was moderated by Fantastic Forum‘s Ulysses Campbell. Audio was recorded and you can listen to the full panel here as it is also this week’s “Carolyn and Joe Show” podcast: http://carolynandjoeshow.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/webcomics-now/
I also got to judge the “Art Challenge” with Laura Inglis and Matt Slay. There were two categories: one for the younger kids with coloring book pages, the other with plan white paper where older kids could create their own vision. It was a little heard to watch some of the kids who didn’t win at the end, but hopefully they will continue to create art. It reminded me of applying to the VCU Design Department at the end of Art Foundation and seeing some of the applicants who didn’t get into the program. You can read about my experience that year in this comic: http://curls-studio.blogspot.com/2008/07/foundation-year.html
Southern Maryland Comic Con was an enjoyable show with many great artists to meet and activities to do. A lot of people dressed up for the costume contest and you could tell everyone was having a fun time. I am excited I got to meet a whole bunch of new people and hope to be back again in the future.
More event photos can be scene on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151016658442381.447678.50763422380&type=3
Thanks to Fantastic Forum for the photo of the “Webcomics Discussion” panel.