Appearing At FallCon Comic Convention

Today is travel day back to Minnesota from Germany. In fact as this is posted I should be somewhere over the Atlantic on the way back home. On Monday and Tuesday I will post a complete report of the trip. It was amazing.

In the meantime I will be spending this weekend, jet lag and all, set up at the Minnesota FallCon comic book convention taking place at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds both on Saturday and Sunday.

I’m not much for appearing at comic book conventions. They are always fun, but MAD is one of those “sort of” parts of the industry. It’s “sort of” a comic book and I am “sort of” a comic book artist, but very few people who attend have ever seen my work. I get a lot of “oh, I used to read MAD as a kid… haven’t picked one up in years.” Most people that attend these are either fans of mainstream comics, fans of alternative comics, comic book creators or aspiring comic book creators. Not a lot of readers of MAD, at least the current version. I also have no character to draw, unless you count Alfred E, Neuman, so I usually offer to draw caricatures. Inevitably I am asked to draw sexy Batgirl drawings instead.

Still this one takes place in my hometown (close enough, anyway), and the organizers are nice enough to invite me every year and really want me to attend as I am a local creator. I also get a chance to see some old friends like DC artists Doug Mahnke and Tom Nyguen. Doug is one of the most sought after comic artists in the business, and he and I started out together as artists for the same theme park concession company in 1985, he doing airbrush T-shirts and I caricatures at Six Flags Great America near Chicago. Tom is another well known comic artist and inker, who worked for me as a young kid drawing caricatures at my operation here in Minnesota. It’s always fun to see them, and there are other folks from the area I seldom get to chat with that I hope I’ll get to see this weekend.

This is the 20th anniversary of the FallCon, and they are moving into the Grandstand building at the Fairgrounds to accomidate a larger show. There are panels galore and lots of things to see, like one of the 60’s TV show Batmobiles.

I don’t know where I will be set up yet. but I will be drawing caricatures and sketches (even a sexy Batgirl if that’s what you really want) for some beer money, and will also be selling some original MAD artwork for pretty cheap. Stop by and say hello.