Gene and I (and his family and my son Theo) spent an hour or two at the Emerald City Comic Con. We went to see if we want to exhibit there in the future, to do a little shopping, and of course be rabid fanboys regarding various creators.

It was a respectable little show. There were lots of comics and collectibles for sale, some famous names, and even a very short programming track ("So you want to be in comics" and so forth). But I continue to think comic conventions are not the right place for us. For one thing, we make a comic strip, which is on the periphery of the comics world. For another it's not about gaming, anime, or anything else that would be appealing to those youngsters who tend to frequent such shows. We'd probably make some money doing the show, but the question is, would it be worth two days of our life? More, when you count preparation. And at this point the answer is, probably not. If I'm going to spend a weekend away from my family I want to spend it either drawing or selling a ton of stuff. And I don't see that happening there. Comic Con - the real one - is an exception. The sheer scale of it means we will have more fans (and likely fans) there.

I did have a chance to meet Tycho from Penny Arcade, who was just the nicest guy and very supportive of our little venture. It didn't hurt that one of the guys working his booth has a librarian for a mother, and so knows all about us. I tried to connect with Scott Kurtz from PVP but he was either engrossed in drawing or else I just didn't interest him. Friends Georgia and Scott Ball were showing around the best looking ashcan I've ever seen - actually a well made prototype of a comic book they'd like to publish or have published. Good luck, guys!

Most importantly, Theo got a chance to go to his first Comic Con and came away with a small stack of free comics, some toys, and a Batman shirt. My little boy is growing up.