C2E2 2019

[prizzy726]

C2E2 2019 was this weekend, and even though I only went on Friday, I got a few good pieces in my opinion.

Before I get to the pieces I did get, I'd like to start off somewhere I didn't get any art. I got there pretty early Friday morning and my first stop was definitely Stanley Lau's booth, aka Artgerm. Of course, a lot of people had the same thought, so by the time i got to his table, 10:01, I was like 30th in line. I heard later there were a few exhibitors with big stacks at the front of the line, which is infuriating. Anyway, his commission list filled up quick, as expected and I missed out. When I came back later to get books signed, I don't know if I've had a more off putting interaction with an artist. I understand he may have been tired and probably jet lagged, but no interest in any of the fans, we were all just business transactions. That's how I felt afterwards.

And a lot of it was because of the $5 signatures. This was everywhere at the show. I can't speak for other conventions, but there was almost none of that last year, and now I'm kicking myself for not bringing more books in 2018. I suppose its not a surprise this is where the industry is trending, but its still unfortunate. To end this rant, I'll just say I'm going to give Stanley the benefit of the doubt and hopefully I'll get a chance to meet him again and have a better experience.

The other side of that coin was my experience with Jeff Dekal. Went to his table second to set up a sketch, and I learned Jeff is one of the most humble, chill and appreciative people I've ever met in an artist alley. He was so awesome to talk to, and accepted my request for a Harley Quinn. And when I came back later that day, he dropped this beauty on me!

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallery...?piece=1537504

I can't get over those eyes!! He does such amazing work and I'm so glad to add him to my collection.

Next, I stopped by Ben Harvey's table as I had setup a pre-show piece from him. I had already seen the piece so I knew what was in store.

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallery...?piece=1537529

Absolutley love how this turned out and I love that Ben liked it enough to turn it into prints!

After that I stopped by Chrissie Zullo's table because we had set something up earlier as well. I was gonna have her add to my Gotham City Alt Girls jam, but she couldn't get to at the show, so I'll be looking for it in the mail soon. Will update when that arrives.

The last thing I had done was from Uko Smith. He's also a really cool guy, but I think relatively unknown(?). I had him to a rendition of my original character, but I think I will make another post about that soon to show all of my pieces of her by various artists.

Lastly, I picked up a few non art things, including this beautiful print by Jenny Frison:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvKMe8ShRNb/

Jenny was also not charging $5 per signature, but was taking donations and I was happy to make a donation to get a bunch of my Wonder Woman variants signed.

I also finally got a 1st edition printing of the Batman Harley Quinn book with Alex Ross' famous cover.

All in all a good show. Can't wait to see other people's hauls from the show. I also updated my CAF with a bunch of other pieces form the last couple years that I never uploaded. Check em out. Thank you for reading!!

[carlito1978]

The harvey is really nice.

[Mean Green]

Love that Ben Harvey Harley piece! You definitely had a pretty nice haul.

Regarding the sigs, please don't take this the wrong way as I'm not saying this necessarily applies to you. But I totally understand why artists do this. Their signature on the book, simply put, adds value to it. And I've been to so many cons where fans would come with a large stack of books and the artist would just sign and they'd be off. Polite, but very little interaction, they don't purchase prints or collect sketches, etc and it seemed they were there just to get their books signed and possibly ebayed. I'm sure that's not the case in each scenario but it's absolutely being done. I see this practice as discouraging the quick flippers from bring 20 books for instance but also helping the artists out for their time. However, I do like how a few artists offer a some free signatures and charge for anything over that.

[Walt3]

Great Harleys! Congrats

[carlito1978]

Originally Posted by Mean Green

Their signature on the book, simply put, adds value to it.

Is that still the case nowadays? I thought signatures on raws didn't add value and actually detracted value from pieces. cgc'd different of course.

[Mean Green]

Originally Posted by carlito1978

Is that still the case nowadays? I thought signatures on raws didn't add value and actually detracted value from pieces. cgc'd different of course.

Tbh, you may be correct and I just don't know. I thought if someone wanted to buy a raw book, it'd be nicer to have the artists' signature than without and they'd pay more.

[SONICobra]

great haul, i think i might try to go to this next year. any pro tips you can give for a first time con'er?

[Demona]

I like both your Harley's. Ben's is the obvious stand-out, but I really like how Jeff was super deep and detailed on only one part of Harley. It's very hypnotizing. I imagine if he did a Joker he might make a deeply detailed psycho smile and make the rest chaotic.

Look forward to see the other art from the show.

As a side question - was Jenny taking commissions at the show?

[prizzy726]

Thank you everyone for the kind words!

Originally Posted by Mean Green

But I totally understand why artists do this. Their signature on the book, simply put, adds value to it. And I've been to so many cons where fans would come with a large stack of books and the artist would just sign and they'd be off. Polite, but very little interaction, they don't purchase prints or collect sketches, etc and it seemed they were there just to get their books signed and possibly ebayed. I'm sure that's not the case in each scenario but it's absolutely being done. I see this practice as discouraging the quick flippers from bring 20 books for instance but also helping the artists out for their time. However, I do like how a few artists offer a some free signatures and charge for anything over that.

No I definitely get it as well, it was just a shock from almost no one doing it last year. I also think there are better ways to alleviate the problems they are facing.

Originally Posted by SONICobra

great haul, i think i might try to go to this next year. any pro tips you can give for a first time con'er?

My advice is this. If your'e looking to squeeze as much out of the convention as possible, do a ton of research and planning, get there early and bring a lot of money. otherwise I say wing it for the first time and go with the flow. get lost in its craziness,interact with as many people as you can, go to panels, and just have fun.

Originally Posted by Demona

As a side question - was Jenny taking commissions at the show?

It didn't seem like she was. She wasn't drawing either time i visited her.

[boibleu22]

Love that WW print. Picked up the OA and should be here next week.