Fanati-Fun

Yesterday I got out of my recent doldrums as Yvonne and I packed up and headed up the mountain to Fanaticon-2 in Asheville. Hosted at the Asheville Art Museum in scenic downtown, the town turned out for a wonderful welcome to us. I was so glad we made it. What a fabulous con experience. It was a beautiful day, and the air was filled with fun, excitement, and for me, really good comics sales.

I was seated nearby my Sketch Charlotte friends Henry Eudy and Eraklis Petmezas. They were busy making amazing art the entire show! Having them so close made any nerves I had about the show disappear. You could not meet any more welcoming and fabulous people than Henry and Herc. Unless you count Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find‘s Seth Peaglar, who was manning the Heroes booth upstairs, along with his sweetheart Heather Mobley McKinney. Seth and Heather have a SUPER awesome blog on comics called Exile On Plain Street. Check it out. And we got to say hi to our friends in Asheville, Brent Baldwin and Tiziana Severse, who convinced us to come to Fanaticon in the first place. Check out their fabulous webcomic Hair and Therapy. I love you guys!!!

In addition to excitement, the air was also filled with heat from having half the town packed into the museum. Guys, next year puh-LEASE turn on the air conditioning and, here’s the important part, leave it on!!! We were lucky enough to be downstairs. Vendors from upstairs were loitering in our area, sweat pouring down their furried brows, just trying to cool off. I ventured upstairs once, and no lie, felt like I was going to faint, it was that bad. Downstairs I went. Also, in our room, some numbnut kept playing blaring music every now and then on an old turn-table, so having conversations and trying to make sales was, at times, a royal pain in the keister.

Those drawbacks aside, Yvonne and I had a wonderful time at F-2. The people of Asheville are sooooo lovely. They came to see interesting wares and homemade comics, and we did not disappoint. Neither did my sales. I managed to sell 19 of my comics. I think my favorite part was meeting a fan of my work who has been following my art stories here at watchtomdraw.com. She wanted paper copies of my comics, and she could not have been any more sweet and lovely. I have the greatest fans, EVER! It was great meeting you, Rain. So far my regional con experiences here at Fanaticon-2 and at the Greenville Comic Con a couple years ago have been excellent, sales-wise. Looking forward to more such experiences.

We were also seated by a lovely young couple, Justin and Lyndsey of the BOWL web-comic, who were experiencing their first con ever. Many fans showed up in fabulous homemade costumes. There was a HUGE costume-to-attendee ratio in effect at Fanaticon, higher than I’ve seen at other shows. It’s inspiring, so I think I’ll definitely do my part and really put on the fashion at my next show, Heroes Con 2011. Watch out, the hats will be out and about. B-) At Fanaticon-2, I only saw a few store-bought costumes. Surrounded by homemade goodness, including a super-cute toddler girl in a box-made robot costume, I hope these store-bought cos-players get the hint and take it to a new level next year like the vast majority of Asheville’s finest did. I was really impressed by the costumed fans, who put so much TLC put into their outfits. Some characters I recognized, but my favorites tended to be the non-character costumes. Colorful, eclectic people and comics abounded.

All in all, do not miss Fanaticon next year. It couldn’t be held in a more beautiful place with any more wonderful people attending. One of the most fun comics shows around. So here are some photos I took of my experiences, behind the table. Enjoy.

~Tom

Maggie, from AshevilleBookWorks.com shows me how to make an 8-page 'zine out of a single piece of letter-sized paper. We <3 Maggie!

Justin and Lyndsey Mashburn, creators of the webcomic BowlComic.com, were super-fun, super-cute and super-friendly tablemates. This was their first con ... EVER! BowlComic.com (Big On Winning Liquor) has been up and running with weekly updates for 6 months. Keep up the great work, guys!

Rob Pilk, co-owner of Moutain Empire Comics and organizer of Rob-Con in Bristol, Va., wows us with his special badge.

Yes, Rob does belong to the Merry Marvel Marching Society. This button from his childhood is in pristine condition. He even sang us the themesong that came with the 45 record that new MMMS members received, back in the day.

Super cute folks in colorful costumes abounded. My favorites included these ... no specific characters (that I knew of, anyway), just awesome outfits! These folks from Firestorm Cafe & Books in Asheville were delightful.

One of my favorite costumes @ F2 was this homemade one of Aku, villain of the most-awesome "Samurai Jack" cartoon.

"No matter what form you take, Aku, you will never defeat the side of righteousness."

Eraklis Petmezas, founder of Sketch Charlotte and super awesome friend, was busy behind the table creating these amazing collectible sketch cards ... DURING Fanaticon-2. I keep telling him he should make a fairy tale comic utilizing these creatures of the woods. Also, he draws fabulous skellies!

An Eraklis Skelly.

An Eraklis octopus-type creature, protecting the fishies from all the inky bad black stuff. Pure Petmezas magic.

Brent Baldwin and Tiziana Severse, center, with their "number one fan" at the Deaver Park Press Table. Check out their fabulous web comic, HairAndTherapy.com. Brent and Tiziana were as fun and amazing as ever. Their enthusiasm about Fanaticon last year convinced me to go. Thanks, guys. We <3 Brent & Tiziana!

Okay, unsure of any character here, but who needs it with a costume as fab as this?! I mean, check out those pimped out boots. Amazing!

Boots pimped out with fabulous belts. Goosebumps!!!

Awww, Batgirl and Poison Ivy stopped by for a friendly and cute hello. Asheville's finest really made Fanaticon-2 so much fun. I'm definitely gonna return to Fanaticon.

Another Eraklis card creation. What magical fun!!