This weekend was the return of Baltimore Comic Con. This was my tenth year returning to the show, but my first as a comic fan (I’d been buying toys previously. The New 52 got me back into comics). This year, I found the show was well-organized down to the lines getting into and out of the show. One of the changes I noticed the most, though, was that this year seemed more comic friendly and less toy friendly. There seemed to be a lack of actual toy vendors compared to years past.
On my walks through the show, I got to stop by some of my favorite comic artists and writers, including Larry Hama, Creator of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. I was able to talk to Larry and ask him a couple questions including who his favorite character is. “Snake eyes,” came his response. He went on to relate that his favorite Joe moment included, “When Scarlett discovered Snake Eyes did, in fact, escape Destro’s castle and was still alive.” I also asked him if he was involved with the creation of RENEGADES in which he responded,”What is renegades?” I had to chuckle on that one as he’s definitely old school Joe. SL Gallant was another Joe artist I was able to talk to. I asked him who his favorite Joe was, and found out its Spirit. “I know he’s not a huge fan-favorite, but he is one of mine. A lot of Joe fans give me guff over it.” “Not me, “I answered, “I think that’s cool to hear someone different than the usual Snake Eyes/Storm shadow answers.”
DC Comics had a strong presence this year in Baltimore, and getting to them was near impossible. Capullo and Snyder of BATMAN fame, were the biggest attractions, whose lines went around their tables and far beyond. I was able to meet Gene Ha of JUSTICE LEAGUE and Cliff Chiang from WONDER WOMAN, both of whom are very humble guys. Although I didn’t get to talk much with Ha (he had lines for custom drawings already going when I got to him) I was able to ask Cliff Chiang a few questions, namely how he felt about DC’s New 52 one year later. Chiang responded, “Pleasantly surprised it’s still going strong.” Regarding his personal favorite moment since the WONDER WOMAN re-launch, he went on to say, “In issue #1 when Wonder Woman head-butted a Centaur.” It was nice being able to grab someone from DC considering how popular it has become as of late.
With the return of Stan Lee and company, Marvel also made a strong stance in Baltimore as well. Hopefully, this is a sign of more to come as this was the second year Stan’s been in attendance.
Also in attendance was Action Man with lots of goodies and new costumes for you to customize your figures, including Thor and Captain America. In my opinion, The Captain is making a strong comeback, and we should see a lot more from them soon.
I really enjoyed the show more this year than last because delving back into comics renewed my collector’s calling from years past. Baltimore made a strong showing this year with attendance and my hope is that we are showing the comic world that we can be ranked next to likes of San Diego, and New York. Here’s hoping the shows get better and better.
One final thought – Some people should not wear spandex…I had nightmares for several days after.
‘Til next year –
