Recap: Awesome Con DC 2014

I still have to fully recover because I spent all last weekend BEING AWESOME at Awesome Con! The event took place April 18-20 at the DC Convention Center. I knew from the start that the second year of this convention would be huge: there was a Kickstarter, plus major advertisements on Metro signage, commercials airing during The Walking Dead and other TV shows, and promos before movies in local theaters. Yes, DC was being taken over by Awesomeness.

The weekend started early for me because I was traveling in with Joe Carabeo and his film crew from Astray Productions. They spent the whole weekend shooting footage for the Awesome Con documentary, which Joe is producing. I arrived while things were still being set-up at 8AM on Friday. The show would not start until 3PM, so I had some time to burn and stuffed some attendee bags with promos for the upcoming blood drive I set in-motion with the American Red Cross called "Cartoonists Draw Blood" and my comic strip, Curls. I could see even with no one there yet that the convention would be huge: just the badge registration area was the space of the con last year. The large Awesome Con archway was also a nice visual touch to welcome everyone into the exhibit hall. Friday was a good preview day for special Kickstarter backers and 3-Day pass holders.

Another cool thing that happened on Friday in front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool was an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest gathering of people dressed as comic book characters in one place. Unfortunately, the record was not broken and I was unable to make it out there to see it, but I hope Awesome Con's growth this year will help the drive to break this record in the future.

I got asked to do art for a special badge for certain Awesome Con Kickstarter backers called "Superhero Assist" and for my concept, I illustrated a hip elderly woman knitting a cape.

Saturday was obviously the biggest day at the convention. There were a lot of people! I had two panels that day: The Other Side of the Table: Lessons from Creators (featuring local comic artists and writers) and The Carolyn and Joe Show (in which we recorded a podcast with three cast members from AMC's The Walking Dead). I should mention that the audio from both of these panels will be available in the next few weeks at www.carolynandjoeshow.com.

One of the biggest personal moments for me on Saturday was seeing Richard Thompson as an attendee  there on wheels! Thanks to Nick Galifianakis for bringing him to the convention and to all the Team Cul de Sac members who got to see him again. It was quite a surprise and I actually told Richard to eat his vegetables!

Being with the film crew means you are the first to arrive and the last to leave and by the time we left on Saturday night, I was already exhausted. There was an Andrew WK concert associated with Awesome Con at The Black Cat that night, which I originally wanted to check out, but we needed to get a power nap (also known as sleep) so we could be ready for the final day. Thing is, I saw Andrew WK over 10 years ago with a full band, so I don't feel horrible because I have seen a show of his before. But again, there are only so many hours in a day and I felt exhausted to the level of a 4-Day New York Comic Con.

Sunday was Easter, so of course I was expecting a lighter crowd. It was a much more relaxing day where attendees could spend time at the table and we did the best that day. I participated in the Women in Comics panel, organized by Teresa Roberts Logan and featuring Michael Cavna, Juana Medina, and myself. The audience really engaged a lot of opinions which lead to this being a much bigger issue on a global scale. Joe moderated the Kevin Sorbo panel and we have audio which will be posted on The Carolyn and Joe Show.

Magic Bullet, the comics newspaper anthology I edit was seen on Fox 5 News! Thanks to Rafer Roberts for the image spotting. We were able to give out several copies for free to Awesome Con attendees.

The show is huge and next year will be even more awesome. The security team did a good job. I felt like this was the most secure convention I've been to. Thanks to Ben, Rachel, Paul, Debbie, the film crew, and volunteers for making last weekend so amazing and successful. Everyone learned a lot while this show is growing by leaps and bounds. I look forward next year: May 29-31, 2015.

More photos can be found on the Curls Studio Facebook Page -- and give us a "Like" while you're at it!

Recap: Baltimore Comic-Con 2013

Being as it's the very last day of 2013, I should recap the fall touring season for Curls Studio. Excuses aside, it has been very busy for the past five months. Can't believe Baltimore Comic-Con was September 7-8, 2013 and we are just starting to recap it! 

On Saturday, I was invited to join Amy Chu's panel, "Self Publishing: You Can Do It" featuring Jimmy Palmiotti, Danielle Corsetto, George O'Connor, Dean Haspiel, and myself. The audio is here, if you'd like to take a listen: http://carolynandjoeshow.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/baltimore-comic-con-self-publishing-panel/

I got to attend my first Harvey Awards, which is a nice dinner and awards show hosted on Saturday night. The winner for "Best Online Comics Work" was Mike Norton's Battlepug. Since he was not present, Baltimore Comic-Con asked me to accept the award on his behalf, but I didn't know who was going to win until the announcement was made to everyone. The lights were very blinding on stage, but my big joke was that I didn't fall down when stepping up to the stage, so that's winning half the battle!

On Sunday, I took part in the "Team Cul de Sac" panel with Chris Sparks, Joe Sutliff, Dawn Griffin, and Barbara Dale. Here is the link to audio from the panel: http://carolynandjoeshow.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/zarvox-presents-the-team-cul-de-sac-bcc13-panel

We were able to recruit a few people to walk with us for the Parkinson's walk in DC because of the awareness from this panel. Here is the blog recap for the walk: http://curls-studio.blogspot.com/2013/11/recap-team-cul-de-sac-at-moving-day-2013.html

It was the greatest feeling to see several people at the show - even co-workers from the past couple full-time jobs I've held. Curls Studio really appreciates the support and enjoys seeing people come to the table year after year.

More photos from Baltimore Comic-Con 2013 are located here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152089889767381.1073741839.50763422380&type=3

Hope to see you next year! Mark your calendars for a three-day show next year. It's September 5-7, 2014!

Recap: Annapolis Comic-Con 2013

On Saturday, June 29, 2013 Curls Studio exhibited at Annapolis Comic-Con, run by Awesome Conventions. We had a great time meeting everyone and catching up with other comic creators, artists, and writers.

Joe Carabeo hosted the "Pro Wrestling Today" panel with Ben Taylor and Dan Nokes, a follow-up to their successful Awesome Con panel, which took place last April. You can listen to audio of their Awesome Con panel here and their Annapolis Comic-Con panel here.

Also a fan who collects trading cards showed us his full collection, which included cards of us that we signed at a previous event. I had no idea we were next to Kate Beckinsale and Lynda Carter! I guess it pays to be in alphabetical order!

To view more photos, visit the Curls Studio Facebook page photo gallery: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151691548772381.1073741833.50763422380&type=3

Curls Studio - Guests on DC Geeks Podcast

Joe Carabeo and Carolyn Belefski are guests on the DC Geeks podcast - released yesterday, but recorded on November 14, 2012. We discussed our own podcast (The Carolyn & Joe Show) as well as the books and characters we create for Curls Studio. We also talked about My Little Pony, Turtle Derby, the human Barbie, and more. I hope you enjoy this show and thanks to DC Geeks for having us!

Take a listen here: http://blog.dc-geeks.com/2012/12/the-hidden-world-of-turtle-derby-with.html

Audio - Team Cul de Sac Panel at Baltimore Comic-Con 2012

For episode 191 of The Carolyn & Joe Show podcast, we broadcasted recorded audio from the Team Cul de Sac Panel at Baltimore Comic-Con 2012.

When Richard Thompson, the creator of the comic strip Cul de Sac, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, his friend Chris Sparks began a fundraising effort. With Richard's support, he asked others to donate artwork featuring the Cul de Sac characters for a Team Cul de Sac book with proceeds going to The Michael J. Fox Foundation For Parkinson's Research.

Group photo by Bruce Guthrie: Carolyn Belefski, Dawn Griffin, Roger Langridge, Matt Dembicki, Donna Lewis, Shannon "SL" Gallant (in front with black shirt), Mike Rhode, Chris Sparks, Steve Conley, Joe Sutliff.

Take a listen: http://carolynandjoeshow.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/team-cul-de-sac-panel-at-baltimore-comic-con-12/