Recap: New York Comic Con 2025

New York Comic Con took place last month and Curls Studio had great adventures in the city. We stayed at a different hotel than our usual because the price was astronomically high and it ended up being a fun room to stay in that served our minimal needs. 

NYCC is a four day show, and we need to be at the booth for nine hours each day (however Sunday is only a seven hour day and then load-out after). Needless to say it is an exciting and exhausting event. Even if we have to hop right back to work the next day on Monday, the effects of NYCC can sometimes be felt for a few weeks! I have recovered, but the fact that I'm writing this full blog recap a month later could tell you something (we also had Baltimore Comic-Con the following weekend).

The new Curls book debuted as a convention exclusive limited edition (second con-exclusive book that you can only get in-person). We had the new Scott Morse "This Ink Runs Cold" collaboration book that Joe Carabeo wrote a story for. Joe also debuted his Toni Storm Direct To Ink book.

This year I noticed a lot of Asian influences (Gashapon capsule machines, video games, and more) and overall Halloween vibe. The theme was "Haunted" after all, so I think a lot of people were jumping on that and celebrating all October. For freebies, a lot of publishers and vendors were giving away stickers. Stickers everywhere. Labubu everywhere. Pop culture themed candy everywhere. Claw machines. Attendees sometimes needed to wait in a line to play a game to win a promo item (or a coveted Labubu grand prize), so it felt more interactive to "win" something for your time rather than a grab-and-go.

I'm still keeping in touch with Jean Schapowal and the other master cake artists so on Thursday I went to their Cakes With Character booth. Last year I worked with them to provide art for a large pinback button that was exclusive to the show. This year their theme was "Pop Culture Pop-Up Boutique" with all wearable art -- think purses, backpacks, bracelets -- all made from cake! I thought the Stanley "Stan Lee" Cup was very clever. I will be doing a whole dedicated post to their booth experience on Instagram soon.

On Friday I met cartoonists Kyle Baker (who I didn't even know was going to be there and he was randomly in a corner area of the show floor, if we didn't turn that direction we would have missed) and Sam Grinberg (who I have been following on IG and have been a fan of for awhile, but have never met -- his booth appearance was for only one hour and he said he had not been to NYCC in twelve years). I also saw Post Malone from a few feet away and John Cena's Peacemaker outfit on display.

Saturday was fantastic because unexpected things can happen at NYCC. Guess who is standing to my left at the table directly behind us? Enzo. Amore. Let me tell you a story: Enzo Amore is a former WWE wrestler and I've been a fan of him when he was always on TV. I created three pieces of fan art to represent that at the time (one was a Curls comic strip). I was enthralled whenever I heard his entrance music and amazed at his mic skills. But then he was suddenly released from WWE in January 2018 (history note: there was also a U.S. government shutdown then too). The very next day I had tickets to a WWE event he was most likely going to be at. I had my Certified G shirt on ready to go. You can go look up what happened if you didn't know, but ultimately he was wrongly accused of something he didn't do and he said he never even got a call from the police. Ultimately he never informed WWE of allegations before they went public (in this case "viral" online), so it makes the company look bad even if he is innocent. So fast forward over seven years later this is a major payoff to see him after all that wait -- and the proximity to our table? Crazy. 

Enzo is currently known as Real1. He was nice and caught me up to speed on what he is doing right now in wrestling and music. He talked to me about his grandma named Grace and showed me a banner across from him that said "Grace" so it was a magic moment for all to be there in that occasion. I had the first con-exclusive Curls book with me that has the Enzo mention in the comic strip and he signed it for me and took a photo with me. This is the type of stuff that can only happen at NYCC (and if you read my 2022 recap I mention missing him at NYCC because I didn't know he was there until later).

Also on Saturday I saw Jim Lee drawing the face of Wonder Woman at the eBay stage. He was giving an art lesson as he drew and they auctioned it off for $3,350. I also met Gabriela Epstein, one of the cartoonists of "The Baby-Sitters Club" at Scholastic.

Sunday was a standard day at the show. Overall the vibe was very positive this year (not like it wasn't before, but it felt happy with every one excited to be there). The energy of this show was really great and takes so much effort to put on and display work, or items for sale, or cosplay, or even the nature of physically being there. The photo above showcases some of our fans who purchased from our table. New York treated us well with bagels, tacos, pizza, and tasty ramen. We hope to be back at NYCC with new comics and products in the future.

Awesome Con 2024 #SpringIntoAwesome

Curls Studio will be at the 11th year of Awesome Con at Table JR-05 from March 8-10, 2024 at the DC Convention Center. Please view the map above to locate us.

On Saturday "The Other Side of The Table: Lessons From Creators" will be taking place from 7:45-8:30PM in Room 206 featuring Maria Laura Sanapo, Jamar Nicholas, Marc Gaffen, and Carolyn Belefski. This is your in-person opportunity to ask us anything about the creative process and what it is like to be a comic creator.

Awesome Con Short Film Festival presented by Joe Carabeo with Astray Productions will have three days of programming as well as an award show and filmmaker meet-up on Saturday at 4:30PM in Room 202. Check out the wrestling belts the winners receive! Hope to see you at Awesome Con.

Recap: New York Comic Con 2022

New York Comic Con happened earlier this month and Curls Studio had a fun (yet exhausting) time. I didn't get to hang away from the table too often, but I got to take a photo at the My Neighbor Totoro display (waiting to take the cat bus). I premiered the new "Pizza Slice" charm and had a signing at National Cartoonists Society booth on Thursday and Friday. Joe got an exclusive poster from Paul Pope that was his mission to obtain and he also told me he thinks he saw WWE wrestler Omos walk in the crowd, although he didn't call out to him to get a confirmation. I feel like it was probably him because if you see someone strikingly tall like that there aren't many people who have his physique and look.

We enjoyed being in the city and got to experience wonderful dining at Planet Taco (I had the three "Out Of This World" tacos -- Mars Vegetarian Chorizo, Venus, and Saturn). We ate pizza from three different joints over the course of our stay and I had my first Everything Egg Bagel (not to be confused with egg filling inside, but imagine an egg bagel with everything spices on top). 

On Friday night I walked over to Poster House for their First Friday events with free admission. The exhibits "Masked Vigilantes On Silent Motorbikes" and "Air-India’s Maharaja: Advertising Gone Rogue" were on display and I met up with a friend at the museum. We both had dice readings from Maia Lorian. Look for my Instagram (@CarolynBelefski) to be updated with a post solely about my participation at Poster House within the next few weeks. Afterwards we ate at Eataly, our most expensive meal of the trip. It was tasty, but not filling enough. I was so hungry and ended up getting a slice of pizza later on at night.

I got to play ping pong at PingPod. I visited Coney Island and it was a better experience than last year when the weather was drizzling and the town didn't look as vibrant as it could be on a nicer day. I rode Deno's Wonder Wheel for the first time! Luna Park was decorated for Halloween and they had a fog bubble machine. When popped, the grayish bubbles let out mystical fog. I learned that apparently Nathan's does not make the creamy orange shake anymore (so I'm glad to have gotten that last year).

After the show we heard that former WWE wrestler Enzo Amore was at NYCC at a table about a two minute walk away from our booth. I didn't know he was there and missed him, but it would have been great to see him. Reminds me of how last year I found out after the event that MJF, Danhausen, and Orange Cassidy were all there and I missed out on that too. But it also shows how going to all these comic cons is "work" for us and we have to be at our table and represent the books we create. Yes, we get to have a good time and it is sort of a mini vacation, but we are also there to invest in ourselves.

We hope to be back at NYCC in the future. Big thanks to Francis Bonnet, Joe Carabeo, Hannah Mount, NYCC staff, NYCC volunteers, NCS, the kind people at the hotel, and everyone who stopped by the booth.

Our next tour stop for this year is Baltimore Comic-Con (Booth K17) this coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Recap: New York Comic Con 2021

Curls Studio visited New York Comic Con last week and had a swell time. I didn't get to break away from the table too often, but I saw a drawing demo by Dan Parent (he drew Jughead and Betty) and glanced at Adam Cole and Tony Schiavone at the AEW booth. I also got to visit the NASA booth to give them Curls "I Need Space" buttons, sample some Kung Fu Tea, and admire Art Baltazar and Franco work (Tiny Titans) in Artist Alley.

I had a signing at National Cartoonists Society booth on Thursday and Friday. It was fun to be able to see some of the great cartoonists there and catch up after so long.

One crazy thing that happened actually happened at the Curls Studio table was out of nowhere I saw a man walking the aisle in front of me. He was dressed in black tones. Definitely cool and rock-and-roll casual, but nothing too shimmery. He could have been anyone, but then I said to Joe through my mask, "Is that Mikey Way?" Since everyone is wearing masks it can be hard to recognize, but I had a good feeling it was magically him. He walked by since he was on the move and right after he passed I said, "Hey, Mikey!" He stopped and turned around. Imagine someone in one of your favorite bands suddenly face-to-face with you. I told him how much his band is super influential and he mentioned how he it was nice to hear some positivity. Mikey gave us fist bumps and I got a photo with him (with my glasses foggy from wearing mask). I'm happy because I already had photos with all the other members of My Chemical Romance and the only one left to meet was Mikey. Now I have photos with all of MCR!

Of course we enjoyed being in the city as well. We ate lots of pizza in the hotel room and saw Times Square. I got to see the Vessel structure at Hudson Yards for the first time, however it was closed to go up. I also got to visit Coney Island once again and have an authentic Nathan's hot dog and creamy orange shake.

We hope to be back at NYCC in the future. Big thanks to Francis Bonnet, Sammi Messina, Joe Carabeo, NYCC staff, NYCC volunteers, NCS, and everyone who stopped by the booth.

Our next tour stop for 2021 is Baltimore Comic-Con this coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Recap: Baltimore Comic-Con 2016

A photo posted by Carolyn Belefski (@carolynbelefski) on Sep 3, 2016 at 7:29am PDT

Curls Studio had a great time at Baltimore Comic-Con this past weekend.

On Saturday morning I led the first workshop of the day in the Kids Love Comics section. "Create Your Own Superhero Symbol" is the seminar where we combine design and comics to create our own visual identity. The children were all very smart and I enjoyed interviewing them on the mic where they got to present their personal logos.

The exclusive Archie Yearbook was available for purchase and many people came by our table for autograph collecting. Happy accident that my piece had a pretty cool space on Dean's car for a signature to go.

I was able to have some fun on Instagram (follow me @CarolynBelefski) and play with their new "stories" feature to take snapshots of my convention experience. I did not get out to collect signatures for my Archie book or see the show as a "fan" because I wanted to spend time at the table and be a "pro," but I was able to arrive early to look thru some old comics and discover a comic from the early 1980s called Fish Police. That was my big discovery of the convention! I also caught a very brief glimpse of Mickie James, a former WWE wrestler. Joe got to meet Hope Larson and got a few hand sketches in his sketchbook.

Curls Studio premiered a "first taste" of our new comic book series, French Fry Club. We also gave away free Curls coloring sheets and the latest issue of Magic Bullet #13.

Saturday evening ended with a fire alarm about two hours before the convention ended. Everyone was instructed to leave the Convention Center and fire trucks came. It was not a prank. Something happened with ozone leaking. I'm glad the authorities were able to handle it pretty quickly, but once we were invited back in many exhibitors and the majority of attendees did not fill the halls. Needless, to say the last hour was light because of this incident. Sunday's flow was better and Baltimore was back!

Our next convention is Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland on September 17 and 18, 2016. Look for our table location and map on this blog soon. Hope to see you there.

Curls as Enzo Amore

Over the weekend I drew Curls as wrestler, Enzo Amore. It's all fun... because why not? Enzo currently holds most of my interest with wrestling because he's funny and a wacky character. He's also a Certified G and a Bonafide Stud... and you can't teach that! WWE has a lot of great tag teams right now. I'm a fan of Enzo & Big Cass, The Vaudevillians, The New Day, Fandango with Tyler Breeze, and The Golden Truth.

If you aren't familiar with Enzo, check his main roster debut here. Follow me on Instagram (@CarolynBelefski) for the latest behind-the-scenes Curls Studio images or if you are so inclined to pledge $1 or more per month, please check out my Patreon. Thanks!

Carolyn and Joe Show - LIVE at DC PodFest 2015

This coming Saturday, November 7, 2015 from 10PM to 11PM you can join the live studio audience to experience a recording of the Carolyn and Joe Show taking place at the inaugural DC PodFest.

Ellis Mbeh "Shocked Undertaker Guy" will be joining us live as especial guest, so be there to catch a glimpse of his famous face. At WrestleMania 30 after Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker, his expressive face was plastered all over the WWE Network and spread all over the internet, living on in memes and beyond.

I'm interested in learning more about Ellis, as he is one of WWE's biggest fans, a powerlifter, a husband, and more. He seems to be an interesting person beyond having an ultimate WrestleMania moment!

The event is taking place at The Wonderbread Factory, 641 S Street, NW, Washington, DC. You can purchase tickets to the full weekend to have full access. Tickets to attend the Carolyn and Joe Show are $10 (plus $1.34 service fee): http://www.dcpodfest.com/the-carolyn-and-joe-show 

Awesome Con is April 18-20, 2014

We hope you can join us later this month for the second edition of Awesome Con DC on April 18-20, 2014 at the DC Convention Center. Last year was super amazing and it looks like this year will blow our socks off! Curls Studio will be located at table I12 in Artist Alley. Check out the awesome map above so you'll know where to find us.

Joe and I are scheduled to be on four panels, including a DC edition of The Other Side of the Table, which we've hosted at NYCC twice. We hope you can join us at table I12 as well the panels listed below -- plus we might have some surprises up our sleeves...

The Other Side of the Table: Lessons from Creators (Washington DC Edition)
Saturday, April 19, 2014
10:45 AM to 11:45 AM
Room 209B
Creating your product is only half the work it takes to succeed in the comics industry. What about the other half that we don't see as clearly after the product is released to the world? This important panel will explore what it is like to be on the other side of the table, as a creator. We will discuss what it takes to exhibit at conventions, promote yourself, gain a loyal audience, and hopefully survive the life as comic book creator in today's wild west industry - from the POV of professionals already behind the table. Moderated by filmmaker/comic writer Joe Carabeo.

Panelists: Joe Carabeo, Carolyn Belefski, Steve Conley, Matt Dembicki, Arsia Rozegar

The Carolyn and Joe Show Podcast
Saturday, April 19, 2014
2:45 PM to 3:45 PM
Room 207B
Join Carolyn and Joe as they interview special guests on their podcast!

Pro Wrestling Today: The New Movement
Saturday, April 19, 2014
4:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Room 201
After an extremely successful Pro Wrestling Today panel held at the first ever Awesome Con, Joe Carabeo is bringing it back for round 2! What can happen in year in the Pro Wrestling world? Find out, as certain Awesome Con guests (Including DC101’s Mike Jones and Astray Productions’s Joe Carabeo) talk the talk and walk the walk about how they feel about today's current pro wrestling product, its storylines, it's superstars, and maybe even a surprise. Pro Wrestling fans unite, this is the panel that will make you chant YES! YES! YES!

Women in Comics
Sunday, April 20, 2014
12:45 PM to 1:45 PM
Room 209A
Comics professionals Juana Medina, Carolyn Belefski, Michael Cavna, and Teresa Roberts Logan will discuss women in cartoon-land: character sand creators, the changing world of comics, and how they make their livings with pen, paper, and a mouse or two.

Kevin Sorbo Q&A
Sunday, April 20, 2014
2:15 PM to 3:15 PM
Room 207B
Kevin Sorbo will discuss his exciting career and answer audience questions. Moderated by filmmaker/comic writer Joe Carabeo.

Recap: New York Comic Con 2013

New York Comic Con was October 10-13, 2013 at the Javits Center in New York City. Curls Studio had exhibited for the past several years in Artist Alley, but this year was our first time switching it up and trying out the Small Press section on the main floor of the convention... and I dug it! We shared a corner booth with Teresa Roberts Logan of Laughing Redhead Studio and had such a great time with her!

This year I stayed at the table 95% of the time and did not attend any panels. My goal was to represent the booth and meet people there. All I can remember was it was very crowded and only having a small moment to make an impression on people walking by. I did some original art, had a magician do a coin trick for me at the booth, saw outstanding cosplay outfits, got interviewed by Tom Racine at Tall Tale Radio, and more. Our booth was located next to wrestling superstar, Virgil.

For a change of set-up we created a Curls Studio mobile on the side of our booth with several circles rotating in the wind. I think this is a very nice visual, as we are now starting to brand with our circles and the "C" icon.

For more photos check out: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152090096567381.1073741840.50763422380&type=3

We hope to be back at NYCC again. Thanks to all who visited the booth on tour this year!

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

Recap: Awesome Con DC 2013

This past weekend Curls Studio exhibited at the inaugural Awesome Con at the DC Convention Center. First and foremost, all thanks and gratitude does to Ben Penrod, who conceived and organized the convention with Steve from Third Eye Comics. It was a much needed event for the city, which hasn't had an established comic convention in DC proper for years. Ben started it off with a blast!

The event got a lot of coverage in The Washington Post, DC101, and other media outlets. A reporter from Voice of America interviewed me, so be on the look-out for that.

This was the convention a few people were skeptical about -- it was the first one -- and no one was certain exactly what to expect, but we had a good feeling about it. Having known Ben thru other conventions (and exhibiting at his one-day shows Southern Maryland Comic-Con and Annapolis Comic-Con last year) I felt he had some tricks up his sleeve. When he started booking guests like Phil LaMarr I knew it was on! Also one of my co-workers came up to me asking, "What is this... Awesome Con?" -- that's when I knew he had hit a larger audience than usual.

Saturday blew everyone away! The crowds were hungry to discover new comics and many families were all dressed up as characters for the costume contest. All the exhibitors I talked to did extremely well and everyone had a smile on their face. Our table was situated next to Liz and Jimmy with Cuddles and Rage, who were great neighbors and do amazing work. Also on Saturday our friend, Lauren Jaslow, came to Awesome Con and it was a great surprise because we did not know she was going to be in town! I also attended the first 20 minutes of the Billy West Q& A panel and got to hear him do the Doug voice!

At 3PM on Saturday I was a panelist on the District Comics panel, moderated by Mike Rhode. The other panelists were Troy-Jeffrey Allen, Rafer Roberts, Andrew Cohen, and Jacob Warrenfeltz. After the panel, many attendees were interested in DC area landmarks and other tales about the city and its people, so we spent some time talking outside the conference room in the hallway. We'll post audio of that panel on The Carolyn & Joe Show soon.

At 6PM on Saturday, Joe was involved with a Pro Wrestling panel with Ben Taylor and Dan Nokes. I'm sure we'll also post audio of that panel on The Carolyn & Joe Show in the coming weeks. About a dozen people came up to the table after the panel to discuss wrestling with Joe, so it seems like people were really into the topics.

On Sunday I caught a glimpse of the special guests (Nicholas Brendon, Phil LaMarr, Ernie Hudson) and introduced myself to Theodus Crane to prepare him for our podcast recording. At 2PM, we recorded a live podcast with special guest The Walking Dead's Theo Crane, which will be available for listening this coming Tuesday on The Carolyn & Joe Show. He was such a great storyteller and I was amazed to learn about all the jobs he held before his explosion on the acting scene -- at one time he even studied to be a graphic designer! I don't want to give away too much, but we definitely talked about Robert De Niro acting "in his face" and crazy adventures at a strip club. Be sure to listen!

As with most cons (every con I've ever been to), the Sunday crowd is always a bit lighter. But it seemed like people who could not make it on Saturday made effort to attend on Sunday. I'm really expecting next year to be incredible.

A highlight was late on Sunday when Phil LaMarr stopped by the Curls Studio table! Truly, he is a talent and one of the nicest people to talk to and have an actual conversation with. When you look at all the projects Phil LaMarr has worked on (Pulp Fiction, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, MADtv, The Pee-Wee Herman Show, and much more) it's easy to see how he has leveraged a long career in show business.

Thanks again to Ben for creating this amazing event. We can not thank him enough. It was the best weekend I've had so far in 2013. Overall, I've had so much excitement with Awesome Con that I was way too happy to write a recap immediately -- needed a few days to simma down now!

For more Awesome Con photos, please view the gallery here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151539717162381.1073741829.50763422380&type=3

The next event Curls Studio will be at is ANS Sci-Fi & Comic-Con on May 11 at Archbishop Neale School in La Plata, Maryland. Hope to see you there.

Awesome Con DC is April 20-21, 2013

Join Curls Studio at their Artist Alley table (#223) and the three panels Carolyn and Joe will be appearing on at Awesome Con DC. All the action will be happening April 20-21 at the DC Convention Center (801 Mount Vernon Place, NW). 

There are a ton of excellent programming events as well as celebrity guests including Nicholas Brendon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Billy West (Futurama, Ren & Stimpy, Doug, Looney Tunes), Phil LaMarr (Ghostbusters, MADtv, Pee-wee's Playhouse stage show), and Theodus Crane (The Walking Dead).

Tickets are available here: http://awesomecondc.com/tickets/

AWESOME CON SHOW HOURS
Saturday, April 20, 2013 10AM-7PM
Sunday, April 21, 2013 10AM-5PM

Saturday, April 20, 2013 - 3PM

Room 102B 

DISTRICT COMICS

Chronicling the unconventional history of our nation’s capital, District Comics has won numerous awards and has received critical acclaim across the U.S. Join the writers and artist who came together to honor our favorite city during this Q and A panel moderated by ComicsDC’s Mike Rhode. Panelists include Troy-Jeffrey Allen, Rafer Roberts, Andrew Cohen, Jacob Warrenfeltz, and Carolyn Belefski.

Saturday, April 20, 2013 - 6PM

Room 102B 
PRO WRESTLING TODAY: HOW WE'D BOOK IT
How would some of Awesome Con’s guests (Including DC101’s Mike Jones & Astray Productions’s Joe Carabeo) have written some of wrestling’s biggest storylines? We will also discuss current storylines with the audience.

Sunday, April 21, 2013 - 2PM
Room 102A 
CAROLYN & JOE SHOW: LIVE PODCAST RECORDING
The brainchild of mad scientist cartoonist Carolyn Belefski and Astray Productions film director Joe Carabeo; created to fight the oncoming apocalypse one deadly word at time. With special guest Theo Crane from The Walking Dead! (Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC)

Hope to see you there!

Guests on MOKA Podcast #100

Troy-Jeffrey Allen invited Marcus Dowling, Joe Carabeo, and myself to be guests on his podcast, The Menagerie of Kick-Assery.

For their 100th episode the theme was WrestleMania. Take a listen at http://wearemoka.blogspot.com/2013/04/mokasst-100.html?m=0.

And if you enjoyed this podcast, please check out Joe and I's podcast, The Carolyn & Joe Show. Our guest this week is comic book artist and podcaster Matt Rawson, who is also a contributor in Magic Bullet #6. Look for us on Stitcher Radio and iTunes.

Be sure to listen to the MOKA podcast during the month of April. Many of their guests will be Magic Bullet contributors. Thank you MOKA for supporting the Magic Bullet crew as well as advertising in Magic Bullet #6.

Recap: New York Comic Con 2012

This year New York Comic Con took place October 11-14, 2012. Curls Studio drove up on Thursday morning to be set-up and ready for the crowds at the Javits Center. The Thursday morning is my favorite time during NYCC, because once we arrange our table, we go to the main floor to witness the huge displays being put up for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Lego, and more. At this time, no one is around and we can use of exhibitor passes to get in and experience the set-up process and not be engulfed by crowds. By being behind-the-scenes you can observe a lot and by having this access it also helps to see where everything is and have a game plan with what you want to visit during this calm-before-the-storm.

We were lucky to have Brian Sarvis with us for all four days of the convention because whenever we stepped away, he could handle the table. Lauren Jaslow also helped on Friday and it was her first NYCC experience.

Our table was W13 in Artist Alley. Leading up to the start of the convention, all I could hear were mumblings of other creators who were skeptical of the placement of Artist Alley. The location had moved away from the main floor, where it had been in previous years, and was now located in Javits North (if you were at NYCC in 2011, this was the area where the celebrity wing was). To get there, you have to walk a ramp going away from the main floor. Exhibitors were concerned traffic would not come because of this further location and thinking that Artist Alley would be away from the action. At this time, I had already accepted the fact that Artist Alley had moved and all I could hope for is that people would know where to find us and that NYCC had proper signage to guide attendees. I had already written a blog that included maps clearly marked, so I tried my best to prepare the Curls Studio fan base beforehand.

In my opinion, there was no problem with the Artist Alley placement in the North Pavilion. First of all, this was the largest Artist Alley in history. More space leads to more exhibitors and more breathing room to take it all in. Also in previous years, Artist Alley had been placed near loud video game competitions. We were competing with all this noise and action going around us. We had to step away from our table to do a couple of interviews last year due to poor sound quality. This year, I felt like we could talk to the attendees and not feel rushed. We could actually focus and have conversations about what we do and not have to sacrifice communication for being next to noise and other distractions. Artist Alley was it's own large room and we had it to ourselves. Also attendees who enjoy Artist Alley would not miss us - they still knew where to find us - and I felt even attendees who were not familiar with comic conventions still discovered the Artist Alley section as a break from the more hectic main hall. As you can see in the first photo above, the crowds did come to Artist Alley!

I was at the table most of the time. The only other thing I did at NYCC that strayed far from the table was to see WWE Wrestling Superstar Dolph Ziggler for an autograph signing at the Mattel booth. This only took 30 minutes of my time, as I got a ticket to go early Saturday morning and later got in line at the scheduled time later in the day to meet him. I brought Toast with me to take a photo with him. We love his hair because it looks like spaghetti. From this one short experience of leaving the table, I realized how massive NYCC is on a Saturday. If you did not have a destination in mind of where to go, you could easily get lost in the shuffle.

I also saw the Team Cul de Sac book at the GoComics booth, which was exciting to be a part of that and see it come to life.

On Saturday night we ate at Krolewski Jadio for Polish cuisine in Brooklyn. The building entrance is guarded with two men in armor and the place was dressed up for Halloween. We ordered the Polish Plate, pierogies, and more. The food tasted great and I highly recommend it.

Back at NYCC on Sunday, I got to meet Juanjo Guarnido, the artist of Blacksad, one of my favorite graphic novels. I did not know he was going to be there, but luckily I was chatting with Rafer Roberts about Blacksad and he told me the artist was there. I got Juanjo Guarnido to sign my sketchbook and he drew a small head of Blacksad for me. It was certainly a highlight to meet him. I also briefly took a break to see Elmo at the Variant Stage for Kids Day.

At the table, I got to meet  a lot of new people who were just discovering Curls Studio for the first time, by means of just walking around and exploring the scene. Also a few folks dropped by from previous years. It's pretty amazing how they were able to find the Curls Studio table again! We also were at the table when a handful of classmates we knew from VCU stopped by. It seemed like everyone was at NYCC! Here is a video from pugglesformuggles about her NYCC experience. Here is a video interview from glcorps2002 where I talk about the books that Curls Studio creates.

A lot of people expressed interest in Kid Roxy this year, which was exciting to see. We hope to have a new Kid Roxy book out in 2013.

I was also impressed with the quality of cosplay and the costumes this year. It seems like everyone overall stepped up their game. Also apparently female Loki is very popular.

On Sunday night after we fully packed and the convention was over, we ate dinner at La Taverna in Brooklyn. This restaurant served delicious Italian food and I had the grilled salmon. We got some rest to prepare us for our Monday as a "free" day in New York, since we were in town. We looked for the set of HBO's Boardwalk Empire, which we knew was in Brooklyn, and turned out it was very close by LaTaverna, where we had been the night before. The set was closed off and they were not filming, but we were able to see the top of some of the boardwalk buildings and small glimpses of the boardwalk wood. One of the billboards were tossed aside for "Adam's Black Jack Gum" and I took a photo with that.

We then went to the new location of Forbidden Planet comic book store, which is next to the Strand bookstore. We went to Little Italy and ate at Sal's for brick oven pizza and then headed home.

Thanks to my pal, Nadia, for letting us stay at her place. Also big thanks to Mike Negin who did an awesome job of coordinating Artist Alley. Thank to everyone we met and we hope to be back in 2013 for NYCC.

Looks for more photos on the Curls Studio Facebook page and give us a "Like" too! Also check in with AstrayJ on Instrgram. He took a lot of photos documenting Curls Studio's experiences at NYCC.

Recap: Asbury Park Comic Con - May 12, 2012

On Saturday, May 12, 2012 Curls Studio journeyed to the land of Bam Bam Bigelow to exhibit at the first-ever Asbury Park Comic Con in New Jersey at Asbury Lanes, a bowling alley by day and rock club by night near the boardwalk. Since this was a new show, I wasn't sure what to expect: the venue seemed cool, but my main concern as an exhibitor was the audience and hopes that people would show up. My expectations were mid-level with an exploring mind to check this show out, but this show soared above my estimate! We had a great time, ate tater tots, met new people, enjoyed awesome music, took photos in a cool retro photo booth, and did very well in regards of making table and more.

Many of the people we met had NEVER been to a comic convention before and were open about different types of books in the comic medium. Customers were looking for all-ages books and Kid Roxy and Black Magic Tales did very well! I got a few comments from guys about how they enjoy my art style and that even if the content isn't 'up their alley' they respected the art. I take this as a compliment because my work is adorable and I understand if manly-men might not want to read it, but it's great that they told me they enjoy the art. I would also instruct them to check out The Legettes!

There was also a little girl who came by the table four times for different purchases. She is our top repeat customer. It was so nice to see her with a little purse picking out a Curls patch, a button, and the first issue of Kid Roxy. I also drew her a sketch of Roxy Monroe from Black Magic Tales in her notebook. I think it's awesome that kids read comics and can tell this segment of the comics industry will burst open soon. Many parents we talked to were enthusiastic to seek books and read with their children.

I think the show's success also had to do with the location being close in proximity to New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. This helped get a diverse amount of talent to appear at the show, including Evan Dorkin, who I got to sign my copy of the Beasts of Burden hardcover. Everyone at the show was happy to be there and we enjoyed meeting a new crowd.

A treasure we got to discover after the show as we walked the boardwalk was Joe pointing out where the dance scene in the film "The Wrestler" between Mickey Rourke and Evan Rachel Wood took place. At first I didn't believe him because it was such a random find, but the closer we got to the scene I realized Joe was correct. Another jewel to his film knowledge was presented! It is so great to stumble upon amazing landmarks like that. It reminded me of the time in 2009 at Pittsburgh Comicon where we saw the "Bean N Gone" in Monroeville, PA from Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."

Thanks to Cliff for organizing Asbury Park Comic Con! We hope to be back again. If you missed the show and want to pick up Curls Studio products online, check out the Curls Studio Etsy Shop.

Be sure to check out more photos on the Curls Studio Facebook Page. "Like" us while you're at it.

Curls Studio will be at WWE RAW Tonight

We're going out tonight
To kick out every light
Take anything we want
Take everything in sight
We're goin’ til the world stops turning
While we burn it to the ground at night





YES! YES! YES! Curls Studio will be at WWE Monday Night RAW Live tonight April 9, 2012 from Washington, DC. We have even made signs in advance with your favorite characters CURLS and TOAST from http://www.curls-studio.com/curls and took photos so you can spot us in the crowd (we are in the 5th row off to the side corner), so record the show and if you see us send us a screen capture for a free gift of comics goodness from us. Email info[at]curls-studio.com to get in contact with us! You can watch live on your TV at 9PM eastern on USA Network. Enjoy the show.