MallowCon Report

Last weekend I had the good fortune to attend the first Comics Collector's Comic-Con in Port St. Lucie. The show was put on by Keith Mallow [pictured above probably wondering how he ended up in a StalloneZone t-shirt]. You've heard me talk about Keith [and his lovely wife Monica] before. They're good people [well, at least Monica is...]. I was there with my best buddy, Big John Beatty, who was a guest at the con. Here's how the show went...

Beatty and I arrived early. The room was already packed with dealers. Keith led us back to Big John's table. I was surprised to see Jesse "Cadre" Hansen set up at a table behind us. I should have known that Cadre would be at the con since he is "the hardest working man in comics." Jesse had his latest project on hand, the #1 issue to Cornerstone which features four stories by the Cadre Corner Crew [say that three times fast!]. It's a nice package, and I'd have said that even if Jesse didn't give me a shout-out in the "Thank You" section!

Soon enough Ethan Van Sciver arrived. His table was next to Beatty's. My buddy, John Higashi, had asked me to get a sketch from Ethan for him. Ethan agreed to the Star Wars piece [adding another figure to this one that he had drawn earlier].

I decided to take a walk around the room before the doors opened. There were quite a few dealers set up. Tim Gordon was there. Tim's a great guy and he puts on the Tampa show that you've heard me brag about over the years. Keith Mallow and Tim are working together cross-promote their shows and see that they don't overlap. Pictured above is a shot of the America Man table. They were giving away free copies of their America Man comic. Since the doors were getting ready to open, I headed back to Beatty's table.

From the time the doors opened until almost closing time, the show stayed busy. Every fan I talked with said he/she was having a great time and making some good purchases. Dealers seemed to be doing good business as well. When both the fans and dealers are happy, you know it's a great show!

Ethan was able to finish Higashi's sketch, but then about an hour into the show suddenly had to leave. Hopefully, whatever emergency called him away was been positively resolved.

Beatty had a sketch list that kept him busy through the show. That coupled with a ton of autograph requests [and even a couple of newspaper interviews] made the day flow by quickly. Beatty was in the zone when it came to his sketches. Each one was a winner, but this Punisher sketch [purchased by uber Punisher fan Bart ] was my favorite of the show.

As the show came to an end, everyone started to say their good-byes. We told Tim that we'd be at his show in August, if we didn't make the one in May. Cadre said that he and his crew would be down for the next Sketch Society meeting. We told Joe "Ladder Leg" that we'd see him at the next show. There was just one last thing to do before hitting the road... and that was to thank Monica and Keith for putting on a great show... I decided that it would be best for Beatty to thank Keith...