Dragon Con 2016

Part 10: Shopping at the Mart

By Wolfen Moondaughter
February 6, 2017

Part One: Overview
Part Two: Thursday.
Part Three: Charlie Cox, Part One
Part Four: Charlie Cox, Part Two
Part Five: Buffyverse Panel, Part One
Part Six: Buffyverse Panel, Part Two
Part Seven: Brian Henson, Part One
Part Seven: Brian Henson, Part Two, and Labyrinth
Part Eight: Brian Henson, Part Two, and Labyrinth
Part Nine: Voltaire

Saturday, September (continued)

Looking over my notes, I realise I've been lax in telling you what I considered doing, but didn't. I want you to know both how there is a lot to choose from, and how hard those choices are to make!

In going to the 7 P.M. panel on Brian Henson on Friday, I'd skipped a panel on building one's art brand (featuring Jasmine Beckett Griffith), and another panel on being creative.

In having dinner and changing, I skipped one at 8:30 that I actually really wanted to see, but was sure I wouldn't get into, having been at the Henson panel when people were probably lining up, and which would have prevented me from lining up for the Labyrinth sing-along: "Attack of the Celebrity Improv". I've been wanting to see Trace Beaullieu (Crow T. Robot and Dr. Forrester on Mystery Science Theatre 3000) for years, but the scheduling never works out, and I would have liked to see Scott Adsit (Baymax, from Big Hero Six). Ah, well, maybe next year.

In that block of the schedule, I also skipped a panel on spiritualism and the occult in the Victorian age, and another on using social media as a tool. And then there was the 30th Anniversary Charity Masked Ball (from 8:30 till midnight), but I had Voltaire to line up for after the sing-along, and I was sick of my mask by the time I left the sing-along anyway. In going to the sing-along, which was at 10, I skipped "Fanfic Theatre", where fics were read aloud. And I headed for bed before my friend DJ Spider's 3 A.M. Saturday show.

My roommate and I skipped most of the 9 A.M. parade, not wanting to get up early for a space or deal with the crowds. Instead, she accompanied me as I headed over to see Robin Lord Taylor (Penguin, on Gotham). He wasn't there yet, but it was worth getting there early, as I managed to be 4th in line. There was a bit of a wait, as he hadn't even arrived yet -- he flew in that morning, and then there were traffic issues. Despite a rough morning, he was an absolute delight, full of energy! The guy ahead of me gave him a collector's coin from NASA, which he was graciously appreciative of, but he actually hugged me after I gave him the portrait I made of him. He was very sweet -- it was definitely one of my best experiences with my celebrity art hobby!

My roommate and I decided to head to the Mart 2 next, to see more of what I missed in the dealer's room / exhibit hall, and get up to the artist alley (and spend more time with my roommate). I told you in the first installment how disastrously our attempt to get there before the parade ended turned out. Happily, in being stuck for a bit, I met up with a husband-and-wife cosplay team I'd seen online, playing Presidential Candidate Lokis; I knew they were handing out "Vote Loki" buttons, and I was delighted to snag one. (And heartbroken when I discovered it had fallen off my lanyard the next day.)

Having seen Charlie Cox already, I didn't need to worry about the 11:30 A.M. "Daredevil" panel, but in going to the Mart 2, I also missed "How to Break into Art", "Breaking into Animation", "Tools of the Archer", "So You Want to Build a Puppet" (with Kathleen O'Shea David), "Captain America's Super Soldier Serum", a panel on Whedonverse comics, and "Songwriting with Andre McKee". I also missed some stuff at 1 P.M.: a panel with artists of Magic the Gathering, and a discussion panel for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (and if I'd needed it, there was another panel on Brian Henson).

I was at the Mart 2 on Monday as well -- and Friday, you may recall -- but I'm just going to put what I found on all three visits here, as it all tends to blur together for me. There was a lot of repeat business this year; while I am fans of many of the places, I'm not going to go through every one, just the booths that piqued my interest to pick up a card or take a photo of their banner -- if either was an option. I cannot stress enough how helpful it is to have a banner with a booth number on it or next to it! Or, another option, a card with the booth number written on it (although you're out of luck when you run out of cards). In both cases, I can take a photo of items I want with the banner or card, to remember where I got it from. And the booth numbers are extremely essential for me to use the map -- I'm complete crap with verbal directions.

One booth had a life-size statue of Toothless (from How to Train your Dragon), by sculptor John Marks; I'd seen the in-progress pics online, so I was excited to see the finished work in person. It was amazing! If you took a picture, the expectation was that you'd leave a tip, with all proceeds going to charity (I forget which).

My haul this year from the Mart: Diamond Select figures of Captain America: Civil War's Winter Soldier and Captain America; Pop Toys of Kira and Chamberlain (of The Dark Crystal; I had hunted everywhere for the latter before the con), Sarah and Jareth (Labyrinth), and Penguin (Gotham); graphic novels of a Dollhouse comic, a "Vala Mal Doran"-centric Stargate SG-1 comic, Captain America: White (a birthday gift from my roommate), Captain America: The Man with No Face; a Winter Soldier Hero Clix (alas, not the Civil War edition I was actually looking for); and some Supernatural buttons (for my mother). These were all at booths that are the dime-a-dozen variety (some with no banners, even), so honestly, I can't remember what I got where. There were plenty more Pop Toys I was tempted by, especially Jen (The Dark Crystal), Prince Charming (Once Upon a Time; he was on my "seeking" list, but a bit more pricey than I wanted to pay), and a Luke Skywalker / Rancor set (I really want Luke in that outfit; it's my fave).

At the very last booth I stopped at, I found two things I desperately wanted but didn't have money for: the "Marvel Legends: Civil War"-line Winter Soldier (I knew I could get him on Amazon for the same price, and I had a gift card -- and then I found him a couple of weeks later for $20 at Wal-Mart. Arrrgh!!), and one of those action figure sets that comes with a comic, this one of Bucky and Cap, that was $37.50, marked down from $75 (I have not been able to find this set online, but I suppose it's just as well if it's going for more than $20).

It's just as well that I didn't buy any more -- I barely fit everything in my suitcases (considering all the cosplay stuff I had with me), even after taking everything out of its packaging!

Some of these booths were selling fanart, a practice I don't feel comfortable with (as in profiting off of characters owned by others), but I was still mightily tempted by quite a lot, particularly the stuff featuring Bucky, the Winter Soldier (especially a piece featuring Tangled's Flynn Rider as "The Winter Smoulder".) There was a booth with beautiful stained-glass-style drawings of things like starships and the Hogwarts house crests. Another booth had a build-your-own-clock thing going on, with symbol-options from various franchises. And perhaps at least some of the booths selling what seemed to be fan art were actually licenced to do so.

Now for the merchants who stuck out this year (not to say I didn't like any others!).

Ravenswood Leather was back with their to-die-for superhero doublets. Silver Leaf Costumes had a lovely Captain America-themed corset- vest-skirt combo on display. Geisha Moth had a striking "Wonder Woman"-themed kimono. Night Phoenix Designs had sweet silver fandom-inspired bracelets. Nite Owl Workshop had darling fandom-inspired plushes -- I would have loved the Bucky and Captain America bears, or the felt Loki. SheJackalArts had adorable sculptures and lovely stylized animal art. Shottsy Arts is twisted -- wire, that is (and other things).

Crit Success sold nifty "dice rings" (they work kind of like the wheel on The Price is Right). CMON sold a wide array of fun-looking games. Amazing sculptor Jim Maddox had computer-generated busts with amazing liknesses, and other licenced sculptures. Babie Rabiez carried an assortment of accessories; I was sorely tempted by the Marvel-inspired string dolls they carried.

On to the artists! Mark Dos Santos does a lot of art that's Norman Rockwell meets comics, as well as more cartoonish stuff. Drew Blank has a bunch of album covers that were parodies of and homages to pop culture (I was really tempted by this one of Bucky and Cap); he's also known for his fan-art squares and fandom ABCs. Ashley S. Benson creates beautifully-coloured characters. Megan Lara does gorgeous pop-culture fan-art in Art Nouveau and other styles. And Peter Mohrbacher, a former gaming artist, does stunningly beautiful, surreal, and even somewhat frightening paintings of angels.

Hunters Books , publisher of the Zombie RPG Outbreak: Undead, was also promoting their cute children's book, The ABCs of RPGs. (Keep your eyes peeled for my interview with them next week!) Basement City Productions has a number of good-looking books to offer, including the noir comic Dust Bunny, and the humourous pseudo-children's-book-for-adults How to Kill a Spider, which they've turned into a card game. Action Lab Comics was there, and their poster for Hero Cats of Stellar City was eye-catching. Fairylogue Press was there with their appealingly illustrated, LGBTQ-friendly young-adult comic Namesake.

There were plenty of freelance comic artists and independent creators with their own tables. Eric Ninaltowski is the artist on MonoMyth, and cover artist for Hand of the Morningstar. Josh Hood, who has done Wonder Woman pages, is particularly strong with high contrast images. Jenevieve Broomall, cover artist for the likes of IDW and Devil's Due, is known for depicting women who are sexy and badass. Christopher Jones, who has worked with the Big Two and more, has a wonderfully varied, well-rendered, and crisp style; fans of Neal Adams and Bruce Timm alike should give him a look. As far as Timm fans go, they should also take a gander at Very Near Mint creator Justin Peterson's stylish, caricatureish art, which has a dash of Gravity Falls flavor, and suits Mad Magazine well. And I love the character designs for Melinda Timpone's sci-fi alien webcomic White Noise. Rockstars artist Megan Hutchison would likely appeal to Vertigo / Sandman and Image fans. Man-of-all-studios Dietrich O Smith has a classic comic style. Carla Wyzgala's watercolour pin-ups are elegant; I look forward to the Kickstarter for her upcoming fairytale-inspired comic!

Not everyone was an artist; there were comic writers, too, like Lovecraft-inspired comic- and prose-writer Jonathan L. Howard, and Dan Jolley, who has written many licensed comics and novels, as well as original material.

Oh, and my friend, comic creator Ted Naifeh, of Courtney Crumrin fame, was there, so I got in my annual visit with him. Currently, he's working on Night's Dominion, a somewhat RPG-inspired series with a little superhero element mixed in; it's more adult than his usual fair.

And there was a retro arcade in the artists alley! What a cool idea! If I had a table across from it, I'd be mighty tempted to play when it was slow ....

By the time I finished with the Mart, I needed to eat. I decided to try lunch at High Velocity, which I'd hearf had gluten-free food. It being crowded, I opted to eat at the bar -- and was ignored for a solid five minutes. I almost left, but I was starving, and the prospect of walking to Aviva and standing in line, or eating granola in my room (after waiting forever for the elevator), did not appeal. They had a gluten-free bun, gluten-free chicken tenders, and hummus; I opted for the burger, only to learn it came with an arugula salad (not a fan). Them not having fries, I understood (they didn't have a dedicated fryer), but I was shocked to learn that a baked potato wasn't an option -- every place I've had gluten-free burgers at (with a bun, even), the side was always a baked potato if they didn't have fries! I was about to leave after all, thinking a burger alone wouldn't fill me up and my sugar would drop later, when they hurriedly offered to get me one from elsewhere, warning it might be half an hour. I decided to stick it out. It turned out I hadn't needed the potato after all, though -- the burger (a double) was the biggest I'd ever seen! And the potato was gigantic!! So I ended up with leftovers. (Breakfast, yay!)

Between the fact that I'd needed to refuel, and the fact that I would need to line up for the 5:30 Gotham panel, I gave up going to the 2:30 panels "Secrets of NYT Bestselling Writers", "Craft Your Own Automaton", "Wait Until My Father Hears About This" (Jason Isaacs), "Legends, fairy tales, and realities about Dragons", "Live Painting with Lydia" (a workshop), "How to Make it as a Professional Artist", "The Puppetry of Labyrinth" (Brian Henson again), "Buffy and Angel Guests" (Dushku, Leary, and Marsters again), "Reading: Althea Kontis" (I've read a couple of her fairytale-inspired books), "Hair-Raising Hilarity - Werewolves and Comedy" (Peter David, who wrote Howling Mad, one of my fave novels, about a wolf who turns into a human when the moon is full), "Portfolio Review and Career Path Planning", "Writing a Synopsis that Will Sell Your Book", and "Voices of Kids Animation" (Jason Marsden). It's just as well -- I couldn't decide which to go to!

And in choosing to go to the Gotham panel, I passed up a panel with the iZombie cast (David Anders and Rose McIver), "Origins: Gods and Monsters in Myth and Folklore", "Guests of Shield" (Brett Dalton), "The Puppetry of BB8", "Call the Midwife and other British Period Dramas" (post Downton Abbey), "Androids, Automatons, and Robots" (history), "Victorian Splendor and Edwardian Elegance" (costumes), and "Fair Use Law for Dummies".

In two weeks: the first half of the Gotham panel!

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