This weekend, 02-16-2019, I was fortunate enough to have some time to kill and cash to spend. To take advantage of these fortunate circumstances, I set out to the Wisconsin State Fair grounds to attend Mighty Con Milwaukee. Lemme tell ya, it was time well spent. The cash… well, we’ll see about that. For now, the missus is pretty happy with the loot I brought back for her, so she hasn’t seemed too upset about the pile I brought home for myself.
What kind of awesome loot and interactions did I have at Mighty Con, you ask? Or you didn’t… doesn’t matter cuz I’m talking about it anyway, and I’m including PICS!
My first stop was the booth of Matt Rybarczyk (he buys and sells, so if you have something, or are looking for something, shoot him an email at matt.rybar@gmail.com)… By his own admission, Matt is just a humble fella with a comic-collecting problem. Fortunately for Matt, and those of us on the hunt for a variety of titles, he’s able to relieve some of the pressure of too many books (psshh… as if such a thing exists) by setting up at the local Cons. I picked up a pretty good helping of books, some of which I really didn’t expect to find.
Here’s a few that are near and dear…
And a couple others, found at a few different booths…
Another stop was made at the booth of artist Camron Johnson. I’ve met Camron before, and have had the infinite pleasure of reviewing a couple of his self-published comics… His very first foray into comics (started in high school) was Thy Neighbor, and his graphic novel Bonecheck was a creepy, uber-violent action piece that reminded of the old Evil Ernie books of my teen years. I was almost proud when Andy, a buddy of mine, wound up buying a copy of Bonecheck (his thoughts on it:
“It’s an outstanding thing. Chaotic, fun, ridiculously violent and an absolute blast. And much as he might not have liked doing the lettering, the way he changed it to match whatever character was speaking, in the style of their personality, I thought really added to the book. And I loved the “lore” ads he peppered in throughout the book. I look forward to the next one, and kicking myself for not grabbing The Neighbor, as well. “
Along with the reading material, Any picked up a Walking Dead sketch cover that Camron had done (a pic will be along soon as I can get hold of it), and a print of the one and only H.P. Lovecraft:
From Camron’s website…
Drawing and Illustration has been my passion since a very young age. Sketching and doodling in coloring books quickly escalated to filling up notebooks with stories and designs. Growing up in Washington, Illinois, I started working seriously in high school and took as many art classes as I could. After graduation, I went to Illinois Central College and received my Associates Degree in Arts and Sciences. I took a quarter to study Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, Georgia before transferring to Illinois State University in Bloomington Normal to pursue the rest of my Bachelors Degree in Studio Art – Drawing. I am very interested in book illustration as well all other types of illustration. The pure permanence of ink gets my mind racing while attempting to problem solve and create the best work possible.
I am intrigued by the strange and inspired by the terrifying.
Adding to my wife’s reading list, I picked up a very slick looking urban fantasy/detective noir novel by D. Lieber, called In Search of a Witch’s Soul (which doesn’t officially release for another 15 days, so I’m feeling pretty damn special). The book is set in the era of Prohibition- where it’s magic that’s been banned- and follows private eye Anna Caill on the case of a missing coven high priest.
Also, I stopped by a few of the vendors and found a huge variety of toys, both loose and “mint in box”. Found these little gems, also for my lovely wife…
All in all, it was a great time had by all… Well, by me and Andy. Can’t really speak for everyone. The Mighty Con is growing by leaps and bounds, and is a great way to spend a day. Now that it’s found a home at the Wisconsin State Fair grounds, no longer crammed into the much too small Serb Hall, it’s a pleasure to wander around and search for that one item that you “have to have all of a sudden”. I found several… Keep an eye out at their website, and maybe I’ll catch you at the next one. Till then…
“Okay, this looks bad…”
