Bent-Con: The Good the Bad and the Geeky-overload!

This could be a very long post so get comfy to read. Where to start where to start...Let's start with the good. 

 Kitten Squad invaded the exhibitors halls! Be and I had our comic ready. There will be another post about how we put the comic together in all of less than a year. We were also doing sketch commissions and had many cute prints. I sold out of Gentlewoman and All Wrapped Up in one day along with Cheesey Toast.

When I said I was doing sketch commissions I meant it big time. Here are pics of the nice people who requested from me. 7X5 paper with water color wash. 

PB and Marci: Fangbanger shirt and Candy Crush shirts

 

Frowny Princess Sam

Free sketch commission when someone bough our comic!

Rainbow unicorn 

Now onto the great panels we got to attend!

L to R Phil Jimenez,Damon Poitier,Jezza Smiles,B. Dave Walters

Our first panel of the weekend was the Race and Class in comics. I was looking forward to this panel from the moment it was announced on the Bent-Con schedule. With only an hour running time I knew it was going to be a great listen. They asked one question that really hit hard for me. 

How many of you want characters that look like you? 

I DO! 

It was further explained that not "look like us" as in an offspring only but as in our own ethnicity. The thing is I am mixed so I like to not only see multicultural peoples but lots of everyone's cultures. Obviously I can't speak for anyone else but I love history and learning about new foods,fashion and well, life. 

It was also brought up about how more people of color can be brought into the mainstream. Nick Fury in the new Avengers being Sam Jackson for instance. Honestly I didn't know before watching Avengers that Nick Fury in some arcs of the comic was a white dude. There was some debate on weather or not switching Johnny Storm's actor to Michael B. Jordan was acceptable.(Beside the fact that you can't be Captain America AND Johnny Storm at the same time ::glare::)  I've come to think that if it's brought to new audiences,like me who don't know enough "original" superhero things, it can be the new norm. If there was more of that it wouldn't be so jarring when characters are given to any person with the acting talent to pull it off and not just to those who only "look" the part. Needless to say this was a panel that needs to be kept for next year and added onto. 

Zan Christiensen,MariNaomi,Sam Saturday,Tara Madison Avery,Nick Leonard, and josh Trujillo.

Anything That Loves Panel piqued my interest but I didn't recognize the names at first. Once I got there though I was super excited. I remembered seeing the kickstarter for it earlier last year. I really wanted to submit a comic but then I just didn't have the time or, more importantly the confidence to finish a full story. (Read more why in the Gardenia Comic post) It was as great as what I expected and more. It not only focused on stories of Bisexuality but on how it varies between people,and all with fantastic art! Sadly the panel was cut short by cosplayers barging in for the next panel. OH Sorry I mistook the next panel to be at 9pm as the schedule said. I love cosplay too but that was just rude. Overall it was another panel that I was really happy to get to see! I am still reading the book. 

On the third day Be got sick so I pulled in my big gun customer service rep., my PB! I can at least thank Goodwill for training us cashiers to say HI to everyone no matter what. PB has that naturally;he's even made friends while we went to the urgent care earlier this year when I got sick. Here I present you with the love of my life.

Thank you Sunshine for taking this pic!

Our final panel of the weekend was the Adventure Time Encyclopedia with Martin Olson,Olivia Olsen and Tom Kenny. PB suggested I make a drawing for Tom Kenny and suggested Jellyfishing, so I made this.

The Panel ran the gamut of the voice actors to the book designers and illustrators. PB was super excited about the VA and so was I of course but what I really loved most was the book designers. I tried not to take too much time at the signing but I had to praise them for the scrapbook and storybook feel of it all. Oh how I love design and layout! At the risk of sounding like a butt I hope I work with these designers one day. 

Telling the mere mortals to leave. Not us witches tho,ehehehehe

Bad Parts?

Here is a small comic on one of the few mean people who came to our table. I was selling Penis and Vulva charms on my table. One person decided to point only the penis out by saying to me "Oh you must be straight,hahahah." Beside that fact that I am not at all it is uncalled for to laugh at someones sexuality. You do this yet it's not ok to ridicule you for your non-straightness? Neither is ok. So the real point of this mini comic isn't to whine about a mean person who came by but to call anyone who acts like this out. It's not just "Don't be a dick" it's Don't Be A Hypocrite. 

Bent-Con was a fantastic weekend of meeting other cool artists and going to awesome panels. My few complaints about mean people and a very small amount of art for the L in LGBTQ are outweighed by the positive energy in the exhibitors halls and the popup gallery.

LAST HAPPY NOTE!

To close out this  post here is a pic with Tom Kenny and the drawing I made for him. Thanks to PB for suggesting I draw it,thanks to Sunshine for putting it on the panel table for me,because yea I'd have wimped out. He showed it on stage with the comment of "Thank you for keeping it clean." and then really thank you. It made my day.