Wow, I had such a good time at Wizard Cleveland this past weekend. Seeing the crowds, looking at the sales and the energy, you could tell that Cleveland has been hungry for this kind of show. It was really interesting to do this local a show. There are other Ohio shows, but this one is in my backyard. I ran into all sorts of people I knew, from old jobs, relatives, people from high school and even from grade school. It's nice to see those people and know that they're doing well. It's like Facebook, but in 3-D.
I did two panels at the show. The first was Danny Fingeroth's writing panel, where Tom DeFalco, Jai Nitz, Marc Sumerak and I all discussed our process. That was a lot of fun. And the second was saturday's Breaking in and Staying In with Marc Sumerak and myself. We got a lot of good questions there. I think we dispensed some good information there.
I sold a ton of Pony books, moved some prints and sketch cards, sold Love and Capes, and did more than a few sketches. I was drawing almost all day on Saturday! That's crazy in the best way.
Cleveland has a bad reputation for coming out to support shows. So I want to say how much I appreciate people coming out through the snow and cold and poorly plowed roads to make it to the show. (And great move on Wizard's part to extend Saturday-only admissions to Sunday as well for those who didn't brave the snow.) Wizard has already announced they're coming back next year, so you have made it a success.
And I also want to thank Cleveland for not shooting itself in the foot. I was worried about $20 special event parking rates, or extra police ticketing activity, or any of the other things that can be done to strangle an event. None of that happened. There was even a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Mayor. And it was nice to see so many restaurants open even on Sunday night, so there were places to enjoy in the city after the show.
It was nice to see the show take advantage of what our area has to offer, as well. NASA Glenn had a presentation or two, both the Cleveland and Cuyahoga Libraries were out in force, as well as lots of local radio and TV. Wizard did a great job advertising the show. (And thankfully, with genre shows being so big these days, it's easy to know what to advertise on, isn't it?)
Special thanks to people who made this show so great for me: Marc Sumerak, Jai Nitz, Sean Gunn, Tony Isabella, Bob Ingersoll and Danny Fingeroth.
It was a great time and a successful show. I hope to see you there next year!