Amazing Comic Con Launches Its “Force Friday” Event in Houston with Free Sketches!

Amazing Comic Con is launching a new feature at all of their upcoming shows – “Force Friday”! This event will highlight all of Amazing Comic Con’s amazing Star Wars related guests and activities on opening night of their conventions. ACC’s Star Wars Force Friday makes its debut next weekend at the 2016 Amazing Houston Comic Con on September 9th, and to launch this new program the first ever Force Friday will feature free Star Wars comic art!

To launch their very first Force Friday, Amazing Comic Con has commissioned several key players in their artist alley to do an hour of free sketches for fans coming to the show on Friday Night. Participants in Amazing Houston Comic Con’s Star Wars Force Friday are:

MAT NASTOS Known for his work at Disney and his art for Topps on various Star Wars-related sketchcard sets, Mat will be contributing an hour of Star Wars themed sketches on Friday.

APRIL GRADY-REYNA A Favorite Artist from the Phoenix Fan Community, April Grady Reyna’s smile is almost as great as her work. Her work is diverse from Ponies for the Bronies to photo realistic commissions. 2016 is her first time in Houston, and she will be available for pictures for fans of all ages.

RYAN KINCAID Artist Alley Favorite is back to Houston, showcasing a variety of styles from tradition to chili pop, Good Girl Pin-up and more.

McLAIN MAGUIRE Founder and figurehead of CCP Comics, McLain is one of the friendliest faces on the convention circuit. He will be able for a limited amount of Force Friday Free Sketches, and will be able to direct you to other CCP Artists as well!

Tickets to Amazing Houston Comic Con are available now! Single day tickets, weekend passes and VIP packages are all still available, with single day tickets as low as just $25. Head over to the Amazing Houston Comic Con online store to buy your tickets today!

Amazing Comic Con Returns to Houston on Sept 9-11!

In two weeks the Amazing Comic Con crew heads to Houston for their third annual Amazing Houston Comic Con! What The Blot loves about Amazing Comic Cons is they put the focus back on the “comic” comic conventions. While many comic cons focus more on B and C-List celebrity signings and photo ops, Amazing Comic Con brings the best and brightest in comic book creators to every show they put on.

Amazing Houston Comic Con, which takes place on September 9th-11th at George R. Brown Convention Center, has an awesome line-up again this year that includes legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman, superstar Marvel artist Steve McNiven, Chad Hardin, Mat Nastos, Rick Hoberg and Tony Fleecs.

But AHCC is not all comic books! It’s 3 days filled with a giant exhibitors hall, an international artist alley, video game arena, hundreds of people in costume and more. Single day tickets, weekend passes and VIP packages are all still available, with single day tickets as low as just $25. Head over to the Amazing Houston Comic Con online store to buy your tickets today!

Con Report: Comicpalooza 2016 Celebrates All Walks of Pop Culture

The Blot could not believe the electricity in the air when I arrived at Comicpalooza 2016 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. In many ways, this year’s later date in June did wonders for the show. You could tell school was out with high attendance early on Friday. By the time I arrived at the convention just before noon, the halls were already jammed packed with children of all ages in awesome anime and super hero costumes. That’s the great part about “Texas' Largest Comic and Pop Culture Event”. It has done an amazing job appealing to so many different genres and fandoms.

Without a doubt you could feel the excitement all weekend long for the Aliens 30th Anniversary Cast Reunion. I spoke with diehard Alien fans from around the globe who had flown to Houston for this once in a lifetime event. By the time the Aliens Q&A panel and signings began on Saturday Comicpalooza had been invaded by an insane amount of Colonial Maries, Xenomorph and Ripley cosplayers. It was awesome! The lines to meet Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton and Paul Reiser were equally insane. You would not believe all of the epic Aliens memorabilia brought to the convention floor to be signed.

But it wasn’t just the Aliens cast reunion that brought excitement to the convention floor. You definitely couldn’t tell Charlie Hunnam had just been in Houston for a con earlier this month. Sons of Anarchy fans flocked to his booth all weekend long, making his corner of Comicpalooza one of the places to be this year. Other huge draws were Kate Beckinsale, Norman Reedus and the equally exciting Boondock Saints reunion. Comicpalooza was definitely all about celebrity signings and photo ops this year!

The Blot is always excited to meet the professional comic book guests Comicpalooza brings to Houston this year. I had great conversations with Adam Kubert, John Ostrander, Mike Zeck, Val Mayerik and Andy Belanger. Mayerik (the co-creator of Howard the Duck) was a real thrill to speak with as he has not been seen on the comic con scene in a number of years. But it was a huge honor to get to talk with comic book legend Ostrander, the creator of the modern day Suicide Squad. Ostrander’s work was a huge influence on me and you can see today how that book has not only influenced the current era of DC Comics, but also the DC movie universe with the upcoming live action Suicide Squad film.

It felt like Comicpalooza’s dealers section has also grown tremendously this year. The Blot was really excited to finally meet Alvin and Cheri Ong of Furry Feline Creatives. These extremely popular plush and resin figure creators recently relocated to Texas and were making their very first Comicpalooza appearance. While we’ve been covering their releases for years, this was the first time I’ve been able to see their work in person, and boy was I blown away!

While the list of professional comic book guests seemed lighter than in years past, The Blot was thrilled to see a huge increase at comic book vendors in the dealers section. You could really see a larger emphasis on comic books at this comic con, and I hope this trend continues!

This was definitely the first time in my seven years of attending/covering Comicpalooza that I felt like I just couldn’t do everything I actually wanted to do. The show has grown so much that there’s finally just too much to do it all. But that’s a great problem to have! This is one of the few conventions that continues to grow and improve year after year, and The Blot’s really proud it’s in my own backyard. The commitment the City of Houston has made to Comicpalooza is a great sign that it will! If you’re looking for a great convention to attend next year, make plans now to attend Comicpalooza 2017 on May 12-14.

MondoCon 2 Report: Unbox Industries Booth with Lots of New Figures!

One of The Blot’s personal highlights of MondoCon 2015 was getting to meet Dan Willett of Unbox Industries and Texas’ own Retroband! Unbox Industries has been producing some amazing designer art toys the past few years, and have really been pushing the boundaries of what you can do with the medium of vinyl. I especially love how they are constantly looking for new and exciting artists to work with that you may not associate with the designer art toy scene. I only does Unbox Industries work with Mondo to produce many of their collectibles, but they’ve started working directly with many of Mondo’s acclaimed stable of artists.

If you were at MondoCon 2 last weekend then you know there was a lot of exciting talk going on about some of the upcoming designer vinyl figures on display at Unbox Industries and the artists they are currently working with. The hit of MondoCon seemed to be Gog by Rob Jones, which looked freaking incredible in person! I can’t believe all the detail they crammed into this figure. To me it really has an old school designer art toy figure from the scene’s gold age. Then there is the Weedian by Arik Roper, which is just a beautiful 3D rendering of Roper’s amazing artwork. These three figures look amazing and creepy as hell all at the same time!

The Blot was also super excited to in person Retroband’s new soft vinyl figure Meats!!! This hulking behemoth looks fantastic, and I love all the crazy wicked detailing Retroband put into this massive killer. Each figure will include two resin weapons, and I can’t wait to see what crazy accessories Retroband comes up with to include with the homicide Meats.

It was also cool to see John Kenn Mortensen’s Three Witches vinyl figures and Skinner’s Lolgolth Gnazgoroth in person. These toys are perfect examples of the type of groundbreaking work Unbox Industries is producing with a venerable who’s who of the art world. Look for more details on these exciting releases here on TheBlotSays.com very, very soon!

MondoCon is Back and Bigger Than Ever! MondoCon 2 Convention Report

Mike Mitchell

The Blot had the privilege to cover MondoCon 2, the world’s preeminent art and print convention, last weekend in Austin, Texas. The Blot’s been covering Mondo and their releases for years now, but it’s hard to understand the brand’s popularity until you’ve attended MondoCon. Yes most of their releases sell out within seconds, but seeing collectors camp out for days just so they can get first shot at a super limited edition release really drives home the fact that Mondo and its acclaimed stable of artists have become an integral part of these fans’ lives.

Mike Mitchell

Everyone I spoke with throughout the two days of MondoCon were truly passionate about art and prints. They spoke for hours in line each day about gallery shows, movies and art styles. It’s really amazing to see collectors from all walks of life and who have traveled from all around the globe be united in their love of pop culture and design. Although the convention itself would be considered small by today’s standards of comic cons, MondoCon makes up for it with content.

The Vacvvm

For two days straight Mondo hosted a variety of panels on everything from movie soundtracks, toys and collectibles, to artist spotlights and Mondo prints that could have been. They even hosted six different screenings, which spotlighted the variety of different properties Mondo works with. There was definitely a little something for everyone at MondoCon 2015. One of The Blot’s favorite events was visiting the Adventures in Design Podcast room to see AiD tape live shows for two days straight with MondoCon’s featured guests. If you love screen prints and gig posters then you definitely should be listening to the Adventures in Design podcast.

Daniel Danger

What’s really great about this event is that Mondo listens to its fans. It was my understanding that attendees had some constructive criticism for Mondo’s first ever convention last year. The Austin based company definitely took that feedback to heart and it shows! In just its second year, the show has clearly grown for the better as it branched out into a second venue. All attendees could say is how much better and well organized MondoCon 2 was over the year before. With Mondo’s dedicated staff working to continue to make MC better, the sky truly is the limit!

Daniel Danger

The real reason to attend MondoCon, at least for The Blot, is to meet all of the amazing artists in attendance – many of whom have traveled long distances to be there – and all of the fantastic art they brought with them. Unless you live in LA or NYC, MondoCon is one of the few places you can go to meet all of your favorite artists. Each had their own booth (or shared a booth) and many brought rare old prints, originals, sketches and t-shirts for fans to drool over and buy. While I didn’t personally buy much, I spent hours walking the convention floor talking to artists and looking through their art. It was such a treat to see so many pieces in person that I’ve only ever seen on a computer screen. If you plan to travel for one convention next year The Blot highly recommends MondoCon!

Jason Edmiston

Below are my personal photos from MondoCon. I did my best to take pictures of everyone booth at the convention. Sadly, my photos don’t do all of the amazing artwork on display justice. If you see something you like though, be sure to visit the artist’s personal website and buy some art directly from them!!!

Rob Jones

Kevin Tong

Kevin Tong

Kevin Tong

Con Report: Space City Comic Con 2015

It’s really exciting to watch a small local con finally grow into itself. That’s what The Blot witnessed this past weekend as I attended vastly improved Space City Comic Con at NRG Park in Houston, Texas. The past few years Space City Comic Con really searched for an identity as it morphed from Space City Con to The Houston Con and then to Space City Comic Con. During that same time period it has changed locations even more than it changed names, and not always for the betterment of its attendees. But this year really showed what SCCC could be come.

I think the key to Space City Comic Con’s growth was its new location. Leaving hotels behind, it moved into NRG Park, which is a good size convention center. This coupled with a new set up for buying and/or picking up badges cut down on lines and wait time to get into the convention considerably (one of last year’s show’s biggest complaints). But what really made The Blot happy was the new layout of the dealer room, which included more vendors and comics than ever before! The celebrity autograph area was also really big and accommodating for lines and crowds.

The Blot had a great time talking with comic book creators throughout the weekend, including popular artists such as Norm Rapmund, Jonathan Glapion, Scott Kolins, Sean "Cheeks" Galloway, Walden Wong and Carlo Barberi. It was especially a treat to meet the iconic Allen Bellman, who was involved in the early days of Marvel Comics. All of the artists spoke glowingly of Space City Comic Con, many of whom had never been to Houston before. I think that’s especially key as a convention continues to grow by bringing in more and more creators and celebrity guests.

My only real complaint was how cramped the artists alley was, with the aisles way too narrow. You should have seen how I clogged each row with my large double stroller on Saturday. It made stopping to talk to artists and browse through their work almost impossible. That being said, I was blown away by the show’s guest list and really enjoyed meeting so many talented comic book professionals!

All in all The Blot had a fantastic time at Space City Comic Con, and I hope the show is able to build upon the success of this year’s show. I can really see the huge improvements the organizers made to the show this year and it really pad off! I can’t wait to see what SCCC has in store for us next year. I for one will definitely be back.

Con Report: Comicpalooza 2015 Takes Things To The Next Level!

From the moment The Blot walked into Comicpalooza 2015 I was honesty blown away! I can honestly say Comicpalooza hit the big leagues this year and become one of the best pop culture conventions, not just in Texas, but in the country. With over 40,000 attendees over the four day Memorial Day weekend, this was hands down the best Comicpalooza I’ve attended since I first started going to the show 6 years ago. It is truly amazing how far this comic-con has come in just the past few years.

Comicpalooza 2015 took over the entire first floor of Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, the largest in Houston, and it did so without the Dealer’s Room looking sparse and over expanded. Such growth has clearly been driven by their focus on bringing in some of the biggest celebrity names from all corners of the pop culture landscape, including television, movies, comic books, professional wrestling, rock and roll, cosplay and anime. When you have names at the top of your guest list like Stan Lee, Jeremy Renner, Rosario Dawson, Cobie Smulders, Sting, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Kevin Eastman and the cast of Gotham (just to name a few), you’d be hard pressed not to draw impressive crowds.

What’s even more impressive is how Comicpalooza’s organizers have worked diligently to continue to improve the convention. To be honest, I heard (and witnessed) a lot of negative feedback about the organization of last year’s event. It was clear the show had grown significantly without making sure it had the necessary infrastructure in place. While something like this might have killed a smaller show, it was clear Comicpalooza took that criticism to heart and made sure to address those issues in a meaningful way this year. For instance, the celebrity photo-ops and autograph area was much better organized this year, the lines were shorter and all in all there was better communication – which is really the key for any successful con. I for one was very glad to see all of CP’s growing pains disappear!

I think the single biggest takeaway I have from Comicpalooza this year is that every single artist and vendor I spoke with told me how happy they were with the convention. Literally everyone told me they were super busy, had sold a ton of art/merchandise, and would definitely be making plans to attend Comicpalooza again next year. That’s really the biggest complement a comic-con like this can get. Not only does it mean they continue to stack the event with top notch guests, but with word of mouth like this even more big name celebrities, artists and vendors will want to come to Houston.

Personally, I had a fantastic time at Comicpalooza 2015! I just wish I could have spent even more time there than I already did. There were so many panels, meet-ups, performances and events throughout the weekend it’s literally impossible to do it all. No matter what corner of the pop culture universe you are a fan of there is definitely something at Comicpalooza for you! So go ahead and start planning your trip to Houston now for next Memorial Day Weekend, because you won’t be sorry!

Con Report: The Houston Con 2014

I have to say, The Blot had a blast at The Houston Con 2014! I was only there for one day, but it was so great attending a small quant show with fans who were so excited to see the celebrities and artists in attendance. With comic conventions blowing up across the country, many of these comic-cons have lost their personality. They’ve turned into soulless moneymakers really devoid of any joy. You just see the masses walking through lines and getting their 30 seconds of face time with celebrities. This was definitely not the case at The Houston Con 2014.

To be honest, the artists I was excited to see were not able to make it to the convention, and the television shows represented at The Houston Con were not my cup of tea. But it was really cool to see fans of all ages go crazy for the stars of MTV’s Teen Wolf, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. The Teen Wolf and MMPR fans especially were out in force! I was really just floating from table to table watching the celebrities interact with fans and everyone involved seem to be having such a great time.

What I was most impressed with at The Houston Con was the amazing cosplay at the show. I had no idea there was so many talented cosplayers here in Houston. For such a small convention the costumes were incredible. I wish I had been able to take more pictures, but as you can see here there were some fantastic pop culture inspired designs. I really can’t wait to see this show grow and see it build upon the success of this year’s show. I would really love to see more comic book content incorporated into Houston’s newest comic convention.

Amazing Comic Con Comes To Houston!

We’re just 3 weeks away from Amazing Comic Con, one of the biggest names in comic conventions, coming to Houston for their first ever Texas show!!! After launching “amazing” conventions in Arizona (Phoenix) and Las Vegas, Amazing Comic Con is poised to take over the Lone Star State on August 29th-31st. What’s awesome about Amazing Comic Con shows is how focused they are on the comic book industry and you would not believe the huge names they’re bringing to Houston this summer!

For the inaugural Amazing Houston Comic Con, they are hosting a venerable who’s who from the comic book industry. To kick things off, AHCC is bringing in two founders of Image Comics, superstar creators Jim Lee (who is also co-publisher of DC Comics) and Rob Liefeld! It’s like the ‘90s all over again with how these two creators are dominating the industry. You can't get bigger named comic book guests than this!

Also appearing at Amazing Houston Comic Con are the co-creators of Wolverine, and legends in their own right, Len Wein and Herb Trimpe, along with some of The Blot’s favorite creators Bob Layton and Houston’s very own Terry Moore. One of the creators The Blot’s super excited to meet is Tom Scioli! I love his retro ultra-modern style in Godland, and everyone’s going crazy for his new Transformers vs G.I. Joe series from IDW. Other guests include Tony Fleecs (My Little Pony), Wook Jin Clark (Adventure Time), Chad Hardin (Harley Quinn), Mat Nastos and Joe Rubinstein.

If you’re a fan of pop culture, especially comic books, and you live in and around Houston (or really anywhere in Texas) you will not want to miss the first every Amazing Houston Comic Con at the George R. Brown Convention Center! Weekend passes and single day tickets are still available, with single day tickets as low as just $25. Head over to the Amazing Houston Comic Con online store to buy your tickets today!

The Blot heads to The Houston Con 2014 this August!

Are you feeling down stuck at home while thousands of people are stuck in long lines and huge crowds at San Diego Comic-Con 2014 this weekend!?! Well have no fear, there’s an equally awesome comic-con nearby, possibly even in your city! Amazing conventions are popping up everywhere and you might just not know about them. If you live in Texas you should definitely make plans to come in to Houston for the all-new The Houston Con! This exciting new convention (which merged with the former Space City Con), will be taking place at the Hilton Houston North August 8-10 and has a really great line-up of celebrities, comic book artists and so much more!

If you’re a fan of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Houston’s very own Jason David Frank (the original Green/White Power Ranger) will be at the convention!!! Along with Jason, the show will be hosting fellow MMPR alumni Erin Cahill, Alison Macinnis, Hector David Jr., Brad Hawkins and Jason Faunt! But that’s not all, The Houston Con will also be hosting Battle Star Galactica’s Richard Hatch and Kate Vernon, and Game of Thrones’ Jame Cosmo! There’s also a big contingent coming from MTV’s Teen Wolf that includes Dylan Sprayberry, Eaddy Mays, Melissa Ponzio and Mason Dye.

Personally, The Blot’s the most excited about The Houston Con’s awesome line-up of coming book artists! They’re bringing legendary Image creator Whilce Portacio, who is celebrating 30 years in the comic book industry, along Ale Garza (Wonder Woman, Teen Titans), Ken Lashley and Andrew Dalhouse. This is definitely one comic-con not to miss!

The Houston Con takes place August 8-10th and tickets are now available for as low as $25 for a one day pass here. The Blot hopes to see you there!!!

Con Report: Space City Con 2013

The Blot was in no way prepared for the immense crowds at Space City Con 2013! I was lucky enough to be invited to cover the inaugural Space City Con last year, and it definitely had some growing pains. Every new comic-con has trouble getting the word out and attacking both die hard fanboys and casual fans to an unknown event. Plus, last year’s location at the Houston Galleria, the city’s biggest mall, allowed convention goers to come and go too freely. But wow, what a difference a year makes!

Space City Con felt twice as big this year with a crowd ten times as large. I don’t know what the convention’s promoters did to increase awareness of the event, but they did an amazing job! At times last year SCC seemed almost empty, but at certain points this year I actually had trouble navigating the show room floor. And considering the convention actually moved away from the center of the city it was extremely impressive they were able to draw such large crowds. Now the show wasn’t perfect, but for just its second year Space City Con has made huge improvements.

I think the biggest drawing power of this year’s convention was its celebrity guests. Fans were lining up to meet an impressive line-up of Star Trek veterans, Stargate stars, former Power Rangers, Doctor Who's Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy, and Firefly’s Jewel Staite. It was true geek nirvana! Personally, The Blot was extremely excited to meet Staite and Walter Koeing from Star Trek: The Original Series. What a legend!

The convention also had a huge influx of cosplay this year, rivaling almost any comic convention in Texas. There was a huge contingency from Star Wars 501st Legion, and I couldn’t get over how many young people were in attendance wearing Star Trek costumes. Even with the new movies I didn’t think there were die hard Trekkes under the age of 30. But the best costume I heard about was a young woman dressed as Ice from Justice League International!!! The Blot’s still ticked I didn’t get to see that one in person. I did get to see one X-Men fan in a killer Jubille costume though, which I loved.

My highlight of the show was definitely meeting superstar inker Art Thibert. Hearing stories about his time in the comic book industry and his new graphic novel, which was funded through Kickstarter, was awesome. It’s also great being able to flip through an artist’s portfolio and seeing tons of pages of original artwork, especially when you own so many of the published comics they came from.

The biggest surprise coming out of Space City Con 2013 was the show was becoming biannual! During the convention the show’s organizers announced they would not be hosting a Winter Edition Space City Con the first weekend of January, just four months after Space City Con 2013! Even better still, the show’s first celebrity guest to be announced is be Jason Momoa from Game of Thrones and 2011’ Conan reboot!!! GoT fans from around the southwest are sure to be flocking to Houston this winter to meet the Dothraki Khal Drogo!!! Can’t wait to find out who else will be at the Winter Edition of Space City Con 2014.