Friday, 10/15/2010 (New England Wizard Comic Con, Day 1, Part One)

I arrived in Boston early Friday afternoon with time to take the T to my hotel and get some lunch before heading over to Hynes Convention Center. I made a mental note how long it took me to get from the hotel to the T stop (approx. 15 min), and where the nearest Dunkin’s was (right around the corner from the station).

The convention officially ran from 5-9 pm Friday night, but VIP ticket holders and volunteers (like me!) could get in earlier. I showed up, went through this cool entrance

and found the table to sign in as a volunteer. They checked me off the list and gave me my wristband and T-shirt as the rules were explained to me:

1) The wristband is my ticket for all three days. If I lose said wristband, I will need to pay to come in for any remaining days. The guards will not recognize me. I AM NOT TO LOSE MY WRISTBAND!

2) The T-Shirt I now have is to be worn when I am “on the clock”. I can take the shirt off once I sign out for the day, or for a break. I do not need the shirt to enter the convention, but the shirt tells everyone I am working. It is preferred, but not required, to wear a shirt under this shirt as I may be wearing this shirt all three days. If I lose said shirt, I will not be able to get another one. I AM NOT TO LOSE MY SHIRT!

3) The minimum time I am required to work throughout the show is 10 hours. I could work more if I wish, but the 10 hour minimum is necessary to a) earn a swag bag and b) be allowed to volunteer again at future events. IF I WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN, I MUST WORK AT LEAST 10 HOURS!

I eagerly nodded my dorkish head in agreement and donned both wristband and T-Shirt. No sooner did I turn around after storing my bag and jacket when two men walked up to me and asked where the Artist Alley was.

I suddenly realized the power of the Volunteer Shirt.

I looked for someone to ask and told them that the convention hadn’t officially started yet, and one of the men told me that he’s an artist (David Quiles, artist of Bare Knuckled Fighter and Caesar of Brooklyn). A more experienced volunteer came to my rescue.

I worked my way into the hall, taking pictures along the way…

There’s the General Lee!

There’s the Batmobile and Batcycle!

There’s Jabba the Hut!

There’s…HOLY CRAP!!

I put my camera away after I took this shot just as these two people met another two people dressed the exact same way! I fumbled to get my camera back out while they walked around each other. By the time I was ready, they had moved on. DAMN!

Many of the artists’ booths were still getting set up, and I found myself at Arthur Suydam’s table. Suydam’s nowhere to be found, but there’s another guy there who told me he’s a sculptor and was showing off his work along with Suydam’s. Apparently, this guy sculpted head models based on Suydam’s work and was selling them at the show.

I had to take a few pics of those!

Then Suydam came back to the table.

Note: I hate zombies. I don’t mean hate as in “just don’t like”, I mean hate the way Indiana Jones hates snakes kind of hate. So when Marvel Zombies came out, I was in shock. My beloved Marvel Universe characters have been turned into my greatest dislike – And THIS was the guy responsible!

I gathered up my courage and as politely as possible thanked him for turning my most beloved characters and covers into images of shock and horror. He laughed, and I walked away most satisfied.

I wandered into the retailer’s area and was asked to help bring up some wares for one of the booths from the garage. Not knowing how this would be accomplished, I followed other Volunteer Shirt wearers to some elevators I hadn’t noticed. We went down to the garage and loaded cases and cases of artwork onto dollies and brought them back upstairs. The vendor needed additional tables to set up, so I went around and found some tables stacked behind a curtain. I was pulling one out when a couple guys came up to me and asked what I was doing.

“Getting a table for one of the vendors,” I said.

“Well who told you to get it?”

“The vendor,” I replied.

“You need to let us do that,” they said.

It was then that I realized these guys were workers of the Convention Center, and it was their job to get the tables, curtains, tablecloths and whatever else was needed for the booths. I apologized repeatedly and let them take over.

I went back to the vendor and helped his two assistants set milk crates out onto the tables and put the right portfolios of work in the appropriate order. As I was about to leave, the vendor thanked my and handed me $10. According to Wizard’s rules, there was nothing preventing me from accepting it, so I did. He asked if I would be around all weekend and I told him I would. Especially since Bill Sienkiewicz’s table was right next door (who wasn’t there, but I was told he would be Saturday).

I also met Dirk Tiede (creator of Paradigm Shift), Shawn Corliss (Writer, Penciller and Colorist of Defending Tavyr: Book 1: The Risk Worth Taking), E. J. Barnes (Artist and Writer of Blaster Al Ackerman’s Tales of the Ling Maste; Birds of the Baltic and How Dear To Me Is Sleep), C. J. Henderson (Writer of Brooklyn Knight) and Mike McKone (Artist of Teen Titans; JLA/JLI; Fantastic Four and Punisher: War Zone).

It was a great afternoon, and I really got to see the “behind the scenes” activity at these shows. By 9:00, I was getting hungry, so I followed the crowd across the street to The Pour House for the Drink and Draw event.



TO BE CONTINUED…