This week’s Henchmen page is late because I spent the weekend huddled behind my Artist’s Alley table at the Amazing Hawaii Comic Con.  As soon as I finish working at my ‘real’ job today, I’m going to head home, roll up my sleeves and get to work on this week’s page.  However, I’m taking a short break at my desk, and I’m going to jot down a few observations from the con.
The con itself was very crowded over the course of the three-day event, mostly because Stan Lee, George Perez, Rob Leifeld, John Romita Jr. and other ‘big names’ in comics made the long journey to appear in a Hawaii convention.  Hawaii folks always seem to turn out when mainland ‘celebrities’ come to town, and this was no exception.  Apparently the con drew in about 20,000 attendees, and the bigger crowd helped all of us little folks as well.  Fellow Hawaii cartoonist Jon Murakami told me that he thought this was the biggest and most successful local con he’d ever participated in.
I chatted with con guest pro artist Mark Bagley, and he said that he had brought a large box of prints to the con, and this was the first time at any con that he had ever sold out his entire inventory.
I had a great location at the con, as I was seated back-to-back with Rob Leifeld (with an aisle between us) and had a great view of the crowds lined up waiting for autographs and photos.
Of course, I didn’t get as much of a crowd as Rob Leifeld, but it was the most successful con that I’ve ever attended as well. I sold several books, as well as some of the new t-shirts and buttons, and did several cool art commisions. Â I’ll be putting the shirts up for sale on the website soon, and I’m posting a couple of the sketches that I drew during the breaks in the ‘action’ that I’ll be selling through the website as well.
If you’re a new website reader who found Henchmen for Hire through the Amazing Hawaii Comic Con, welcome aboard!
Okay, back to work. Â New page coming soon….
Great blog post about the con. The floor was indeed crowded, and official numbers will be rolling in. Early estimates peg this closer to 30k than 20estimate, and officials from the convention center mentioned this was the largest tradeshow open to the public/consumers that they have experienced. We were thrilled with the turnout and the support. Our goal was that everyone would benefit by bringing in the biggest names comics to the people of hawaii!