Steel City Comic Con

Our next convention stop was Steel City Con in Monroeville, Pittsburgh. The convention was a blast!

We met tons of readers, vendors, and made many friends. This time, my anxiety levels were minimal. The most distressing portion of the convention was the arrival. We were forced to show up a day early to set up.

In my opinion, this was a horrible idea when many artists take a half hour to set up. Plus, it meant extra hotel fees cutting into our budget.

Not awesome…

During setup, we realized the table was much smaller than Wizard World, something I hadn’t thought of before. We quickly reoriented the layout. Making some changes and realizing several things…

For one, I forgot my unicorn hunting license. That sucker needs to be on display!

Overall, the layout worked. I might tweak some things as we experiment with smaller tables, but people stopped, expressed interest, and purchased. We made our convention and travel fees back plus some.
It’s all about getting the word out, and we’re doing just that.

The best part of any convention is meeting people. We made tons of friends. Here are a few:

Vendors: This list is in no particular order… well, the order I pulled your business cards out of my folder. 😉

Also, if I met you and didn’t list you, no offense. I listed everyone I took a card from. We met many other vendors, and I’m sure we’ll meet again. 🙂

 

Squid Farts Art – Sculptor of Awesome

Amy immediately caught my attention. She sculpted a worm from Beetlejuice. I don’t have a picture. 🙁 It sold within minutes of the convention opening.

She creates monsters, plants, and more. We had a great time with her, Erich (her husband), and her kids. Excellent neighbors and immediate friends.

At the end of the convention, she surprised us with a crazy plant creature!

Etsy.com/shop/squidfarts
Facebook.com/squidfarts/
Instagram.com/squidfartsart/

 

Erich Gamache – Horror Author

Erich is Amy’s husband. As a fellow writer, we instantly connected. We are both peddling our books, trying to make it in the word of writing. I feel like we were instant friends.

He has several horror books and short stories available. Panophobia is an interesting concept where he took people’s fears, even the uncanny, and made short stories from them.

Twitter.com/ErichGamache
Facebook.com/erichgamacheauthor

Salem’s Closet – Weird Art Made by Weird People

Serena and Mandy were excellent neighbors. They make Weird Art, and that’s not an exaggeration. Collecting skulls and skeletons, they paint and decorate them for sale. A collection of jars containing the bodies of octopi and small rodents sat preserved to the side. They sell the eccentric.

Excellent neighbors and immediate friends.

Instagram.com/salemsclosetshop

PSquare Scents – Extraordinary, Uncommon Scents

Paul makes some crazy scents, in a very good way. There were so many that I don’t remember most of them. His booth was behind ours. At one point, I told Kat, “You should probably stop smelling the candles. He’s going to think you’re stealing them.” She couldn’t stop.

He sells body soap blood bags. His candles smell like weed, whiskey, fruity pebbles, and other unique smells.

Psquarescents.etsy.com
Facebook.com/PSquareScents/
Instagram.com/psquarescents

 

Two Tail Creations – Knitting Ears for Heads Unlike Mine

Rin creates knitted items perfect for the comic con adventure. In particular, she created knitted ears that clip into your hair. Unfortunately, I have no hair, so I’d have to glue those suckers to my skin. She was a fellow Invader Zim fan, too. All Invader Zim fans are friends.

Facebook.com/twotailcreations
Etsy.com/shop/twotailcreations
Instagram.com/twotailcreations

 

Cutthroat Comics – There’s A Squirrel Fight on Issue Two

Josh is a fellow author. He writes a space adventure comic. I was sold with issue 2’s cover—a squirrel attacking an alien—and picked up a book. Squirrel attacking aliens… if you know me, I’m obsessed with squirrels, even have a few story ideas.

His other books are about serious subjects for adults. Kat has them in her library. We just need to read through all the stories and get back to everyone.

Cutthroatcomics.com
Facebook.com/cutthroatcomics
Twitter.com/cutthroatcomics

 

Mason Easley – Illustrator of Awesome

Mason is a hilarious individual with exceptional artwork. He was part of our dinner group, and I hope we get to meet up with him again, as well as Josh & Elliot from Cutthroat Comics and Rob & April from Lone Wolf Comics. This was an awesome group of people.

Kat picked up a Boba Fett and Predator print for me. I grabbed a couple of his comics.

If you love Miyazaki, he is currently working on a Spirited Away print. I saw the initial sketch. Miyazaki fans will be pleased.

MasonEasley.deviantart.com
LegendOfAzure.com
Twitter.com/MasonEasley
Instagram.com/me_masoneasley

 

Golden Tree Publishing – Unicorn Melee & Samurai Comics

Madison writes comic books. In particular, Unicorn Melee and Eta. Unicorn Melee contains bright, happy illustrations with morbid depictions of unicorn corpses. I haven’t read it yet, but plan to soon.

Eta is about a Japanese warrior in a black and white art style. Personally, I love black and white artwork. Maybe it takes me back to my drawing days, which I plan to start again soon. I picked up Eta. Kat picked up Unicorn Melee.

Facebook.com/goldentreepublishing/

 

The Chosen Wand

Sarah handcrafts wands for Harry Potter fans. I think the picture speaks for itself. She lets you play with the wands, have fun, and experience the world of Harry Potter.

Twitter.com/TheChosenWand
Facebook.com/TheChosenWand/

 

J.E. Reed – Fantasy Author

I didn’t have much time to talk with Jessica, but wish I had. As an author, I felt I had to stick to my table to sign books. For the short time I met her, she was very friendly and a like minded author. Some authors are pushy, unfriendly, and competitive. She was the opposite, like myself.

Kat picked up a copy of her book, Running with the Wolves, available online. It’s a fantasy about a game called Chronopoint. The main character becomes trapped in the world, fighting to survive.

Facebook.com/J.E.Reed.author/

 

Lone Wolf Comics – Nostalgic, Supernatural Comics

Need a comic a book? Rob writes Lone Wolf, a supernatural comic book series. I read them after Wizard World Cleveland and can’t wait to read more. He brought the Hermitage mall back to life. For those of you unfamiliar with the mall, it was busy when I was a child. Now, it is a barren, desolate wasteland with little hope of return.

lonewolfcomics.com
Twitter.com/LoneWolfComics
Facebook.com/LoneWolfComics/