Our C2E2 Experience and photo album

[pixierosa]

Hey all - long time, no post. I'm still Valiant-rabid but have been active doing reviews for all-comic.

Sonic Dan and I went to C2E2 again this year. Looks like some of the panel info has already been posted. Thought I'd share my perceptions on the con.

First off, the booth and the panels were both much, much busier than I've seen them before. This was my 4th C2E2, and each year, they've made gains. This was the first time I've ever had to stand in line for a Valiant panel - both the A&A and the 4001 panels had a line. The booth was frequently crowded as well. Seeing a lot of diversity as to why people were into Valiant. There were some that loved Faith - a whole new group of female readers that never tried Valiant before, and plenty of Doctor Mirage readers as well. Quite a few were there because of A&A. In that panel, Valiant asked how many people hadn't read Valiant until A&A, and many hands shot up.

Funniest part of the A&A panel was the live reading that they did of the first few pages. Rafer played the role of Davey the Mackerel, complete with silly voice. Dinesh was Archer, Warren was the narrator. They handed out signed "scripts" to people who asked questions, so of course I got in on that! They also did a trivia contest with a variety of prizes. They also did the big reveal of Faith and Archer in a romantic pose.

The 4001 panel was chock full of goodness, but that's been covered in another post. Should be up on periscope as well.

Golds given out for knowing the panel code words were Eternal Warrior and A&A. I didn't make it in time to see the 101 panel, so not sure what gold was handed out after that panel.

It was good seeing the Valiant crew again. Both Warren Simons and Fred Pierce were there, along with Dinesh, Atombang!, Hunter, Andy, Matthew, Danny K, and several newer folks whose names I can't remember (darn A&A ale killed those brain cells).

The A&A beer launch was a lot of fun. The beercade place was a bar filled with old school video games. They had a drawing for a door prize of Valiant goodies as well as the A&A limited edition cover featuring art by Jay Fabares. Rafer was signing them for everyone. Speaking of, Rafer is incredibly funny and genuine. We had a good time hanging out with him. After the party we rode back to the hotel in a cab with Fred Pierce, who is the loveliest human being ever. So much life experience and insight. I could listen to him talk all night.

We hit up artist alley plenty. All of the Valiant artists are good people. Friendly and had positive things to say about Valiant. Lots of them wished they could do more with Valiant, but with the limited publishing number and so many exclusive artists, it doesn't leave much interior work for others. We chatted with Cary Nord, David Baron (he had some awesome goodies in his portfolio & was pretty fun to hang out with), Ryan Lee (those interlocking 4001 covers, wow), Rafer Roberts, Brent Peeples, Brian Level, Matthew Waite, Justin Jordan, Marguerite Sauvage. Tried to see Clay Mann but he was never at his table when we were. Dan and I both bought a page of art from his dealer.

Pretty sure I'm forgetting some people! Part of the fun of these things is meeting with and hanging out with the creators after hours.

Here's a link to my facebook album. It should be viewable by anyone, even outside of facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... b0588a57c4

LMK if you have any questions about what we saw or heard.

[magnusr]

Nice report and pics. Thanks for sharing,

/Magnus

[Keith]

Seconded, thanks for the rundown and the photos. As a non-Facebooker, I can see what I think is the first 15, and then it makes me try to sign in to see the rest.

[Ramses818]

Great report! I keep swearing to do one but never the time! Lol. Glad it was so much fun. One of these years I will get to Chicago when the Con is going on! Lol Great job!

[pixierosa]

Thanks all. It really is a good con - organized and not so large that you can't do it all over the weekend. Keith, I'll see what I can find out about the gallery. It's supposed to make it visible to anyone, but I'll check on each photo.

[bobby97801]

Very cool
Thanks for sharing

[nscc]

Nice write up thanks for posting!

Also re: the pics I can see the page and am not logged into FB. Only shows one page of 47 pix.

[nycjadie]

I love the coverage. Hopefully, I can do this show at some point.

Loved the pics of you and Dan. You guys look like you really enjoy these things together.

Best,
Steve

[wrunow]

Really great pics. I need to do a C2E2 again. It's a great con.

[cjc1303]

Love the post and pics it was a great time at C2E2 (which was my 1st C2E2) this year. Valiant was hands down the best part of the show. Everyone involved is wonderful. In response to what was the other Gold they gave out, it was Faith 1 Gold as far as I know because I got Wrath, A&A and Faith Golds at the show. The beer release party was fantastic and Valiant being awesome enough to provide a ride there was amazing. They are just wonderful to the fans.

[Dallow Spicer1]

That Clay Mann (Ninjak) page of young Colin in the cinema was stunning!

[battlepark]

very cool pics, wish I lived near Chicago