Day 1

The Tampa Bay Comic Con has been going on a couple times a year for more than a decade now. I reviewed the previous show which happened during October of 2011, but things have changed a lot in the 4 months between the two shows.

This time around, and for the foreseeable future, the Tampa Bay Comic Con is going to be on both Saturday and Sunday rather than just the one Sunday. It's an ambitious move, but almost necessary if you want to try to put the convention on the map when it comes to the national Comic Con scene. Also with the spate of superhero movies constantly in theaters is raising the awareness of comics in general, it's a good time for the Tampa Con organizors to make such a move.

I talked to show co-organizor Steven Solomon briefly about the show and he said the show's attendance has been increasing over the years and they wanted to grow the show even more to attract bigger name talent. "It's easier to attract talent to a two day show as they want to stay over and enjoy themselves." explains Solomon. "A two-day show is also better for long-term growth."

The Con was held at the Cypress Ave. Doubletree Hotel in the convention room where it's been for a handful of years now. The space is a medium sized room packed full of retailers, artists, fans and lots and lots of merchandise. What's new to this particular show is a video game tournament room out front. More than a dozen game systems are available for patrons to play. It was a nice addition and is something quite common nowadays at shows around the country. Lots of people play video games so why not have something like this at the Tampa Bay Comic Con?

I asked Steven Solomon about expectations for the show and he said, "We'd like to have 1500 to 2000 paid admissions for the show, not counting children as they get in free."

In Orlando, they have the MegaCon which is one of the largest conventions in the nation. Was the Tampa Comic Con aiming to become something like that or maybe something even bigger like the NYC Comic Con or San Diego Comic Con?

"Right now it is a medium-sized convention, unlike the MegaCon which is a media sensation. We're more comic centric, but you never know. Sometime in the future we may move to the convention center downtown, if we get bigger names or some of the Hollywood folks... maybe," said Solomon.

I arrived at the show around noon and the place was already packed and rocking (as much as a comic show can of course). I immediately got in line to meet the guest of honor, Jim Steranko. Jim Steranko is a legendary comics artist and a very famous character in the lore of comicdom.

Steranko was a large part of Marvel Comics' success in the 1960's. His pop art/psychedelic stylings for Captain America and SHIELD were a tremendous break from what was commonly acceptable at the time in comics. To this day, many comic artists will state Steranko as an influence. For the Tampa Bay Comic Con to get such a big star for this initial two-day convention is a huge deal.

Show co-organizor Steven Solomon noted that it took a lot of money to get Steranko for the show, but knows it will be worth it. And no doubt it was as the line to meet him was consistently long for the few hours he sat at his table for the convention.

When I got my turn to talk to Steranko my first question was about young artists and how to break into the comics industry.

"Anybody looking to get into the comics industry needs to practice every day. They need to draw every day until they have the proficiency and speed needed to excel.  A lot of kids come up to me every day and ask this question and I tell them all the same thing. And I do it in four words. Draw like John Buscema."

I then asked him about his previous Marvel work from the 60's particularly his SHIELD/Nick Fury and Captain America comics. Many historians regard this as Steranko's largest influence on comics. These are the comics which broke the mold and put his name on the map. I asked him if he thought the same thing personally.

He says he doesn't think like that instead he said,  "I try to do the best I can with every job I get. I don't take every assignment that comes my way, but everything I accept I put everything into it whether I'm getting paid $50 or $50,000 for it."

"It doesn't leave my board till it's got everything I can put into it. I make that kind of committment to it every time and I like to thing my best work is yet to come."

My final question which was non-comics related got the biggest response and got a few others in line involved. I'll paraphrase it to keep it to a digestable size, but someday I'd like to post the full audio online somewhere. Maybe if enough Steranko fans or raw foodists make those requests I will do so. With my final question I asked about Steranko's notorious diet and living style. Steranko is raw foodist, eating one meal a day of only raw vegetables. Usually a salad of spinach, tomato, half an onion, radishes and sometimes a bit of roasted chicken for more protein on a more challenging day. He mixes in a few other veggies from time to time to change it up a bit. He also runs up a mountain every possible morning with his dogs in eastern Pennsylvania. Mind you, Steranko is 89 years old. He also shocked me with the statement that he sleeps only two hours a day! Sometimes he goes a couple days in a row without any sleep! How is that possible I wondered, but he boldly stated he had more than enough energy and said plainly he knows he could outrun me in a half mile race. Even going on to say he could beat anyone on the stage with him right now. He said he was very careful of what he put into his body, then leaned into me and whispered "Not like these guys over here." pointing to his handlers who all sported a bit of belly fat.

After the show I told my sister and her boyfriend this story and they didn't believe me. They wondered if he had dimentia or something. And I told them I asked about his lifestyle because it's something Steranko has talked about before in the past and I believe it. During our whole conversation he looked at me straight in the eyes with a joyful glee. An energy that I am jealous of.

I sensed no signs of lying or dimentia in his story and his agent J. David Spurlock who came in and out of the conversation verified some of Steranko's comments about his eating and living habits. So as bizarre as it sounds, it's more than likely true. I mean the head of hair on this guy was as bountiful as a little childs. Grayish/silver as it was it was bouncy and full and I was very jealous. He had the appearance of an elderly gentlemen, but the energy of personality and forthrightness of the amount I think only my hyperactive 7-year-old can match! All in all it was a joy to meet an artist I have been a fan of since I was 14 years old.

After the interview I went around to the comic bins and hunted through them for some good deals. I spent about $40 for about $150 worth of comics. I like to haggle and the retailers selling comics at the shows want to get rid of the comics and so I am usually able to get comics for even less than what they post on their signs, especially if you buy in quantities. I got a couple graphic novels for $3, and a few more for $1 each. Deals are possibly the main reason I go to these shows, and deals I always find no matter the state of the economy.

I went home filled with comic book silliness and nonsense, a good day indeed! I will return the next day for more!

Day Two

On day two I brought my 7-year-old son and my 10-year-old nephew. My son dressed up in a Darth Vader costume and fit in nicely amongst other various attendees dressed in comics and non-comics related costumes. Some tried harder than others with personalized outfits impossible to find in the standard costume store.

Star Wars characters are a large majority of the costumed people at many a comic convention these days and the Tampa Comic Con was no different. There were storm troopers, jedis, and the tallest Darth Vader I've ever seen. My son declined to enter the costume contest as the prize was merely a basket full of comics and he comes to the convention particularly for the toys. And there are plenty of toy sellers at the Tampa Comic Con.

You can find great deals on old and new toys. My son and his cousin always spend their money on star wars figures which they can get at a fraction of the price they would be at your standard department or toy store.

While the amount of attendees was about a quarter of what Saturday's was, it was still lively on the second day of the Tampa Comic Con. I noticed new retailers selling comics and toys, lots of different faces compared to Saturday.

And again, I brought home a kings ransom in comics at bargain prices. I brought $35 with  me and walked out of there with almost another $100 worth of comics. Just a little bit of haggling goes a long way. The guy I gave my last $10 to seemed a little reluctant to give me 15 comics for that ten spot, but I knew he would. He's there to sell, not bring all that cargo back home with him.

My son and his cousin spent about two hours in the video game room playing Halo and Marvel vs. Capcom. The little video game addicts they are probably could have stayed another hour or so if I didn't drag them away. The video game room was again packed on the second day and I think the Tampa Comic Con has hit upon a good idea, especially at $5 a pop per person to enter the game room.

Being a freelance cartoonist myself I've always found the Tampa Comic Con "artists alley" a bit disappointing. In the past it's been placed against a far wall or far corner out of the way which leaves it sporadically visited.

This time around they changed the arrangement up some, intermingling the local and novice talent amongst the comics and toy retailers and I think it's helped a great deal. I saw more traffic at these tables because of this arrangement and I hope they continue to do this as local and small artists and comic publishers need all the help they can get in this market and industry.

I saw a lot of parents with kids over the weekend and the Tampa Comic Con really is a great place to bring your kid, boy or girl. It's full of plain old kid escapism, comics, toys, video games and costumes. Being a bit of a geek I'm used to seeing the standard comic convention geek, so when I noticed that there were plenty of non comic or gaming geeks in attendance I knew the Tampa Comic Con was having a successful weekend.

It means that comics are starting to cross over into the mainstream. Which is a good thing for an industry that is ever struggling to keep it's tiny foothold in our cultural storm of entertainment.

I'm sure many of these non-geeks came out of pure curiousity or heard about how comic shows can be a bit of a freakshow, but I'm sure the retailers and show organizors don't care as long as they were spending money.