I swear, the kid is an unending source of comic inspiration. I’ve said it before, the greatest part of it all is that he doesn’t realize how funny he is. He’s like our own little Jason Mewes, minus the crippling heroin addiction.
So what did you do last weekend? I was lucky enough to ride my buddy Lar’s coattails straight into Anime North 2008 here in Toronto. Now, I know what you are thinking, but I swear to God, this was one of the best Cons that I have ever visited. People were SO into it! Every other kid there had an incredible and intricate costume. I had no idea who they were supposed to be, but they looked amazing.
Spread over 3 different locations, we started Saturday off in the Doubletree Hotel with a panel on Webcomics. Then, after some lunch, we wandered across the street to the Toronto Congress Center to check out the dealer room, artist alley, and the rest of the convention floor. They had bands, dance troupes, and a full wrestling ring set up, pitting wrestlers dressed as various anime characters against each other.
We cruised the floor for a bit, and then headed back to the Doubletree for a Digital Art Panel Lar was hosting. A LOT of people showed up, and it was a really good panel. Next was some dinner, and then a 10pm panel entitled “North American Comics For Dummies.” One of the panelists was a last minute no-show, so I got to be a panelist! It was a lot of fun hanging out and talking comics with people.
By then it was about 11:30pm, and I had to go home and sleep. As we headed out though, there were still thousands of kids hanging out for the Midnight Masquerade. I’ve never seen a convention go that late into the night!
Sunday it was up early to do 2 panels at the nearby Renascence Hotel. These were really art-intensive panels, so I dropped Lar off and went back to cruise the dealer room for a bit. After the panels, a spot of lunch, and then one more trip around the Congress Center. All in all, a great convention experience. Thanks to those who said “Hi,” there were a couple of you, and it made my life, seriously. Check out our Facebook group or The Watchtower site for some of the pics I took.
So that was my weekend. Throw in some reading and the occasional bout of sleep, and that’s me!
How was yours?
