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Well, the annual Comic Book convention is coming
to Toronto on August 22-24, and for this article
I'd like to share some important rules of
etiquette for all of you attending the convention.
The Metro Toronto Comic Con is the largest in Canada,
but a bit smaller than say the San Diego or Chicago
Comic Conventions. I've been going each year for
about 10 years, I guess. The individual
conventions all seem to run together in my mind,
but some things, which I'll share with you, have
stood out. Convention(al) etiquette is a lot like
common sense, not everyone is lucky enough to have
it. If you have any more ideas feel free to write
me!
- BE PATIENT: Even if you've waited 2 hours for
a sketch in artist alley. Remember, you choose to
wait for this artist/inker/colourist. Be
observant and jump into a smaller line, or catch
the artist when they get back from lunch when the
lines are just forming! If the artist is leaving
to relieve him/herself, to have lunch or to make a
phone call, don't ask for a set time back, that's
just plain rude.
- BE VERY THANKFUL: This should have been #1,
shouldn't it?
- LIMIT COPIES TO BE SIGNED: There is nothing
people hate more than watching the person in front
of them get 50 copies of Spawn signed. Some
artists limit the number of comics they sign, others don't.
If you're bringing copies for 'other' people who
couldn't make it, don't.
- HAVE CLEAN HANDS: When you're pawing through
pages of original artwork or shaking hands with
your favourite writer. Wash off those cheese
doodles, they don't add anything to the art.
- GET THERE EARLY: Some conventions are
notoriously poorly planned. I went to the Toronto
Convention one year on Friday night, the posted
hours were 4-9pm. I arrived at 330pm, and since
they were only entering people SINGLE FILE, I
didn't get in until 5pm, thus losing an hour on an
already short night!!!
- ALREADY HAVE YOU NAME IN YOUR SKETCHBOOK:
Artists won't take them to put into the 'to be
done' pile without them, so save yourself some
time and don't come off looking like a rookie.
- DO NOT EVER RE-SELL SKETCHES: Don't ever do
this!!! These artists are kind enough to give you
a drawing for free and you have the audacity to
make a profit off of it!! I once saw an Alex
Ross sketch on ebay of Superman, and the person
started the bidding at $50. The sketch was little
more than a thumbnail, and it could have been
Supreme. I wonder what Mr.Ross would think if he
saw that!
- HAVE A COMIC BOARD/ MATTING READY: you'll
need to place a comic book board, or some type of
matting in between the pages because the markers
some artists use go through the pages. I had a
picture leak ink into the next page, and instead
of skipping the page Ty Templeton simply drew a
Robin with acne, very funny. Not funny however, is
having to skip pages, or a Wonder Woman with acne.
- OBSCURE CHARACTER- HAVE PICTURE READY: Want
your favourite artist to draw a sketch of a
character they drew once 10 years ago? Have a
picture handy to refresh an artist's memory of how
they drew the character. This happened to me once
while trying to get a sketch of Marvel's Grim
Reaper.
- DON'T HOG THEIR TIME: No one in line wants to
hear your life story, but I'm sure that artists do
love to hear how you've followed their careers and
admire their work.
That's all for now. This year I'm bringing a
camera, and hope to have pictures as a follow-up
to this piece in September.
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