Gem City Comic Con 2021
Dayton Ohio July 24th-25th
This is my first convention of the year and my first since C2E2 last year, it was right after that that the world shut down. So it is nice to see some sort of normalcy returning though I have to say that I do believe it did cause this to be a slightly less frequented show this time around. The crowds to me weren’t as large as they’ve been in the past but overall it did have a pretty descend turnout.
Tickets for this show are on the inexpensive side and it’s just a comic book show, so no celebrities outside the comics world. There was some great talent at this years show and while it did have some competition in terms of shows there wasn’t anything close by to compete with it which is great. While there were some household names, like Dan Parent, this is the kind of show that highlights talented folks from around the local region. There were a number of tables and a few small press and self published folks at the show and for me these are the ones who you really need to be there to see. With Source Point Press, Broken Icon and Hero Tomorrow Publishing leading the charge there was plenty of diverse books being offered all around.
Now the show could’ve been run a little better, the guys at the two entrances weren’t really checking for wristbands or badges, two were too engrossed sitting in chairs on their phones while solitary guy at the other entrance looked more like he was bored. This surprised me because in the past they were much more vigilant about checking and forget about asking them if they knew where someone was located. Though you didn’t really need to ask because it’s a small show and everyone was easy to find and the pathways had plenty of space so there was an ease of moving through the floorplan.
One of the things I did notice was there were quite a few of young adults attending the show and majority of them were dressed in cosplay and that to me was fantastic that they felt comfortable to dress that way and you could just tell that they were in their element among the comic book professionals.
I may be somewhat biased, I knew most of them, but the professionals were great, friendly and were more than happy to take the time to talk to everyone, answer questions and talk about the books and projects that they had and were working on. I would stand back and watch the interactions and I have to say it was a fun thing to watch and see how excited and animated things could get. Even though the show is over there are a few books I’d really like y’all to check out if ya can and Bloom & Punchline and Vaude Villains by Ted Sikora from Hero Tomorrow Publishing are exceptional reads as well as The Fuhrer and the Tramp by Sean McArdle, who had a table at the show, put out by Source Point Press are all worthy of reading and adding to your reading lists and collections.
So if you live in the Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky areas and you are looking for a small show to attend to either dip your feet into attending a con or just want to head out for a day trip this is a great show to start with. I’d love to say it’s necessary to go both days but in all honesty this is such a small show that it’s a great one day and done kind of show, unless of course you want an original sketch done by someone who has a huge wait list, then i’d say get there early and find the artist whose work excites you. For me this year Mark Kidwell and Adam Fields were two of the artists whom I got original work from and the prices were great and they have such great talent I couldn’t pass them up.
Gem City Comic Con is a perennial favourite to kick the year off for me and it has yet to disappoint me with the quality of the guests they get at the show.
Dayton Ohio July 24th-25th
This is my first convention of the year and my first since C2E2 last year, it was right after that that the world shut down. So it is nice to see some sort of normalcy returning though I have to say that I do believe it did cause this to be a slightly less frequented show this time around. The crowds to me weren’t as large as they’ve been in the past but overall it did have a pretty descend turnout.
Tickets for this show are on the inexpensive side and it’s just a comic book show, so no celebrities outside the comics world. There was some great talent at this years show and while it did have some competition in terms of shows there wasn’t anything close by to compete with it which is great. While there were some household names, like Dan Parent, this is the kind of show that highlights talented folks from around the local region. There were a number of tables and a few small press and self published folks at the show and for me these are the ones who you really need to be there to see. With Source Point Press, Broken Icon and Hero Tomorrow Publishing leading the charge there was plenty of diverse books being offered all around.
Now the show could’ve been run a little better, the guys at the two entrances weren’t really checking for wristbands or badges, two were too engrossed sitting in chairs on their phones while solitary guy at the other entrance looked more like he was bored. This surprised me because in the past they were much more vigilant about checking and forget about asking them if they knew where someone was located. Though you didn’t really need to ask because it’s a small show and everyone was easy to find and the pathways had plenty of space so there was an ease of moving through the floorplan.
One of the things I did notice was there were quite a few of young adults attending the show and majority of them were dressed in cosplay and that to me was fantastic that they felt comfortable to dress that way and you could just tell that they were in their element among the comic book professionals.
I may be somewhat biased, I knew most of them, but the professionals were great, friendly and were more than happy to take the time to talk to everyone, answer questions and talk about the books and projects that they had and were working on. I would stand back and watch the interactions and I have to say it was a fun thing to watch and see how excited and animated things could get. Even though the show is over there are a few books I’d really like y’all to check out if ya can and Bloom & Punchline and Vaude Villains by Ted Sikora from Hero Tomorrow Publishing are exceptional reads as well as The Fuhrer and the Tramp by Sean McArdle, who had a table at the show, put out by Source Point Press are all worthy of reading and adding to your reading lists and collections.
So if you live in the Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky areas and you are looking for a small show to attend to either dip your feet into attending a con or just want to head out for a day trip this is a great show to start with. I’d love to say it’s necessary to go both days but in all honesty this is such a small show that it’s a great one day and done kind of show, unless of course you want an original sketch done by someone who has a huge wait list, then i’d say get there early and find the artist whose work excites you. For me this year Mark Kidwell and Adam Fields were two of the artists whom I got original work from and the prices were great and they have such great talent I couldn’t pass them up.
Gem City Comic Con is a perennial favourite to kick the year off for me and it has yet to disappoint me with the quality of the guests they get at the show.
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