by Emil Favila, Reporter

Over the course of the weekend from September 5-7, myself and a few of the Comics Online peeps got to check out this year’s Baltimore Comic Con.  Be sure to check out exclusive interview with Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Secret Service).

Friday consisted most of the guests from the convention.  There were a few such as Rags Morales and Garth Ennis who were only there Saturday and Sunday.  As usual, Friday was the day to pick up your badge if you wanted to avoid all the Saturday craziness of the general public who would only attend that day.  It was also one of the slower days, if you were trying to get sketches from a big name such as John Cassaday (Uncanny X-Men, Planetary).

Saturday was obviously the day to be in attendance.  Saturday morning featured a panel from the creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Joel Hodgson.  Though Hodgson charged for signatures according to a fan I spoke to, he said it was worth the price.  Hodgson also hosted this year’s costume contest Sunday morning that started at 1.  If you didn’t get to check out this year’s cos play at the convention, that alone was worth the price of admission.  The media guest of honor for this year was Peter Mayhew (aka Chewbacca in Star Wars).  Though Baltimore Comic-Con is mostly focused on comics, an exception was made for the veteran actor, who will be reprising his role in Episode VII.

Considering how strictly comic focused Baltimore was, it was quite impressive the amount of people who showed up.  This was without the draw of video game or movie related spotlights that you would see at San Diego Comic-Con or Wizard World.  This year’s big panel was the Dynamite Comics 10th anniversary, consisting of Garth Ennis (The Boys, Punisher), Gail Simone (Batgirl, Tomb Raider), Duane Swierzcynski (Ex-Con, Cable), and of course many others.  It was wonderful, with each writer/artist giving their own perspectives on working for Dynamite over the years.

One of biggest improvements this year was crowd control among the volunteer security.  Lines were more organized when it came to massive draws such as Dave Gibbons or Walter Simonson.  Security would have fans line up against walls and they would wait to be escorted up to the writer/artist’s booth of the convention center, allowing for better traffic flow.

Sunday, being the last day of con, was the slow day in the weekend.  Artists and Writers were still signing but some of them were even leaving early to catch their flights to get back to work.  There were a few highlights as far as panels go, such as the Wolverine celebration with Herb Trimpe, Charles Soule, Joe Rubinstein, Frank Cho, and Tom Brevoort.  They discussed the legacy of Wolverine and how his death would impact the Marvel Universe.  Of course the main highlight of Sunday was the costume contest hosted by Joel Hodgson.

Baltimore Comic-Con is a wonderful convention that keeps the focus of it’s name.  Comics!  It’s also a good time even for the casual reader who enjoys seeing cosplay or participating in a little themselves. Overall, I would recommend checking out the Baltimore Comic-Con next year from September 25th-27th.

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