Aftermath and Thanks

Wow. It has been a strange 48 hours.
After the events at the WizardWorld Philadelphia gate and my posting of the events here, I went out to dinner with my lovely girlfriend and enjoyed a delicious Thai meal. Upon arriving back at the Philadelphia Marriott, I was besieged by disbelieving well-wishers and friends wanting to know the whole story. I won't name names here, because honestly, this was never about publicity (at least, not the way it turned out) or anything like it. All I wanted to do was sit in artist alley this weekend and sell some sketchbooks, talk to some friends and enjoy the world of comics that I truly love.

Apparently this was not meant to be. If you haven't heard the story already, then just read the previous blog entry or check out any of these links:

BleedingCool.Com
The Beat
ComicsWorthReading.com

A lot of good folks have sent emails, twittered, and called me. All of us here at Square 1 Press have been honored at the outpouring of positive sentiment. Thanks so much, and we appreciate it all.

I think one of the things that Wizard has lost sight of in the last couple years is the fact that, in this constantly changing and evolving industry, a successful convention or product line isn't just good for the company, it's good for the whole industry. It seems like they've become so focused on becoming the ONLY convention business in town, they've slowly, but surely continued to alienate SO many people in this industry, that soon no one will want to come to their shows, creator-wise. The comics industry is a pretty small world, alot of these folks see each other every few weeks at shows all over the country and word travels fast, especially the stuff that's too sensitive to ever make into the blogs and online articles. The "rumors" that fly around cons have always had a toe anchored in the truth.

So, barring (pun intended, sorry) any unforseen difficulties, the 1st issue of "Valkkadia" will be ready for Comic-Con International in San Diego in July. The sketchbooks are both available at the website store here.

A special shout out to my new friends at Enigma Works, for offering to make me an editor for the day on Sunday to get me back into the show. Thanks guys, the gesture was truly appreciated.

So, all I can say is stay tuned for more product announcements, appearances and what shows we will be setting up at and where our products can be found.

Again, a huge thanks to all who have continued to support us