So Comic-Con International happened just little over two weeks after AX was over. That obviously didn't sit so well with me trying to recover from AX and prepping for SDCC at the same time. Yeah, you can't stress and rest at the same time. At least not me. XD

I'm currently on the 7th day of my recovery from doing the Artist Alley in Comic-Con this year. Things aren't progressing so well since the workload at my day job got a little higher, mainly due to all our clients wanting to get started with "back-to-school" campaigns.

San Diego Comic Con used to be the benchmark of how a convention should be ran. Although short-handed, they were well-organized. The approval process for an artist table was strict, but they treat you well once you're on board. It was the little thoughtful things they did that made the experience rewarding.

In many ways, SDCC probably still is the benchmark. But after doing the artist alley there for the 4th straight year, I am left with more sour taste in my mouth than ever. Thanks to the success of many superhero movies, Hollywood entered San Diego once each year, using SDCC. Downtown SD was obviously not engineered to anticipate and handle such traffic. In order to get to my table and set up before the show starts, I had to get up at 6am just to beat the traffic. All that, just because the regular folks all of sudden find the geekdom they grew up making fun of... cool. Well, most of them are still delinquents that have reading comprehension troubles. But I guess Megan Fox and Johnny Depp were very convincing ambassadors.

As much as a commercial success SDCC has became, I hope Anime Expo, which I participated earlier in the same month, doesn't turn into the same thing. Yes, I hope more people like anime. Yes, I want even more people to see my artwork, branding and other brouhaha. But I want to see AX success in true progression, and not whoring itself out by throwing celebrities at people.

I am not certain what I would like to see at a comic/anime conventions anymore, but I am pretty certain it's less of the big movie companies throwing out free crap at thousands of tools eating them up as if those free stuff are valuable souvenirs...

I made a lot of money at SDCC as well, but I also encountered a lot more people that asked why the Ninja Turtles I drew were all Raphaels, and people that swore they bleed Batman in their blood but didn't know who Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn were. I sat next to IDW's Robert Atkins, who works on the [link] comic. He does some fine and detailed work. But he kept on getting comments for why his Joes weren't dressed like the upcoming-about-to-tank movie. Some even scoffed at the fact that he's charging for sketches. I mean, really? You want his work, but it's blasphemy that you had to pay for it?

The feeling just isn't the same, when attendees didn't buy your work because they like your work and your portrayal of certain characters. Instead, they were buying it because they just heard from you that the character is related to Batman. These type of people just further raise the anger of the emo fanboys that constantly broke down in front of my table.

By comparison, AX was much more genuine, as ironic as that might sound.

AX Artist Alley treated me with a lot respect and were very attentive to my well-being during the show. I know a lot of artists still weren't happy about it for one reason or another, and probably will continue to feel dissatisfied. But the improvements were very apparent each year, and I give a lot of credit to the staff for losing sleep each year over the set up. Most importantly, AX AA has never told me that spaces are shrinking because they want to clear up more areas for movie companies that pay thousands of dollars to sponsor them.

I may be doing "bigger and better things". But AX is still where I feel at home. Yea, there's more money to be made if I draw this and this and what's cool at the moment. But when a convention meant for the enthusiasts loses its sight at what it means to be an enthusiast, I am glad I can still remember the integrity of being an illustrator and what it meant to be creative.

Looking forward to another AX with the fine crew they have for Artist Alley and Art Show.