FAST TIMES AT GCCG HIGH… OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!
Written by: Derrick Crow
This round-up is coming a tad later than I had originally planned, but better late than never I must say.
Prologue – Introductions Are In Order
Recently I attended the first ever Green Country Comics & Gaming Convention in Tulsa, OK. It was a two day event, taking place on Oct. 19-20 and was Tulsa’s way of dipping its toes into the world of games and comics. It was a small outing but worth the trip if you had made it. I had a blast and met a lot of really cool people that was into the same stuff as I was. Before this I had never been to a comic convention, as all the events you hear so often about in the news take place far away from me and it makes me sad. So imagine my pleasure when I had heard over a year ago that GCCG was happening and that I could afford to go, I even had a place to stay at my best friend’s place so I could cut down on costs of a hotel room.
Chapter 1 – The Journey Begins
Since I’m not from the Tulsa area, Friday evening, the 18th, I hitched a ride with my longtime girlfriend and we moseyed on up to the big city in order to get there the night before the con started. We ended up getting lost a few times and arrived there about eleven o' clock that evening. I do hate big city roadways. We waited for my friend to get off work so he could escort us back to his apartment where we also met up with his roommate and drifted away the night by discussing comics, gaming, and anime because what else would you do the night before an event such as this? Have a life? Nah, that’s what the experience is for!
We were all going for slightly different reasons, I wanted to experience my first comic con and meet all the cool talent there (more on that later), the lady love wanted to experience all the neat cosplay that was sure to be there (also more on that later) and my cohort in crime wanted to experience the gaming.
Chapter 2 – Day 1 of the Event (a.k.a. swag and a bunch of cool things happen!)
This was the most eventful day, as I had to leave early on day 2 for previous engagements. However let me give you a run-down of what all happened. Without further ado:
We got up early that morning and all went down to the event that was quite literally down the street from where we were staying, we picked up our passes and began traversing around. The lady love took pictures for the hallway cosplay contest, she was cosplaying the female Pokémon X/Y trainer (already?! I know!) We then proceeded to get interviewed about what we had liked about the con so far (we somehow came up with answers, having been there only about 5 minutes). Unfortunately I have no proof of us getting interviewed but it happened. I assure you.
Prologue – Introductions Are In Order
Recently I attended the first ever Green Country Comics & Gaming Convention in Tulsa, OK. It was a two day event, taking place on Oct. 19-20 and was Tulsa’s way of dipping its toes into the world of games and comics. It was a small outing but worth the trip if you had made it. I had a blast and met a lot of really cool people that was into the same stuff as I was. Before this I had never been to a comic convention, as all the events you hear so often about in the news take place far away from me and it makes me sad. So imagine my pleasure when I had heard over a year ago that GCCG was happening and that I could afford to go, I even had a place to stay at my best friend’s place so I could cut down on costs of a hotel room.
Chapter 1 – The Journey Begins
Since I’m not from the Tulsa area, Friday evening, the 18th, I hitched a ride with my longtime girlfriend and we moseyed on up to the big city in order to get there the night before the con started. We ended up getting lost a few times and arrived there about eleven o' clock that evening. I do hate big city roadways. We waited for my friend to get off work so he could escort us back to his apartment where we also met up with his roommate and drifted away the night by discussing comics, gaming, and anime because what else would you do the night before an event such as this? Have a life? Nah, that’s what the experience is for!
We were all going for slightly different reasons, I wanted to experience my first comic con and meet all the cool talent there (more on that later), the lady love wanted to experience all the neat cosplay that was sure to be there (also more on that later) and my cohort in crime wanted to experience the gaming.
Chapter 2 – Day 1 of the Event (a.k.a. swag and a bunch of cool things happen!)
This was the most eventful day, as I had to leave early on day 2 for previous engagements. However let me give you a run-down of what all happened. Without further ado:
We got up early that morning and all went down to the event that was quite literally down the street from where we were staying, we picked up our passes and began traversing around. The lady love took pictures for the hallway cosplay contest, she was cosplaying the female Pokémon X/Y trainer (already?! I know!) We then proceeded to get interviewed about what we had liked about the con so far (we somehow came up with answers, having been there only about 5 minutes). Unfortunately I have no proof of us getting interviewed but it happened. I assure you.
We then tumbled over to the vendor’s room where I promptly scooped up the Silver Surfer video game for the NES and Pokémon Snap or the N64. Silver Surfer is my all-time favorite comic character and I do love me some Pokémon Snap. Shortly afterwards we found ourselves in Artists Alley where we met some pretty cool peeps in the indie comic scene. I’ll give a big rundown now:
Equinox Comics
These guys, you may already know. And if not, you definitely should! They are a ragtag group of writers and artists that have created their own universe of superheroes and villains, they call it the Equiverse! I actually got to attend their panel on building a super hero universe and it was quite informative and fun. I asked them a lot of questions. They do some rad stuff!
www.myspace.com/equinoxcomics/
www.facebook.com/equinox.comics/
www.indyplanet.com (<-- buy them here)
Equinox Comics
These guys, you may already know. And if not, you definitely should! They are a ragtag group of writers and artists that have created their own universe of superheroes and villains, they call it the Equiverse! I actually got to attend their panel on building a super hero universe and it was quite informative and fun. I asked them a lot of questions. They do some rad stuff!
www.myspace.com/equinoxcomics/
www.facebook.com/equinox.comics/
www.indyplanet.com (<-- buy them here)
Zap! Comics
Creators of a quasi-science fiction webcomic epic known as Zap! It is an entertaining read and free to do so online at their website! These guys were really cool and even posed epically for our picture, go check them out!
www.zapcomic.com
www.facebook.com/zapcomic/
Creators of a quasi-science fiction webcomic epic known as Zap! It is an entertaining read and free to do so online at their website! These guys were really cool and even posed epically for our picture, go check them out!
www.zapcomic.com
www.facebook.com/zapcomic/
Ninja and Pirate Comic
A fantastic comedy webcomic about a Ninja and Pirate roomin’ together and the hilarity that ensues; I’ve checked it out already and love it, so you all should too. It’s updated every Wednesday and Saturday and short enough still that you can catch up quickly. These guys were tons of fun to talk to!
www.ninjaandpirate.com
www.facebook.com/ninjaandpiratecomics
A fantastic comedy webcomic about a Ninja and Pirate roomin’ together and the hilarity that ensues; I’ve checked it out already and love it, so you all should too. It’s updated every Wednesday and Saturday and short enough still that you can catch up quickly. These guys were tons of fun to talk to!
www.ninjaandpirate.com
www.facebook.com/ninjaandpiratecomics
Dennis McDonald
Cheating a little here, as this isn’t an indie comic creator, but he is an indie creator in the world of novels! So it still counts! Dennis here is actually from my home town and has written three horror novels already, all of which have sold respectively well (I even bought a copy of Undead Flesh myself!). You can find him on Facebook, Amazon, and his own website which I will link you to. Check his stuff out!
www.dennismcdonaldauthor.com
Cheating a little here, as this isn’t an indie comic creator, but he is an indie creator in the world of novels! So it still counts! Dennis here is actually from my home town and has written three horror novels already, all of which have sold respectively well (I even bought a copy of Undead Flesh myself!). You can find him on Facebook, Amazon, and his own website which I will link you to. Check his stuff out!
www.dennismcdonaldauthor.com
Charlie Sullivan and the Monster Hunters
The series premise is simple, monsters come to town, Charlie Sullivan and his friends need to stop their reign of terror, by author duo team extraordinaires D.C. McGannon and C. Michael McGannon. You can find the first two books in this series on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and can find out more info right on their website:
Monsterhunters-thebook.com
Scott Kinney
Scott Kinney is a comic writer who has done some work for Arcana, one of which is an all ages sci-fi romp called Kozmik that I picked up while there (check back for a review soon). He is also a Creative Executive at Prime Universe Films, currently co-producing a YouTube web series for Machinima based on the GN series Enormous by Tim Daniel. You can find his work on ComiXology.
www.comixology.com/scott-kinney/
The series premise is simple, monsters come to town, Charlie Sullivan and his friends need to stop their reign of terror, by author duo team extraordinaires D.C. McGannon and C. Michael McGannon. You can find the first two books in this series on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and can find out more info right on their website:
Monsterhunters-thebook.com
Scott Kinney
Scott Kinney is a comic writer who has done some work for Arcana, one of which is an all ages sci-fi romp called Kozmik that I picked up while there (check back for a review soon). He is also a Creative Executive at Prime Universe Films, currently co-producing a YouTube web series for Machinima based on the GN series Enormous by Tim Daniel. You can find his work on ComiXology.
www.comixology.com/scott-kinney/
There were of course more, but I did not get to talk to all of them and only felt right featuring those I did speak with! But everyone there was super amazing and I’m thankful for the experience!
After our rounds through the Artist Alley, we attended some panels, one of which was the aforementioned Equinox Panel. Another was Photography and Cosplay, making one with the worlds of the two. It was full of laughs. We discovered a French comic series and movie adaptation called The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec and I am already in love with it. We also attended an event about meeting the comic creators of Oklahoma, helmed by the DC writer Sterling Gates (who is a real stand-up guy I must say).
We played a few games in the Gaming Room, Persona 4, Mario Kart, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, ah what fond memories so many of these brought back. We spent a good hour in there. Later that evening we attended the cosplay competition where everyone got to show off their exquisite attire, sadly the lady love did not place anywhere but we got to see some pretty stellar cosplay all around. My favorites being Starfire and Raven from the animated DC cartoon Teen Titans.
After our rounds through the Artist Alley, we attended some panels, one of which was the aforementioned Equinox Panel. Another was Photography and Cosplay, making one with the worlds of the two. It was full of laughs. We discovered a French comic series and movie adaptation called The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec and I am already in love with it. We also attended an event about meeting the comic creators of Oklahoma, helmed by the DC writer Sterling Gates (who is a real stand-up guy I must say).
We played a few games in the Gaming Room, Persona 4, Mario Kart, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, ah what fond memories so many of these brought back. We spent a good hour in there. Later that evening we attended the cosplay competition where everyone got to show off their exquisite attire, sadly the lady love did not place anywhere but we got to see some pretty stellar cosplay all around. My favorites being Starfire and Raven from the animated DC cartoon Teen Titans.
After the cosplay event, the lady love and I went back to the Gaming Room where we played Pickman for two straight hours before the hall had to kick everyone out because it was getting too late. We got to see what the Wii U was finally like and man I really want to get one for my Wii now.
Chapter 3 – Day 2 of the Event (a.k.a the really short bit)
This was the shortest experience of the con, as I had previously stated I needed to leave early but I at least got to attend one panel about creating comics featuring Sterling Gates from DC and Jerry Bennett, author of an indie comic called Nadir Zenith. They went back and forth on their experiences in the industry and how they enjoy their work, I even mock-pitched a story to Gates in order to get ideas on how to do a pitch properly, it didn’t go over well but that was on me and I learned a lot.
After that we got the heck outta dodge and took our two hour drive home.
Epilogue – The finale
Overall, the first outing for Green Country Comics & Gaming was a success in this con goer's eyes and I will definitely be attending again next year. I also hope next year is allowed to be bigger and better, but I do think they should really put a banner outside letting people know the convention is going on, they would get a few more walk-ins that way and that’s what you really want, isn’t it?
Also, I saved it for last because it’s not really indie comic related but I had to point it out if you hadn’t guessed already. I met Sterling Gates, who has done some fantastic work on Supergirl over at DC in the last several years and he was really awesome to talk to. It was also inspirational to know that a fellow Okie could make it into the big leagues, because that really means all of us have a chance as long we tell the best stories we can and give it our all!
-Derrick Crow
This was the shortest experience of the con, as I had previously stated I needed to leave early but I at least got to attend one panel about creating comics featuring Sterling Gates from DC and Jerry Bennett, author of an indie comic called Nadir Zenith. They went back and forth on their experiences in the industry and how they enjoy their work, I even mock-pitched a story to Gates in order to get ideas on how to do a pitch properly, it didn’t go over well but that was on me and I learned a lot.
After that we got the heck outta dodge and took our two hour drive home.
Epilogue – The finale
Overall, the first outing for Green Country Comics & Gaming was a success in this con goer's eyes and I will definitely be attending again next year. I also hope next year is allowed to be bigger and better, but I do think they should really put a banner outside letting people know the convention is going on, they would get a few more walk-ins that way and that’s what you really want, isn’t it?
Also, I saved it for last because it’s not really indie comic related but I had to point it out if you hadn’t guessed already. I met Sterling Gates, who has done some fantastic work on Supergirl over at DC in the last several years and he was really awesome to talk to. It was also inspirational to know that a fellow Okie could make it into the big leagues, because that really means all of us have a chance as long we tell the best stories we can and give it our all!
-Derrick Crow