by Josh Crawley

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Josh Crawley

As I sit here typing this, I’ll be leaving for the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) put on by those fine folks at Reed Exhibitions (preceded by one of those fine retailer summits organized by Diamond Comics). Sadly, as always seems to be the case, I seem to never have as much done beforehand as I normally plan to… because I have — literally — eight hours before making the 3 hour or so drive (depending on traffic) to McCormick Place.

Oh, sure, I’ve got my clothes ready, but I haven’t packed my business cards yet (which managed to be the one thing I forgot last year), nor have I grabbed a few books to get signed. Of course, that’s one thing I’ve done regularly the past few years; get books signed. I don’t take stacks of comics, though. I will usually grab a handful of hardcover collections I really, really enjoy rereading to get signed. The problem there, though, is that I have to carry them around. It’s gotten to the point that every year I say “I’m not bringing this much crap next year.” And I’ve done a pretty good job.

Casanova Luxuria

This year though, I really do want to try something different. If I take a book, I’m thinking it’ll just be my Casanova Luxuria hardcover, and the only reason I’m thinking of that is because I wanted to introduce myself to Matt Fraction after having the pleasure to exchange emails with him a couple of years ago when we here at Westfield Comics teamed-up with Project: Rooftop for the Iron Man Invincible Upgrade contest . That, and a fellow fan by the name of Jason who mentioned it to me earlier this week!

Honestly, I’ll probably wait to see if I remember to grab it before I leave in the morning. I think it’s fair to leave this one to the fates.

Another change this year is that I plan on going to at least one panel. (It probably wouldn’t be a horrible idea, seeing as how I co-host a podcast that focuses on a single publisher. Hopefully I can find some doughnuts before it, too.) Looking back I think part of the reason I haven’t gone to a panel in ten years (wow!) is because I never cared for much of the programming that was done for the primary convention I went to (the other large convention in the “Chicago” area).

All of this talk about conventions reminds me how much I miss all the great friends I don’t see as often as I’d like to. Oh, and all the Chicago dogs I’m just dying to eat.

And if you see me, be sure to say hi!

I know there wasn’t much point to this column this week, but I don’t really care too horribly much. I think the basic idea, really, is to be sure you go to a convention or two while you can. It doesn’t have to be a “big” convention. I hear great things about the conventions MCBA puts on, and they get great guests!

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Anyway, I’m exhausted. I also need to get copious amounts of sleep before a convention someday, too, because I always get less sleep than normal during them, and not much beforehand because I’m always running around crazy.

Note to self: get the business cards early, and just be sure you have plenty of clean laundry the weekend before.

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That’s it for this week… next week, I’m hoping to tell you about all the awesome friends I got to hang out with and the new friends I made!

Oh, and happy Saint Patrick’s Day!!! I’ll be looking for a green river!

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Josh Crawley may or may not be the keyboardist for Everclear. He strongly suggests you not bet that he is.

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