SPBURKE

Today I trusted my instincts instead of my iPhone and got to McCormick Place with very little trouble.  Even just sitting down I could tell everyone was feeling serious fatigue.  It wasn’t that we weren’t having fun on Friday and Saturday.  Oh no, far from it!  It’s just that we had been having so much fun with so many people that we were feeling supremely burned out.  I had never been more grateful for a cup of espresso in my life, otherwise I’d have been dead on my head when the public came in.

I sadly didn’t get many pictures of either cool stuff or cute girls in costume.  Like Saturday, I was glued to my table selling $1 sketches, books, and prints.  I bet hard on the Bronies and Whovians with the prints, and they didn’t disappoint.  I even got a photo of a really cool sketch someone did for a fan.  Whoever did this is right up my alley.

Pab continued to reel people in with his World’s Crappiest Sketches.  Even had a great one mimicking the cover of Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung” album.  We joked about how similar the dude on the album cover looked to Alan Moore.  There may be a print idea in there somewhere (trademarked!).

While I didn’t make it around as much, I did make it a point to race around the convention floor to drop off copies of “Oh Goodie! Vol. 2” to Katie Shanahan and Paul Mounts, since they were kind enough to pre-order copies from the Kickstarter campaign.  Katie and I ran into each other a lot last year hitting cons, and she’s always been incredibly sweet to me.  And Paul’s son Logan has always been a fan of my Rush stuff, and made sure he picked up a Rush print before the show was over.  Paul’s numerous compliments to “Eddie Van Helsing vs. The Spiders From Mars” meant the world to me.

After I dropped off my books I made it a point to stop off at the booth of Kevin Brown AKA Dot Com from “30 Rock”.  I had actually seen him on Friday (much to my surprise, since I didn’t even know he was at the show) but didn’t have a chance to get an autograph or a picture.  Today I made sure to get a pic and an autograph for Elanor, all for only $5.  Dude was incredibly nice and incredibly enthusiastic about the con scene.  Beats the shit out of Lou Ferrigno at Wizard World, who charges you for even looking in his general direction.

The lights when down at 5PM and everyone applaud with a show well done.  Pab and Bryan were incredibly patient in helping me get my product to their car from the show floor.  Three guys slowly carting a huge tote full of crap on a small luggage trolley all the way across the North Building of McCormick Place, you’d think we were moving a live bomb (a joke I don’t recommend saying out loud in a public building).

It has started to rain by the time we made it to the Dan Ryan Expressway.  Pab and Bryan were incredibly patient helping me get my tote into my car parked outside my step-sister’s apartment, their clothes and car getting soaked.  Glad I stored all my books and prints in boxes and mylar bags.

I’m serious when I say I’m incredibly grateful to Pab.  The whole weekend wouldn’t have been possible if he hadn’t agreed to split the table with me.  I wished him and Bryan a safe trip home, pointed them in the direction of the nearest Portillo’s (a requirement if you’re visiting Chicago) and we parted ways.

When I made it back to my neighborhood in the burbs, I made it a point to stop at the bank and deposit all the cash from my books and prints.  Last year, I managed to break even for my table.  I would’ve considered myself lucky if I reached that goal again.

…I made twice that.

Spectacular weekend.  Worth every minute and every penny.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a hundred hours’ sleep.  $1 Sketches and LLLadies of C2E2 2012 will be posted soon!