Comic Con 2009: What a ride!

Phaser's where set to FUN!

Those pesky Klingons are always following me! They can be a lot of Tribble!

Comic Con has come and gone and it was a blast! As usual, DBG (Dan Bois Graphics) had a table at the end of aisle 900, G-5, and two panels up in the art show.Wednesday was set up day so Dan and family were busy setting up the table and the art show panels. Everything went smooth and we had a great preview night, catching up with old table buddies and new. A tired (you arrive at 7am to get a good spot in the parking structure and leave after 9:30PM when preview night ends) but excited family headed back to La Mesa that night.


Thursday was probably the best day of the Con for Dan. He finally realized a life-long dream and dressed up as a star fleet officer from the original Star Trek series. Close friends, Scott and Vickie Sebring always dress up each day of the Con and are well known for their '66 Batman, Starfleet, and various other costumes. Vickie was kind enough to make Dan his own custom "red shirt" (yes-he was the sacrificial lamb on this tour) and he gathered the other required paraphernalia-tricorder, communicator, phaser, etc., and, in a shocking show of commitment to the role, shaved his beard and mustache! I know many of you didn't recognize him sans glasses and furry face and he got a real kick out of that. After dressing up in full regalia, he walked over to the Marriot to meet the other members of the crew. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of dressing up at the Con, knows it is a tiring commitment since you can only walk a few feet without someone stopping you for a photo op. The Marriot had several great photo ops (cave rocks, poolside) that the gang took advantage of and Dan participated in several shots where he "took a hit" and needed immediate medical attention! The capper of the day was a photo of the group descending an escalator that actually made it's way into a London newspaper!

Dan made a new friend, "Batty Ben". Ben Bentley, aka Batty Ben, as he is known on the 66 Bat Board, flew all the way from England to join up with Sebring's gang of merry men/women. He dressed as Batman while at the Con. And on Thursday, he was the official photographer of the Star Trek group.

While Officer Dan was being "phasered and repaired", Elizabeth (aka ClickChick) bravely manned (or womaned) the table solo until Calvin and I arrived from his orientation at SDSU. Sal, a close family friend, (here being monitored by Starfleet personnel) kept her company and helped her out in any way possible. Thanks Sal!

Friday was bring your boyfriend/girlfriend to work day at DBG's. Elizabeth and Matt and Calvin and Christa all had a great time at the Con. I think Friday was DBG's best day. Fans really enjoyed all of this year's new products. The 2009 Tiki art was a success (the Pit Cairn tiki was a quick sale in the art show upstairs), the new matted prints of our infamous "Rokbot", in a variety of colors were going like crazy and the new rocket print/bookmarks eventually sold out. Dan had two new mermaids he unveiled at the Con (Tia and Sydney & Seamore), that had previously been on display at his art exhibit earlier in the year at Cosmo's in La Mesa. This year DBG held a prize drawing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday's winner of a Rokbot t-shirt was Lester Rossi (pictured below).














Saturday was a fun and exciting day and night. DBG's table sales were hectic. Iona Maas was the lucky winner of the Batmobile prize package that included an original DBG batmobile print, bookmark and button (she is also pictured below).


That night Dan was one of the featured artists at Mark Allen's store, FeeLiT (909 E St, SD), a few blocks from the Con. The whole family (and cousin Marissa) cruised up to Mark's after we shut down the table. We enjoyed a yummy burrito a few doors up from FeeLiT and then went back and watched several local artists, including pal Billy Martinez, do live art. We could barely keep our eyes open as we walked back down to the Con to retrieve our cars and head home so we could wake up and do it all over again. What a great end to a day at the Con. Thanks for your continued support, Mark! It is so nice to have a local venue where DBG fans can locate Dan's art after the Con.
Sunday, the final day of the Con, mucho sadness. The Comic Con is Dan's "Christmas", Elizabeth likes to say. He looks forward to it all year long, and it is truly sad when it all comes to an end. Not only does he look forward to selling his art, he enjoys meeting new fans and visiting with repeat fans/friends. He always manages to talk to someone about aviation history and they share a story with him about a family member flying in WWII. Dan just eats this stuff up. And these shared stories usually figure into the next airplane he decides to draw. And lastly, he loves going around and buying up all of his friend's art from The Drawing Board. Sunday's prize package winner was Donald Wygal who won the Rokbot package which included a matted Rokbot print and button.
Last, but not least, Dan supported our 3-Day team, 4 the Girlz, in our goal to raise $16,100 (the cost of all 7 of us walking) by letting me sell our beaded lanyards at his table. Thanks my dear-you are the best! We sold 16 lanyards, 5 bracelets and one pin. Thank you to all the DBG fans who supported our fight against breast cancer.
So, if any of you are feeling melancholy about the Con being over, you are not alone. Post your favorite moment of the Con right here. It won't be long until October is here and you can find DBG's at the La Mesa Oktoberfest with Billy Martinez of Neko Press.