originally on www.rockdeeprogueradio.com

As a D.C. area native, the springtime is one of my favorite times to be from this area. The Caps and Wizards are gearing up for the playoffs, the Nats are getting their season started, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom (and my allergies are going haywire) and...it's Comic Con season! In years past, if you were in the DMV and you wanted to go to a comic con event, you had to travel to Philadelphia or Baltimore. Ick. No one wants to go there. I don't care how good their cheese steaks or crabs are, it's not worth the exposure to syphilis or the general funk that is Philly.

Yes, I can make promotional pictures for cities. Big deal! It's not like these are 2 of my favorite places/foods ever. DC has good food that it's famous for...like half smokes...and mumbo sauce..I guess those are good...or something.

For any of you Charm City or City of Brotherly Love natives, I am joking. I love both of those cities...but you know just as well as I do, there's nothing like having an event in your home town. It's your people! It makes it that much better! Not only that, you don't have to get a hotel room. I mean you CAN get a hotel room if you roll hard with the convention-ing. You like to cosplay and party. It's all good. You're single handedly keeping cons in business, so technically you're more who they want at cons than chumps like me!

At any rate, AwesomeCon will always be my favorite convention. Why? Well, it's king of the D.C. comic conventions because it's actually in the city for one. Secondly, it was one of my first conventions I was lucky enough to attend as an exhibitor. I had been to New York City Comic Con and Baltimore Con as both a visitor and exhibitor, but D.C. is my home town. It's like in sports, you play better for your home crowd. It means more than an "away game."

This was my 5th AwesomeCon and I've been able to watch the show grow each year. It was a successful event as a seller of comics: we made money. Also, it's a great networking experience. I've met a ton of really talented folks at AwesomeCon who I now consider friends.

This year I was lucky to go as press. ROCKDEEP ROGUE RADIO and GGR are a big enough deal that we were able to secure press access. Man, that was cool. I DIDN'T HAVE TO STAND IN LINES LIKE REGULAR CON GOERS! THEY MOVED PARTITIONS FOR ME! I was a big enough deal that I got into places just by flashing a badge. That is pretty darn cool. This increased mobility allowed me to sit in on panels (which I had never been able to do in years past). I was able to talk to creators, artists, vendors and the like without having to worry about focusing on my product I'm trying to sell. It was freeing but also, I missed the connection I got to make as a creator with people picking up my book. It's the problem I have with having a lot of different interests, but in that same vain, both experiences were satisfying.

I spoke about my first experience with a panel earlier. Now, I got to moderate and be part of a couple of panels at last year's NovaCon. That was incredibly fun and quite a learning experience. This year though, I got to watch a professional in action. Ulysses Campbell, the host and executive producer of Fantastic Forum (and they have a podcast on iTunes!) has been the moderator for many panels before and I got to sit front row and watch him moderate the Cress Williams panel (he plays Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning on the CW series Black Lightning). I've been friends with Ulie for a few years now but I had never gotten to see him "do his thing" on stage like this. He killed it in this panel. It gave me a new goal for the next time I come to a con: I want to moderate a panel like this. Plus, Cress Williams seems like the nicest dude ever.

I also want to make sure I give a shout out to Wes Johnson. Unfamiliar with who Wes is? Been to a Capitals game? Played video games? Watched America's Most Wanted? Then you've heard Wes' voice. He's also been in numerous movies and TV shows. Above all else, he is quite possibly the nicest guy on the planet. He handled an awkward conversation with yours truly like I was someone important. Big thanks to him for being very accommodating and friendly.

Also, shout out to my buddy Philip Jean-Pierre. You might know him from our Pizza, Donuts and Star Trek episode of Mike on the Mic. Not only is Phil a funny dude, he's also a talented artist. You can check out his art right here! I also got to meet his friend (and coincidentally, the friend of like 10 other people I know) Kevin Hunt who is also quite talented and equally funny. Take a look at his stuff!

At any rate, I've fanboy-ed and gushed enough about this event. To sum up: AwesomeCon is dope, Ulysses Campbell is the man and whether its as an exhibitor or as press, AwesomeCon is a blast. Take a look at the pics we snagged!