My table (as seen on the map below) will actually be located towards the very back of the artist alley. Being in the back is bad in the sense that it is in the back, but it is good in the sense that it should be easy to remember where I am– in the back! I’ve made it a mini tradition to tie balloons to the table for that purpose as well, so I’ll probably be doing that again to double ensure that you’ll be able to find me.

It should be a good time, y’all. I hope to see you there. Let’s make it a weekend to remember!

The big buzz of the show was Saturday’s appearance of disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, which had to have been the most unusual, surreal, and hilarious comic convention guest of all time. In case you’re not familiar, Blagojevich is not your run of the mill disgraced politician. If you saw him on Celebrity Apprentice, you would have seen that he literally does not know how to use a computer or send an email, which makes him twice as hilarious. Anyway, his name and appearance schedule were announced several times throughout the day over the loudspeaker, and the entire convention hall booed loudly each time! Who needs William Shatner when you’ve got a guy like this?!

I didn’t get to meet Blagojevich because I was busy behind my table most of the time. The comics and Neil Jam Icons once again did pretty well and it was fun dishing ‘em out to the masses. Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by to chat. There are lots of great faces stored up in my memory bank. Thank you for humoring me, y’all!

I’ll have a nice selection of books including a new handmade compilation of all the web strips from neiljam.com. And of course, I’ll have a substantial collection of framed Neil Jam Icon original art pieces– a record amount, actually. It should all be quite the sight to behold, so do your best to swing by and say hi. We can be pals.

Love,
Neil (Jam)

Now that I have recovered from the long weekend that was Chicago Comic-Con I’m ready to tell you all about it. In short, It went pretty well! The show itself has been in a downward spiral of sorts for the last few years, with fewer and fewer crowd pleasing comics centric displays and happenings each year. While that surely disappointed attendees, I’m thinking it probably helped give a boost to artist alley, as there was plenty of comics stuff going on in there. I was actually able to make this my most successful show of all time– imagine that!

I had one of the most elaborate displays that I’ve ever had at a convention on my table. The new Neil Jam book made its official debut at the show, but it was the stepchild on a table jam packed full of glorious mini framed Neil Jam Icons! The artwork was by far the hit of the show. I lovingly refer to those things as “nerd crack,” and I am an unabashed dealer. Big shout out to anyone who picked up some books or artwork. Y’all definitely made the whole weekend worthwhile.

I took a bunch of photos which can be seen here in my flickr gallery. Now that the con is over I’ll have a chance to do some maintenance around the website. Look for the new book to be made available later in the week. And while I was able to unload a lot of artwork at the con, I still have plenty left (I brought an obscene amount with me), so I may be making some of that available as well sometime in the near future. Thanks again everyone!

In the books department, I’ll have with me brand new copies of the hot-off-the-presses Neil Jam collection. I suppose they’ll be making their official debut at the show. I’ll also be bringing along the individual minicomic issues, though at this point I’m not sure how or even if I’ll be displaying those, as there’ll be lots of stuff taking up room on the table. So if you’re interested in the single issues and you don’t see ‘em, just ask.

As for all that other stuff taking up all the room on the table, well you know it isn’t really a convention without a healthy dose of everybody’s favorite: Neil Jam Icons!

These fun little framed original art pieces feature a cornucopia of pop culture personalities, each depicted in the trademark Neil Jam style. I’ll have lots of these to choose from.

My table will be situated right in the heart of Artist Alley. Since this is a pretty big show with a pretty big Artist Alley, I’m actually planning on tying some balloons to the table (no joke) to make it easier to find and make your way back to throughout the weekend. I suppose it may look a little tacky, but hey, a Neil Jam’s gotta do what a Neil Jam’s gotta do.

So if you’re in the neighborhood definitely stop by and say hi. It can be a pretty grueling show, and seeing some happy faces will surely give me that extra boost to keep going strong throughout the weekend. If you’re not going to the show but still wanna know a little of what’s going on, following me on twitter might be a good idea. I’ll do my best to tweet along the way. Thanks everyone!