This past weekend was AwesomeCon and the weekend had its share of ups and downs, enough to make a blog post out of it.
It was the worst sales weekend we’ve ever had at this show, and I had to do it without Garth for the first time. Those were big downs. Sales had been trending downward for us (and many other artists in attendance) since it reopened post-pandemic anyway, and this past weekend’s performance has informed my decision to not return next year. While necessary for my wallet, it’s a decision that’s proving bad for my heart.
I really like AwesomeCon. For a show that’s hosted in a big gray windowless convention hall it’s somehow retained a lot of its character. And the vibe of the crowd has always been great, pre- and post-pandemic. AwesomeCon’s crowd has consistently been among the friendliest and most eager to chat about comics. Since I was alone at the table this year I had lots of opportunities to talk with folks who stopped by about, well, anything of shared interest! I may have been alone at the table but I wasn’t lonely, thanks to the crowd AwesomeCon draws in.
And I got to reconnect with my good friend, the owner of Off the Mall Tours. The past few years I’ve crashed at my friend’s place, whose generosity helps me avoid hotel and parking fees. I only see her at the bookends of the day, but every morning of the con she makes me breakfast and we catch up over tea beside a window that overlooks the trees outside her building. That morning ritual had become an important part of my AwesomeCon weekend.
Then there’s the food! There are such great food options around the convention, which can be rare! But the DC area is one of my favorite places to visit and even though it was a strain on the weekend’s meager sales, I treated myself to some quality food.
The drive down was a grind, though. It’d been years since I’d done the Massachuesetts-to-DC drive, which is upwards of eight hours. When I was young I could endure it with little more than my music and some snacks. Now that I’m not-so-young any more, I was sick of the drive after only two hours of being alone with my thoughts. I lost count the amount of times I screamed “I hate this fucking city!” as I was crawling through New York City traffic. While I’m sad about my decision to not return to AwesomeCon, I am not going to miss that drive.
This year, however, the drive back was delightful. I picked up a friend who lives in the DC area on my way out of the con and she accompanied me back to Massachusetts! We’d been trying to make plans for years to get together outside of a convention setting and the opportunity presented itself this week! Much like my road trips with Garth to-and-from DragonCon, she made the long overnight journey home not only tolerable, but enjoyable. The eight hours seemed to pass us right by.
But the biggest downer of all was doing AwesomeCon without Garth. We discovered this show together, promoted Star Power together, and hung out together every year. Long stretches of inactivity, even during our most prosperous sales years, were made tolerable thanks to his company. I’ve done shows without him in the past, but doing one where we’ve historically been together without him was more difficult than I’d anticipated.
If I could pay my bills with the amount of fulfillment my heart achieved this past weekend, AwesomeCon would be among my top shows. Unfortunately, stuff is expensive these days and I’ve got bills to pay, so AwesomeCon has to be crossed off my list of shows.
