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This past weekend the 6th Annual Tucson Comic Con happened and the Buzz Media was there. Charles and I went down to see what was what and who was who and it was a blast. This was my first time going to the Con here in town and I was very impressed by the turnout as well as the robust collection of mostly local talent.

One of the personal highlights for me was sitting down for an interview with artist Shelby Robertson. I have been a fan of Shelby’s work for several years now having first encountered it at the sadly missed Phoenix based comic and clothing store Evermore Nevermore.  Every time I went up there for a ghost talk or book signing I came home with one of Shelby’s prints and it was awesome to be able to chat with him about his work, his background and comics in general. Check out the audio of that interview up at the top of the post and check out Shelby Robertson’s work at his site American Discord and Facebook page HERE.

Once the con got started proper I spent a lot of time looking around at the vendors and creators on hand which included a ton of local talent and vendors as well as some private collectors and artisans. A number of cosplay groups were on hand as well from Doctor Who based AZ TARDIS to the Star Wars 501st Dune Sea Garrison. I did not realize before hand that we had so many fandom groups here but I was very impressed by the dedication and detail. The Arizona Ghostbusters had an ecto containment unit on hand and the Umbrella Corporation was very cool. I am a huge Resident Evil fan and I had no idea there was a group dedicated to it.

After making the circuit a couple of times I swung by the Orbital Decay booth to talk to past Gentlemen Radio guest Jacob Breckenridge and Mike Esham about their awesome sci-fi comedy book which is three issues strong. Jacob was offering $5 sketches of fat versions of super heroes after they have let themselves go and the sketches were hilarious particularly fat Professor X. We will have a full interview with both of the guys on Day 2’s coverage of the Con but check them out at their Facebook HERE.

Working my way around I came across Juan C Heinrich’s booth for his comic Slave from Hound comics. Heinrich is a local creator doing his own book and it is pretty impressive stuff. Check Slave out at JCH Studio.

From there I ran into my friends Bob and Debbie Leeper, former owners of the aforementioned Evermore Nevermore  who sent me over to Russ Kazmierczak, Jr and his Amazing Arizona Comics series, a satirical super hero book skewering Arizona politics and issues. If you live in the state this is definitely something to check out as it is both funny and topical. Check the book out HERE.

And that was Day One! Check back for our coverage of Day 2 complete with more interviews and panel coverage!

I leave you with some cosplay and some other cool things at the show: