As long as I’ve been doing the C4 Convention here in Winnipeg, I’ve dreamt about traveling to different conventions and seeing different cities. It’s always flattering and encouraging to meet people who connect with your art and dig your style. There’s nothing that makes me want to keep going, more than that.

Earlier this year, a friend of mine invited me to join her at the Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo. Having never been to Edmonton, and excited at the prospect of taking my stuff on the road, I happily agreed right there on the spot.

I wasn’t even thinking of what I was going to bring with me or how I was going to appeal to a new audience. It sounds kind of fucked up, but a small part of me wondered how people in a different city would react to my artwork. People here at home in Winnipeg have always been super fucking supportive , but I’ve always attributed that partially to the show posters and album covers I’ve done for local bands. Or the annual Lebowskipalooza event (coming up Oct 18! Get your tickets!!), which I design a new poster for every year.

Edmonton though? They have no fucking clue who I am or what I do. They have no introduction to me, my work, or how often I like to say “FUCK”. I decided the best course of action was to just put my best foot forward and see what happened.

The show was fucking awesome. Three days, hundreds of artists showcasing their work, and tens of thousands of people showing up to hunt for old back issues, stock up on collectibles, and discover new art from tons of different artists, all with different styles and backgrounds.

I loved getting to meet new artists and plan trades with them for any leftover art we had at the very end of the show. I think I walked away with more prints, comics and postcards from other artists at this show than at any other I’ve ever done.

And the crowd really seemed to dig my film-noir inspired style of illustration. I think the most surprising “hit” of the convention was the “Dino Matrix” poster I did awhile back though. You can do your best to try and predict which art is going to go over well at a particular show, but there’s always going to be a piece whose success just makes no fucking sense. Like, at all.

The cosplay was fucking spectacular also. The best costume, hands down, was someone dress as Edvard Munch’s, “The Scream”. Notable mentions were Post-Apocalyptic Mario and Luigi, and someone dressed as Leila from Futurama, with a HANDMADE Nibbler doll.

When the show wrapped up on Sunday evening, all I could think of was which other comicons I wanted to book artist tables at. It seems like new ones are sprouting up all over the place, both across Canada and the States.

Winnipeg will always be my home, but the prospect of getting to explore this country and share my passion with a different crowd of people every time, is just too fucking exciting.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my special fucking lady, Janelle, and let her know happy I was to see Edmonton for the first time with her. Also, a big thanks to my friend Meagan for the invite out to Edmonton and for showing us around the city. The one time we didn’t have you with us was the one time it took us over an hour to find a fucking Starbucks, so I can only imagine how fucked the weekend would have been without you around hahaha.

And lastly, thank you Edmonton, for such a great fucking weekend and for showing me how much fun it can be to do shows on the road. I plan on getting all up in you again next year and would love to hear suggestions for other Comicons across Canada and the U.S. that I should check out.

-NR

PS) Tune in this weekend for a NEW blog about some of my plans for the Winnipeg Convention at the end of this month.

PS) I’m still new at writing blog posts so don’t go busting my cock if this one was a little too long or unfocused. They’ll get better with practice 😀