Akron Comicon is one of my favorite events and my last convention appearance of the year. It will take place Saturday, November 5, and Sunday, November 6, at Emidio’s Expo Center, 48 E. Bath Road in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The show hours are 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday and 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday. One-day and weekend tickets are $10 and $15 respectively. Child tickets are $5 and $10 respectively. One child thirteen or under is FREE with a paid adult ticket. Considering all the wonderful people and things to be found at this convention, I think the ticket prices are among the biggest bargains to be found anywhere in the country.
Akron Comicon is centered on comics. Part of the event’s mission is placing an emphasis on what it calls “Comics Future.” This means striving to keep Comicon affordable for all families so adults have the opportunity to pass on their favorite comics traditions to the next generation.
Akron Comicon was founded by my friends Bob Jenkins and Michael Savene in 2012. Led by local creators Dan Gorman and Jason Miller, Altered Realm Productions bought the event in 2019. They continue the emphasis on honoring comic books and strips with a guest list dominated by comics creators. The 2022 comics roster includes Tom Batiuk (Crankshaft and Funky Winkerbean), Mike W. Barr (Batman and the Outsiders and Maze Agency), Thom Zahler (Love and Capes), Ted Sikora (Apama the Undiscovered Animal), Craig Boldman (Archie), Sam De La Rosa, Don Simpson, Jay Fife, Matt Horak, Jason Moore, Dave Nestler and more.
Other guests include actor Gianni Decenzo from the hit Netflix TV series Cobra Kai and a host of horror hosts: Son of Ghoul, Leopold and Lenora, Drac and Carita and the Mummy and the Monster. Also at the convention: Hero Initiative, Akron’s own Rubber City Cosplay and Star Trek groups USS Lagrange and USS Renegade. I was named an honorary member of the Lagrange many years ago and, to honor their 40th anniversary, they’ve asked me to wear a red shirt. Hmmm...are they trying to tell me something?
Halloween 1972. On that day, I reported for work at Marvel Comics in New York City. to commemorate my fifty years in the industry, my talented friend Dan Gorman created a special poster showing all the monster-type characters I worked on during my years at Marvel. Both Dan and I will be selling the poster and, no matter which of us you buy it from, I’ll sign it for free.
Speaking of selling stuff...
At my Akron Comicon booth, I’ll be selling the usual mix of dollar comics, more expensive comics, books, magazines and stuff written by me. This will include the exclusive-to-me reprint edition of the first appearance of Misty Knight in a Marvel comic book.
When Misty Knight was set to debut on the Luke Cage TV series, my friends at the House of Ideas decided to do a “Marvel’s Greatest Creators” reprint of her first appearance in Marvel Premiere #21. They called me up and asked if I wanted an exclusive variant of the reprint, one with an exclusive cover and only available from me. The numbers worked and a limited print run of 1500 copies was made and delivered to me.
I’ve been signing and numbering the comics ever since. I’m selling them at a bargain price of just $10 each. Considering I charge $10 just for my signature, and you’re also getting an exclusive signed and numbered limited edition comic, that’s a deal.
Finally, for the first time, I’m bringing a whole bunch of terrific Godzilla items to Akron Comicon. We’re talking action figures and much more. These items were a big hit at my garage sales over the summer. Be sure to check them out.
Akron Comicon also has a full schedule of panels and other special events to entertain the fans:
Saturday
11 am: Comicsburgh with Marvin Wynn, Grant Lankard, Heroineburgh & Casey WhiteNoise
Noon: The History of Horror Comics with Michael Walton
1 pm: Self Publishing 101 with Ted Sikora!
2 pm: Horror Writing for Comics with David Hayes!
3 pm: Meet Gianni DeCenzo!
4 pm: Cosplay Contest hosted by Rubber City Cosplay
Sunday
11 am: Tony’s Tips Live! With Tony Isabella
Noon: A History of Horror Hosts in NE Ohio with The Mummy and The Monkey!
1 pm: Q&A with Sam DeLaRosa.
2 pm: Batman by the Decades with Chris Lambert
As I wrote up top, this is my final convention appearance of 2022. I’ll be hunkering down to work on a variety of projects through the end of the year and into February.
My first convention appearance of the new year will be Pensacon in Pensacola, Florida, February 24-26, 2023. If you are a convention promoter and would like me to appear at your event, e-mail me and I’ll do my best to make that happen. The same holds true should you want me to speak at a library or school, do a signing at a comic- book store, or act in your movie or TV show. While I’m not planning to do many conventions and such in 2023, I will try to accommodate any requests that come my way.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back soon with more stuff.
© 2022 Tony Isabella
I hope the November snowstorm didn't hit you too hard over there. We got over 3 feet of snow here (Lackawanna, NY).
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