i assume Joe got his eyes back. the following fur cons I saw him at he seemed to have 2 of them.

I wonder if he has a third one for a spare?

I had never seen this image before, but it did bring back memories of that year when I went to my first ever, out of California Con. I had a lot of fun there, and it was great meeting friends face to fach who's works I had only seen in Fanzines before.

That's good, if that cartoon evokes some good memories for you. =)

Very funny. Never been to a con, but if being in a room full or cartoonists is anywhere near being in a roomful of actors, well...Let's just say that I have enough ego to go around!

Cartoonists all have the ego (or they wouldn't share the viewing of their art). The may be more cautious about displaying it. (Standing at a distance and watching viewers' reactions, is one thing that one can see sometimes.) They can be unskilled at in-person communication. In these early conventions, many of the cartooners were meeting each other for a first time (or once a year). There could be a lot of show and tell.

Recent conventions can sometime be more difficult to have that high socialization of unsocialized people happen. The artists in dealers' rooms or 'Artist Alleys' are sometimes trying to make a full-time or part-time living doing commissions at the conventions (or at least pay for all traveling and hotel expenses). That puts a pressure on to socialize mostly with commission customers and spending the off-hours eating and doing 'home-work' art in their rooms (attempting to finish & deliver sketches to customers before the convention ends).

There is socialization going on, but in some locations with the 'table-space' for artists, it is a bit more like selling & working at a farmers market... most of their energy is going to interacting with potential customers and working at packing up the bundles of veggies.


The conventions ARE worth sampling as an event. Many people are working hard at being outgoing and having a good time. It is not quite as relaxing an event for those sitting at a designated space to sell art during the con.

I think that living off the proceeds of one's efforts is the definition of Heaven. I am just not a joiner and never will be. In other words, "Give me the close-up...Now)!