The Shadow of Shadow Con
Always moving forward ...
Greetings,
This past weekend I had the honor of being a guest at Shadow Con in Orlando. The event was hosted by Tom “The ConFather” Raupp, who understands comics and what makes a great show. He put together a true comic convention, one focused squarely on comic books.
The room was packed with incredible vendors offering comics from every era, and the guest list was stacked with some of the best indie creators working today. The atmosphere had a great buzz all day long, with plenty of fun conversations about comics and the industry.
What made Shadow Con especially enjoyable was how relaxed everything felt. It wasn’t a high-stress convention—things ran smoothly and the overall vibe was low-key, almost like a mini vacation for me.
The guest list was deep, including John Beatty, Pat Broderick, Kyle Willis, Marcus Roberts, and many more. I was fortunate enough to be seated next to the always awesome Steve Conley, who patiently endured my constant chatter about Star Trek. Sometimes I just can’t help myself.
After the convention wrapped up, Steve, Roland Mann, Thomas Florimonte, Javier Lugo, and I headed over to Del Taco for a post-con meal. Naturally, the conversation turned to the challenges and pitfalls of the comic book industry. Did we solve them all? Hard to say. I suppose the rest of the year will be the real test.
All in all, Shadow Con was a fantastic experience, and I was truly honored to be invited.
In other Cosmic News…
We Can’t Do It Without You!
Our Kickstarter for Turbocharged Teenager is entering the final stretch, and we’re still fighting to cross that finish line.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, let me encourage you to take a moment and visit the campaign page. This project blends the wild energy of 1980s Saturday morning cartoons with a dose of body horror to create something fast, strange, and a little bit insane - in the best possible way.
We’re incredibly proud of the book Kevin LaPorte and I have created, and we’d love your help bringing it to life.
So if you’re curious, head over to the Kickstarter page, take a look at the artwork, and see what we’ve been building. If it looks like your kind of weird … consider backing the campaign and helping us GO TURBO.
Next COSMIC Event!
Next up on the Cosmic calendar, we’re heading back to Jacksonville for one of our favorite conventions - Collective Con.
The show takes place March 27–29 at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center and brings together a huge mix of pop culture guests and comic creators. This year’s lineup includes Peter Raymundo, Alan Tudyk, Clay Mann, Dave Johnson, Manny Jacinto, Ivanna Sakhno, Matthew Wood, Matt Knowles, and many more.
Beyond the guest list, Collective Con is simply a fantastic convention—well run, well organized, and always a lot of fun. If you’re planning to attend, be sure to stop by the Cosmic Times booth and say hello.
Well, that about wraps up this Cosmic Update. The next one will likely be a bit of a post-mortem on the Turbocharged Teenager campaign as we look at what worked, what didn’t, and what comes next.
Thanks for reading to the end, and as always …
Stay Cosmic,
Martin