Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Many people had recommended attending... and they were right.

If you’ve read or heard my curmudgeonly rant about “Comic Cons” you know I have some pretty strong opinions. I’ve got my list of conventions I’ve attended, those I’d go back to, and those you’d have to pay me to attend again. Most of it deals with a mindset and social media hype. Combine that with cost and FOMO and conventions can sometimes make you want to just stay home. One thing I found interesting was while attending Baltimore Comic Con there were still people posting things about New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic Con was posting about badge availability. Like I’ve said before, there are Comic Cons and there are Pop Culture Cons. Sadly, a lot of the big players in comics are really more media companies that make comics instead of actual comic book companies, hence why they have a presence at massive Pop Culture Fests like SDCC and NYCC, but avoid actual true Comic Cons.

Enough about that. Baltimore Comic Con was awesome. If you are into comics I highly recommend attending.

Day By Day in Baltimore

It’s pretty much a day’s drive from Indianapolis to Baltimore. Not too bad after surviving a few legs of MINI Takes The States. I spent my time listening to music a few podcasts and the happy joy that the news can be. Things didn’t kick off until 1:00 on Friday so I took the norming to orient myself and look around. Yes, there were a couple geocaches and an Adventure Lab nearby. I recalled the last time I was here was for an NSTA conference for work. I was staying at a different hotel but still after a nice walkabout I figured I wouldn’t get lost. Just look for the Bromo Seltzer clocktower and I could find my hotel. I had my QR Code on my phone, got in line at the ticket booth and got my wrist band. If I had gone for VIP I would have gotten a lanyard and a badge (and been able to enter the hall 30 minutes early). I decided it wasn’t that important- I was taking it easy.

I started with a mission- I had brought a number of hardcover books from my home library to get signed. I had tried this at HeroesCon and made one change- I brought a portable dolly and a short box with me instead of lugging everything around in my messenger bag. This had some good points (it saved my back) and some bad points- I hade to figure out the physics of pulling/pushing the dolly so the box wouldn’t come off (Momentum is a property of matter). They also started to limit access to escalators for those with dollies at least for the latter part of the day. By the end of the day I had all but two things signed and had my eye on a few things. The other thing was, I guess it made me look “professional” since I had a number of people ask me if I was an exhibitor.

While waiting I did doodle a bit at a table and had some people comment on how they liked what I was drawing… maybe I could make a retirement gig out of the whole comic thing. Naaah! I’m not that good.

A few highlights from the Baltimore Comic Con

Friday Sessions:

Before leaving I looked over the session list and chose two sessions from each time slot that I wanted to attend. Once I arrived I looked at that list and started to eliminate one, or in some cases both. Why? As a teacher I would always look at sessions as to what I could bring back to my classroom or school. Here it was what would I like to learn about, and what I might be able to talk to folks at the shop about.

The first session I went to was Worldbuilding 101. Knowing that I keep talking about creating something of my own, I figured this would be interesting.

“WORLDBUILDING 101

Environment is a vital element of storytelling that can tell readers a lot about a story, but balancing the details of the world with character and plot can be tricky. Come hear panelists Carla Speed McNeil (Finder, Queen & Country), Jamal Igle (Molly Danger, The Wrong Earth), Sean Von Gorman (The Pedestrian, Toe Tag Riot), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), and Becky Cloonan(Southern Cross, By Chance or Providence) talk about how they approach worldbuilding in science fiction, fantasy, or real-life tales. Moderated by Emily Whitten.”

What is interesting about going to sessions like this is being exposed to creators who I don’t follow and hearing about their works. In world building I not only learned how each person came about creating their world, but also ideas for creating a world of my own (cue music).

“JEFF SMITH SPOTLIGHT

Jeff Smith is the writer and artist of comics and graphic novels like Bone, RASL, Tuki, Thorn, and SHAZAM: The Monster Society of Evil. Both Bone and RASL are New York Times bestsellers, with Bone launching Scholastic Books’ Graphix imprint and winning 48 national and international awards. Join moderator Roger Ash for this spotlight panel.”

My second session was a spotlight on Jeff Smith. I’ve loved Jeff’s work for years and attend CXC. So this was more of a catching up session than learning anything new. This was lead up to me waiting in the cue to get Jeff to sign some things later in the day. I wore my CXC Volunteer shirt to prove my worth.

The third session I attended was about Ignition Press. Sadly, comic publishers come and go. Many don’t even last a year. Ignition Press just started up and has a a number of really interesting titles. The leadership actually has a history in the industry. I decided to attend this to find out about their business model and see if they were going to be around for the long haul. Short answer- I think so… I hope so.

“DOING COMICS DIFFERENTLY WITH IGNITION PRESS

Get ready to ignite your imagination and unlock your creativity! Fan-favorite storytellers Stephanie Williams (Roots of Madness, Nubia), Aaron Campbell (Infidel, West of Sundown), and Shawn Martinbrough (Thief of Thieves, Red Hood: The Hill), and surprise guests reveal details about their upcoming series and why working with Ignition Press really is “doing comics differently.” Moderated by Ignition Press Publisher Filip Sablik.”

The way Ignition Press seems to work is they go up to a creator and ask if they have an idea that they are afraid to pitch to a mainstream publisher. Basically an idea that they really love but know that a mainstream publisher would probably reject or modify it into oblivion. Then they support the creator in gettin the comic made. Like I said they have some great titles out there but have only gotten to the second issue so far. I have enjoyed everything I’ve read (see some of my weekly reviews) and am looking forward to seeing what happens next. Murder Podcast #2 comes out this week. Roots of Madness, Voyeur, Deluge are out now. These are all limited series so no lifelong investment, just great stories.

I went from there to the floor to work on my mission. I need to remind myself to attend more sessions it doesn’t cost as much. Jeff Smith had limited signing opportunities so I needed to get into the queue.

The Exhibition Hall

The hall is set up like most Comic Cons. A space to media guests, Artist Alley, then Vendors. The difference was around the edges were more artists and creators. Artist Alley seemed to be the intro level for artists who might make comics, but they also might just have some really cool prints or stickers. The edges of the Vendor area had your known artists and creators. For a comic book geek- nirvana. Not as intimate as Lake Como, but that was alright for an introvert like me who many times doesn’t know what to say to anyone.

I started just hoping for one table to the next, asking and paying for signatures on books. Sometime buying something else, because I needed a missing issue of whatever or I wanted something else that I hadn’t brought along signed.

One thing that was interesting was a mini session I attended at David Petersen’s booth. The people in front of me were asking about drawing backgrounds (something I have trouble with). I know David makes models of his settings so he can draw them from any angle. Listening to his advice to these budding creators was awesome. and got me thinking about some of my ideas that I still need to get out of my head.

While running around I looked at some of the other booths. There was the cosplay weapons booths, the light saber booths, the various toy merchants littering the hall. However, like HeroesCon there were a lot of really good comic shops who had some really good comics. Yes, there were the guys selling $2 comics from boxes that weren’t sorted. but I was able to pick up some comics pissing from my collection without spending hours going through box after box. This made me happy. While I didn’t buy much that first day, I did pick up a few things and started to think about other purchases.

I normally try to avoid eye-contact or talk with random creators, because I always feel bad not buying something. Also there are those creators who do a “hard sell.” This makes me uncomfortable. While I wear my Geeky Jacket of Many Patches, I tend to say “thank you” and move on before they start on their pitch. I don’t want to be rude. I ended up chatting with a writer who had noticed that I had a Gromit patch. We talked about Nick Park and animation. He was a teacher by trade and had just decided to go for it (Something I need to do more of). One of his stories was up for a Ringo Award. After talking he jokingly said, we was going to pitch his story to me. It was interesting and the best part- no post apocalyptic scantily clad large breasted zombie killers anywhere. I bought it, I read it, and I liked it.

Saturday Sessions:

“SUPERMAN’S CO-CREATOR JERRY SIEGEL: DO WE HAVE THE WHOLE STORY?

Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman with artist Joe Shuster, has gained a legendary status based on the fans’ love of the Man of Tomorrow. Since 1975, the Superman saga, chronicled by comics luminaries such as Neal Adams, Jerry Robinson, and others, has portrayed Superman’s creators as hapless victims of a greedy corporation. However, documentary evidence, much only recently unearthed, paints a different portrait of complicated legal and personal circumstances. Mark S. Zaid (attorney and comic book historian) along with Andrew Fogel, PhD (popular culture historian, author of Superman’s Jaw, and Visiting Scholar at the Center for Jewish History) will reveal this hidden history with Mark Waid (noted DC/Marvel editor/writer) serving as the voice of Siegel’s own words.”

This was an interesting session in that it paints a different picture than one the public usually thinks about when it comes to golden age - or even modern comic book creators. The usual viewpoint is that publishers do their best to pay nothing to creators while making billions off of their creations. In most cases this is pretty accurate as we look at creators who end up in poverty, unable to pay medical bills, while their creation is raking it in at the box office for whatever corporation now has the rights. All that said, it seems that in the case of Jerry and Superman this may not have been the entire story. There were a lot of guilt filled letters (that made some of the stuff my mom used to say to me seem tame) which if you looked at the actual facts. Things like “my wife and child are starving” after his wife left and had little contact with his kid. It seemed that there was a lot of exaggeration as to how bad things were, or maybe the results of bad financial decisions. Again- the truth isn’t always as plain as you’d like it to be.

“HIT THE GROUND RUNNING: COMICS 101

Do you love comics? Want to create comics but don’t know where to start? Join Inkpot Award-winning writer/artist Jamal Igle (Supergirl, Molly Danger, Dudley Datson and the Forever Machine, The Wrong Earth) as he introduces you to the world of comics storytelling straight from his Comics 101 class at the New York City’s School of Visual Arts, with moderator Paul Storrie.”

Basically this was going over some of the basic of graphic storytelling. One way to set things up as you try to tell a story. While I would say I know a lot of what was covered, I always like to be reminded of things that in my old age and curmudgeoness have forgotten, or ignored.

Back to the Hall

I overheard one person commenting about how for a comic book convention it was hard to find someone selling supplies. That was one part of Lake Como that was amazing- if you bought something it came in a plastic sleeve to protect it. Here If you forgot to bring your own (like I did) you might need to spend some time looking for a booth that sold them. I did find one, but it was a bit of a chore. Why? because I had decided that with my upcoming birthday I had an excuse to buy a comic page that was out of my usual price range. That said, I needed something to protect it. The snowball started to roll downhill, picking up stuff and speed.

The Ringo Awards Dinner

Cecil at the Ringo Awards- He never suffers from Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter syndrome seemed to be the theme for not only me, but a number of the awardees. I decided to attend the awards dinner since, I had never been to the Con, and never attended an awards ceremony. First of all, attire is business casual although that just if you don’t want to stand out too much. I asked and was told “wear a collar.”Being from the midwest, and with social anxiety it’s always nice to know how to not look like you don’t belong. I brought along a dress shirt navy blazer and bow tie (because bow ties are cool). While I was just on the cusp of being over dressed, it didn’t stand out- except for maybe the monkey.

While I am working on getting to put names with faces, or comics with names and then faces it was great to see so many people celebrating creativity in the medium of comics. The thing I liked was I actually knew, or had read some of the nominated comics, or works done by the nominated creators.

• Best Series: The Pedestrian, Magma Comix

• Best Cover Artist: Bilquis Evely

• Best Letterer: Richard Starkings

• Best Humor Webcomic: Nothing Butt Nightwing, DC Go!/DC Comics

• The Kevin Brogan Fidelity Award – Mike McKone

• Best Original Graphic Novel: Jane American

• Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team Chris Samnee

• Best Writer: Kelly Thompson

• Best Presentation in Design: David Mazzucchelli’s Batman Year One Artist’s Edition, IDW

• HERO Initiative Humanitarian Award - Stan Sakai

• Best Anthology: Transphoria, Lifeline Comics

• Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel: Hilda and Twig Hide from the Rain, Flying Eye Books

• Best Non-fiction Comic Work: In the Shadows of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones, Oni Press

• Best Cartoonist: Eric Powell

• The Mike Wieringo Spirit Award: Welcome to the Maynard, Dark Horse Comics

• Fan Favorite Villain: Mr. Barnaby - Warm Fusion (DSTLRY)

• Fan Favorite New Series: The Pedestrian (Magma Comix)

• Fan Favorite New Talent: Annie Wright

• Fan Favorite Publisher: Mad Cave Studios

• Fan Favorite Hero: Alex - Señorita Cometa (WEBTOON)

• Best Webcomic: Renaissance of Raven, DC Go!/DC Comics

• Best Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

• Best Humor Comic: Smut #1

• Best Single Issue or Story: Batman and Robin Year One #1, DC Comics

As with most awards I now have more things to add to my must read list, not including all the books in the goodie bag given to attendees.

I do want to say after meeting Jason Douglas, the writer of Jane American, it’s a great story and deserves to be read (along with the awards it brought home for Jason and Annie). Find it and read it if you can.

Sunday:

Sunday was family day. My brother Drew lives near Baltimore so I met up with His wife and him for breakfast and then I showed him around the hall. Drew and I have done GenCon before, but he was interested in seeing “my world.” We topped a few times and bought a few things before we both headed home. I hope he comes out the GenCon in August, and I am planning on returning to Baltimore in late September.

We don’t talk about why Cecil might not be returning to Baltimore, or even the state of Maryland… Our lawyers have advised against it.

What did you really think?

I was impressed at the how Baltimore Comic Con wasn’t about hype, but more about comics. Yes, they had a dozen media celebrities, and some of the typical stuff that has become standards for any “Comic Con.” Baltimore has made it onto the list of must attend cons for true comic geeks. I had heard so much about Baltimore Comic Con that I wasn’t sure if it could live up to the hype… it did.

Currently this is my short list of “true” comic cons that I have been fortunate enough to attend (not in any order):

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus - more intellectual and focused on Independent creators. See my previous notes.

HeroesCon - I’ve attended once, and was impressed by the focus on comics and their creators. The attendees are serious about their comics. I’m planning

Baltimore Comic Con - I didn’t think another HeroesCon was possible. While branching out a bit more to include things to interest the general public (a handful of media guests) This was another unicorn- a comic con about comics.

Lake Como Comic Arts Festival - An intimate con all about the art. I’m still suffering from imposter syndrome from it.

Many people attend the same comic cons every year. It becomes an annual pilgrimage. I actually see myself doing that with most of these. The funny thing is the ones in the U.S. are actually very affordable. I think this is because they are not in held in a major metropolis, but also because they focus on comics and not bringing in major media celebrities.

Every convention I go to I hear about the next one that is amazing and a must attend. I don’t see myself going to San Diego or New York anytime soon, unless I want to deal with crowds of people who only want to brag about having attended, seen dome celebrity, or having exclusive items from that con. This time it was suggested I attend Terrificon… I haven’t been to Connecticut in a while so I’m adding it to my list for 2026.

The Haul…

So many people post photos of their “Haul” and as I get older I’m starting to realizing that “he who dies with the most toys doesn’t win, they just leave a lot of junk for their loved ones to deal with.” On Mike’s (who I work with at my LCS) suggestion I stopped off at New Dimension Comics at the Ohio Valley Mall and was able to get some comics to fill a few holes. It is an amazing shop and the company had a booth at the con. As for the con- I picked up a few things outside of patches and stickers. I’m trying to focus on original art- (failing, but still trying) While I could easily pick up prints from the many artists, I don’t have the wall space to display it all and therefore realized that I don’t need it. If I’m going to buy something I’d like it to be original art. This could be pages or commissions. This time around I picked up a Craig Rousseau commission of the Rocketeer, a Ryan Dunlavey Page from The Comic Book History of Comics, and page 22 from issue 2 of Starman pencils by Tony Harris, inks by Wade Von Grawbadger. That last one is my birthday present to myself- Still a month away, but you only turn 60 once - if you actually can get that far.

I love the Perhapsnauts comics and getting a Rocketeer from Craig is AWESOME!

Jack Kirby having to return (begrudgingly) to Marvel Comics. Tough time for the only true American king.

I actually brought the Starman Omnibus Volume 1 to get signed and this page is in it! Then again I have all the original comics too.