Genghis Con this weekend!

Hey Friends, Fans, Freaks, and Followers, Genghis Con 2011 is just a scan few minutes away. Been meaning to update, but the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of madness. Awesome, awesome madness. SO, here's the news and links to some stuff we think is important, so let's get to the hype.

Firstly: big CONGRATS to Joyce Brabner and Justin Coulter, the organizer and artist of the Harvey Pekar Memorial Statue for achieving their Kickstarter goal. Which means that the statue will be built, but just because they met their goal, doesn't mean you can't still be a part of this awesome thing, get in on those awesome incentives, by donating even more money to the cause! It's an awesome awesome thing for the city and Harvey Pekar's legacy, and comics in general, but independent comics specifically.

Secondly, big thanks to the boys at the Comics Are GO! podcast, for having John G and Kevin Czap on to rap about Genghis Con, check out the Genghis Con special edition (posted on 11/11/11). Everybody had a great time, and I think we even said some halfway intelligent things about comics and the show! Though, engineer extraordinaire Matt Hess may not have said anything... he can be mysterious. At any rate, it's a fun podcast to listen to while you're drawing into the wee hours of the night.

I also want to add a note, especially for the out-of-towners coming in from parts unknown to attend Genghis Con at The Beachland, there are a plethora of shops on Waterloo to consider while you're here in the neighborhood. After you've had your mind blown by all the awesome exhibitors at Genghis Con, starting way down by East 156th is Arts Collinwood, The Head Shop and Cloud 9 (which I think is new-ish) ... right next door to the Beachland is the record store run by a cat named Vinyl (that's not slang, it's an actual cat!), Music Saves, and Native Cleveland, a store that sells little pieces of the actual city you can buy, then down a ways at E, 160th is the nostalgic nerdtopia Star Pop, packed to the gills with toys and stuff of yesteryear, then just little further is Blue Arrow Recordst and their boutique. If you've never been to Blue Arrow it's worth it just to check out the floor alone (it's made of record sleeves), but ON that floor they have an awesome selection of weird old underground comix and magazines and tons of the most oddball paperbacks and pulps, oh... and records! Waterloo is definitely a perfect place to spend the afternoon knocking out all your X-Mas shopping and walking off that T-Giving Feast.

Lastly, we wanted to link to the updated info about Carol & John's Comics big Black Friday Midnight Madness Sale/Party. If you're in town Friday night before the con, it's definitely a great thing to get into. They have a ton of independent comics they've got marked down to a buck, just thousands of comics. It's a pretty good time to get together and nerd out on some comics too. It's a pretty fun time! Kung Fu Bob will probably be playing cartoon music!

Okay, everybody, have a good holiday! Be thankful, eat food, and gear up in anticipation for the best Saturday of November! I'll probably be posting again before the show, so stay tuned!