Planet Comicon 2026 Recap and Haul

Planet Comicon 2026 is in the bag and it was a success of COSMIC PROPORTIONS! My wife Autumn and I had the time of our lives, it was deifnitely the best convention we've attended yet! Here's a breakdown of how things went as well as a detailed list of our book haul.

BOOK SALES

I sold TONS of books this year, but it was ALL floppies. Not a single trade or novel sold. My biggest seller was THE SIMON MYTH CHRONICLES: BROKEN CHALICE, selling so many full sets of issues 1 - 5 that I lost count! I was so surprised to encounter the number of patrons this year that were interested in finding new reading material, especially from indie creators! It was a glorious experience to behold! I've long wondered if interest in indie material was waning with readers, but this year's Comicon assuaged my fears!

PRINT SALES

Prints sold fairly well, but not like I had expected, as prints usually sell like hot cakes at Comicon. However, I did sell more books than prints. And, funny enough, none of the more popular items (Batman and Frodo prints) I thought would sell sold at all, and fringe outliers became the stars of the show (again, my hope in the indie vibes is growing). The biggest draw for eyes of passersby were my Garbage Pail Kids knock-off of Galactus and then my Wizardnaut image, but I sold out completely of my Skeletor-Caterpillar Bong print. Guess I need to lean more into my psychedelic cartooning to appease the masses. Also, after dozens of convos, I probably could have sold more if I had even smaller prints than I did (even card size) especially of the GULP-LACTUS! We'll see how things develop in future shows.

COMMISSIONS

I made most my money from commissions this year. My list was long enough I even had to take some home to finish after the Convention. I had some really fun and unique requests this year, every single one of them a blast to manifest. The only issue in doing commissions at shows is the constant interruptions, which can drive an artist mad (see the pic above: Autumn wanted to capture my frustrations).

FYI - I am ALWAYS open for commissions, not just at shows. And commissions outside of shows are likely to be more detailed and I can do color (see my Prints above). If you are interested in a commission, check out my Commissions page and shoot me a message.

THE HAUL

Autumn and I picked up a LOT of great stuff this year. There is so much talent available in Artists Alley at Planet; unfortunately, there also just isn't enough money in the bank (or time in the weekend) to support them all. However, here's a list of the gems we were able to pick up!

Freddie Williams II

The highlight of the weekend for me was meeting Freddie Williams II. I've been a long-time admirer of his work and have been wanting to pick up his He-Man/TMNT team-up book for quite some time. I was also searching for an artist or two to do commissions of Simon Myth that I could display in the next issue and when I approached Freddie's table it just felt right. I couldn't be happier with what he produced, seeing his rendition of Simon Myth brought the character to life in a whole new way for me. At the same time, Autumn and I were both charmed by how legitimately friendly Freddie and his wife were. We engaged in a lengthy conversation with them about psychics and paranormal phenomena (as you do with Autumn and I ) and truly felt I could hang with them any day of the week. Wonderful people. If you ever have a chance, please support Freddie and his works!

Sam Flegal

A few years ago, Autumn and I ran into Sam Flegal, an artist specializing in Norse myth. We bought an incredible Oracle deck from him which we use often. It just so happened, Sam was posted around the corner from us and Autmn especially could not wait to get her hands on more wares from his booth. We got ourselves a few prints as well as an illustrated Havamal. If you are interested in all things Nordic and just amazing art, check Sam out!

Jim Starlin

Another childhood dream achieved, I met legendaary writer/artist, creator of Thanos, Jim Starlin! Another note of luck, his booth was just around the corner, so I was able to keep an eye out for an opening. I had him sign my first Starlin comic I ever owned (Dreadstar issue 36) and bought the first Dreadstar omnibus. I told him how his work inspired me and my friends to create New Vision comics, and presented a copy of Vision Tales issue 0 to him, an homage to Infinity Gauntlet issue 1. He got a kick out of that (pic below). Jim is trying to push his own creator-owned content, so go back him today!

Stephanie Young & Allyson Lassiter

Autumn and I adore Stephanie and Allyson! We already own Starbeasts and Kitchen of My Heart, but wanted to pick up copies for Autumn's school. Both of those books are amazing and worth getting. Also, we picked up a few extra goodies they had at their booth, including Autumn getting to go on a scavenger hunt (pic below), as well as a teaser for their upcoming book The Pancake Trap! You can go pre-order it today!

OTHER FINDS

• NERDSTALGIA: One of my favorite vendors in the whole show was Nerdtalgia. They were very kind, helpful, and one of the few that allowed me to negotiate the price a little. They usually have a great selection of underground comics form the '60s and '70s (my jam) and I found Austin Stone, an Austin, TX psychedelic anthology from 1975. I also found Robert Crumb's latest book, which (if you know me) you know I gotta pick up! They have a store in Overland Park, KS, so you should go support them in-house!

• COLTMAN STRATHMAN: I met artist Coltman Strahman, who was completely awesome! I picked up his books Sanctuary and a couple of minis. Turns out Sanctuary was written by Austin Hamblin, who I've had on my show before! Coltman's work is action-packed, I highly recommend it!

• KERRY CALLEN: Creator of Halo & Sprocket, Kerry Callen has also done a lot of work for MAD Magazine, and even for good friends of mine on Big Bang Comics and Megaton Man Multimensions from Cosmic Lion Productions. I picked up his graphic novel Dirtnap which is about a ghost whose body is a brain-eating zombie! So much fun! Go support Kerry today!

• THATCHER CLEAVELAND: The comic Grim Reefer caught my eye as I was walking down the aisles. I met writer Thatcher Cleaveland who does both novels and comics. Grim Reefer is about a criminal who whose spirit is infused with the marijuana grown where his body was slain. So, anyone who smokes it, is possessed by him. Fun concept! Support Thatcher today!

• COMMITTED COMICS: My booth neighbor was Thomas Doherty, publisher/writer from Committed Comics. Tom was the perfect neighbor, such a great guy! And Committed Comics has an amazing selection of titles, a little something for everyone! I snagged a convention-exlusive copy (the yellow guy above) of Tales from the Asylum, a wild tale-within-a-tale, starrring host Sancho, the Angry Chipmunk! This book was wildly fun! Support Tom today!

WRAP-UP

Overall, we had the greatest time. I am riding high from the energy and can't wait to get back to the drawing table to have more stuff for next year! Autumn and I even finished the weekend at one of our favorite burger joints: Town Topic! It was the perfect weekend! Thank you Planet Comicon and Kansas City! Let's keep making more art, more comics, and KEEP IT PSYCHO!!!!!!!!!!!