It was said multiple times that we thought last year's Hartford Comic Con would be the one and only. You know, one of those shows that just kind of appears, happens, then its never heard from again. We had a good time last year and got to introduce some friends to their first comic con experience but we figured there was a slim chance the show would be back again. Every now and then it's nice to be wrong.

Hartford Comic Con made us into liars and returned once more to the state capitol to put on a neat little comic/celebrity show. While it's evident the show is still in its infancy you can't really find much to complain about when it's a 10 minute drive down the road. Price of admission/parking was pretty standard and within reason for a show of this size. If you know what you're looking for you can definitely get your money's worth. However the lack of superstar names could have caused some early departures with those who saw the entire floor and got bored/ran out of things to do.

With a wide variety of celebrity guests, a gaming area and cosplay contest with a decent prize pool there was something for everyone. My favorite part? The comics, of course. Being a "comic con" there's no shortage of long boxes full of back issues and wall racks loaded with valuable (albeit over-priced) key books. At other shows like NYCC and Boston it's easy to get lost in sketch hunting but for some reason when I'm in HCC all I want to do is spend my time thumbing through old books and haggling prices (even if Alex does most of the haggling). It just has that old fashioned comic con vibe that never gets old.

Hartford Comic Con's sophomore year seemed to be an overall success. Guests were in good spirits, the cosplay was out in full force and all the creators we spoke with were all enjoying their weekend. While it was far from a mind-blowing show packed with famous artists/celebrities it was still a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon with your friends. While some may not be able to justify spending money on a show that you can fully see within an hour or so, others see it as another opportunity beef up their collections, chat with creators and just have a good time at a comic con.

Sounds like a good time to me.

-Jr.

It finally happened.

We managed to track down the ever elusive Ryan Vella so he could tell us about his experiences at the League of Legends North American Championship Series at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Video games. Being played at an insanely competitive level. At Madison Square Garden.

It's a beautiful time to be alive.

-Jr.

Just Alex and me this week.

Per usual we ended up talking about comics the entire time. Lots of origins: How we got into comics as well as some of our favorite stuff. To be quite honest it's probably my favorite "Just Alex and Jr" episode that we've done. That Alex. He's a cool guy. I like talking to him.

Next weekend brings the 2nd annual Hartford Comic Con. We'll be there. A bunch of talented people will be there. If you're in the New England area you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not attending. It's one of those shows thats still relatively new...but it shows a lot of promise. Plus its good prep for the upcoming juggernaut that is New York Comic Con. I'm already exhausted just thinking about it. It's going to be.....pretty awesome.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

We had two deputies from The Hero Army on this week.

Doesn't that sound absolutely terrifying???

No worries, though. If you weren't aware The Hero Army is an ever expanding group of cosplayers whose main mission is to "innovate, design, and amaze". In other words they're super talented people who get together at shows, charities, and fundraisers so people can have a great time hanging out with super heroes. Chances are if you've been to a show in the New England area you've probably seen at least one or two of them.

If you're lucky you might have even seen a familiar looking Mandarin tagging along...

Click HERE to check out their website and click PLAY at the top of the page to listen to Joe and Sam chat with us. It's that simple.

-Jr.

It's beginning to get to the point where I'm terrified whenever Matt joins us. For one thing whenever he comes on the end result is a really, really good show. Both of his previous appearances have been huge for us not only for listenership but also for pure entertainment value. They're fun as hell and I always learn something. The amount of "dude, great episode" texts I get after every Matt episode is staggering.

Which is starting to freak me out. Surely there's no way a third episode can ever compete with the first two. I mean, our intro to Matt on episode 151 was just an educational clinic on the local wrestling scene. Then when he came back on 165 he left my jaw on the ground after telling one of the most unbelievable stories I've ever heard. (Seriously. It involves Jake the Snake Roberts and you are a fool if you haven't heard it yet.) I mean, how could it be possible to continue a streak like that? Even the Undertaker isn't perfect.

But us? Right now? We're 3 for 3.

And maybe a little arrogant but hey, we think if you dug the first two times Matt joined us then you will definitely want to be all up on this one. The best part? There's more to come. Survivor Series is but 3 months away and you can bet your bottom that Matt will be back to try and convince Alex that Brock Lesnar isn't a worthless pile of muscles. (Probably never going to happen...but it's something that's always beautiful to watch.)

Until next time.

-Jr.

Join us this week to listen to three grown men talk about Looney Tunes for 40 minutes. It is 100% worth your time.

-Jr.

Whoever invented watercolor is a real dick.

Is something I would have said back in 7th grade while attempting to paint the lamest tree ever put on paper.

It's no secret that I'm terrible at art. Just awful. The literal worst. But when it comes to mixing water into little circles of color and using that new color-water to paint on to paper....it just amplifies my lack of talent to a completely new level. A level that should be considered torture for anyone who is forced to gaze upon the results. I can't even tell if that last part made sense...but you get where I'm going with it.

Anyway, if you've ever read any of these posts you can probably guess where I'm going with this. This week's guest is an artist we met last week at the Boston Comic Con named Tony Moy and he's what they call "awesome" when it comes to painting...particularly when it comes to watercolor. Seriously. Look at this stuff. It's insane. He even did an insane Magneto for Alex that you can check out in our BCC photo gallery.

If you're digging what you're seeing....have a listen to this week's episode. If you dig what you hear...check out Tony's table at a convention near you. (Hint: He's going to be at NYCC in two months. You're welcome)

Hope ya'll enjoy.

-Jr.

It's that time of the year again. That one beautiful weekend in August where we make the trip to the lovely city of Boston and set up shop for three days at the one and only Boston Comic Con. This is our 6th year in a row attending the show and our 3rd year tabling and like a fine wine (whatever that tastes like...) the show only gets better with age. This year's show was both exciting and nerve-racking for me. On the one side many of my absolute favorite creators were in attendance and I had the opportunity to sit and have some fantastic conversations with them. But on the other side sat the feeling of "Man. This is expensive." With shows like BCC that are constantly growing one of the downsides is increasing ticket prices. It's a bummer. But at the end of the day I guess it's a necessary evil. Still, it sucks. The weird part was when we finally walked into the convention center for the first time on Friday. All those shitty feelings of regret and spending too much money? They were gone. I was at comic con with my people and I was going to have a great time.

We did the table thing again this year. Of course that means we were side-by-side with the legend himself Brett Kelley all weekend. I mean come on. Look at that face. That's the face of a man who is ready to melt people's souls with incredible works of art (at insanely reasonable prices, I might add). And believe me when I say that this year Brett cranked out some of the best work I've ever seen from him. Including a giant evil robot for our pal Tom Franck.

I'm barely scratching the surface of all we saw and did at BCC this year. Luckily we have an entire episode devoted to talking about the rest of it! Of course I can't end this without thanking everyone who came by our table and said hi, all those who even glanced in our general direction, and our ever loyal pal Joe for once again holding down our table when we were wandering off and promoting our show better than we ever could. You are all the greatest and really make this trip worth it. Now look at some more pictures!

-Jr.

Hey.

It's currently 12:10 in the morning and we have to leave for Boston Comic Con in t-minus not a lot of hours.

So I'm gonna keep this short for now.

We talk about videogames, pokemon, and Boston Comic Con this week. Joe joined us. It was super chill.

We hope you absolutely love it. For those who are going to be at Boston this weekend, stop by table D414 and say hi and snag a neat pin.

You'll love it.

-Jr.

Going to conventions typically means traveling. Trying out new conventions typically means even more traveling. Things like gas, hotels, ticket prices, parking, and food all add up quickly and can easily turn what was supposed to be a fun adventure into a stressful (and financially painful) endeavor. If you're not careful most of your finances could be easily pissed away before you even step inside the convention center leaving you with massive feelings of regret and a massively empty wallet.

But what about those conventions that are happening in your metaphorical "back yard"? You know, the ones that don't take 3 hours of travel time. The ones that don't require spending hundreds of dollars just so you have a place to sleep. Depending on where you live finding one that's worth it might be tough but for us Connecticut-ians...ConnectiCon is the one for us.

If we were to only discuss the matter of convenience ConnectiCon would absolutely be my favorite convention of the year. It's a 15 minute drive with reasonable parking costs in a beautiful area of Hartford. It's in a massive convention center that's easy to navigate with plenty of areas for photo-ops and hanging out. It's just easy and it's great.

I know I tend to gush in these write-ups but don't get me wrong: ConnectiCon isn't perfect. Ticket prices can run a bit high for casual con-goers and the show can quickly turn stale if you show up without a plan. If you're nervous this might happen to you just take your time and do some research. The best part about ConnectiCon is there's something for everyone. You just might have to look for it.

If you haven't guessed it yet; this week's episode is all about our experiences at ConnectiCon last week. Overall we had a great time again (with some hiccups along the way...) and we're already looking forward to next year. Do us a favor and check it out? Our full photo album can be found here. Maybe if you like it we'll see you there next year!

-Jr.