MORE THAN JUST A CONVENTION

My Trip to New York Comic Con

When I first began writing this article, I found myself focusing on everything I had experienced and accomplished throughout our trip to New York Comic Con.

The conversations with publishers. The connections I had made. The advice I had received. The things I learned about the comic book industry, what I was doing right, what I could improve upon, and where I might be able to take my career as a creator.

And believe me, there's a lot I could say about all of that.

I went to New York with goals. I wanted to meet people, introduce them to my work, open doors, and hopefully create opportunities that might help shape my future in this industry.

And in many ways, I accomplished exactly what I set out to do.

But something happened when I got home.

As I began going through the hundreds of pictures we had taken throughout the week, I started noticing something.

There were pictures of booths, displays, comic books, celebrities, and all the incredible things you would expect to see at New York Comic Con.

But those weren't the pictures that stood out to me.

Most of the pictures were of us, eleven people who had come together to share this experience.

Pictures of us laughing, exploring, making ridiculous faces, and simply enjoying each other's company.

And that's when I realized something. This trip wasn't really about the convention.

At least, not entirely.

It was about friendship.

It was about the relationships we had built, the connections we strengthened, and the people who genuinely wanted to see each other succeed, and I feel that's something incredibly special, especially in an industry where, realistically, we're all chasing many of the same opportunities.

We're all trying to get our stories published, all hoping someone will recognize what we're capable of while we all fight to get our foot in the door.

In some ways, we're competing against one another. But you would never have known that from the ten people I shared this experience with.

There wasn't jealousy or resentment when someone had a great conversation or made an exciting connection.

There was encouragement and excitement.

People genuinely cheering each other on, celebrating every little victory as though it were their own.

And when you think about it, that's pretty fucking incredible.

I could spend the next several pages talking about the publishers I met, the conversations I had, and the lessons I learned. And those experiences absolutely deserve to be shared.

But looking back, I feel like I would be doing this trip a disservice if I didn't first acknowledge what truly made it unforgettable.

The people I experienced it with.

I think the moment that really captured everything this trip meant to me happened on Sunday night.

New York Comic Con was officially over.

After days of walking the convention floor, meeting people, exploring New York, and experiencing everything that comes with one of the biggest comic conventions in the world, we were exhausted.  Our feet hurt. We were tired. I'm pretty sure every one of us had given everything we had that weekend.

Throughout the evening, all eleven of us eventually made our way back to where we were staying. Exhausted from the weekend, we decided to order a bunch of pizza and settle in to watch Mallrats.

Honestly?

I don't think we could have picked a more appropriate movie.

Here we were, a group of comic book creators and fans who had just spent the better part of a week immersed in the very industry we all love, sitting around eating pizza and watching a Kevin Smith movie.

There was something beautifully fitting about it, considering that our trip had started with a visit to Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash and the Quick Stop.

In a strange way, it felt like everything had come full circle.

But there was something else about that evening that I don't think I'll ever forget.

At one point, we started laying business cards out on the table, from publishers, creators, people we'd met throughout the convention.

And we started talking.

We shared stories about the conversations we’d had and the opportunities we’d discovered. But what struck me wasn’t just the number of connections we’d made. It was what everyone was doing with them.

We were sharing them, passing them along, offering advice, talking about who might be able to help whom, and watching that happen was honestly a little surreal.

In an industry where getting your foot in the door can feel like an impossible task, here was a group of people willingly holding that door open for one another, celebrating each other's successes.

At that very moment I remember thinking how fortunate I was to be surrounded by people like that.

Of course, it wasn't all serious conversations about the comic book industry, there were plenty of laughs. You definitely can't take eleven people to New York without everyone eventually adopting the same New York accent

"I'M WALKIN' HERE!"

I couldn't even tell you how many times that was shouted throughout the trip, and the funniest part was that it wasn't just one person doing it.

It became one of those stupid little running jokes that somehow remained just as funny the last time as it had the first and every single one of us was doing it. It was one of those things that probably wouldn't make much sense to anyone who wasn't there.

That Sunday night, laughing together, eating pizza, watching Mallrats, and talking about everything we had experienced, I realized none of us wanted this to be the end.

In fact, before we had even left New York, we were already talking about coming back next year, bringing more people, friends who hadn't been able to make it this time, other creators we had met throughout the weekend. 

We were eleven people who had taken a chance, put ourselves out there, and traveled to New York hoping to show the world what we were capable of creating. Somewhere along the way, without any of us really planning it, we had become part of something much bigger. And I loved that. 

Looking through everyone’s photographs after returning home only reinforced that feeling. There were hundreds of pictures capturing different people, different moments, and experiences I hadn’t even realized were happening. Some were moments I’d been part of, while others were memories my friends had created on their own. Yet, somehow, every photograph felt like another small piece of a story we’d all shared. 

And perhaps that’s what makes friendships like these so special. Sometimes you spend years getting to know someone, while other times, all it takes is a few days and a shared experience to realize you’ve found people who understand you. People who understand the excitement of creating something from nothing, the challenges of pursuing a career in comics, and why we continue pushing forward even when the odds seem stacked against us.

To Breyden Boyd, J.R. Harris, Sean Peacock, Eli Faye, Matthew Viriyapah, Larry Brooks Stahl, and TS Luther:

Thank you.

For the conversations, the laughter, the encouragement, and the memories.

Thank you for making this trip something far more meaningful than I ever expected.

And to the many others we met along the way, there's something I want you to know. I may not have mentioned you by name, but please don't mistake that for thinking you weren't an important part of this experience. Whether we shared a conversation on the convention floor, crossed paths at a party, grabbed a drink, or simply spent a few minutes getting to know one another, you helped make this trip something I'll never forget. You know who you are. And I hope you know that the friendships and connections I made with you mean just as much as the memories we've shared here. I genuinely hope New York was only the beginning of those friendships.

As much as this trip was about the friendships we discovered along the way, it also reminded me how fortunate I am to have the friendships I brought with me.

And there’s something I want to say about that, because it might be the most important thing I’ve written in the entire article.

Throughout our lives, we're constantly searching for people who believe in us, who see something in us that sometimes we struggle to see in ourselves.

Who celebrate our victories, no matter how small, and who stand beside us when things aren't going the way we'd hoped.

I realized that genuine friendship isn't always about having someone tell you what you want to hear, it's sometimes about having someone tell you exactly what you need to hear, even when you don't want to hear it.

Sometimes it’s someone telling you that you can do better, that you need to push yourself harder, and that you’re capable of accomplishing something incredible. Other times, it’s when you’re exhausted, frustrated, questioning yourself, and wondering whether all the work you're putting into your dreams is even worth it anymore. Those are  the moments when you need someone willing to look you in the eyes and tell you to get your ass back to work. Someone who hasn’t given up on you and sure as hell isn’t going to let you give up on yourself.

I’ve learned that some of the most important friendships in life aren’t necessarily the ones built around shared interests, but the ones that survive the difficult moments. Those are the moments when having the right people beside you can make all the difference. I’ve experienced that personally, and I’m fortunate enough to have three people in my life who have repeatedly reminded me why I started this journey in the first place. 

Andrew Thomas. Eric Olcsvary. Payton Atkinson.

To me, they're so much more than the names you'll find in the credits of my comic books.

These three have stood beside me, encouraged me, challenged me, and helped me accomplish things that, at times, I wasn't even sure I was capable of doing.

And while I hope they already know how much their friendship means to me, sometimes I think it’s important to actually put those feelings into words.

Thank you for believing in me, pushing me, and for being the kind of friends I spent so much of my life hoping I'd find.

I’d imagined attending this convention for years, but I never imagined how much it would matter who I walked into it with, and who I walked out of it with.

I went to New York Comic Con hoping to take another step toward achieving my dreams, and I came home realizing just how fortunate I already am.

Regardless of where this crazy journey takes us, whether our books end up on shelves around the world or we're still sitting around a table years from now talking about the stories we want to create... 

I hope we're still doing it together, because if we are, then it doesn’t matter what happens next, I think we've already won.