Montreal Comic-con

This last weekend UysFaber journied out to Montreal to attend one of Canada's best comic-cons, and we had a blast! Hitting the road early Friday morning, Andrew Uys was joined by Head of Volunteers Andrea Fort and Totem Sacred: Salt Road artist Matthew Salonen. Teaming up with Paradise Comics and Peter Dixon, they sped to Montreal laden with comics, graphic novels, prints, and everything else they could possibly stuff into the U-Haul. And that afternoon Salt Road writer and UysFaber CCO Jaclyn "Lady J" Armstrong and Theresa McArthur caught a flight that had them meeting up with the road crew in Montreal at 9pm.

What occured next was.... absolute crazy fun! And a lot of long hours shouting above the comic-con's music system!

Paradise Comics was set up with two tables in the retailer's area. UysFaber had a single table in artist alley... situated right beside Gail Simone and Dale Eaglesham!!!

As Matthew was setting up in artist alley, he was joined by Lady J, Andrea, and Theresa for special signings (and I suspect so the ladies could chat with Gail and her wonderful husband)! And between our dedicated sales team of Andrew "Song & Daaaance" Uys and Lady J, UysFaber nearly sold out of Totem Sacred #1!!! While our Finance Department is still looking into whether the issue has "gone black" (turned a profit), we set a new sales record, and made a lot of new friends!

Below are a few thoughts about the show from Andrea "Ms Howlett" Fort, Jaclyn "I Met Stan Leeeeeeeee!!!!" Armstrong, and Matthew "Iceman" Salonen.

Andrea Fort

I love conventions and have been an enthusiastic attendee for years, so when offered the opportunity to attend Montreal Comiccon and help out with UysFaber and Paradise Comics, I leapt at the chance. This was not my first rodeo; I had been to a couple of cons with the Paradise Comics team before. These shows involve hard work and manual labour, and there’s a lot of yelling to be heard. It’s guaranteed you’ll lose your voice after a weekend.

All that being said, conventions are amazingly fun, and I was really happy to add some new experiences to my convention repertoire: this time I got to participate at the UysFaber booth. I joined Jaclyn and Matthew to talk about Totem Sacred, HardWear, and all things awesome.

We had the great privilege to be seated beside Gail Simone, and none of us could really contain ourselves. She is as witty and interesting as you can imagine, but kind and charismatic as well. I learned a great deal from watching her interact with her fans; she treated each one gracefully, even as she was brought some strange gifts (including several comics, cheese, and a balloon flower that didn’t really resemble a balloon flower). As a comic fan, that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Another great thrill was getting to meet Stan Lee. Jaclyn and I were honoured to help out with a private signing and we had the rare chance to spend a moment with Stan the Man. Now, I am a fangirl so most of what I say can be taken as hyperbole caused by enthusiasm, but believe me when I say that Stan Lee is sharp, clever, humble and hilarious.

There was not any opportunity for conversation, but as we observed him in his natural habitat, Mr. Lee managed to simultaneously flatter himself and then say something self-deprecating, all with a genuine smile. Yes, I may have gone to pieces when he shook my hand and said it was nice to meet me. Yes, I may want to remove my hand to have it bronzed (relax, that’s why I have two). But my wonder at the man does not change the fact that Stan Lee may be the coolest man ever.

I could go on and on about the great conversations I had with fans at the show, or the amazing people I met, or the great time I had hanging out with my friends (even if I was working voluntarily) but I’ll save some memories for future stories. Let me finish by saying that going to Montreal Comiccon was a fantastic experience, and I look forward to going out there and rocking it with the UysFaber team again soon.

Jaclyn Armstrong

Lady J Hits Montreal Comiccon

Well as some of you may know, I went to Montreal Comiccon. It was so mind-blowing!!! The UysFaber table was next to Gail Simone’s table, so I got to meet Gail. She is my idol - I love her Birds of Prey and Secret Six. That Saturday was a busy busy day, but at the end Sanya (an artist from the Montreal Comiccon) showed us a place to go out to dinner. The place she wanted to take us had shut down, so we found another sushi place and ate there.

That Sunday was just as busy. It was also the day I bought my two sketches: a Derek Hale by Sanya, and, drum roll please…a Northstar by Dale Eaglesham - who was sitting right next to Gail. Sunday was also the day I met a comic god: STAN LEE. He shook my hand and everything. It made my life. Though I was busy and very tired by the end I had a great time in Montreal!!!!!!!

Matthew Salonen

The UysFaber crew were at the Montreal Comiccon this past weekend along with Paradise Comics!  We all met up at the comic shop and made the long trek out to Montreal on Friday.  The convention started bright and early for us on Saturday (8am), and it was awesome!  The UysFaber table was in THE BEST row in the building.  We were directly beside Gail Simone (who is amazing). Next to her were: Dale Egalesham (a gentleman - he reviewed my work and gave me some tips), Sergio Aragones, Stan Sakai (a true class act), and finally one of my all time favourites Neal Adams!  It was awe-inspiring to be in the same row as them, let alone the same building!  We sold tons of copies of Totem Sacred #1, I did about 15 sketches, and even made a few fans!  Here is a pic taken by a very nice kid who I did a Ghost Rider sketch for: